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Lois McMaster Bujold

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Young Miles Paperback – June 1, 1997

by Lois McMaster Bujold (Author)

4.7 105 ratings

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Previously published in parts as The Warrior's Apprentice, "The Mountains of Mourning," and The Vor Game, an omnibus chronicles the adventures of Miles Vorkosigan, lord and leader of a mercenary force of spaceships. Reissue.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Baen Books; First Edition (June 1, 1997)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 586 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671877828
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671877828
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.99 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,731,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #38,371 in Science Fiction Adventures
- #257,779 in Biographies (Books)

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4.7 105 ratings

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Lois McMaster Bujold

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A science fiction legend, Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the most highly regarded speculative fiction writers of all time. She has won three Nebula Awards and six Hugo Awards, four for best novel, which matches Robert A. Heinlein's record. Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan saga is a massively popular science fiction mainstay. The mother of two, Ms. Bujold lives in Minneapolis.

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4.7 out of 5

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Leighland Feinman

The best place to start with Miles Vorkosigan

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2012

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Summary: Start your Vorkosigan odyssey with this book.

The Miles Vorkosigan series of adventures can be a very daunting sci-fi monolith if you've never encountered them before. There are a lot of them, their quality can vary, and there are many different opinions on where one should begin their journey through these books and how to proceed through the series.

I am, in particular, a tremendous fan of Lois Bujold because of her skill with fantasy and science fiction, and I highly recommend the "Young Miles" compilation as a great entry point to the Miles Vorkosigan series. It picks up when Miles sets out into adulthood and tries to become the man he thinks he ought to be, despite serious physical issues that might leave a lesser character feeling defeated and unwilling to fight for greatness.

Now, don't be deceived by that--these are a fun, diverting space opera full of romance and adventure. But the complexity of the Miles Vorkosigan character doesn't suffer for that. He's no Buck Rogers. Miles is an aristocrat who believes in honor, a brilliant mind trapped in a damaged body, and a truly compassionate soul. He succeeds by the skin of his teeth and by a well-crafted web of lies and half-truths. He finds ways out of scrapes that are beyond inventive, and which rarely rely on 'Star Trek' style technobabble but on his personal ingenuity.

And this is where it all started, with these books that still read true and give a great experience.

3 people found this helpful

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Steve O.

Our favorite

Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2024

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My wife and I read the Vorkosigan saga to each other just about every year. We read each other to sleep. It is our favorite.

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Nathan Albright

An Excellent Beginning

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2015

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Although I have already reviewed all of the component parts of this omnibus collection separately, I figured it would be worthwhile to comment a little bit on what makes such a collection worthwhile. If one were being picky about titles, this book should be called “Young Adult Miles” because it captures his life in his late teens and early 20’s, all of which is highly revealing when one looks back on them in the context of the Vorkosigan saga as a whole. As is often the case, works at the beginning take on a different context in light of a larger whole, and novels (and a short story) that are read either alone or in a different context are far different when looked at as part of a different and larger context, something that is made explicit when these three tales are placed in a chronological order.

All of these stories share a common thread, and that is a young Vor lord seeking to claim an honorable place in his home culture while rising above his obvious physical limitations and come to terms with his complicated background. Much of “The Warrior’s Apprentice” and “The Vor Game” occur in a galactic setting where Miles’ expansive and appealing alter ego Miles Naismith is causing mayhem and chewing up scenery. Yet all of the galactic military sci-fi hijinks, when placed together, reveal that Miles’ true heart is with his homeland, with the hardscrabble people of the Dendarii Mountains and with the well-being of his friends and relatives. This is especially obvious when one compares the knight errant Miles in “The Montains Of Mourning” with his pro-Bayarran mercenary outfit “The Dendarii Mercenaries” and its actions to serve the interests of Barrayar as well as Miles’ own need for action.

These stories are classic steps towards growing up to be a noble and respected lord in a militaristic society like Barrayar. First, after being rejected from the Imperial Academy on account of his fragile health, he goes off to Beta to avoid the shame of rejection, but picks a fleet name that reminds him of home, and contrives to donate the fleet to the control of the Imperium when he gets home, at which point he joins the Academy so he can become a military leader, one of the expected jobs of a high vor like Miles. After graduating, he serves as his father’s voice, using his technical expertise in interrogations and his obvious passion to bring Bayarran culture to galactic standards by serving in a political/judicial role, another important aspect of being a count’s heir. Then, in the Vor Game, he helps increase Bayarran diplomatic prestige in an important area of the galaxy while foiling the attempts of a rival empire and archenemy, the Cetagandan Empire, and helps save the life of the gloomy young emperor Gregor, which leads to further honor for him, even after some political difficulties. These are novels about a young man making his way in a dangerous world, preparing him for future glory and providing him with the space to be a militaristic young man in a militaristic society. They hint at greater changes to come, but do not even begin to show the full complexity of Miles Vorkosigan as a man.

3 people found this helpful

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bpsmith

SO ENTERTAINING!!

Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2016

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This saga remains one of my favorites. Bujold is a master at creating entertaining characters and plots. She manages to make complex, love-able, imperfect characters. I believe it is partly the emotional intelligence she brings to the characters that make her stories to compelling. She writes intelligently, and doesn't demean any persons or beliefs in her inevitable social commentary that defines the Sci-Fi genre.

That said, this is what I define as a pure pleasure read. It contains the usual tech, politics, and space travel, but it's strongest draw is that it is SO ENTERTAINING.

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Bookmad

How did I miss this for so long?

Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2014

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A friend sent me the first two books in this series (bound together as 'Cordelia's Honor'). She warned me that they were the roughest of the series, but that I should persevere.

Boy, am I glad I did. I've finished this next omnibus (3 books, although one might be a novella) and am hooked on Miles. The reason that I give the book 4 instead of 5 is that the writing quality is surprisingly varied. There are times when Bujold is transcendent, and then there are times when I have to scratch my head and say, "huh?" after re-reading a section several times. I know that she won several Hugos for this series, but I'm not sure which books received the award. Given some of the awkward sections in these first 5 books I would be kind of stunned to learn it was for any of these-- at least when it comes to consistent quality. But perhaps the Hugo is about innovation, rather than just strength of writing.

Miles is an interesting hero-- handicapped with fragile bones, and not a hulking, kick-ass superman. But he is smart beyond his years, a side effect of not being able to muscle his way through problems. Great humor that is only sometimes dated/overdone. Interesting worlds, often left underdeveloped which I felt left me more room to imagine them. As good a character as Miles is, there are some surprisingly wooden supporting characters-- like Elena, who never really rings true. And her interaction with Miles always seems forced and awkward. I kept thinking this would be explained, as some sort of plot device, but that never happened.

In any case, this is a series that I am eager to continue. I don't know of any other writer with whom I would compare Bujold-- which makes her a one-of-a-kind for me, but I've not read extensively in the area of space opera.

4 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Three varied stories of Miles young life present a well-rounded character.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2023

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A collection of ripping yarns. Enjoyed them immensely.

shut up and take my money!

合本

Reviewed in Japan on March 17, 2005

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The Warrior's Apprentice(戦士志願） The Mountains of Mourning （喪の山）The Vor Game（ヴォル・ゲーム）が一冊にまとめてある、お得な本。１０ページのAuthor's Afterwordがおまけについてます。表紙のマイルズ？の顔がなんか不気味で気に入った。

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