Quote:
Originally Posted by Solicitous
Ok, hypothetically if someone was a glutton for punishment and starting to get sucked into starting ANOTHER book series, which order would you recommend they read the Miles Vorkosigan Saga in from the Cryoburn CD?
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Chronological, though mind you, I read the early books almost entirely out of order as I came across them in the library, and it didn't seem to have harmed my understanding or enjoyment of things. Of course, I've reread them enough that I've picked up on all the references and in-jokes that I probably missed the first time around.
But since you've got the luxury of having everything in one place, you might as well start at the beginning for which you've also got the option of starting directly with Miles' adventures, or with the backstory established with Aral and Cordelia first.
The Omnibus editions on the Cryoburn CD are arranged slightly out of order (Miles in Love should be before MMMicrobes), and of course you'll have to obtain Memory (only $6 from Baen, less bundled into the monthly Webscription).
Here's what contains which books to read when:
Cordelia's Honor- Shards of Honor
- Barrayar
- Aftermaths short story
These are the core of Miles' parents' backstory and a great place to start. Shards can be a little slow and romance-y for some peoples' tastes, but don't let that put you off. Barrayar was written years later and is a step up in both skill and style, imho.
Alternatively, if you want to kick off with some faster-paced action/adventure and find out how Miles' parents got together and produced him later, you can start with
Young Miles- The Warrior's Apprentice
- The Mountains of Mourning (novella)
- The Vor Game
This is the beginning of Miles' establishing his dual persona and all his adventures.
From there, you have a choice of going straight to Miles' further Naismith adventures, or backtracking to an early Vorkosigan adventure that was written and slotted in later.
You should read these books roughly about the same time, but it doesn't really matter exactly which set you get to first, although after the first book you choose, you kind of have to read the intervening stuff in order.
Miles, Mystery & Mayhem- Cetaganda
- Ethan of Athos
- Labyrinth novella
Miles Errant- Borders of Infinity novella
- Brothers in Arms
- Mirror Dance
Either start with Cetaganda and/or Ethan or go straight to Borders of Infinity/Brothers in Arms.
Cetaganda has a minor tie into Ethan of Athos, so you can read those roughly contemporaneously. It was in fact written much later to slot in an extra tale about what Miles was doing at the time of the Ethan action and provide a bit more insight into that planet's culture. And also some bonus Ivan.
And Ethan gives you insight into Elli Quinn's character (it's kind of a spinoff where Miles doesn't directly appear), who becomes important in Brothers in Arms, so again, those two books should be read closely to each other, though there's no particular desirable order.
Both novellas were also written as backstory-explaining fillers, so you can read them either before or after the main action.
For bonus points, you can even track down the framing story which has Miles in hospital, recounting all his recent adventures to Gregor (not available directly via Baen anymore, but included when you buy any version of the novellas n Fictionwise and in the original Borders of Infinity anthology paperback).
However, strictly speaking, the chronology runs Cetaganda/Ethan, Labyrinth, then Borders of Infinity/Brothers in Arms, but Cetaganda/Ethan are relatively tangential "sidequels" to the main storyline action.
It's at this point that the reading order becomes a bit more fixed.
Brothers in Arms *must* be read before Mirror Dance, and you should read Labyrinth before Mirror Dance as well, as Sergeant Taura who's introduced in the novella plays a supporting role and there's a key plot point introduced with the Jackson's Whole situation.
Now, at any point up to Mirror Dance, you can delay reading Cordelia's Honor if you want to start with the action stuff first. But the stuff in Aral and Cordelia's backstory really comes into play in Mirror Dance, so it definitely helps to read it before.
So long story short (too late!). The reading order of everything between The Vor Game and Mirror Dance is up to you, but you've got to finish it all before you start on Mirror Dance.
After that, it's
Memory (not included on CD), then the next few bits of Miles' life are fairly straightforward.
Miles in Love- Komarr
- A Civil Campaign
- Winterfair Gifts novella
Miles, Mutants and Microbes- Falling Free
- Diplomatic Immunity
- (repeat of Labyrinth novella)
Falling Free is actually completely standalone (happens centuries before the rest of the Vorkosiverse) and you can read it at any time you like as long as you do it before Diplomatic Immunity, which builds upon the backstory established there.
And finally,
Cryoburn.
Hope this helps, and happy reading!