Book Review: The Vorkosigan Saga: The Warrior's Apprentice SPOILERS!

The third novel in the Vorkosigan saga, Lois McMaster Bujold continues the tale, but this time the series will follow Miles life from age 17 to whenever. Synopsis: First he had to conquer himself. After that, the universe would be easy. Discharged from the Barrayan Military Academy, Miles Vorkosigan chances on a jumpship with a rebellious pilot and arranges to take over the ship. Events escalate from there, and soon Miles is commander of a mercenary fleet and reinvents himself as Admiral Naismith of the Dendarii Mercenary Army.

So the novel opens with Miles, now 17, failing the physical test to get into the Barrayan Service Academy. He returns home and tells his parents, Cordelia and Aral, about his failing and his grandfather dies because of old age. Miles, with Sgt. Bothari and Elena, heads to Beta Colony for relaxation. Upon arrival, Miles agrees to help a desperate pilot, Mayhew, out of trouble. They travel to Tau Verde IV, specifically the country of Felice, with Baz, a former Barrayan engineer, and Carl Daum, the guy who originally wanted Mayhew for the job of dropping cargo off and both Baz and Daum believe Miles leads a merc fleet calling itself the Dendarii Mercenary Army. Through sheer bluffing and luck,  Miles ends up taking over the entire mercenary groups working in Tau Verde space, something that seemed impossible for Miles and his mere crew to do. Most of the other mercenaries join the Dendarii Mercenaries but one, Ky Tung, holds honor above the whole thing and escapes. After a short amount of time and no payment received, Tung comes back and joins the group because Oser violated the contract Tung's former crew had signed. Bothari dies during the scheme by Elena's mother, who wanted revenge for Bothari being drugged and forced to rape her. Ivan Vorpatril, Miles' cousin, shows up with the news that the Council of Counts is screaming for Miles' blood for acquiring an army to defeat Gregor; Miles has no such thing planned and attests to this in front of the Council after leaving the Dendarii in the capable hands of Baz and Elena Jesek (Baz and Elena fall in love, something not seen in the entirety of the novel due to Bujold's horrible tendency to never leave Mile's Point Of View for any reason in the entire book). After presenting and boistering in the meeting, Miles uncovers a plot by Count Vordrozda to have Aral killed and take over the Regency posting and then the entire planet. Emperor Gregor, nearly the same age as Miles, and after hearing how Miles accidentally created the Dendarii Mercenary Army and took over a bunch of merc groups, pardons the whole thing, which ends with the Dendarii becoming an unofficial part of Barrayan Intelligence. Gregor pulls strings and gets Miles into the Barrayan Service.

All in all, a decent novel that's short and easy to read. Some good character arcs and decent prose. It's not the best Bujold can do, but then nothing can top Paladin of Souls in her Chalion Trilogy. 

Book Review: The Vorkosigan Saga: Cordelia's Honor SPOILERS!

Her first novel in the Vorkosigan saga, published that is, Lois McMaster bujold weaves a tale of speculation as to what happens to humans once we've conquered the stars. Synopsis: When Enemies Become More Than Friends--THEY WIN. In her first trial by fire, Cordelia Naismith captained a throwaway ship of the Betan Expeditionary Force on a mission to destroy an enemy armada. Discovering deception within deception, treachery withing treachery, she was forced into a separate peace with her chief opponent, Lord Aral Vorkosigan--he who was called "The Butcher of Komarr"--and would consequently become an outcast on her own planet and the Lady Vorkosigan on his. Sick of combat and betrayal, she was ready to settle down to a quiet life, interrupted only by the occasional ceremonial appearances required of the Lady Vorkosigan. But when the Emperor died, Aral 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. Publisher's Note: Cordelia's Honor is comprised of two parts: Shards of Honor and Barrayar. Together, they form a continuous story following the life of Cordelia Vorkosigan nee Naismith from the day she met her then-enemy Lord Aral Vorkosigan through the boyhood of her son Miles.

