What do you think?
Rate this book
Vorkosigan Saga (Chronological) #0.5
Proto Zoa
A delightful collection of Lois McMaster Bujold’s early stories, and a comprehensive Introduction by this New York Times bestselling author.
Audiobook
First published December 21, 2011
About the author
Lois McMaster Bujold
178 books39.6k followersLois McMaster Bujold was born in 1949, the daughter of an engineering professor at Ohio State University, from whom she picked up her early interest in science fiction. She now lives in Minneapolis, and has two grown children.
Her fantasy from HarperCollins includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife tetralogy; her science fiction from Baen Books features the perennially bestselling Vorkosigan Saga. Her work has been translated into over twenty languages.
Questions regarding foreign rights, film/tv subrights, and other business matters should be directed to Spectrum Literary Agency, spectrumliteraryagency.com
A listing of her awards and nominations may be seen here:
http://www.sfadb.com/Lois_McMaster_Bu...
A listing of her interviews is here:
http://vorkosigan.wikia.com/wiki/Auth...
An older fan-run site devoted to her work, The Bujold Nexus, is here:
http://www.dendarii.com/
Her fantasy from HarperCollins includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife tetralogy; her science fiction from Baen Books features the perennially bestselling Vorkosigan Saga. Her work has been translated into over twenty languages.
Questions regarding foreign rights, film/tv subrights, and other business matters should be directed to Spectrum Literary Agency, spectrumliteraryagency.com
A listing of her awards and nominations may be seen here:
http://www.sfadb.com/Lois_McMaster_Bu...
A listing of her interviews is here:
http://vorkosigan.wikia.com/wiki/Auth...
An older fan-run site devoted to her work, The Bujold Nexus, is here:
http://www.dendarii.com/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
September 13, 2018
I read the first four of these five stories back in 2014 - upon a reread, they were fine but not especially memorable. "Dreamweaver's Dilemma" is the proto-Vorkosiverse novella and...yeah, it's fine. The fifth story is "Aftermaths", which I rank as one of favorite short stories of all time. I think this was my fourth reread of it...so really I end up reading it once a year. It never gets old, because it's true.
July 15, 2017
I'm trash for literally any sci-fi related work Lois McMaster Bujold writes and I'm not even sorry.
January 9, 2012
Five very different stories.
"Barter" is a comedic story about a harassed mother. I'm afraid I found little sympathy for the overwhelmed mother (who seemed to dislike her entire family) and didn't like her solution.
"Garage Sale" started better. Who hasn't suffered through a horrible neighbour? But, again, the solution bothered me. No matter even the treatment of the cat, this veered abruptly into fairytale logic to make the garage sale "without consequence" for the protagonist, and was a kind of murder.
"The Hole Truth" is another comedic story, but more light-handed and with a better punch line.
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma" is interesting enough SF, but I found the play of "artistic impractical female" who needs the help of "taciturn practical man" to be displaying the decade the story was written in.
"Aftermaths" is by far the strongest story of the quintet.
"Barter" is a comedic story about a harassed mother. I'm afraid I found little sympathy for the overwhelmed mother (who seemed to dislike her entire family) and didn't like her solution.
"Garage Sale" started better. Who hasn't suffered through a horrible neighbour? But, again, the solution bothered me. No matter even the treatment of the cat, this veered abruptly into fairytale logic to make the garage sale "without consequence" for the protagonist, and was a kind of murder.
"The Hole Truth" is another comedic story, but more light-handed and with a better punch line.
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma" is interesting enough SF, but I found the play of "artistic impractical female" who needs the help of "taciturn practical man" to be displaying the decade the story was written in.
"Aftermaths" is by far the strongest story of the quintet.
July 17, 2024
Ovu sam zbirku priča uzela jer mi moj OCD ne da mira i željela sam pročitati priču Dreamweaver's Dilemma koja je izlistana kao recimo neki (tj. prvi) dio Vorkosigan Sage. Da, znam, luđakinja, al što ću. U zbirci imamo pet priča. I sam podnaslov kaže da su to priče napisane rano u njenom književnom opusu, a to i ona sama objašnjava u predgovoru. U prve tri se SF element pojavljuje doslovno u tragovima, ali to mi je bilo nekako taman jer sam ga iščekivala i način na koji ga je ukomponirala u priču mi je uvijek bio baš dobar. Zadnje dvije su bile pravi SF, smještene u Vorkosigan svemir.
Moram reći da sam se baš ugodno iznenadila. Priče su zabavne, strašno simpatične, sviđa mi se što su pozitivci uvijek na kraju pobijedili (osim u zadnjoj, tu nije bilo pozitivaca i negativaca). I ja, a i likovi dobijamo na kraju neku zadovoljštinu. Lois se tu baš zaigrala. Sad me ova njena zbirka potakla da uzmem čitati i njene druge kratke priče i zapravo sve što je napisala.
1. Barter ****
Nisam očekivala da će se priča tako završiti. Bilo mi je žao žene, kako je Lois opisala njen život i baš sam se nasmijala na rješenje koje je dobila. I ja bih nekad jedan takav daljinski upravljač.
2. Garage Sale ****
Znači, kako je Krieger skajlao babu!!! Ne bih se nikad nečeg takvog sjetila. A golubovi su svemu kumovali.
3. The Hole Truth ***
Pouka ove priče je da ne uvaljujete svoje smeće drugima jer će vam se vratiti milo za drago.
4. Dreamweaver's Dilemma *****
E ovo je bila odlična priča! Baš u maniri Bujoldicinog Vorkosigana. Eh nostalgija. Kužim zašto je svrstana u taj serijal. Sasvim površno se dotiče crvotočina, pilota s implantatima i Kolonije Beta.
