Product Description
The orbital solar mirror vital to the terraforming of planet Komarr has been shattered by a ship hurtling off course, and the Emperor of Barrayar has sent Miles Vorkosigan to find out why. The choice of Miles is not a popular one on Komarr, where a betrayal a generation before drenched the name of Vorkosigan in blood. Amidst lies and treachery, Miles is caught in a race against time to stop a plot that could exile him from Barrayar forever. His hope lies in an unexpected ally, one with wounds as deep and honor as beleaguered as his own.Amazon.com Review
Lois McMaster Bujold comes through again with another sharpMiles Vorkosigan novel. Komarr can be read as a standalone,though it is part of a whole series. (Komarr brings the totalto 16 books!)Miles is a hugely popular character with fans--and theywon't be disappointed with his latest adventure.

The planet Komarr is undergoing centuries-long terraforming when oneof the orbiting mirrors crucial to the effort is smashed by anoff-course ship.Miles Vorkosigan is sent to Komarr to investigatethe incident; once there, he becomes embroiled in political andscientific battles. To make matters worse, the name Vorkosigan isanathema on Komarr.But our intrepid hero can't be put downeasily. While trying to save Komarr, he manages...maybe... to findtrue love at last!Bujold's original and intelligent blend ofpolitics, science, and cliffhanging-good space opera makes this book asatisfying adventure and a charming romance. --Therese Littleton ... Read more

Customer Reviews (92)

Hated to finish it
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan wishes he could stay in a nice, private hotel room instead of intruding on the household of Barrayar expatriates Etienne and Ekaterin Vorsoisson, but he cannot refuse their hospitality when Ekaterin's uncle - Professor Vorthys, Miles's partner Auditor on this assignment - decides to combine investigation of possible sabotage on Komarr with a visit to his niece. Miles has enough to deal with on this assignment already. He is new to his job, and still trying to figure out how to be an Imperial Auditor instead of an intelligence operative. He bears the name of Aral Vorkosigan, the infamous (locally, anyway) Butcher of Komarr. And to top it all off, he quickly realizes that something isn't right in the terraforming agency where Etienne Vorsoisson works. That makes things even more awkward for Miles, who has to figure out which knocked Komarr's great orbital mirror out of commission: accident, or sabotage. That mirror is no longer directing solar energy to the planet's surface, so not only will Komarr's terraforming no longer move forward; if the mirror isn't fixed quickly, the cooling that sets in will quite rapidly reverse everything already accomplished toward making Komarr habitable for humans without the domes that now protect its cities.

Space opera, and a mystery of sorts. Sociological science fiction - driven by seeing Vor womanhood through Ekaterin's eyes - and action adventure. This book combines many elements and does so with both grace and smoothness. Miles Vorkosigan continues to grow and change, maturing without losing the vulnerability that makes him such an interesting protagonist. I have enjoyed every installment in this series, but this turned out to be one of those rare books that I hated to finish. I was having too much fun!

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 science fiction EPPIE winner REGS

Excellant!

This was the first Miles Vorkosigan book I read - though I'd read a couple of Bujold's fantasy novels and loved them. I'm not much of a sci-fan fan, but this one totally converted me - at least to sci-fi done Bujold style!
The technology isn't clichéd or boring - it's explained just enough when is needed, and very well. It's very interesting and realistic. I think this technology could be used someday.
The relationships the characters have with each other are amazing - character driven plot, totally. This book especially is amazing because the heroine, Ekaterin, who's introduced in this book is in an awful soul-crushing marriage. Anyone who's experienced or seen verbal abuse and neglect, will relate to this book. It isn't too depressing, because of course we're caught up in everything else that's going on, but it's very good character development and it's cool to have a heroine who isn't perfect and who has to recover from emotional scars to be happy. As always in a Miles book, we are entertained by Miles's wild personality, his eccentric and sometimes grim sense of humor, and the way he handles deadly situations with a clear head and enough good humor to keep his sanity.
This isn't one of those books that drops a plot line and picks it up later; all the parts of the plot are nicely handled, nothing is too coincidental, and while it's no comedy, we certainly encounter some very funny character-driven scenes that occur as they might in our own lives.
I can't say enough about how good this book is. JUST READ IT! Or, read the other books first, but since you'll want to re-read them all, I think this is a good starting point to get into the series, because the only fault with Bujold is that her books take a few pages to get into.

