kalikshama
Posts: 14805
Joined: 8/8/2010 Status: offline
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quote:
If you can’t wrap your head around the idea of TPE, imagine trying to negotiating your marching orders in the military or asking them to change chow time at the mess hall to a more convenient hour for you and see how far that gets you. Has anyone read "Shards of Honor"? The result of the clash between the traditional Barrayaran army and the "negotiate your orders" Betans was quite interesting. Bujold's latest book came with all the Vorkosigan books in electronic form which I can email to anyone interested. http://www.amazon.com/Shards-Honor-Lois-McMaster-Bujold/dp/1886778205/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1297775139&sr=8-2 Shards of Honour is one of those incredible books that is almost completely unknown outside of the sci-fi genre. This is a loss to the people who think that sci-fi consists of nothing more than strange aliens, ray guns, and sex in outer space. Lois McMaster Bujold has the amazing talent of mixing characters and science and fiction in exactly the proper amounts. Cordelia Naismith is an astrocartographer from Beta Colony, heading a company of scientific prima donnas on an expedition to map out and catalog flora and fauna on a newly discovered planet. Sounds simple enough, right? Unfortunately Cordelia wasn't expecting to be ambushed by a bunch of blood-thirsty, out of control Barrayarans, or to get stuck in a trek for survival with their leader, Aral Vorkosigan, better known as the Butcher of Komarr. And that's only where the trouble begins. How do two people from distinctly different cultures survive in their situation, which I'm not going to expound on as it will spoil some of the best moments in the book? How will love survive an intergalactic war? How can someone survive after sacrificing honour, only to find that the necessary, vital result will never replace it? And, of course, the most pressing question to be asked: how much sexual energy do two people have to spare while hiking forty kilometres a day, concussed, stunned, diseased, on poor food and little sleep, alternating caring for a wounded man with avoiding becoming dinner for every carnivore within range, and with a coup to plan for at the end? Lois McMaster Bujold handles the characterisation so well that you almost forget that you don't actually know Cordelia and Aral. Highly, highly recommended.
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