Sama priča mi je izvrsno osmišljena. Anias se bavi tkanjem osjetilnih snova. Jako zgodan koncept koji sam si ja predstavila kao nešto slično priči iz holodecka u ST u kojoj možeš sve osjetiti kao da ti se stvarno događa. Dolazi joj lik i traži ju da mu napravi san koji je onako dvojbenog karaktera, više kao noćna mora. Nakon što ona napravi taj posao, priča se komplicira. Radnja mi je bila super zanimljiva. Ideja osjetilnih snova mi se jako svidjela. Bilo bi fora da zaista postoje. Najviše mi se svidio lik kapetana Chalmysa DuBauera, svemirskog putnika prije izuma crvotočina. Bilo bi lijepo da on ima svoj vlastiti roman jer bih baš voljela saznati više o njegovim pustolovinama i životu. Petica za ovu priču.
5. Aftermaths ****
I ova je bila povezana s Vorkosigan sagom. Iznenađujuće, priča s druge strane escobarsko-barrayarskog rata. Pomalo tužna. Bilo je zanimljivo čuti escobarsku perspektivu pa makar i nakratko. Mogla je zapravo biti priča o bilo kojem ratu i njegovim žrtvama.
Bookopoly 2024. – Favourite Author
Moram reći da sam se baš ugodno iznenadila. Priče su zabavne, strašno simpatične, sviđa mi se što su pozitivci uvijek na kraju pobijedili (osim u zadnjoj, tu nije bilo pozitivaca i negativaca). I ja, a i likovi dobijamo na kraju neku zadovoljštinu. Lois se tu baš zaigrala. Sad me ova njena zbirka potakla da uzmem čitati i njene druge kratke priče i zapravo sve što je napisala.
1. Barter ****
Nisam očekivala da će se priča tako završiti. Bilo mi je žao žene, kako je Lois opisala njen život i baš sam se nasmijala na rješenje koje je dobila. I ja bih nekad jedan takav daljinski upravljač.
2. Garage Sale ****
Znači, kako je Krieger skajlao babu!!! Ne bih se nikad nečeg takvog sjetila. A golubovi su svemu kumovali.
3. The Hole Truth ***
Pouka ove priče je da ne uvaljujete svoje smeće drugima jer će vam se vratiti milo za drago.
4. Dreamweaver's Dilemma *****
E ovo je bila odlična priča! Baš u maniri Bujoldicinog Vorkosigana. Eh nostalgija. Kužim zašto je svrstana u taj serijal. Sasvim površno se dotiče crvotočina, pilota s implantatima i Kolonije Beta.
Sama priča mi je izvrsno osmišljena. Anias se bavi tkanjem osjetilnih snova. Jako zgodan koncept koji sam si ja predstavila kao nešto slično priči iz holodecka u ST u kojoj možeš sve osjetiti kao da ti se stvarno događa. Dolazi joj lik i traži ju da mu napravi san koji je onako dvojbenog karaktera, više kao noćna mora. Nakon što ona napravi taj posao, priča se komplicira. Radnja mi je bila super zanimljiva. Ideja osjetilnih snova mi se jako svidjela. Bilo bi fora da zaista postoje. Najviše mi se svidio lik kapetana Chalmysa DuBauera, svemirskog putnika prije izuma crvotočina. Bilo bi lijepo da on ima svoj vlastiti roman jer bih baš voljela saznati više o njegovim pustolovinama i životu. Petica za ovu priču.
5. Aftermaths ****
I ova je bila povezana s Vorkosigan sagom. Iznenađujuće, priča s druge strane escobarsko-barrayarskog rata. Pomalo tužna. Bilo je zanimljivo čuti escobarsku perspektivu pa makar i nakratko. Mogla je zapravo biti priča o bilo kojem ratu i njegovim žrtvama.
Bookopoly 2024. – Favourite Author
February 10, 2019
Actually I think I could give this five stars just for Aftermath. The other stories are nothing great, although I did enjoy The Dreamweaver’s Dilemma. But Aftermath is pure gold.
January 15, 2023
Протозои са едноклетъчни гадове, които може да видите на корицата на книгата. Освен това са първите организми, които показват животински качества, демек добиват си протеините с кражба и най-вече, това, което Бюджълт не знае, носят звучното име Първаци на български.
Това са ранни и единствени разкази от кака. Първите три не са свързани с цикъла Бараяр и бяха много сладурско битови, припомниха ми неща писани от други автори горе-долу през тези години 83-86. Другите два вече ги бях чел, но се оказа свежо да ги препрочета извън контекста на вселената на Вор.
Barter – Забавен кратък разказ за една домакиня, която изненадващо намира как да облекчи малко ежедневието си да се грижи за три деца, две котки и мърляв съпруг. Мисля, че е филмирано като епизод от "Отвъд предела" или някое от другите подобни програми, които си проправиха път у нас в началото на деветдесетте.
Garage Sale – Фантастична гротеска, финалът на която ми напомни „Историята на едно привидение“ от Павел Вежинов. Един сипатяга има сериозни проблеми с педантичната пенсионерка от съседната къща. Нещата ескалират, когато се опива да го принуди да плати камара пари, които няма за унищожение на гълъбите гнездещи по стрехите му (за не ѝ дрискат по алеята). Решението, което замисля като майтап може да се окаже доста окончателно.
The Hole Truth – Тази пък ми заприлича на „Прашна зебра“ от Саймък. В един квартал се появява бездънна дупка. Скоро всички решават, че няма по-добра функция за нея от това да си изхвърлят боклука вътре...
Dreamweaver’s Dilema – “Дилемата на съноплетачката“ има любителски превод на български в читанаката. Чел съм я отдавна и не ми направи кой знае какво впечатление, защото очаквах нещо по-сериозно свързано с Бараярския цикъл. Сега, като отделно произведение си е много прилична фантастична кримка, а споменаването на колония Бета спокойно може да се игнорира. Алюзията с писателските тегоби е повече от очевидна и предвид кога е писана ме зачуди, дали кака не е искала да спрес приключнията на Майлс след третата книга.
Сънеплетенето е изкуство и като всяко друго се появяват частни поръчители с определени изисквания. Тази работа обаче намирисва доста, особено след опита за покушение на автора.
Aftermaths – Това го има като епилог в „За честта на Вор“ и винаги ми се е струвало странно несвързано с книгата. Като отделен разказ обаче е едно от най-красивите неща писани като кратка военна фантастика.