This is one of the best books of the series!
Favorite books of the Vorkosigan series: Cordelia's Honor, Young Miles, and Komarr; Civil Campaign is a contender.I know, those are compilations, but that's what I read and how they sell them.Komarr probably appeals more to women than to men (unlike others of the series), but then again by now you're so hooked you just want Miles to darn well find a great woman who'll actually live on Barrayar with him!Ekaterin is actually a bit unexpected, she's so quiet and uncertain about herself, that you expect her to be unable to resist Miles' tornado-plus-hurricane way of life, but she's unusually deep and strong.There's a mystery here too for the new Imperial Auditor, but really it's the love story that's the important thing... a love story that continues into A Civil Campaign and Winterfair Gifts.

Not Free SF Reader
Suicide is a rather extreme method for getting someone into trouble.


Miles tags along on an investigation that takes place on Komarr.There are some isolations to foil, and a woman to take a fancy too.She is married, but it turns out her ball and chain is more bent than a pig's genitals.Said bloke actually offs himself to try and put the heat on Miles.Not the sharpest tool in the hogcleaning shed, you could say

Throw in a secret weapons plot and it gets a little tricky.

A step forward in the Vorkosigan Saga
Lois McMaster bujold has always built her career around her willingness to do the unexpected.Every book up to this point contained big surprises: betrayals, secret identities, surprise attacks, spontaneous plot devices.After a time, you come to understand her method, and you learn to expect the unexpected.But it seems that she expects us to expect the unexpected, and keeps pulling out more stops that we didn't even know were there.So in "Komarr", we have Miles on his first mission as a permanent Imperial Auditor, investigating possible sabatoge on the Komarr terraforming project.You might expect a lot of things from this, but would you ever expect Bujold to turn the book into ... a romantic comedy?

Well, she does, and it's an astoundingly deep comedy at that.Ekaterin Vorsoisson is the unhappy wife of an important bureaucrat.Said bureaucrat has unpleasant jealousies, plus some unfortunate skeletons in his closet that will build up to a mini-climax halfway through the book.But the true surprise is the budding romance between Ekaterin and Miles, which is developed through the same deft twists and turns that Bujold usually employs for the military and political side of her plots.

"Komarr" really is an amazing book, one that delivers enough action to satisfy any fan while challenging us with questions of what makes a marriage work, or not work.A typical fan might accept the diversion into romantic territory or might not, but the book stands out for anyone with a heart and a brain. ... Read more

Product Description
Attending a diplomatic ceremony on Cetaganda, Miles and Cousin Ivan get into a heap of political trouble when the late empress's lifelong attendant is murdered, and Ivan gets involved with several beautiful and well-connected aliens. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

another great Miles book, great audiobook
This review is about the audio version. I'm having a great time with the Miles Vorkosigan books...I must be, I'm gonna end up spending my yearly audio budget on 'em.Plots are pretty involved but not tough to follow, she sprinkles humor all through them, characters likable & believable.The narrator is excellent; pleasant voice, good pacing, just understated enough that he doesn't detract from the book, animated enough that he helps it come alive.

Miles and Ivan
Fun read - Trick is to read this series in the proper sequence.There's no real help to figure that out.

WOW!Hey, Bujold is the greatest!
The narrator is really good, but the book is truly superb; I only yearn for more MP3's with Bujold's name on the title page--where are the newer audio books about "Miles"...DGL

Great Audio Book, minor quibbles....
I must preface this review by stating that this is my FIRST Miles Vorkosigan audio book, but that I really enjoyed it. The Plot: Miles, a member of an elite security force is sent to a planet where he must act as ambassador. He is chaperoned/accompanied by his amorous cousin Ivan. During the process, Miles makes friends, enemies, and manages to solve a mystery which could damagerelations between Cetaganda and his homeworld.

This is a light-hearted comedy, thoroughly enjoyable, and, I found Miles and his cousin Ivan to be quite amusing. Miles himself is a refreshing character who is strengthened by his disabilities and not overcome by them. I particularly enjoyed the scenes in the garden where Miles and Ivan are viewing the Kitten tree, and the intelligent plants. Just too bizarre. Ivan's exploits with the Ghem women was also VERY funny.

