this was a very tepid book, so it is really a 2.5, which is kind of disappointing because I love space opera, and I like Lois McMaster Bujold's other works. The romance doesn't feel very fully developed, and any action/ political intrigue happens off-screen to be explained to the main character Cordelia. Coredelia also experiences culture shock from the Barrayan culture because they are an extremely militaristic and patriarchal culture, and not as technologically advanced. Most of the time she is the only woman in a sea of men, and the men are surprised that she is a captain. I don't think many of the issues presented are well analyzed, or even well resolved in this book, which is probably why it is published as part of an omnibus with the second book, because it just kind of ends in an unsatisfactory way.
The best scene is when Cordelia actually goes home. That is the first time I felt emotionally invested in the character. She spends a large portion of the book thinking her side is better, only to be proven wrong when she is used as a political pawn and drugged by her own military. They condemn her because she fell in love with Vorkosigan, and that was the first time I felt like the character might actually be in love with him. ( )

Me habían hablado muy bien de esta saga, y con razón. Se que Miles será el protagonista mayoritario, pero necesito leer y saber más de Cordelia y Aral.

Que modo de meter política, amor, critica a la violencia más sanguinaria en una sociedad militarizada y todo esto mezclado con la mejor ciencia ficción. Quizá el principio del libro es lo que mas me ha costado para arrancar, pero es que todo va a mejor a medida que pasas paginas y al final se convierte en un disfrute.

( )

Has some really good things to say about the consequences of war and what it means to take responsibility for them.
I wasn't especially moved by the violence or the romance, but I'm glad I read it. ( )

Lovely. Good characters that are competent (both male and female). Good storyline. It got a bit chaotic towards the end, but still highly enjoyable. ( )

This was recommended as the best book to start with in the Vorkosigan Saga, which Noah Smith writes is "the best sci fi series ever". This follows Cordelia Naismith, a planetary surveyor from the planet Beta, caught up in a military action, as the point of view character. She meets Arad Vorkosigan, a Barrayaran military leader who has been betrayed by the political officer on his ship. They have to journey over multiple days to reach a cache of supplies, during which they fall in love though they have to part as Vorkosigan deals with a complex political plot on his ship and Cordelia escapes back to her home planet.

Months later, the war has fully broken out, and Naismith (now drafted into the military) is captured by the Barrayarans once more, caught in the middle of more political machinations in the midst of the war which I won't spoil here.

The book focuses on the theme of honor, as Vorkosigan plots the honorable course and attempts to keep his countrymen from raping and butchering prisoners. But we learn that acting honorably in a complex and dysfunctional political system can be impossible at times.

I enjoyed the book, and plan to read through this whole series. I wouldn't agree with Smith that it's the best ever yet, but the first book reveals a series that is definitely worth sticking with. ( )