След последната бирка с Бараяр за прехода, един бетански кораб обикаля и събира от космоса трупове. Пилотъ�� продължава да се чуди защо медтехничката им отдава толкова внимание и уважение. Ще разбере.
Трите звездички са напълно заслужени, Бюджълт може да пише и можем само да съжаляваме, че не е отделя повече време за кратка проза, но това е цената на славата, мисля.
Това са ранни и единствени разкази от кака. Първите три не са свързани с цикъла Бараяр и бяха много сладурско битови, припомниха ми неща писани от други автори горе-долу през тези години 83-86. Другите два вече ги бях чел, но се оказа свежо да ги препрочета извън контекста на вселената на Вор.
Barter – Забавен кратък разказ за една домакиня, която изненадващо намира как да облекчи малко ежедневието си да се грижи за три деца, две котки и мърляв съпруг. Мисля, че е филмирано като епизод от "Отвъд предела" или някое от другите подобни програми, които си проправиха път у нас в началото на деветдесетте.
Garage Sale – Фантастична гротеска, финалът на която ми напомни „Историята на едно привидение“ от Павел Вежинов. Един сипатяга има сериозни проблеми с педантичната пенсионерка от съседната къща. Нещата ескалират, когато се опива да го принуди да плати камара пари, които няма за унищожение на гълъбите гнездещи по стрехите му (за не ѝ дрискат по алеята). Решението, което замисля като майтап може да се окаже доста окончателно.
The Hole Truth – Тази пък ми заприлича на „Прашна зебра“ от Саймък. В един квартал се появява бездънна дупка. Скоро всички решават, че няма по-добра функция за нея от това да си изхвърлят боклука вътре...
Dreamweaver’s Dilema – “Дилемата на съноплетачката“ има любителски превод на български в читанаката. Чел съм я отдавна и не ми направи кой знае какво впечатление, защото очаквах нещо по-сериозно свързано с Бараярския цикъл. Сега, като отделно произведение си е много прилична фантастична кримка, а споменаването на колония Бета спокойно може да се игнорира. Алюзията с писателските тегоби е повече от очевидна и предвид кога е писана ме зачуди, дали кака не е искала да спрес приключнията на Майлс след третата книга.
Сънеплетенето е изкуство и като всяко друго се появяват частни поръчители с определени изисквания. Тази работа обаче намирисва доста, особено след опита за покушение на автора.
Aftermaths – Това го има като епилог в „За честта на Вор“ и винаги ми се е струвало странно несвързано с книгата. Като отделен разказ обаче е едно от най-красивите неща писани като кратка военна фантастика.
След последната бирка с Бараяр за прехода, един бетански кораб обикаля и събира от космоса трупове. Пилотъ�� продължава да се чуди защо медтехничката им отдава толкова внимание и уважение. Ще разбере.
Трите звездички са напълно заслужени, Бюджълт може да пише и можем само да съжаляваме, че не е отделя повече време за кратка проза, но това е цената на славата, мисля.
May 9, 2020
Barter" 2/5
"Garage Sale" 1/5
"The Hole Truth" 4/5
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma" 3/5
"Aftermaths" 5/5
"Garage Sale" 1/5
"The Hole Truth" 4/5
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma" 3/5
"Aftermaths" 5/5
December 27, 2023
Each story grew stronger. All were fun. Aftermaths is the winner though. Her first published foray into the Vorkosigan universe?
The narrator, Grover Gardner is always the perfect voice for Bujold books.
The narrator, Grover Gardner is always the perfect voice for Bujold books.
May 14, 2013
Collecting five of McMaster Bujold’s early works, Proto Zoa is a lovely little gem, even though the stories have all been published before. “Barter”, “Garage Sale” and “The Hole Truth” are cute little vignettes in a suburban setting, one of which is not even science fiction. Bujold’s skill at finding the amusing and the ironic amidst the mundane shines in these three stories. The novelette “Dreamweaver’s Dilemma” is ostensibly part of the Vorkosiverse, but only in as much as Beta Colony is referenced. Aftermaths is a nice vignette about the dead and their relationship with the living (or is it the other way around?). It later formed the epilogue for “Shards of Honor” but started life as a short story.
As a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold, I loved this book despite its brevity.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1636
As a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold, I loved this book despite its brevity.
http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1636
November 15, 2018
Quite good.
December 24, 2018
I've been saving this as a treat for a special occasion, and today was the day!
As an enormous fan of the Vorkosiverse, I'd been curious about LMB's early work and particularly The Dreamweaver's Dilemma, as I'd heard that it was both the first work she wrote in that universe and a chronological prequel. While I greatly enjoyed all five short stories in this compilation, I had no idea what the non-Vorkosiverse stories were about until I listened to them (I have the audiobook), and I really enjoyed how masterfully the little twists of unreality were woven into stories so otherwise realistic and mundane.
The order in which the stories appears is well-planned, starting off with "Barter", which is a very enjoyable Twilight Zone twist on the hectic daily life of an overwhelmed housewife and mother. I particularly liked the bits about the cats.
"Garage Sale" continued the theme of "totally ordinary, but with a slight twist" and tells a story about a guy with a particularly pushy and persnickety neighbor whose "my home is my castle" attitude colonized her neighbor's - the protagonist's - territory. His exhaustion and frustration, and finally his revenge, were delicious and relatable. I was particularly horrified by the bit about the cat.
The protagonist of "Garage Sale" also shows up in the next story, "The Hole Truth", which is set in the same street/neighborhood. This one seemed the most light in tone and in sci-fi-ness - and I was way more invested in the telling of petty small town bullshit than I ever thought I'd be.
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma" was truly delicious. I was intrigued from start to finish, and the series of events gave me enough to make assumptions but never enough to know what was going to happen until it actually did happen. I feel like I was given a taste of something that I want more of. I particularly appreciate the tone of mystery without the sense of apprehension I feel when I'm scared that something bad is going to happen to a protagonist I have grown to care about. Chalmys might be the ancestor of Ensign DuBauer of Cordelia's crew, but his actions and personality definitely feel like ancestors of the character that eventually became Miles.
