SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold

SF/F Review: The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold https://t.co/7Osz4PZP0U - Short Review: 7 out of 10 (1/4)

— garik16 (@garik16) July 18, 2017

Short Review (cont): The First Miles Vorkosigan book is a lot of fun with fun characters and dialogue (2/4)

— garik16 (@garik16) July 18, 2017

Short Review (cont): but has a plot which requires a bit of a suspension of disbelief to not be totally silly (3/4)

— garik16 (@garik16) July 18, 2017

The Warrior's Apprentice is I think the 2nd book published in the Vorkosigan Saga series (3rd chronologically).  That said, it's esentially the start of a new series based upon our new Hero, Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, the son of the two prior protagonists.  So this is a book you can start with perfectly fine - no prior knowledge is needed to begin the series with this book.

Long Review after the Jump:




-------------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------------
The Warrior's Apprentice follows Miles Naismith Vorkosigan.  As a result of his parents being exposed to a nerve gas when he was in the womb (as part of the events in Barryar), Miles' bones are extremely brittle and he didn't grow properly - he stands at a height of 4'9".  After breaking his bones trying to pass the physical test to enter the Barrayaran Military Academy, Miles is at a loss of what he's going to do with his life. But when he takes himself, his bodyguard Sgt Bothari, and his childhood crush Elena Bothari on a trip to Beta Colony, his brilliant but impulsive mind will send him on an adventure that finds him attempting to defeat a mercenary blockade and to reverse the course of a civil war, with Miles having nothing to begin with but the contents of his own mind and his quick thinking.
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Like Shards of Honor and Barrayar, this book features some really terrific dialogue and characters.  While this book does deal occassionally with serious issues (such as Rape and Torture, although no rape occurs on page and discussions involve a rape done years prior to the story), the book generally takes a pretty light tone and is pretty damn fun to read.  New Characters Miles and Elena, as well as the crew that join them (Baz and Arte) are excellent fun characters and again, Bujold excels at writing snappy witty dialogue that will make you smile.

That said, this plot does veer a bit into silliness, which is why it gets the lowest marks of the three Vorkosigan books I've read so far.  It's hard to believe sometimes the things Miles can accomplish solely with his mouth, or even how he'd get himself into the situation (I'm not sure I was ever truly satisfied in why Miles got himself involved in the situation involving Arte's ship to begin with, which kickstarts the plot).  The book is fun enough that it's far from a deal breaker for me, but I could see it being such for someone else.

Like the other Vorkosigan books, I read this as an audiobook, and the reader remains excellent, as the same one for all of Bujold's books. I will be continuing with the series in audiobook.