Winterfair Gifts

Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #13.1

by Lois McMaster Bujold

This Hugo-nominated novella adds a delightful extra chapter to Bujold's Vorkosigan series, describing the wedding of Miles and Ekaterin and events leading up to it. In the festive season of Winterfair on the planet Barrayar, Lord Miles Vorkosigan is making elaborate preparations for his wedding. The long-awaited event stirs up romance and intrigue among his eccentric family and friends, particularly for bioengineered space mercenary Sergeant Taura and shy, diffident Armsman Roic. But Miles also has an enemy who is plotting to turn the romantic ceremony into a festival of death. Winterfair Gifts offers another of Bujold's witty, character-centered science fiction plots with a twist of romance.

Genres: Science Fiction, Romance, Fiction, Audiobook, Space Opera, Novella, Fantasy

MP3 CD

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Lois 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/

Reviews

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 4 ***

A buddy read with Evgeny and Maria, because we need some Miles in our lives!!!

Oooo, it is soooooooo good to be back with Miles and the gang!!! Something is magical about this series! I have been having some personal stuff that has been making me blue and just starting this short novella about the impending wedding of Miles and his chosen bride made me smile! As bleak as my personal life has been as of late, as overcast and rainy with the rivers flooding our streets and highways, and as terrible as our Congress's vote against the healthcare my family counts on was today, just getting to read about Taura from the guardsman in Vorkosigan House Roic's POV, brought some joy and amusement back in my heart. Is the story perfect? No, but it sure packs a punch in its little package.

"...“integrity is a disease, and you can only catch it from someone who has it.” ...

We got to meet Roic last book when he failed to wear clothes at a particularly messy time and it got very embarrassing for him as the whole Vorkosigan family and guests happened to arrive just at that moment... This whole book is from his perspective and is at New Years' festival, Miles wedding and a ton of guests for the occasion. Being security he is kept busy, but one of his main jobs, personally prescribed by Miles, is to escort Sargent Taura around and try to make her time enjoyable. This mostly means that he has to keep the exceedingly phobic toward genetically modified individuals Barrayarans away from her, so they don't hurt her feelings... Taura is a soul with which everyone can fall in love with, but stuffed in a body of a genetically engineered wolf-human hybrid meant to be the perfect solder, running on very fast metabolism, which shortens her life span to the early twenties... She knows this, she knows her days are numbered, and she still lives to the fullest, no regrets, no missed opportunities to be good, gentle, and embrace every experience as precious!!!! I always say I want to be like Cordelia, Miles's mother, but I also want to be able to cherish every moment the way Taura does! And I wish all of us had her gentle nature and capacity for all sides of life the way she does...

"...“When he invited me to come for the Winterfair season I wasn't sure if it was hunting or social. and whether I should pack weapons or dresses."
Lady Vorpatril's smile sharpened. "Dresses are weapons, my dear, in sufficiently skilled hands.” ...

This was a pleasure to read, seeing Roic grow out of his prejudices in front of our eyes and the little mystery thrown in was just a little sugar on top:):):) I love this series and I cannot recommend it more to all who enjoy light banter but some really significant thought processes most of the time.

Now I wish you all Happy Reading and may we all find what we Need in the pages of a good Book!!!!

[Maria Dimitrova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buddy read with Choko and Evgeny.

Short and light or as light as a Miles book can be. There's a change in narrator and this time we get to see Roic's POV. The main reason why I gave this 5 stars was Taura. I'm way too partial to the huge Sergeant and don't care if the story is technically more of a 3.5 - 4 star read. I loved Lady Alis and her interpretation of social necessities. All in all a nice way to spend some time in Vorkosigan House but without the usual mayhem that is Miles' POVs.

[Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella is basically an epilogue to the previous book, A Civil Campaign, narrated from the perspective of Armsman Roic.

I loved Roic's POV, and his introduction to and interaction with Taura-which, notwithstanding Miles' and Ekaterin's wedding, is the most substantial part of the book.