I'd already heard "Aftermaths", as it was included as an epilogue to Shards of Honor. It packs a serious punch, and is just as intense when I listen to it as a standalone piece, though it was even more meaningful to listen to right after Shards of Honor since it deals with the literal aftermaths of the battle in that story. This short story is told from the perspective of a very young and inexperienced pilot-officer, who is more focused on being on his first mission as a pilot than the mission's grim purpose. The "twist" in this story is more serious than in any of the other works in this compilation, and the compassion that underscores it reminds me yet again why I love Lois McMaster Bujold's writing so much.
As an enormous fan of the Vorkosiverse, I'd been curious about LMB's early work and particularly The Dreamweaver's Dilemma, as I'd heard that it was both the first work she wrote in that universe and a chronological prequel. While I greatly enjoyed all five short stories in this compilation, I had no idea what the non-Vorkosiverse stories were about until I listened to them (I have the audiobook), and I really enjoyed how masterfully the little twists of unreality were woven into stories so otherwise realistic and mundane.
The order in which the stories appears is well-planned, starting off with "Barter", which is a very enjoyable Twilight Zone twist on the hectic daily life of an overwhelmed housewife and mother. I particularly liked the bits about the cats.
"Garage Sale" continued the theme of "totally ordinary, but with a slight twist" and tells a story about a guy with a particularly pushy and persnickety neighbor whose "my home is my castle" attitude colonized her neighbor's - the protagonist's - territory. His exhaustion and frustration, and finally his revenge, were delicious and relatable. I was particularly horrified by the bit about the cat.
The protagonist of "Garage Sale" also shows up in the next story, "The Hole Truth", which is set in the same street/neighborhood. This one seemed the most light in tone and in sci-fi-ness - and I was way more invested in the telling of petty small town bullshit than I ever thought I'd be.
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma" was truly delicious. I was intrigued from start to finish, and the series of events gave me enough to make assumptions but never enough to know what was going to happen until it actually did happen. I feel like I was given a taste of something that I want more of. I particularly appreciate the tone of mystery without the sense of apprehension I feel when I'm scared that something bad is going to happen to a protagonist I have grown to care about. Chalmys might be the ancestor of Ensign DuBauer of Cordelia's crew, but his actions and personality definitely feel like ancestors of the character that eventually became Miles.
I'd already heard "Aftermaths", as it was included as an epilogue to Shards of Honor. It packs a serious punch, and is just as intense when I listen to it as a standalone piece, though it was even more meaningful to listen to right after Shards of Honor since it deals with the literal aftermaths of the battle in that story. This short story is told from the perspective of a very young and inexperienced pilot-officer, who is more focused on being on his first mission as a pilot than the mission's grim purpose. The "twist" in this story is more serious than in any of the other works in this compilation, and the compassion that underscores it reminds me yet again why I love Lois McMaster Bujold's writing so much.
January 3, 2018
Am cumparat cartea pentru Dreamweaver’s Dilemma, o povestire scrisa in noiembrie 1982 care contine prima referinta la Beta Colony si e, deci, samburele din care a crescut saga Vorkosigan. Din pacate, se vede ca e prima povestire scrisa de Bujold - intriga e foarte simpla, personajele sunt de carton, iar ideea SF e banala. Noroc ca sunt cinci povestiri in volum - “Barter” e cea mai reusita dintre cele trei povestiri umoristice in decor de orasel american tipic (e despre o mama epuizata de grijile zilnice, si un ajutor complet neasteptat) iar “Aftermaths” e cea mai buna poveste din volum, dar probabil ca ati citit-o deja - e epilogul romanului “Shards of Honor”. Celelalte doua povesti sunt amuzante si absurde, dar elementele SF sunt fortate. Una peste alta, cartea ne arata ca nici macar Lois McMaster Bujold n-a iesit scriitoare gata formata inca de la debut, ca Athena din capul lui Zeus... :)
July 20, 2018
Loved the first two stories about families in suburbs omg so funny! And confused about the dreaming one and yeah.. I’m gonna read the books to see if it makes more sense..
March 11, 2025
La primera historia fue en la que se basó el capítulo de Dimensión Desconocida de la ama de casa que puede detener el tiempo.
August 21, 2025
Not a bad book, but not great either. I read it as part of my read-through of the Vorkosigan Saga series, of which I've already read quite a few over the years.
According to Goodreads, the included tale "Dreamweaver's Dilemma" would be #0.5 in the series on the author-recommended (internal chronological) reading order. Having read it, I think the numbering is right, but mostly irrelevant as this story (which takes most of this book) has little relation to the rest of the saga besides being placed in (an earlier version of) the same universe.
So, if you're mainly interested in the Vorkosigan Saga, and you're not a completist, you might as well skip this.
That said, there are some other, totally Vorkosigan-unrelated, stories in the mix; I particularly liked "Hole Truth" and "Barter".
Regarding the latter, the author states in the book's introduction that it served as the basis for an episode in the "Tales From the Dark Side" 80s TV series, which she herself "have never seen—I didn't have the correct cable access at the time it first came out". Well, thanks to the Internet, I was able to determine it was episode S04E19[1] which can be found both online and on DVD[2] format with relative ease (less than 5 minutes searching). It's amazing what the Internet brought us, from the author herself not being able to watch it during (at least) over 10 years, to me finding and starting to watch it in just a few minutes.
I actually presented this to a friend who's pessimistic about the good/evil things the Internet brought us, as part of my argument that overall the Internet is more of a force for Good (at least in terms of information access) than otherwise (the eventual evil that people do using that information is not the Internet's fault).
[1] https://thetvdb.com/series/tales-from... -- S04E19
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Darkside...
According to Goodreads, the included tale "Dreamweaver's Dilemma" would be #0.5 in the series on the author-recommended (internal chronological) reading order. Having read it, I think the numbering is right, but mostly irrelevant as this story (which takes most of this book) has little relation to the rest of the saga besides being placed in (an earlier version of) the same universe.
