Book Review: Starting Cordelia's Honor
May. 1st, 2013 04:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
estelracaSo, Cat and I finished Serpent's Reach by CJ Cherryh (full review to come later, still processing, but overall it was fantastic), and we're starting the Vorkosigan saga by Bujold. Since I know at least one person will be excited, I figured I'd try giving opinions as we go.
We've gotten through the first three chapters so far. I'd have to say that I love the ecosystem and the critters that Bujold comes up with for the alien planet. It's actually sufficiently alien in parts to feel real, while at the same time very much based in biology. (There are scavengers, and they're a huge part of the story, rather than the apex predators being the most important thing in the ecosystem!) It's also nice to have microbes and parasites and their importance acknowledged--yes, please, cook that meat until it's well-done, you don't even know how scary some of the things that encyst in meat can be!
I'm looking forward to learning more about the Barryar political struggle that resulted in Vorkosigan and Cordelia ending up on their march through the woods. So far it's very hazily sketched in, because we're just getting to know the characters and the world. There are really only two characters at this point, though a third is there physically but not mentally. It's nice to have a female captain in Cordelia, acting pretty much like captains are expected to act in space opera--protective of ship and crew, intelligent, bad-ass, determined, capable of both physical fighting and verbal sparring. Given that this series is literally as old as me, it's a little disappointing that sci-fi on TV and film is still so far behind sci-fi in books (and this isn't even touching on the even older writers, like LeGuin). Vorkosigan is a character designed to hit all of my weak points--an honorable warrior in a terrible situation, scarred by what he's gone through, trying to navigate a world that would strip him of his honor and heart if possible.
The budding romance between Cordelia and Vorkosigan is interesting to see. It seems a little rushed at this point, but that might just be my impressions. Maybe people with more standard sexualities can find their captors sexy. It seems a bit quick for Cordelia to be commenting on his looks and getting a little hot and bothered by it, though. It's so hard to write these opposite-sides-of-the-battle romances without it reading like Stockholme's or something similar, though (one of my original series has a romance between opposite sides of a battle, so I may just be hypersensitive to this as well). I do really like seeing Cordelia and Vorkosigan work together (like turning jellyfish into hydrogen explosions), and slowly coming to ask questions and gain a better understanding of each other's world and world-view.
On a tangential note that doesn't fit in anywhere else, neural disruptors are an absolutely terrifying weapon. A weapon that can destroy the mind but leave the body intact is just... hideous and horrifying. I like that the book points out that it's considered barbaric by most civilizations, because it should be. Just... gah.
So far enjoying the story, though I'm waiting for it to really get cracking and to get some more aliens and politics in there. Show me why you are award-winning, book!
We've gotten through the first three chapters so far. I'd have to say that I love the ecosystem and the critters that Bujold comes up with for the alien planet. It's actually sufficiently alien in parts to feel real, while at the same time very much based in biology. (There are scavengers, and they're a huge part of the story, rather than the apex predators being the most important thing in the ecosystem!) It's also nice to have microbes and parasites and their importance acknowledged--yes, please, cook that meat until it's well-done, you don't even know how scary some of the things that encyst in meat can be!
I'm looking forward to learning more about the Barryar political struggle that resulted in Vorkosigan and Cordelia ending up on their march through the woods. So far it's very hazily sketched in, because we're just getting to know the characters and the world. There are really only two characters at this point, though a third is there physically but not mentally. It's nice to have a female captain in Cordelia, acting pretty much like captains are expected to act in space opera--protective of ship and crew, intelligent, bad-ass, determined, capable of both physical fighting and verbal sparring. Given that this series is literally as old as me, it's a little disappointing that sci-fi on TV and film is still so far behind sci-fi in books (and this isn't even touching on the even older writers, like LeGuin). Vorkosigan is a character designed to hit all of my weak points--an honorable warrior in a terrible situation, scarred by what he's gone through, trying to navigate a world that would strip him of his honor and heart if possible.
The budding romance between Cordelia and Vorkosigan is interesting to see. It seems a little rushed at this point, but that might just be my impressions. Maybe people with more standard sexualities can find their captors sexy. It seems a bit quick for Cordelia to be commenting on his looks and getting a little hot and bothered by it, though. It's so hard to write these opposite-sides-of-the-battle romances without it reading like Stockholme's or something similar, though (one of my original series has a romance between opposite sides of a battle, so I may just be hypersensitive to this as well). I do really like seeing Cordelia and Vorkosigan work together (like turning jellyfish into hydrogen explosions), and slowly coming to ask questions and gain a better understanding of each other's world and world-view.
On a tangential note that doesn't fit in anywhere else, neural disruptors are an absolutely terrifying weapon. A weapon that can destroy the mind but leave the body intact is just... hideous and horrifying. I like that the book points out that it's considered barbaric by most civilizations, because it should be. Just... gah.
So far enjoying the story, though I'm waiting for it to really get cracking and to get some more aliens and politics in there. Show me why you are award-winning, book!
no subject
Date: 2013-05-02 05:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-02 05:15 pm (UTC)