Definitely worth reading!

[Jake Bishop · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.5/10

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

***100 Days of Summer Reading 2023***

Prompt: Book that includes a wedding
Virtual 12 sided dice roll: 10

A nice, short venture into the world of audiobooks! Miles and Ekaterin are getting married and Armsman Roic is trying desperately to do a good job and to hopefully counteract what he considers to be his poor showing the “the bug butter incident.“ Roic has never left Barrayar and is rather awed by the exotic guests showing up from Miles' past. He is given escort duty to Sgt. Taura, the large bioengineered mercenary, which is a strain for the shy man, especially going to the modiste to obtain a suitable wardrobe for her role in the wedding celebration.

Is it fate that keeps throwing Roic and Taura together? I suspect Miles may have something to do with it! I think he may have recognized the gleam in Roic's eye as he admired the formidable Taura.

What a pleasure to listen to this short, sweet little story where Roic and Taura together prevent a murder and a wedding disaster, all the while making eyes at one another. I can see myself reading a paper copy someday and I do wonder how well I will remember the details in the future, but it was just what I wanted this evening.

Book number 484 of my Science Fiction and Fantasy Reading Project

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great short story of the big wedding from the perspective of two minor, but adorable, characters from Bujold. To be read immediately after A Civil Campaign

Fino's Reviews of Bujold Novels
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Five Gods Trilogy
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[Sho · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comfort reread. I love this short story which shines the spotlight to the background characters in the Vorkosigan household. The staff of the estate is always there and you do meet them in the previous novels, especially to those close to Miles. But with this story you have an idea of what the ordinary people who get caught up in Miles feels and see his world.

Straight after reading this I am rereading Cryoburn. I can appreciate a lot more in the way Roic handles things! Way to go Roic,you will one day reach the place where Ivan seem to have when dealing with Miles.


--------------------------
A short story about Miles and Ekaterin's wedding. It's told from Armsman Roic's view and was kind of refreshing to see things from his prospective. . Very sweet episode with Taura, too! If you read the series, I would definitely recommend adding this short story to your collection.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

In between the titles novellas are, generally, hit or miss for me. This was as enjoyable and suspenseful as I’ve come to find the full novels.

[Caro the Helmet Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well what can I say, the cover says it all, they finally got married and they got some gifts, yay, the end.
Oh no, wait, there was a twist to it!..
Plus it had Taura <3
Cute and fast audio.

[Daniel Pastor · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐ más!

Relato corto sobre la boda de Miles y Ekaterin.

Como no, algo tiene que pasar, pero en este caso la historia gira más sobre Roic y la entrañable y maravillosa Taura.

Ir viendo cómo se apagan las luces del escenario me deja una desazón indescriptible.

Leedlos, ya!

[Lee at ReadWriteWish · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the perfection of A Civil Campaign, Winterfair Gifts, a novella set during Miles and Ekaterin’s wedding, was a bit of a letdown.

Most novellas suffer from lack of plot due to their brevity but this wasn’t quite the issue for me. Winterfair Gifts is part mystery, part romance, with a conflict, at least. One particular part was quite clever in fact. The resolution, however, I found a little rushed and… pointless, might be the right word.

The book is told from the point of view of one of Miles’s armsmen (servants-cum-bodyguards), Roic, who is assigned the task of assisting Taura during her visit to Barrayar for the wedding. Taura, as anyone who has read the Vorkosigan books to this point knows, is a tragic yet sweet character and all of her scenes are welcome. Roic was less charismatic, unfortunately. I thought he was used more as a tool to view the other characters and as such, his characterisation was a little underdone.

It reminded me a little of a fanfic story where the writer chooses some random minor character that no one really cares about. Actually, if someone had given me this to read without telling me its author, I would have probably guessed it to be fanfic. You should probably interpret this as me thinking it doesn't move the series forward in any way but it’s a cute enough little piece for real fans of the series.

