Lois McMaster Bujold

Lois McMaster Bujold
"You were never a bloody courier, Captain Vorkosigan."
- Captain Tuomonen, "Komarr"

Lois McMaster Bujold is the creator of what are officially termed the Vorkosigan Adventures. Set in a distant galaxy, they center around the adventures of one Miles Vorkosigan (although the first two deal solely with Miles's parents), officially a courier for the Barrayar Imperial Security services but unofficially the admiral of the Dendarii Mercenaries, a force unofficially used by Barrayar to deal with some of their trickier millitary situations.

Which might have you thinking 'Oh no, not more sci-fi space opera', but Bujold differs from most rest in that she manages to blend character and combat almost perfectly. In fact, her last two books took this one stage further and re-directed the series away from the combat elements and concentrated entirely on character, creating the first sci-fi novels that I've read that put me in mind of the plays of Ibsen or Checkov. Yes, they're that good!

Unfortunately, only about half her books are published in England (which is where I'm writing from) so if you want to read the entire collection you'll have to order from America. Fortunately those that are published in England include all the most significant books in the series, so if you're interested in some mature and thoughtful science-fiction I thoroughly recomend you check Bujold out. A good place to start is a bookshop, but after that, try The Bujold Nexus - The Lois McMaster Bujold Homepage on the Web.

(Please note, all pictures displayed here are property of the various publishers and are used without permission because I'm recommending that you go out and buy more of their books. However, should they disapprove, please can they mail me and I'll remove them.)