So, if you're mainly interested in the Vorkosigan Saga, and you're not a completist, you might as well skip this.
That said, there are some other, totally Vorkosigan-unrelated, stories in the mix; I particularly liked "Hole Truth" and "Barter".
Regarding the latter, the author states in the book's introduction that it served as the basis for an episode in the "Tales From the Dark Side" 80s TV series, which she herself "have never seen—I didn't have the correct cable access at the time it first came out". Well, thanks to the Internet, I was able to determine it was episode S04E19[1] which can be found both online and on DVD[2] format with relative ease (less than 5 minutes searching). It's amazing what the Internet brought us, from the author herself not being able to watch it during (at least) over 10 years, to me finding and starting to watch it in just a few minutes.
I actually presented this to a friend who's pessimistic about the good/evil things the Internet brought us, as part of my argument that overall the Internet is more of a force for Good (at least in terms of information access) than otherwise (the eventual evil that people do using that information is not the Internet's fault).
[1] https://thetvdb.com/series/tales-from... -- S04E19
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Darkside...
February 26, 2017
I read this some time ago, but only just now noticed that I never rated it. This is a collection of five short stories from very early in Lois McMaster Bujold's career.
The genre of three of these stories could best be described as "The Twilight Zone". Which, to be honest, I have very little interest in. They were amusing diversions but not much more.
The story I (and probably many others) bought this to find is Dreamweaver's Dilemma, a short story that's very, very superficially related to the Vorkosigan series. If you read this thinking you're about to read a Vorkosigan story, you'll be disappointed, because that's not really what it is. That said, it's an alright story.
The fifth story, Aftermaths, actually is a Vorkosigan story, set between Shards of Honor and Barrayar. It's frequently included in Shards of Honor and its various omnibus editions, so if you've read Shards of Honor there's a good chance you've already read it. That said, it's by far the best story in this collection.
Barter (★★☆☆☆)
The Garage Sale (★★☆☆☆)
The Hole Truth (★★☆☆☆)
Dreamweaver's Dilemma (★★★☆☆)
Aftermaths (★★★★★)
If you're a Vorkosigan fanatic but for some reason you've never read Aftermaths, that might make this collection worthwhile. It's hard to justify buying a whole book just to read one short story though. On the whole, this collection is sort of a novelty.
The genre of three of these stories could best be described as "The Twilight Zone". Which, to be honest, I have very little interest in. They were amusing diversions but not much more.
The story I (and probably many others) bought this to find is Dreamweaver's Dilemma, a short story that's very, very superficially related to the Vorkosigan series. If you read this thinking you're about to read a Vorkosigan story, you'll be disappointed, because that's not really what it is. That said, it's an alright story.
The fifth story, Aftermaths, actually is a Vorkosigan story, set between Shards of Honor and Barrayar. It's frequently included in Shards of Honor and its various omnibus editions, so if you've read Shards of Honor there's a good chance you've already read it. That said, it's by far the best story in this collection.
Barter (★★☆☆☆)
The Garage Sale (★★☆☆☆)
The Hole Truth (★★☆☆☆)
Dreamweaver's Dilemma (★★★☆☆)
Aftermaths (★★★★★)
If you're a Vorkosigan fanatic but for some reason you've never read Aftermaths, that might make this collection worthwhile. It's hard to justify buying a whole book just to read one short story though. On the whole, this collection is sort of a novelty.
February 3, 2018
The first 3 stories aren't much, though the endings are surprising. "Dreamweaver's Dilemma" shows that it was an early effort by comparison with the author's later books (nearly all favorites of mine), and I'd wish the heroine could deal with the problems better.
However, the last story "Aftermaths" is excellent. It has, as the author comments in her foreword, previously always been published as an addendum to the novel Shards of Honor; until I read her comment, I had never thought that it was not part of that wonderful novel. You will find a great deal to think about in this story.
However, the last story "Aftermaths" is excellent. It has, as the author comments in her foreword, previously always been published as an addendum to the novel Shards of Honor; until I read her comment, I had never thought that it was not part of that wonderful novel. You will find a great deal to think about in this story.
May 2, 2025
Year of Vorkosigan #1
I decided to reread the whole Vorkosigan series in internal chronology order in a year. Reading two books / stories a month will give me a month to spare.
So, I started with “Dreamweaver’s Dilemma”, but as it does not have a standalone edition I read the whole collection.
The DD I would rank three-and-half stars, the first three stories are between three and three-and-half. But the whole collection is elevated by the last one – “Aftermaths” – which is a five stars story. But more about it when I get to the Shrads of Honour.
I decided to reread the whole Vorkosigan series in internal chronology order in a year. Reading two books / stories a month will give me a month to spare.
So, I started with “Dreamweaver’s Dilemma”, but as it does not have a standalone edition I read the whole collection.
The DD I would rank three-and-half stars, the first three stories are between three and three-and-half. But the whole collection is elevated by the last one – “Aftermaths” – which is a five stars story. But more about it when I get to the Shrads of Honour.
January 23, 2019
*** Barter - A mother who just needs a break from her kids, and a husband who will contribute, rather than spending money they can't afford, on stupid things - she didn't buy a shower cap this week, but he got McDonalds. Just for him - has a visit from a little man in need of some cleaning supplies. And in exchange, he provides her with devices which help her control her family. And she tells him to come back any time!!
*** Garage Sale - I really didn't like this. A houseproud woman lives next to a man who is out of work, struggling, but had let pigeons nest in his roof. They crap all over her property. She calls the county on him. They issue a requirement to pigeon proof his place. It's more than he can afford. In retaliation, while she's away, he has a sale, and sells off all her stuff, for next to nothing - $300.05. He keeps the $300, payment for his pigeon proofing, and leaves the 5c on her driveway. She comes home in a taxi, all her stuff is gone, and she just fades away?? And he decides to spend the money going fishing. That council is still going to require the pigeon proofing to be done.