Not to say there weren't a couple of really nice moments - Miles’s complete love for Ekaterin; Ekaterin’s refusal to let Miles’s enemies win; Aral’s warning to Ivan, Miles’s bestman, to behave (LOL!). There's also some flashes of brilliance (that others have highlighted previously in the quote section) that leave you in no doubt of LMB’s natural intelligence and flair. However, it wasn’t quite enough. (So, really, maybe it does all come down to the book being too short.)

3 out of 5

[Chloe Frizzle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute holiday novella.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.0 stars. I am a BIG Miles Vorkosigan fan but I was disappointed in this Novella. It was not bad, but it was also not good (hence the "okay" rating). The prose was good (as usual from Bujold) but the events of the story were just not compelling enough to warrant this stand alone Novella.

I highly recommend the Vorkosigan saga, but don't start with this story.

Nominee: Hugo Award for Best Novella.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Winterfair Gifts”. A novella of the wedding of Miles and Ekaterin, recounted from the viewpoint of Miles' security man (and occasional comic foil) Armsman Roic (last seen in the closing chapters of A Civil Campaign.

[Trike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miles and Ekaterin get married, but there is murder afoot. Because politics. Just another day in Vorkosigan House. This novella is told from the POV of Roic the guardsman and it is another excellent addition to the overall saga. I’m nearly running out of these books, which makes me a bit sad, but I’ve enjoyed this so much it’s hard to be maudlin about it.

[Benghis Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delectable little Vorkosigan novella, from a surprising and delightful new POV. This one feels like a pure treat for the fans.

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a novella about Miles Vorkosigan’s wedding. It is weaker than other novellas in the series, a nice but not astonishing read. I read is as a part of Vorkosigan sage Challenge at Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels group.

The story’s main protagonist is Armsman Roic, who works security during the wedding preparations. First he meets a number of guests, most of whom are known from earlier books, including a gene-modified woman soldier Sgt. Taura, to whom he is soon feel infatuation. Then there is a mystery, a possible subvert assassination attempt…

[Teleseparatist · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, for a novella filling in a very important moment in Miles's story, this felt quite skippable. The entire mystery plot was flimsy and pasted in. Roic's storyline with Taura was sort of whatever. The relevant part, i.e. wedding, was given from a point of view that, in my opinion, offered less humour or insight than I'd have expected.

Some characters whose POV on Miles's wedding I'd rather have read, in no particular order:

Cordelia (down to Earth Barrayar and sensible but not without a sense of irony)
Aral (affecting calm but internally half-overjoyed and half-terrified that something might GO WRONG)
Taura (inappropriate at times)
Elli (biting and inappropriate and a little bitter but ultimately well-wishing)
Gregor (marriage is contagious! spread the love! who else could get married? everyone should!)
Ivan (full-fledged panic and being terrorised by everyone around)
Alys (no hostages taken, showing no mercy)
Ghost of Count Piotr Vorkosigan (well that almost makes up for that one time Miles failed at something)
Mark (probably taunting Miles until Lady Alys threatens him)
Ethan (I don't know how that would work, but his sincere interest in the weirdness of heterosexuality could be fun)
Ekaterin (she does have a stake in the proceedings after all)
Miles (probably)

Characters whose POV would probably be less interesting than Roic's:
Butter bugs (mostly interested in obtaining organic matter and devouring it)

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

WELP
*edit*
That hilarious moment when I thought we were done with Miles' lovers drama. HAHA NOPE. IT NEVER ENDS.
I definitely started out this book yelling, "I DON'T WANT ROIC'S PERSPECTIVE ON THIS!" but I guess it makes sense and sets him up for the next book. Ugh, I thought this was going to be a happy go lucky wedding story. LAWL.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the shorter Vorkosigan stories. I like them all, but at shorter lengths she does some fun character studies.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing is simple for Miles. Bujold's series is so character driven & this story gathers them together for the wedding, the results are what you'd expect - wonderful. She also develops a couple of characters we've met before.

