Play Book Tag discussion

Shards of Honor introduces readers to Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan, parents of Miles Vorkosigan who is the series main character. She’s the Betan captain of a surveying team exploring an uninhabited planet and he’s the commander of a secret Barrayaran military outpost on that planet. Their planets are engaged in an interplanatery war. After a clash where they are left among the dead and wounded, Aral and Cordelia realize they need to cooperate to save themselves.

There are several intriguing supporting characters, and various acts of policy and war that become moral and ethical conflicts for those characters. I thought the author did a great job of using the conflict between two cultures and the attraction between two strong leaders to spark insights into the nature of power, honor, and leadership.

Shards of Honor is pure space opera in a classic sense and a perfect way to establish the backstory of what will become one of the genres most enduring fan-favorite space sagas. I fell in love with Cordelia and Aral as I followed their adventures and will definitely continue the series.

Such a great series! I was drawn in from starting with this book too. There is so much to enjoy in this world - the characters and their relationships just keep getting better, but on top of that you have plot, science, politics, etc!