*** The Hole Truth is about a hole which becomes an opportunity for a little American street's residents. They use it to dump all their rubbish. Which is fine, until it shrinks down to almost nothing. Then, suddenly, it gets much bigger, and everything they threw in, comes out, in reverse order. And then there are a few more things - which might have been someone ELSE's rubbish - they're not from this world. I kept wondering where the John Ringo marines were, with their breathing apparatus and ropes, who could go through. I keep seeing the news about sink holes around Trump's Key Largo and now within a block of the White House, and I wonder...
***Dreamweaver's Dilemma is about a woman who creates dream symphonies? maybe? Anyway, she's avoiding the call of her agent, because she hasn't done the work she took a commission for. He's going to stop paying her the money from the work that's currently running, to pay back the commission. She has a visit from a smarmy looking man, who offers her a lot of money to create one of her works, but there are conditions - including secrecy. She packs up her stuff and heads for the home of an ex-fiance (I think that's how he was described) called DuBaer, who was the most interesting character in this whole thing. He was from Earth, had travelled to very early Beta Colony, and then travelled back again when they heard about a war in North America? By the time they got back, they'd lost a lot of subjective time, and a whole stack of experience was now completely out of date. So he keeps himself to himself repairing old technology (some even from before his birth) for museums, and apparently has quite a lot of property. Much of it has a force shield, to keep out the mosquitoes, which developed some nasty traits when irradiated. Anyway, this girl arrives, does her job, tells DuBaer all about it despite the secrecy clause, and goes home. On the shuttle on the way back, her bags and equipment is stolen. As it turns out, bad guy has rigged her equipment to blow. Luckily, she gets a bad feeling, and runs a test on it before plugging her brain into it. Note that those plugs sound a LOT like jump pilot links. Bad guy gives her a cheque, which she can't deposit for at least one day due to a bank holiday. When the explosion happens, she turns the equipment and the cheque over to the cops, who really don't accomplish much. She feels back to DuBaer, and they talk about placing ad's in the newspaper equivalent. Don't recall whether they actually do it, but Bad Guy turns up, and under threat of mosquitoes, confesses that he took the instructions he was given (to get her to make the piece, then pay her) way over the top. The attempted murder was all his idea. He's arrested for trespass, because crimes in the US may not be prosecuted in Rio De Janerio. He gives up the name of the guy who wanted the piece. She goes to see him. He has a snooty wife, who wants to do her choice of things with the 60% of the company she owns. The Doctor has apparently designed the piece so that she'll suicide, and he'll get control. Our heroine wants her work back - after all, she never got paid for it! Under sufferance, the Doctor gives it back. The wife is never warned, and while the Doctor is under suspicion, he's not actually guilty of anything, is he? Our heroine goes off to play on her replacement equipment, which DuBaer purchased for her, but this wraps up feeling as though no justice was served. WHY did she not get the contents of the cheque? She did the work, and could have left the results with the police, as evidence. So she's fairly severely out of pocket, as is DuBaer, and the wife who needed a warning about her husband, didn't get one.
*** Aftermaths is one I've read before, and it left me in tears, again. A newly qualified pilot is begrudgingly out with a veteran woman, finding bodies in space in the aftermath of a battle. They find one from Escobar (their side), one from Barrayar (the enemy, put back into his uniform) and a woman. When the tech kisses the dead woman, the pilot is creeped out, until he reads the tag, and watches the poor lady dress her daughter in her wedding dress, and say goodbye. They keep searching, and find one more, badly damaged corpse. And I'm in tears again. Dammit!
*** Garage Sale - I really didn't like this. A houseproud woman lives next to a man who is out of work, struggling, but had let pigeons nest in his roof. They crap all over her property. She calls the county on him. They issue a requirement to pigeon proof his place. It's more than he can afford. In retaliation, while she's away, he has a sale, and sells off all her stuff, for next to nothing - $300.05. He keeps the $300, payment for his pigeon proofing, and leaves the 5c on her driveway. She comes home in a taxi, all her stuff is gone, and she just fades away?? And he decides to spend the money going fishing. That council is still going to require the pigeon proofing to be done.
*** The Hole Truth is about a hole which becomes an opportunity for a little American street's residents. They use it to dump all their rubbish. Which is fine, until it shrinks down to almost nothing. Then, suddenly, it gets much bigger, and everything they threw in, comes out, in reverse order. And then there are a few more things - which might have been someone ELSE's rubbish - they're not from this world. I kept wondering where the John Ringo marines were, with their breathing apparatus and ropes, who could go through. I keep seeing the news about sink holes around Trump's Key Largo and now within a block of the White House, and I wonder...
***Dreamweaver's Dilemma is about a woman who creates dream symphonies? maybe? Anyway, she's avoiding the call of her agent, because she hasn't done the work she took a commission for. He's going to stop paying her the money from the work that's currently running, to pay back the commission. She has a visit from a smarmy looking man, who offers her a lot of money to create one of her works, but there are conditions - including secrecy. She packs up her stuff and heads for the home of an ex-fiance (I think that's how he was described) called DuBaer, who was the most interesting character in this whole thing. He was from Earth, had travelled to very early Beta Colony, and then travelled back again when they heard about a war in North America? By the time they got back, they'd lost a lot of subjective time, and a whole stack of experience was now completely out of date. So he keeps himself to himself repairing old technology (some even from before his birth) for museums, and apparently has quite a lot of property. Much of it has a force shield, to keep out the mosquitoes, which developed some nasty traits when irradiated. Anyway, this girl arrives, does her job, tells DuBaer all about it despite the secrecy clause, and goes home. On the shuttle on the way back, her bags and equipment is stolen. As it turns out, bad guy has rigged her equipment to blow. Luckily, she gets a bad feeling, and runs a test on it before plugging her brain into it. Note that those plugs sound a LOT like jump pilot links. Bad guy gives her a cheque, which she can't deposit for at least one day due to a bank holiday. When the explosion happens, she turns the equipment and the cheque over to the cops, who really don't accomplish much. She feels back to DuBaer, and they talk about placing ad's in the newspaper equivalent. Don't recall whether they actually do it, but Bad Guy turns up, and under threat of mosquitoes, confesses that he took the instructions he was given (to get her to make the piece, then pay her) way over the top. The attempted murder was all his idea. He's arrested for trespass, because crimes in the US may not be prosecuted in Rio De Janerio. He gives up the name of the guy who wanted the piece. She goes to see him. He has a snooty wife, who wants to do her choice of things with the 60% of the company she owns. The Doctor has apparently designed the piece so that she'll suicide, and he'll get control. Our heroine wants her work back - after all, she never got paid for it! Under sufferance, the Doctor gives it back. The wife is never warned, and while the Doctor is under suspicion, he's not actually guilty of anything, is he? Our heroine goes off to play on her replacement equipment, which DuBaer purchased for her, but this wraps up feeling as though no justice was served. WHY did she not get the contents of the cheque? She did the work, and could have left the results with the police, as evidence. So she's fairly severely out of pocket, as is DuBaer, and the wife who needed a warning about her husband, didn't get one.