What I didn't like? Storywise: I was very surprised that Miles didn't take advantage of the Haut ladies superior genetic knowledge to have some of his own physical abilities looked into. Any society which can bio-engineer its own people to the degree the Haut lords and ladies did, certainly could help Miles's strengthen his bones and straighten his spine.

On to the quality of the tape:While I enjoyed the voice of the male reader, who had quite a range, the female reader read every character in exactly the same voice, which sounded sort of like that of an elderly granny. It was definitely NOT a voice I expected to hear for sexy bombshell Haut women. Also, because the tone of her voice did NOT change, sometimes I was left wondering WHO was speaking half the time.I found this distracting.What was the purpose of having a female reader at all if there was no variance? Also, the tape did not have a: "Insert tape 2" message or "this is the end of side 1" Message at the end of each section to let the listeners know that they were at the end of each section. This was particularly bad at the END of the book where the story just ends, with no music, no end credits NOTHING, I had to fast forward to make sure that I had listened to it all.Poor design.

Overall, I loved this NOVEL and would LOVE to listen to the rest of the series.I recommend this to sci-fi fans, looking for something fun to sink their teeth into.

A different look atan old enemy
The Cetagandans are the usual "Bad Guys" in Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series, in this book we see a more sympathetic side to some of them. This book takes place chronologically in Miles Vorkosigan'searly career, concurrant with the book "Ethan of Athos".Itfocuses more on the political intrigue that Bujold does so very well, butalso points out that even the "enemy" can have a sympatheticface.Very strong female characters (as usual) but Miles is definatelycenter stage. ... Read more

Product Description
Discharged from the Barrarayan academy after flunking the physical, a discouraged Miles Vorkosigan takes possession of a jumpship and becomes the leader of a mercenary force that expands to a fleet of treasonous proportions. Reprint. AB. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (48)

Wish I had read Bujold earlier - I've missed out
Miles Vorkosigan is a young man who desperately wants to pass the physical tests to enter the Barrayaran Academy. Despite his physical disability, he is sure his determination will pay off. He is wrong, and it doesn't. This is the story of how he copes with a very uncertain future, after his sole focus in his life results in failure. This impressive achievement in entertainment unfolds as Miles unwittingly discovers his true talent for uniting and inspiring people. His influence in galactic affairs becomes considerable, while his journey of achievement is entirely unconventional. There are many memorable moments along the way, which range from action and plot twists, to insightful and thoughtful character interactions. Miles is an interesting, complex and flawed character. The story is laid out and paced perfectly, and it is developed with a very sure hand. There are a few scenes of unlikely coincidence, and they are sometimes pivotal scenes. I identified them immediately, and accepted them just as quickly. I was having too much fun reading this to care. Time invested in reading Bujold is time well spent.

Superior SF and the launch of a great series
Washed out of the entrance examination for his planet's military school, Lord Miles Vorkosigan decides to visit his mother's planet, Beta. It should have been a quiet time... a bit of romance with Miles's long-time crush Elena, daughter of his bodyguard/armsman, perhaps some sight-seeing. But Miles is a magnet for trouble. He happens onto a hostage situation and ends up with an ancient and inefficient freighter, discovers a deserter from the Barrayar army, and decides the only way to pay for his new friends is by smuggling war materials through a blockade.

From there, things get...complicated and Miles discovers he's an admiral in a completely fictitious mercenary organization. At least, the organization is completly fictitious at first, but Miles, with the help of his small group, sets about turning them into a real force. Never mind what he'll tell his cousin, the Emperor about his violation of the laws against building a private army

Author Lois McMaster Bujold creates a convincing future society and wonderful characters in the taciturn and cruel Bothari, the intriguing Elena, and the physically stunted Miles. Even her minor characters are differentiated and well-drawn, clearly the heroes of their own (possibly unwritten) stories.

The strength of Bujold's story-telling is in the characters. Her space battles are sketches rather than richly drawn out, but Miles, and we, care about the losses as much as we do about the outcome and this is what makes her story-telling so strong.

THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE is part of Bujold's massive Vorksigian series and really the launch book in Miles's story (the earlier novels detailed his parents). If you aren't familiar with Bujold and her Vorkosigan universe, you've missed a key part of recent SF as Bujold has won a Nebulas, Hugos and other awards with this series

I just don't get it
This book might be a good for a young adult or a child.

I just do not understand why people praise this series so much. First, the story is not very exciting. It does not help that all along you have a feeling that the hero cannot fail. Likely this is because apart from Miles everyone in the book is pretty dumb. The whole thing is just a dull fairy tale that is totally unbelievable. In this age where there are artificial wombs and spaceships they cannot correct brittle bones and slow/inadequate growth. The hero is not even 18, yet he fools just about everybody. Right. No sense of reality at all.
Instead of the usual superhero in this book you get the crippled superhero. He cannot fail, even if he creates a very big mess, you know it will be sorted out.

And it is not just this book, in not one, but in two of the prequels Vorkosigan's mother - who is ship officer for a pacifist society - turns berserk and becomes a death-dealing 1-woman supercommando. Where a squad of soldiers fails, she triumphs alone. Its just weird.

Entertaining, but not great literature
A pleasant read for waiting in Doctor's offices or on the bus. The situations are interesting, and the author's depiction of the point of view of those marginalized by their society (disabled, women, transgendered) is admirable.
The plot is fairly predictable, and individuals tend to be caricatures. However, this is very nice light reading.

A Little Childish...
Lois Bujold really has a winner on her hands with the Vorkosigan saga, but 'The Warrior's Apprentice' does little to point this out.Miles Vorkosigan is really a great character, and I have enjoyed getting to know him.The problem for me begins with the transition from the story of Mile's parents, Aral and Cordelia to the story of Miles quite by himself.

This is good to introduce him as a character, but I felt a bit more of his life at home would have been appreciated by the fans of his parents.Warrior's Apprentice provides no transition at all.

Then they had to let a character die.This was too much, I felt.

The second major problem for me is the plot.This book takes a rather slapstick approach to creating a mercenary fleet.While most of the time, Bujold has a really good sense of social and political undertakings, this book makes me think that view to be a little overstated.

This book also lacked a certain amount of "bringing out the best in someone" dynamic as well.Miles' talents are certainly brought to the forefront, as well as his saavy for political manuverings, and this is fine.However, 'The Warrior's Apprentice', was unlike the other books which did a better job showcasing some of the humanity's virtues.

I really am a fan of the series, and Bujold in general, but having read some of her other books, I am well aware that she is a bit inconsistent in her writing, and I find this book series, no matter how well invented and well thought out to be no exception.People crave good science fiction, and this series certainly offers that, but this book in particular, offers little other than a almost laughable back story to what promises to be a good series centered around Miles Vorkosigan.I assume this, since I haven't read the other books yet, but this does seem to be what the series is about.

I cannot rightly recommend this book, but if you are going to read the series, it seems like a necessary stop from point A to B. ... Read more

Product Description
Word count: 3976. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Brillant comme toujours
Le retour de Mark Vorkosigan.Le frère de Miles usurpe son identité dans une mission pour sauver les esclaves du système corrompu.Le conflit entre le deux frère est très bien décrit par l'auteure.Très bon livre.Fortement recommandé. ... Read more

Product Description
Sick of combat and betrayal, Lady Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan was ready to settle down to a quiet life, interrupted only by the occasion ceremonial appearances required of the Lady Vorkosigan. But when the Emperor died, her husband Lord Aral Vorkosigan became guardian of the infant heir to the imperial throne of Barrayar and the target of high-tech assassins in a dynastic civil war that was reminiscent of Earth's Middle Ages, but fought with up-to-the minute biowar technology. Neither Aral nor Cordelia guessed the part that their cell-damaged unborn would play in Barrayar's bloody legacy. ... Read more

Product Description
Lois McMaster Bujold (born November 2, 1949, Columbus, Ohio) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy works. Bujold is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record. Her novella "The Mountains of Mourning" won both the Hugo and Nebula Award. In the fantasy sphere, The Curse of Chalion won the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for the 2002 World Fantasy Award for best novel, and both her fourth Hugo and second Nebula were for Paladin of Souls. ... Read more