In the scheme of things, if this story was skipped, it probably wouldn't hurt the series, but I'm glad I didn't.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miles and Ekaterin get married. A plot to murder Ekaterin at their wedding is flung wide open by Armsman Roic (of bug butter fame) and Sergeant Taura of the Dendarii mercenaries. A mystery and a sweet love story.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It’s like being mugged in a dark alley by a goddess.”

[Soo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes:

Currently on Audible +

Within the context of the Vorkosigan Saga, this was a great short story. The focus was not the wedding, but events around it. I enjoyed getting another short into Tara's life.

[Nemos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet

[AndrewP · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short that covers Mile's wedding and follows in just after the events in A Civil Campaign. Another great read. Bujold has real skill in taking minor characters from one book and building them up to be major players in subsequent stories.

[Joanka · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I really like short stories or novellas in a longer series where we witness the events through the eyes of an outsider. It gives lots of space for both comedy and drama, all the emotions that a loving reader can catch but our POV is unable to fully understand. So it's really disappointing that here the Roic's account is so... bland. Come on, this is Miles's wedding! I waited many, many volumes for such an occasion! I get... A simple story about a person I can't really care about because in the gallery of Bujold's wonderful characters Roic is rather boring. 


I enjoyed all moments with Taura as she is delightful and to be honest the story is nice, I cannot said it isn't. There are precious little moments here and there but there is too few of them. I could see this as something more comical where an oblivious observer is faced with unexpected guests or gifts (come on, give me a trinket from Cetaganda's Empress! A little memento from the escape group from that prison or an ironic gift from Earth? A posh gift from some more and more famous laboratory from Escobar...). Or, even better, someone who has a chance to speak with Ekaterin, with Miles's parents (!!!), somebody with whom the most important characters could open up and provide me with all sorts of moving little scenes. More Miles! More Ekaterin! More Vorkosigans...


Let me underline, it is not bad. But it feels quite underwhelming and it's disappointing that SUCH event got such coverage.

[Punk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha ha, joke's on me. I didn't make any notes while I was reading this and now it's been six months and all I have is a piece of paper that says "three genders" it? and Where's Mark? No. Also Armsman Roic, which is, in fact, the name of our narrator for this novella.

But basically, Miles and Kat are about to get married and everyone's converging on Vorkosigan House for Winterfair. There's a mystery, and lots of Taura, and I don't care how many times Bujold describes her, I still picture her as looking like a werewolf from the Harry Potter movies. Just prettier, and buff, with luxurious tawny hair. And...that's not what she looks like. I don't know whose fault that is. But probably mine?

Anyway, I remember what happens, but not how I felt about it. I gave it four stars, though. So it was probably a decent look at loyalty and grief and overcoming learned bias to see the humanity in someone you'd been taught to fear. As far as I recall, the emotional notes were right, and Bujold's very good at making a short story feel necessary and complete, and this was both.

Contains: suicide mention (brief, theoretical), critical illness.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 09/25/21 I read as part of the anthology Irresistible Forces. When I noticed it has been 8 years since I read this initially I was surprised because it didn't seem that long ago. I loved it. 5 stars again.

Read 05/19/13I read this in the omnibus Miles in Love. I was surprised it's told through Roic's, one of the guardsman's, point of view. We see the wedding through his eyes and his unexpected attraction to Taura. A little intrigue is thrown in for good measure. I love reading forwards and afterwards and this book's afterward is worth reading.

[Liz B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike The Mountains Of Mourning, which is integral to Miles's character arc, this novella is like a dvd bonus. It is lovely to see Miles and Ekaterin get married, and I liked getting to know Roic better. It's skippable, though, and you won't have missed anything but a lovely little moment.

I'm still glad I didn't miss it.