*** Aftermaths is one I've read before, and it left me in tears, again. A newly qualified pilot is begrudgingly out with a veteran woman, finding bodies in space in the aftermath of a battle. They find one from Escobar (their side), one from Barrayar (the enemy, put back into his uniform) and a woman. When the tech kisses the dead woman, the pilot is creeped out, until he reads the tag, and watches the poor lady dress her daughter in her wedding dress, and say goodbye. They keep searching, and find one more, badly damaged corpse. And I'm in tears again. Dammit!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 20, 2012
As the blurb says, a collection of Bujold's very earliest work - which suffers greatly in comparison to her subsequent novels. Of the included stories, only the final one, Aftermaths, is particularly good, and it shows glimmers of the writer Bujold subsequently becomes.
October 8, 2022
Picked this up on an Audible sale. I like Bujold's sci fi novels so this was an easy pick. It includes 6 stories written early in Bujold's career and a foreward in which Bujold provides some background on the stories. The stories had all been previously published but I had not read any of them. They were of varying quality but all decent reads.
"Barter" concerns a woman who is having a bad day with her lazy husband, whinny kids, and crazy cats. A stranger knocks on the door seeking to buy some ammonia and willing to give the woman anything she wants out of what appears to be his vendor's suitcase. The woman provides it and in return gets something that "freezes" living things until unfrozen. She practices on the cats and then the kids. She asks if he'd like some other household cleaning liquid and he quickly acquiesces. In payment he gives her something that "inspires" her husband to do fix the broken things around the house and to get to work. The batteries on her new devices will not run out during her lifetime.
In "Garage Sale," a man and his neighbor are having difficulties. She reports him for some violation and he's ordered to fix it by enforcement officers. When the woman leaves her house, the man sells all her belongings and things escalate from there.
In "The Hole Truth," a sink hole is filled with all sorts of garbage. It closes and then reopens and the garbage is all thrown back out - in reverse order to when it was put in.
In "Dreamweaver's Dilemma," an artist who creates dreams for people gets a strange request. With the help of her boyfriend, a murder is thwarted. This one is almost novella length.
"Aftermaths" (an epilogue to Shards of Honor) is the 5-star story of the collection. It concerns the recovery of the bodies of those killed in a recent conflict.
The collection was one of two short books that kept me entertained on an eight mile walk to and from the dentist, with the to portion being in the rain.
"Barter" concerns a woman who is having a bad day with her lazy husband, whinny kids, and crazy cats. A stranger knocks on the door seeking to buy some ammonia and willing to give the woman anything she wants out of what appears to be his vendor's suitcase. The woman provides it and in return gets something that "freezes" living things until unfrozen. She practices on the cats and then the kids. She asks if he'd like some other household cleaning liquid and he quickly acquiesces. In payment he gives her something that "inspires" her husband to do fix the broken things around the house and to get to work. The batteries on her new devices will not run out during her lifetime.
In "Garage Sale," a man and his neighbor are having difficulties. She reports him for some violation and he's ordered to fix it by enforcement officers. When the woman leaves her house, the man sells all her belongings and things escalate from there.
In "The Hole Truth," a sink hole is filled with all sorts of garbage. It closes and then reopens and the garbage is all thrown back out - in reverse order to when it was put in.
In "Dreamweaver's Dilemma," an artist who creates dreams for people gets a strange request. With the help of her boyfriend, a murder is thwarted. This one is almost novella length.
"Aftermaths" (an epilogue to Shards of Honor) is the 5-star story of the collection. It concerns the recovery of the bodies of those killed in a recent conflict.
The collection was one of two short books that kept me entertained on an eight mile walk to and from the dentist, with the to portion being in the rain.
February 15, 2019
"Barter"- 2 stars. Funny in places, but doesn't delve into any of the consequences that could come from such a swap.
"Garage Sale"- 3 stars. Made me laugh, even if the ending again didn't deal with any potential consequences of the character's deed.
"The Hole Truth"- 3 stars. A reminder to myself to avoid life in suburbia.
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma"- 3 stars? 2 stars? It was ok, I guess? I've not read any of Lois McMaster Bujold's other works so am unfamiliar with the broader world this is supposed connect to. But the story itself felt too goofy and lighthearted for its serious subject matter and I found the main character annoying and hard to root for.
Aftermaths- 4 stars. Poignant and lovely. Reminded me of Aliette de Bodard's 'A Salvaging of Ghosts' (which in my opinion is even better and everyone should read it).
Overall an interesting, if rather unpolished, collection that makes me want to read more of this author.
"Garage Sale"- 3 stars. Made me laugh, even if the ending again didn't deal with any potential consequences of the character's deed.
"The Hole Truth"- 3 stars. A reminder to myself to avoid life in suburbia.
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma"- 3 stars? 2 stars? It was ok, I guess? I've not read any of Lois McMaster Bujold's other works so am unfamiliar with the broader world this is supposed connect to. But the story itself felt too goofy and lighthearted for its serious subject matter and I found the main character annoying and hard to root for.
Aftermaths- 4 stars. Poignant and lovely. Reminded me of Aliette de Bodard's 'A Salvaging of Ghosts' (which in my opinion is even better and everyone should read it).