So the first part (Shards of Honor) starts out with Cordelia Naismith of the Betan Expeditionary Force and Captain Aral Vorkosigan heading through a jungle to reach Vorkosigan's men after the Barrayans attacked Cordelia's scientists. Along their journey, they get to know one another better and fined each others planets beliefs to be odd. Once there, they find that one of Aral's former acquaintances, Lt. Radnov, has staged a coup and ordered Aral's men to kill him on sight. Those that remain loyal to Aral don't and soon retake the General Vorkraft, the ship Aral and his men arrived on. Along the way back, the space crew of the Betan Survey team attempt a rescue on Cordelia, which almost succeeds with her teams help from Radnov, who is desperately trying to retake the ship which Cordelia and Aral manage to stop. Cordelia and her team get away but end up being caught again and Cordelia orders her crew to surrender which they grudgingly do. Vorrutyer drugs and tortures Sgt. Bothari enough and has him attempt to torture Cordelia, but Bothari instead kills Vorrutyer because Cordelia is Aral's woman--it should be noted that all these drugs and torture are what has caused Bothari to be insane; he's received enough of them over his lifetime and Aral has tried to make the problem go away for Bothari. Aral shows up ready to kill Vorrutyer but ends up hiding Cordelia and Bothari in his quarters. They stay there the entire time, even during the battle of Escobar (an event which is never shows because Bujold seems to dislike showing a sci-fi battle or maybe because she prefers to stay in one persons head for the entirety of a novel and that gets old real fast); it is here that Crown Prince Serg, a corrupted man and son of the Emperor of Barrayar, dies--apparently, Serg enjoyed raping women as much as Vorrutyer did. It's apparent that Serg's death, as well as Vorrutyer's, is what the Emperor wanted to happen. Cordelia is transported down to Escobar and after a few weeks, is released to go back to Beta Colony and everyone there thinks she's a hero for killing Vorrutyer despite her claims that she didn't do anything. After punching the president of Beta Colony, nearly drowning her psyche evaluator, and rants, Cordelia hijacks a freighter and heads to Barrayar and finds Aral shit-faced drunk with his father who loathes her. There is a subplot about the uterine replicators housing dozens of Barrayan babies that are eventually shipped off to Barrayar with Bothari claiming one of them as his own for penance of all his rape crimes.

In the second part (Barrayar), the novel continues the story of Cordelia through Cordelia's (and only her) POV. Cordelia is finding out that the life of Lady Vorkosigan isn't what she thought it'd be. After numerous attempts of Aral's life, one of which results in Cordelia and Aral's unborn child becoming accidentally poisoned and has to be birthed using the uterine replicators, the old Emperor dies, demanding that Aral become Regent of Barrayar until his grandson, Gregor, is old enough to take the throne. A coup ensues, led by Vidal Vordarian, attempt to seize the throne. He succeeds, taking the Princess Kareen captive as well. Cordelia takes young Gregor and hides in the countryside while Aral and his followers, including his father, attempt to rest control back. Cordelia, with Bothari, Droushnakovi, and a wounded Koudelka perform a raid to retrieve Lady Alys Vorpatril and make their way closer to the Emperor's Palace. After seeing Koudelka and Alys off safely, Bothari, Droushnakovi and Cordelia enter the palace and retrieve a uterine replicator with Miles inside and get captured by Vordarian's men. Cordelia hands Kareen Gregor's shoe and Kareen attempts to kill Vordarian. She fails and is killed by a guard while Bothari and Droushnakovi get Cordelia and a captured Vordarian to the chambers where he's keeping Miles as a hostage. After admitting he was behind the assassination attempts, Cordelia orders Bothari to kill Vordarian, which Bothari does by taking a sword and beheading Vordarian. Droushnakovi commandeers a groundcar and the four of them head back to base where Aral is glad to see Cordelia alive and unharmed along with Miles. She dumps a bag on the table in front of Aral and his staff and they see it's the head of Vordarian and they all suddenly become half-repulse, half-respectful of Cordelia, including Aral's father. In the end, the war is over and a few years later, Miles, age five, is negotiating with his grandfather for horse lessons.

All in all, a decent omnibus with a decent set of stories. They're not all bad, but dear me could I use a POV switch every now and then. I wanted to see the battle action in Shards of Honor and a lot more of it in Barrayar but what you get is what you get.