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The Warrior's Apprentice

A Miles Vorkosigan Novel

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The Warrior's Apprentice

By: Lois McMaster Bujold
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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Summary

 Miles Vorkosigan makes his debut in this frenetic coming-of-age tale. At age 17, Miles is allowed to take the entrance exams to the elite military academy; he passes the written but manages, through miscalculation in a moment of anger, to break both his legs on the obstacle course, washing out before he begins. His aged grandfather dies in his sleep shortly after, for which Miles blames himself. Miles is sent to visit his grandmother Naismith on distant Beta Colony, accompanied by his bodyguard, Sergeant Bothari and Bothari's daughter, Elena. Miles passes himself off as a mercenary leader as he picks up a ragtag crew, and soon Miles' father Aral is under political attack back home as garbled rumors of Miles' mercenary operations trickle back. Miles must abandon his new fleet and dash back to Barrayar to stop the plot.©1986 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks Action & Adventure Fiction Science Fiction Military
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Critic reviews

"The pace is breathless, the characterization thoughtful and emotionally powerful....Highly recommended." ( Booklist)
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If you like fun sci-fi with great characters, this is for you. Miles Vorkosigan - born crippled to powerful parents on an old-fashioned planet - is a great creation. On the one hand, he's got near-superhuman charm, intelligence and nerve. On the other hand, his over-confidence occasionally leads him to make mistakes that cost him dearly. This is his first adventure, and while I don't think it's the best in the series (for my money that's A Civil Campaign - Audible, how about acquiring that one?) it's pretty darn good.

I was surprised when I first heard the audio version of this, because having read it in my own head previously, I was stupidly expecting an English accent. Also, the reader has rather a flat drawl. However, after a few minutes I came to the conclusion that actually the reader is perfect - he captures Miles's voice exactly and gets all of the dry humour out of the narration.

The incomparable Miles Vorkosigan

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I loved this book. Miles is just an interesting character to the max. The plot goes from interesting to crazy and beyond! Seriously good book. Well recommended. I would really suggest reading shards of honour and barryar first though.

First Miles novel and an explosive start character

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This book is very very good and kept my interest right to the end. I am really looking forward to downloading the other novels in this series. Have no fear - you will enjoy - even if you are not into SF.

A brilliant discovery!

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This excellent novel is a great entry into the series even though it is not chronologically first. The story of this protagonist keeps you listening and wondering why no-one deals with him properly and puts him out of their misery. It'll hook you and send you looking for the next in the series.

Miles Vorkosigan is a delightful scallywag

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Many of Lois McMaster Bujold's novels are set in the "Vorkosigan" saga following a single family. This is the first Miles Vorkosigan book. Whilst the setting is sci-fi, Bujold plays with a variety of genres. The series so far includes thrillers, murder mysteries, cons/heists and regency romances.

The title "Warrior's Apprentice" is a play on the "Sorceror's Apprentice". Miles is a brittle-boned, physically deformed scion of a famous military family, from a planet that fears mutations and worships military prowess. After failing the physical tests to enter military training, his impulsive actions start a cascade of events where his solutions involve more and more improvised audacity.

One of the charms of these books is that Vorkosigan's saving virtue is his ability to encourage those around him to be bigger better people. This means that the stories are full of interesting characters with their own motives and life directions. No one carries an idiot-ball just to make Miles seem smarter or more heroic, and throughout the series his own character flaws have consequences. He's likeable though, because of his good intentions and who he helps other characters become.

Grover Gardner is a reliably good narrator. Some of the names and places are hard to keep track of (every second character has a surname starting with "Vor") but that's no worse in the audio than it is in the written works.

Each book is self-contained, but I'd recommend reading all the Miles books in Chronological order, starting with this one. Then go back to read about his parents.

A well told story with strong characters

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