Shards of Honor
US first edition
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| Author | Lois McMaster Bujold |
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| Audio read by | Grover Gardner |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Vorkosigan Saga |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Baen Books |
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Publication date
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1986 |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | |
| Followed by | The Warrior's Apprentice |
Shards of Honor is an English language science fiction novel by Lois McMaster Bujold, first published in June 1986. It is a part of the Vorkosigan Saga, and is the first full-length novel in publication order. Shards of Honor is paired with Bujold's 1991 Barrayar in the omnibus Cordelia's Honor (1996).
Bujold had written Shards of Honor, its sequel The Warrior's Apprentice and the standalone Ethan of Athos before all three were sold and published in 1986.
Cordelia Naismith, the captain of a Betan Astronomical Survey ship, is exploring a newly discovered planet when her base camp is attacked. While investigating, she is surprised by a soldier, hits her head on a rock, and awakens to find that, while most of her crew has escaped, she is marooned with an injured Betan ensign and Captain Lord Aral Vorkosigan of Barrayar, notorious as the "Butcher of Komarr", who has been left for dead by a treacherous rival. During their five-day hike to a secret Barrayaran cache, she finds Vorkosigan not at all the monster his reputation suggests, and she is strongly attracted to him. When the trio reaches the base camp, Vorkosigan regains command of his crew, and he returns to his ship with Cordelia and her crewman as his prisoners. Once aboard the ship, Vorkosigan informs Cordelia that upon their arrival on Barrayar, she will be free to return to Beta Colony; however, he asks her to marry him and remain on Barrayar as Lady Vorkosigan. Before she can consider his request, the crew of her ship, who have returned against her orders, join forces with Vorkosigan's rivals to rescue her. Cordelia helps defeat the resulting mutiny before returning with her crew to Beta Colony.
It turns out that Barrayar is planning an invasion of the planet Escobar, to be led by Crown Prince Serg Vorbarra, the vicious son and heir of Emperor Ezar. Cordelia goes to the Escobar star system in command of a decoy ship and distracts the Barrayaran ships on picket duty at the wormhole exit so that transport ships can deliver a devastating new Betan weapon to the defenders. She is captured by the sadistic Admiral Vorrutyer, who orders the mentally unstable Sergeant Bothari to rape her, then decides to do the job himself. He is unaware that Bothari has met Cordelia before. As she fills a profound psychological need of his, Bothari kills Vorrutyer. Vorkosigan, aboard the same ship, hides the pair in his cabin. In disgrace, he has been assigned a minor role in the invasion under the watchful eye of Imperial Security Lieutenant Simon Illyan.
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