Overall an interesting, if rather unpolished, collection that makes me want to read more of this author.
November 24, 2017
Best part was the introduction, as it provides details on LMB's process as an author. It also provides a helpful chronology of how her work(s) developed over time. I can't find it in written format, but some of it is evident in Lillian Stewart Carl's conversation with LMB published in the Baen's 2008 The Vorkosigan Companion.
The audio version I heard was only okay. I may be one of the few who don't enjoy Grover Gardner's narration; his aliens' voice in the story "Barter" had me hearing an impression of Peter Lorre!
The stories are all repeats out of DreamWeaver's Dilemma -- the NESFA Feb 1996 collection edited by Suford Lewis -- that I own.
This is my first e-listening experience & I can't say I'm fully on board with this tech yet. I need a table of contents etc., . . .
The audio version I heard was only okay. I may be one of the few who don't enjoy Grover Gardner's narration; his aliens' voice in the story "Barter" had me hearing an impression of Peter Lorre!
The stories are all repeats out of DreamWeaver's Dilemma -- the NESFA Feb 1996 collection edited by Suford Lewis -- that I own.
This is my first e-listening experience & I can't say I'm fully on board with this tech yet. I need a table of contents etc., . . .
February 5, 2019
I listened to the audio book version narrated by Grover Gardner, one of my favorite narrators.
This was a great collection of science fiction short stories.
"Barter" - A little bit silly, but a story many women can relate to
"Garage Sale" - A neighbor dispute gets out of hand (I'd probably murder anyone who did that to my cat)
"The Hole Truth" - A very funny story about getting rid of garbage
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma" - An interesting story about future dream technology. Reminds me of the movie "Strange Days".
"Aftermaths" - A very touching story about death and those who collect the dead after space battles. This short story ties in with the author's Vorkosigan series.
This was a great collection of science fiction short stories.
"Barter" - A little bit silly, but a story many women can relate to
"Garage Sale" - A neighbor dispute gets out of hand (I'd probably murder anyone who did that to my cat)
"The Hole Truth" - A very funny story about getting rid of garbage
"Dreamweaver's Dilemma" - An interesting story about future dream technology. Reminds me of the movie "Strange Days".
"Aftermaths" - A very touching story about death and those who collect the dead after space battles. This short story ties in with the author's Vorkosigan series.
January 4, 2024
I am typically not a fan of the short story format, but this one only contained five stories and I found them all to be entertaining. I originally decided to read this book because it contained the author's first story in the Vorkosigan saga which I began reading this year. The first three short stories were amusing and put the author's twist on the ordinary events of life. I think you get a sense of the author's potential from these early works. The final two stories, Dreamweaver's Dilemma and Aftermaths, were really the stars of this book and make me really excited to read more by this author.
October 1, 2025
Book #: 51
Title: Proto Zoa
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Series: Vorkosigan Saga (Chronological) (#0.5)
Format: ebook, own, 111 pages
Pub Date: First published December 21, 2011
Started: September 25, 2025 Finished: September 28, 2025
Awards: none
Categories: Science Fiction, Short Stories
Goodreads Rating: 3.86; 879 ratings; 98 reviews
My Rating: **** four out of five stars
Normally I rate a short story collection about a 3, a few gems, a few clunkers, and the rest so-so. But this is Bujold and several of the stories are in the Vorkosigan Universe, so it gets bumped up a notch.
Title: Proto Zoa
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Series: Vorkosigan Saga (Chronological) (#0.5)
Format: ebook, own, 111 pages
Pub Date: First published December 21, 2011
Started: September 25, 2025 Finished: September 28, 2025
Awards: none
Categories: Science Fiction, Short Stories
Goodreads Rating: 3.86; 879 ratings; 98 reviews
My Rating: **** four out of five stars
Normally I rate a short story collection about a 3, a few gems, a few clunkers, and the rest so-so. But this is Bujold and several of the stories are in the Vorkosigan Universe, so it gets bumped up a notch.
February 23, 2026
The first three stories are clearly the beginnings of Lois McMaster's writing and I can't give them more than 2.5 stars. Dreamweaver's Dilemma is the main reason I read this collection. 4 stars without a problem. But the last one, Aftermaths (it’s actually the epilogue to Shards of Honor but first published in the anthology Far Frontiers) is the best story. So powerful. In the end, if you’re a Vorkosigan completist, you can read the Dilemma just because it’s set in the same universe. And if you've read Shards of Honor there's a good chance you've already read Aftermaths. So, if you’re not a completist, you can easily skip this collection.
January 3, 2017
This is an interesting selection of short stories. Barter, Garage Sale, The Hole Truth are all with substantially different settings than her later work. Fans of her Vorkosigan series will appreciate the elements of humor in those three stories. The far future settings of Dreamweaver's Dilemma wand Aftermaths would be more familiar to her fans. The Dreamweaver's Dilemma is the lighter of the last two stories. Aftermaths reflect on Bujold's ability to build a multi-dimensional spacefaring universe and to move her audience in the space of a few sentences.
December 31, 2021
This is a collection of short stories (one of them a novella) of Bujold's early work, several published in magazines. I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek humor of the first three stories, all set in a little town. The fourth was a mystery set in a post-apocalyptic future, and the last was published as the epilogue of the book Shards of Honor.
As usual in a collection, there are good ones and not-so-good, but overall I think this tilts toward the good. My rating is 3.5 stars, rounded up just because it's Bujold.
As usual in a collection, there are good ones and not-so-good, but overall I think this tilts toward the good. My rating is 3.5 stars, rounded up just because it's Bujold.
March 30, 2023
I'd already read all the stories here (I'd be very excited if someone found one I hadn't read! And I feel like maybe I read this collection itself before too and failed to note it) but I'm a completionist and they're fun. After two weeks cooped up at home while my kids and I pass around at least three different viruses, "Barter" is particularly relatable. Of course, these days if I want my kids to be quiet all I have to do is let them have as much screen time as they want. (A last resort.) I don't have any ammonia in the house anyway.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews