Vorkosigan Saga Reading Order
Tips for First Timers: Where to Start, How to Proceed, and Which Books Can Be Skipped or Read as Standalones
Miles Vorkosigan is my all-time favorite fictional character. He is the deliciously complicated main protagonist of (what is to me) one of the most fun, well-written, well-plotted, thought-provoking, creatively clever, layered, at times humorous, at times moving, queer-friendly, science fiction, space opera series that currently exists. And I am not the only one who adores Miles and his series. In 2017, the Vorkosigan Saga won the prestigious science fiction/fantasy Hugo Award for Best Series.
And Miles (who is a brilliant, likable, flawed, emotionally interesting character for whom it is fun to root) isn’t the only wonderful character in the series either. It is chock-full of them. Author Lois McMaster Bujold often creates layered, strong female characters; as well as captivating characters in general. Gratifyingly, she also makes you think a lot and feel a wide range of emotions at the same time you often are having lots of fun with her characters and their adventures in their creatively envisioned world.
As the series is complicated to navigate and some parts of it may interest you more than others, I hope to help you figure out which parts of the series are most likely to appeal to you and how you can get to those parts as quickly as possible. You don’t need to slog through lots of stories that you might not be in the mood for in order to get to some of the most award-winning books in the series.
In case you were wondering, my Vorkosigan Saga “expertise” comes from my having relistened to the series’ audiobooks at least once every year or two since I first discovered it. I tend to enjoy rereading or relistening to many of my favorite books, and there are stories in this series that I find particularly worth revisiting.
If you have already read the Vorkosigan Saga, you can see how your take on it compares to mine and share your own thoughts about it in the comment section below. And you can read my recommendations for other books that share similarities with the series.
However, if you don’t enjoy (or are not interested in trying) this type of space opera series, then my core recommendations in this post will probably not be your cup of tea. So, you may want to stop reading this post now. But if you may be interested, read on. Even if long series usually seem off-putting to you, there are enjoyable ways merely to dip your toes into this one.
Please note that the links you will find below on some titles will take you to Goodreads’ pages where you can find book cover images, ratings, and reviews.
Who is Miles Vorkosigan?
Miles Vorkosigan is the son of Aral Vorkosigan, one of the two most powerful men on their home planet of Barrayar. Aral’s titles include Count, Admiral, Regent, and Prime Minister. He is famous (and infamous) for his military accomplishments, and he is also a contemplative man who tries to act honorably. Unusually for a mainstream fictional parental character first created in the 1980s, he is also bisexual. And Miles’s mother is quite remarkable too (she is the main heroine in three of the stories in the series).
Because Miles was injured as the result of a chemical attack on his parents before he was born; Miles is fragile, disabled, and unattractive. He looks like a mutant and lives on a planet where mutants are often despised and excluded. Some are still even killed at birth.
Miles, who has an incredible amount of intellectual potential, desperately (as a teenager) wants to follow in his parents’ footsteps and achieve military renown. But he is incapable of passing the physical exam to enter the Barrayaran Imperial Military Academy.
As a young man, he is a knight errant wannabe who alternates between experiencing disasters and amazing triumphs. When he is not immersed in depression about his difficulties, he is often charging full steam ahead with a manic, charismatic, often brilliant and/or bumbling, forward momentum into exciting adventures. And through his adventures, Bujold takes readers on an emotionally enjoyable, drama-filled, roller coaster ride.
During the course of the series, you can follow along with Miles as he becomes a covert operative for his emperor, the admiral of a space fleet of mercenaries, and a powerful investigator.
What is the nature of the Vorkosigan Saga?
Among other things, the Vorkosigan Saga is notable for how humane it is. Characters who struggle with their “otherness” and are excluded or left behind from their society in some way or another, are not only seen and reached out to in the stories in this series, but they are also often the heroes of its tales in a variety of ways.
In the Vorkosigan Saga novella “Labyrinth,” when Miles tries to recruit to his side the extremely violent looking “eight-foot-tall genetic cocktail with fangs” super-soldier with whom he is imprisoned, she responds by saying “but I’m not even human. Or hadn’t you heard?” To which he responds, “Human is as human does.” She later tells him that she wishes she could be normal. He responds by saying, “No. Don’t wish that. I have a better idea. Wish to be yourself. To the hilt. Find out what you’re best at, and develop it.” He continues, “don't wish to be normal. … You'll only waste your precious time in futile frustration. Wish to be great! That at least you have a fighting chance for. Great at whatever you are.” When she then contemplates wishing to be beautiful like someone she met, Miles responds, “It is useless for you to try to be beautiful like anyone but yourself … Be beautiful like [you], ah, that you can do. Superbly well.”
There are lots of quotably great lines in the stories, sometimes humorously so and other times movingly so. To me, the heart of the series is encompassed by the following lines spoken by Miles’s mother Cordelia in the book Barrayar.
“[P]ain . . . seems to me an insufficient reason not to embrace life. Being dead is quite painless. Pain, like time, is going to come on regardless. Question is, what glorious moments can you win from life in addition to the pain?”
A few things about the series that may or may not be your cup of tea
You should know that some of the “science” and technology in this far future science fiction series already seems out-of-date in some ways (for example, Bujold did not foresee social media, and in her many discussions about genetics and genetic manipulation she never mentions epigenetics). However, she still is thought-provokingly ahead of her times in other ways (for example, in one book both parents go on an off-planet vacation while their future children are gestating in a uterine replicator).
Also, you should know that many of the books in this space opera series contain at least a little romance in them, if not for a main character, then for a secondary one. The romances tend to be fairly closed door. And established relationships in the series tend to come across as affectionate and respectful partnerships, and not be notable for their sexual chemistry. However, Bujold likes to explore and discuss sexuality, gender identity, and reproduction in creatively speculative ways.
The romances in the series are often used to explore ideas and entertain. And they vary widely from a somewhat P.G. Wodehouse style romantic comedy (in A Civil Campaign) to an adventurous pairing with the above mentioned “eight-foot-tall genetic cocktail with fangs” (in “Labyrinth”) to a somewhat somber pairing for a 76-year-old grandmother (in Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen). For me, there is only one particularly notable romance in the series (Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance) that I would include on a list of my overall favorite rom coms.
Near the bottom of this post, you can find a brief romance guide to the series in case you either want to seek out, or to avoid, the more romance heavy stories it contains.
You can also find, near the bottom of this post, a brief mystery guide to the series in case you either want to seek out, or to avoid, the more mystery heavy stories in the series.
The Vorkosigan Saga reading order is complicated to navigate
Unfortunately, because of how confusing it can be to figure out how to start and read the over 20 story Vorkosigan Saga optimally, a lot of readers (I suspect) either feel intimidated by its length and complexity and don’t bother starting it at all, or they start in a place that doesn’t inspire them to continue. I hope this post will help you avoid a similar fate so that you don’t unnecessarily miss out on a lot of wonderfully fun reading.
The challenge is that the publication order of the series doesn’t match the internal chronological order of the series. The first story in the series was published in 1986, and the most recent in 2018. And the author, who continues to grow and develop, sometimes writes stories with a different tone and emphasis that she places in an earlier chronological time. And different stories focus on different characters and have different types of moods and plots. Two stories are even set in completely different eras.
If you search online, you can find recommendations for a variety of different possible reading orders for the series. Most are based, to some extent or another, on either the series’ publication or internal chronological order. But even recommended orders that try not to stray from one of those two seemingly fixed systems can vary. For example, Goodreads’ listed chronological order for the series starts with “Dreamweaver’s Dilemma,” Audible’s starts with Falling Free, and Amazon’s starts with Shards of Honor. When even three different parts of a single resource-rich corporation aren’t on the same page about where the series begins, it is no wonder that readers can have a hard time figuring out how to even start it! Moreover, there are lots of other recommended reading orders as well that don’t even try to stay entirely chronological or publication order based, including this one from Book Riot and this one from the author herself.
My goal is to give you the information and tools you need about the series to make informed decisions about a reading order (and an amount of reading to undertake) that will work best for you personally and your particular reading preferences, in order to help you optimize your enjoyment of the series.
Below, I explain what I think the core books in the Vorkosigan Saga are and why I think they are particularly worth reading. I also explain which books in the series I think are are skippable. I also provide you with information about the two most logical series’ starting points so that you can decide for yourself between them depending on your personal preferences. And I provide you with information to help you navigate each decision point about how to proceed thereafter.
The Vorkosigan Saga Core 5+
For me, the core of the Vorkosigan Saga consists of 5 interconnected books that focus on its main character Miles and his often fun, often humorous, madcap adventures as a young military officer (or military officer wannabe); during which time he often amusingly balances more than one identity—including being the heir to a Barrayaran countship, a covert galactic Imperial Security (ImpSec) operative for Barrayar, and the admiral of a seemingly independent mercenary space fleet. In these books, Miles also struggles with subordination issues, while managing to achieve joyous triumphs. These are the books that I most strongly recommend that you read if you are new to the series and want to understand its core. I call them the Core 5.
There is also a side mystery that is chronologically set amidst the Core 5 and that happens to contain background world building information that I think is important to have later on. Although it only delves into Miles’s identity shuffling and subordination issues to a limited extent, and it was published a number of years after the Core 5 book that supposedly follows it chronologically (so it doesn’t feel especially interconnected), I think it makes sense to read it sometime near its internal chronological order if you both like mysteries and think you are likely to continue the series past the Core 5 when the information it contains will matter more. When this additional book (Cetaganda) is included too, I call them the Core 5+.
Depending on your own story-by-story personal preferences, you can add in even more of the stories from the first part of the series in their internal chronological order (or choose to read them sometime later) to create your own personalized reading order. Otherwise, you can just skip those early non-core stories altogether. Just don’t skip the Core 5 books, or their order, if you plan to delve deeply into the series. And so long as you read the Core 5 books, there are a handful of directions that you can go afterwards, if you want to continue the series in some way. I lay some different post Core 5 options out for you below, as well as provide lists (far below) of the stories in both their internal chronological and publication orders.
Along with the internal chronological order list, I provide some guidepost tips about each story in the series. You can bookmark this post (or print it out) and return to the far below lists to help you every time you are ready to make a decision about which book in the series to read next.
The Core 5+ books (in their order) are: The Warrior’s Apprentice, The Vor Game, +(Cetaganda), Brothers in Arms, Mirror Dance, and Memory. You can delay reading Cetaganda until anytime before you get to Diplomatic Immunity, or just skip it altogether if you aren’t in the mood for a mystery and don’t plan to continue the series far.
Although The Warrior’s Apprentice is a good book and is the logical place to start the Core 5 (and the place that I most highly recommend you start the series your first time through it), the second book in the Core 5, The Vor Game (which won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1991), is significantly more fun in my opinion. Mirror Dance, which is also part of the Core 5, also won a Hugo Award for Best Novel (in 1995). And Memory, another of the Core 5 books, was nominated for a Hugo Award (in 1997). You can have an absolutely wonderful literary experience if you start at The Warrior’s Apprentice and just read the rest of the Core 5 books afterwards.
However, besides the Core 5 books, the series also contains mysteries, romances, contemplative tales, prequel-like stories, diplomatic stories, distant backstories, and additional adventures. And besides full-length books, there are also novellas and a short story. Adding into your personal reading order whichever of the early non-core stories interest you, and some or all of the later works, can further enhance your reading experience.
After the Core 5+, Miles finds a new career and becomes more mature and settled, often satisfyingly so. However, his growing maturity and his new position as an extremely powerful auditor/investigator for the Barrayaran emperor changes the nature of the series somewhat in the later books. The post Core 5+ stories often seem to me almost like a series of epilogues, in which you can find out what happens to your favorite characters after the main action ends. You can find out how they fall in love with their life partners, marry, reproduce, parent, settle into fulfilling and more settled careers, and deal with domestic drama and politics. While there is still at least some action in most of the post Core 5+ stories, the plots are more likely to focus on romance, domestic life and politics, and/or investigative mysteries.
Almost all of the full-length books in the series have their own happy, complete-feeling endings. So, you can stop the series at the end of almost any book and leave feeling satisfied. Although Miles does take two books (Komarr and A Civil Campaign) to convince the woman he is courting (sometimes humorously in secret from her) to marry him.
I particularly appreciate speculative fiction that takes advantage of its lack of boundaries to explore interesting ideas. And many of the non-core books in this series include very creative, deeply thoughtful, and entertaining explorations of topics like gender, reproduction, genetic manipulation, life extension, and otherness. Just because I am not labeling a story in the series as being core, doesn’t mean that it isn’t great and that you wouldn’t love it. Non-core stories are just more optional.
There are no early stories outside of the Core 5+ that can’t be skipped in terms of your being able to follow the main continuing storyline of the series. However, as some of them contain background information that may interest you at some point or another, I make note of which ones provide what background information in the guidepost notes down below.
Part of my motivation for writing this post is that I don’t want you to not engage with the great core of this series just because you don’t want to feel like you might need to read or buy over twenty stories in order to enjoy any of it. I also don’t want you to quit the series the first time you run into a story in its order that isn’t your cup of tea or you aren’t in the mood for or isn’t available at your library anytime soon, when that book may be completely unnecessary to read to enjoy the rest of the series.
What is so special about the Core 5 books?
During each of the Core 5 books, Miles is amusingly juggling at least two identities, including his identity as the admiral of a space fleet of mercenaries, Admiral Naismith. That identity provides Miles with the outlet for his ambition and brilliance that he doesn’t find on Barrayar during the early part of the series. And it feeds his otherwise significantly unmet desire for recognition.
“[W]e are discussing a young man upon whom Barryar laid so much unbearable stress, so much pain, he created an entire other personality to escape into. He then persuaded several thousand galactic mercenaries to support his psychosis, and on top of that conned the Barrayaran Imperium into paying for it all. Admiral Naismith is one hell of a lot more than just an ImpSec cover identity, and you know it. I grant you he’s a genius, but don’t you dare try to tell me he’s sane. … No. That’s not fair. … It’s an extraordinary balancing act, in all.” - Miles’s mother Cordelia discussing him in Mirror Dance
As the Vorkosigan Saga is a drama-rich space opera, you may not be surprised to learn that Miles also has a clone brother who was secretly created and raised by Miles’s father’s enemies, and who amusingly steals one or more of Miles’s identities at times. For me, the more personas that Miles and his clone are juggling at once, or the more frequently that they are switching back-and-forth between their own and each other’s identities, the more fun I am usually having.
One of the other most fun aspects of the Core 5 books for me is how hard it is for Miles to take orders from superior officers who are less brilliant than he is. Having finally obtained an opportunity to be a low-level military officer on Barrayar at the beginning of the second book in the Core 5, Miles is upset to learn that he is being sent to a frozen infantry camp where he thinks his physical weaknesses will make things especially hard for him. When he asks his commanding officer why he is being sent there, this is what he hears:
Cecil sighed, straightened. “Because I have noticed, Vorkosigan, watching you—and you know very well you were the most closely watched cadet ever to pass through these halls barring Emperor Gregor himself—”
Miles nodded shortly.
“That despite your demonstrated brilliance in some areas, you have also demonstrated some chronic weaknesses. And I’m not referring to your physical problems, which everybody but me thought were going to take you out before your first year was up—you’ve been surprisingly sensible about those—”
Miles shrugged. “Pain hurts, sir. I don’t court it.”
“Very good. But your most insidious chronic problem is in the area of . . . how shall I put this precisely . . . subordination. You argue too much.”
“No, I don’t,” Miles began indignantly, then shut his mouth.
Cecil flashed a grin. “Quite. Plus your rather irritating habit of treating your superior officers as your, ah . . .” Cecil paused, apparently groping again for just the right word.
“Equals?” Miles hazarded.
“Cattle,” Cecil corrected judiciously. “To be driven to your will. You’re a manipulator par excellence, Vorkosigan. I’ve been studying you for three years now, and your group dynamics are fascinating. Whether you were in charge or not, somehow it was always your idea that ended up getting carried out.”
“Have I been . . . that disrespectful, sir?” Miles’s stomach felt cold.
“On the contrary. Given your background, the marvel is that you conceal that, ah, little arrogant streak so well. But Vorkosigan”—Cecil dropped at last into perfect seriousness—“the Imperial Academy is not the whole of the Imperial Service. You’ve made your comrades here appreciate you because here, brains are held at a premium. You were picked first for any strategic team for the same reason you were picked last for any purely physical contest—these young hotshots wanted to win. All the time. Whatever it took.”
“I can’t be ordinary and survive, sir!”
Cecil tilted his head. “I agree. And yet, sometime, you must also learn how to command ordinary men. And be commanded by them!
Very entertainingly, Miles’s experiences at that camp and the events that follow Miles leaving it, don’t improve Miles’s subordination problem at all. After a series of amusing misadventures, he later explains to Simon Illyan, Chief of Barrayaran Imperial Security, that it isn’t his fault.
“Ensign Vorkosigan” Illyan sighed. “It seems you still have a little problem with subordination.”
“I know, sir. I’m sorry.”
“Do you ever intend to do anything about it besides feel sorry?”
“I can’t help it, sir, if people give me the wrong orders.”
It isn’t until the latter part of the last Core 5 book, Memory, that Miles finally becomes comfortable having only one identity; and a significant part of that maturation coincides with his elevation to near the top of the power structure on Barrayar. The moment of his elevation is a kind of rebirth and reunification for Miles, “Miles’s heart seemed to stop. … He wondered if his eyes were starting to glow. They felt like embers.” With more power on Barrayar, Miles finally becomes able to bring the parts of himself he likes best from his different identities together into one more cohesive and balanced whole. It is in this book that Miles is finally able to say “I don’t come a la carte. I’m all or nothing.”
At one point in Memory, as Miles contemplates the bad guy with whom he is in a battle of wits, Miles thinks that the bad guy couldn’t possibly understand the new person he had become.
How could he [know Lord Vorkosigan]? Practically no one did, not even Miles. I just met the man myself. He’d known a boy by that name, long ago, confused and passionate and army-mad. … But this new Lord Vorkosigan was someone else altogether, and Miles scarcely dared guess his future.
The book Memory thus marks an important turning point in both Miles’s nature and the nature of the series, which is why it is the last of the Core 5. The fun of watching Miles infuriate, outmaneuver, and/or amaze his more-ordinary-than-him commanding officers while humorously juggling identities is largely over.
All of the stories that I think are optional that take place chronologically before the last book in the Core 5 have two things in common. First, you can understand the series’ main storyline (at least for awhile) even if you skip them. You may miss some references and background understanding, but you won’t be lost. And second, they are stories about Miles when he is primarily in only one of his main identities, or they aren’t about Miles much or at all.
Where to start the Vorkosigan Saga your first time through it (and books from within it that can be read as standalones)
If you only take one thing away from this post, the most important thing for you to know is that there are two possible starting points for the series that are the most logical options for you if you are new to the series. If you start from either of these points and continue reading the series in its internal chronological order from there, you will probably have a great reading experience.
Your best two options are The Warrior’s Apprentice or Shards of Honor. Both of these books also can satisfyingly be read as standalones. So, if you merely want to get a single taste of the series, you can just read either one of them and have a good experience.
Ethan of Athos is another good option if you are looking to only read one book in the series, especially if an extremely creative, fun, queer, thought-provoking, science fiction, madcap adventure starring a timid reproductive biologist from an all-male planet sounds appealing to you. This book largely stands outside of the main storyline of the series. As Miles is only briefly mentioned in this book and doesn’t make an appearance in it, you won’t have the pleasure of getting to experience Miles if it is the only book in the series that you read. However, that also means that it can easily either be read independently or skipped entirely, depending on your preferences.
Although the above three books aren’t the only potential standalone reads from the series, they are the ones I most highly recommend as such.
Whatever else you do, please do not use as a starting point for the series any other story that you may see listed somewhere as taking place earlier in the series chronologically than Shards of Honor. I suspect that a lot of people who start the series earlier chronologically don’t have great experiences and don’t feel compelled to keep reading, thus missing out on the rest of the series’ wonderfulness.
After you have made it through the series once, you can easily figure out for yourself how you would prefer to reread it (if you are a rereader). Personally, I tend to relisten to almost the entire series (the audiobooks of which are narrated wonderfully by Grover Gardner) in internal chronological order starting with Shards of Honor. The first book in the series I ever read, however, was The Warrior’s Apprentice, and I am very glad I started there my first time around. And on my most recent journey through the series, I started there again and read the Core 5 books first as a reading experiment. It worked wonderfully.
First starting point option: The Warrior’s Apprentice
Since Miles’s madcap adventures as a young man are the core of the series from my perspective, I most highly recommend starting the series your first time around with the first of the Core 5 books, The Warrior’s Apprentice. It is the first book in the series that focuses on its star Miles (who is a teenager at the time).
The Warrior’s Apprentice starts off at a low point in Miles’s adolescent life (when he fails to get into Barrayar’s Imperial Military Academy) and it ends (just months later after a series of madcap adventures) triumphantly for him after he transforms himself into Admiral Naismith. Although it is not among my favorite books in the series, it is a solidly good start to it. The book also provides a lot of important background information about Miles. And its enjoyable resolution will give you a taste of what is to come. Plus, one of the best books in the series (from my perspective) is the next Core 5 book that comes after it, the Hugo Award winning storyThe Vor Game.
Second starting point option: Shards of Honor
I tend to think of Shards of Honor and Barrayar as a prequel-like duology, as they focus on Miles’s mother Cordelia (initially when she is 34 years old) and his father Aral (initially when he is 44 years old) before Miles is born.
If you have a strong preference for reading series in their internal chronological order, wouldn’t feel comfortable missing some non-crucial backstory references later on, have a strong preference for having romance in your science fiction, and/or have a strong preference for reading about a mature and strong female protagonist; you may want to start the series with Shards of Honor instead of with The Warrior’s Apprentice.
However, it isn’t without some weaknesses as a starting point. Most importantly, you won’t be getting to experience fully the star character of the series in it, nor get to sample the most quintessential (from my perspective) elements of the series that are only in the Core 5.
In Shards of Honor, Miles’s parents meet, have adventures on other planets, and decide to live on Barrayar and marry. Their literal enemies-to-lovers romance (they are in opposing forces during an inter-planetary conflict) initially is chaste and they exude very little sexual chemistry. They are attracted to each other’s sense of honor, and they develop an affectionate and respectful partnership. Although I wouldn’t describe it as a romance novel, Shards of Honor is, among other things, the story of Miles’s parents’ romance.
It was first published in 1986 and it was written before Bujold had reached her writing heights. It is an interesting place to start the series. However, I am not sure whether I would have been captivated enough by it to continue the series if I had started with it my first time through. My appreciation of it is increased by how much I care about what becomes of the Vorkosigan family. If you find yourself wondering what all of the fuss is about if you start with Shards of Honor, I encourage you to either try the next book in the series chronologically (which was published a number of years later and is better written) or jump to The Warrior’s Apprentice before you give up on the series.
Barrayar, which comes next chronologically after Shards of Honor, is about a coup attempt that happens on Barrayar before Miles is born, and the adventure Miles’s mother Cordelia has stopping it and saving Barrayar’s child emperor Gregor. It is during the events in this book that Miles is exposed to a chemical weapon and its antidote in utero.
Barrayar won both Hugo and Locus Awards in 1992 and is by far the better of the two prequel-like books from my perspective. Extremely enjoyably in it, Cordelia’s maternal feelings for the yet unborn Miles (who becomes trapped behind enemy lines in a uterine replicator far away from her) propel her into becoming an action heroine for whom it is a lot of fun to root. The book also includes an amusing romance between two romantically clueless supporting characters (the daughters of whom become important supporting characters later in the series).
My appreciation of this book was heightened the first time I read it by my pre-existing knowledge of the future of its characters. For example, the place where Miles’s cousin Ivan is sheltered immediately after he is born, is much more amusing if you know about Ivan’s reputation later on. Bujold wrote this book after she wrote a few of the books in the Core 5, and it shows.
These two enjoyable prequel-like books do provide some interesting, but unnecessary for following the series’ main storyline, background information about Miles’s parents as well as about some other characters and about a few planets. If you don’t start the series with these books, you can always go back and read either or both of them anytime you want to get more backstory.
You can also easily skip both of them entirely and still enjoy the rest of the series. There is information within them that particularly may deepen your appreciation for what is currently the last book in the series, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (which also stars Miles’s mother as a main character, but when she is in her 70s). However, you can still understand that book well without them, or you could even skip it too (as Miles and his children only play small, supporting roles in it).
While Shards of Honor can satisfyingly be read as a standalone book if you don’t want to read the entire series, you may have a more enjoyable experience if you read the two prequel-like books as a standalone duology instead.
General guidelines for reading the Vorkosigan Saga
Things will generally go well for you with this series if you:
1. Start at a good starting point (The Warrior’s Apprentice or Shards of Honor).
2. Generally follow the series’ internal chronological order (although you can loop back later to non-core stories that you skip).
3. Read the prequel-like duology, the Core 5, the good standalones, and/or most/all of the series starting from one of the above listed good starting points.
4. Skip or delay reading any non-Core 5 stories that come before Komarr if they don’t interest you or you aren’t in the mood for them.
5. Make sure you have read Cetaganda (so the whole Core 5+) before you get to Diplomatic Immunity.
6. And be prepared for changes in the nature of the series if you decide to continue past the Core 5 books chronologically.
What to do after you finish the Core 5
If you want to continue the series after you finish the Core 5, you can do any of the following that interest you, in whichever order interests you the most:
If you haven’t already read them, loop back to read either or both of the prequel-like books, Shards of Honor and Barrayar. You may want to do this sometime before you reach Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, but you don’t have to. It is okay to skip them entirely.
Loop back and read Cetaganda (so the entire Core 5+) if you haven’t already done so. It is a side cozy mystery/diplomatic mission/world building interlude on the planet of Cetaganda. It also contains amusing interactions between Miles and his cousin Ivan. At the latest, read it before you get to Diplomatic Immunity. However, there are also very brief references to it in Memory and Komarr. If you enjoy it as a cozy galactic mystery, you also are likely to enjoy the post Core 5 mysteries Komarr, Diplomatic Immunity, and CryoBurn.
Loop back and read the novellas within the book Borders of Infinity if you haven’t already done so. While you can easily skip these novellas entirely, they provide interesting background information and may particularly appeal to you if you enjoy somber stories.
Loop back and read Ethan of Athos if you haven’t already. Although this book can easily be skipped entirely since it doesn’t significantly affect the series’ main storyline, you may find its creative plot appealing and you may enjoy getting to spend more time with the character Elli Quinn—who is briefly introduced in The Warrior’s Apprentice and becomes a more important character in Brothers in Arms, Mirror Dance, and Memory. She is the only character from the main storyline of the series who plays an important role in this book.
Continue the series chronologically as far as you want to go, starting with Komarr. A few of the post Core 5 stories are particularly easy to skip if they don’t interest you. I make note of them in the guidepost notes further below.
If, after reading Diplomatic Immunity (or after reading the novella “Labyrinth”), you are interested in learning the deep backstory about Graf Station’s and its quaddie inhabitants’ origins; read Falling Free. Otherwise, you can skip it.
I hope this post helps you feel more confident starting the wonderful Vorkosigan Saga and picking the parts of it that most appeal to you. Further below, you can find the reference lists and guides that are meant to be used after you have started the series and are trying to decide how to proceed story by story.
After you have read enough of the series to have opinions about it, you are welcome to share your own take on it in the comment section below. How would you recommend reading it? Which books in it are your favorites? Which do you think are the most skippable? Or, if you have questions about the series, you are welcome to ask them in the comment section too.
But, before we get to the reference information and comment sections, I have some recommendations for you if you are interested in finding other books and series that are similar to the Vorkosigan Saga.
Other series and individual books you may also enjoy if you enjoy the Vorkosigan Saga
The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells, starting with All Systems Red. This is another wonderfully great Hugo Award winning science fiction action series written by a female author. Like Miles, its main character is also brilliant in some ways, an “other,” surprisingly honorable, grappling with identity issues, flawed, likable, and heroic. The relationships in these books are as fun and interesting as the action. Most of the books in this series are short novellas and the reading order is the same as the publication order, so the series is quick and easy to read.
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. Another Hugo Award winning science fiction book by a female author, this incredibly clever work is an absolute delight. In it, the main character travels back in time into what seems to be a cross between an Oscar Wilde style romantic comedy and the humorous classic British book Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome. Like some of the stories in the Vorkosigan Saga, it is an extremely well-written, science fiction masterpiece. It also shares the lighthearted, comic feeling of some books in the Vorkosigan Saga (like A Civil Campaign, which similarly is a romance that is reminiscent of classic British comic works).
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. This terrifically silly science fiction classic is very likely to appeal to Vorkosigan Saga fans.
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold. If you are craving more books written by Bujold after finishing the Vorkosigan Saga, this is my favorite of her fantasies. It has another great star character, Cazaril, who shares a few characteristics with Miles—including having great intelligence, a desire to act honorably, emotional complexity, and a variety of facets. Similarly to The Warrior’s Apprentice, this book starts near a low point in the main character’s life. And whereas Miles then travels to spend time with his grandmother on Beta Colony to help him recover and move on, Cazaril travels to the home of a grandmother-type figure for similar help. Both books are underdog stories that end triumphantly for their heroes.
Penric and Desdemona series by Lois McMaster Bujold, starting with Penric’s Demon. You can find even more of Bujold’s great writing in this enjoyable fantasy series (which consists entirely of short novellas). And as its publication and reading order are the same, the series is easy and quick to read. Its audiobooks are narrated by Grover Gardner, the same great narrator who narrates the Vorkosigan Saga audiobooks.
Aubrey & Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian, starting with Master & Commander. The 21-book reading order for this wonderful (Napoleonic Wars period) naval historical fiction series is very straightforward. There are, of course, similarities between commanding a naval fleet and commanding a space fleet. Like Bujold, O’Brian is great at taking readers on a drama-filled, action-adventure, rollercoaster ride. All of the books in this series end with its main characters experiencing terrific highs (like winning a naval battle against all odds, gaining a fortune, or making a romantic connection) or dramatic lows (like being stranded on a remote island, losing a fortune, or experiencing a great romantic disappointment), which makes you immediately want to jump into the next book to find out what happens next. Whereas the Vorkosigan Saga has an important bromance between Miles and his cousin Ivan, this series has a central bromance between the ship’s captain and its doctor Stephen Maturin (my second favorite fictional character). My two favorite fictional characters have a lot in common. Like Miles, Maturin has more than one identity/facet. Besides being the ship’s doctor, he is also a naturalist, an amateur musician, and a spy. Like Miles, his parents came from different places, with different cultures. He too has more than one name that he goes by. And also, like Miles, he is brilliant in some ways, flawed, emotionally complicated, likable, and heroic. And he too often has a hard time following orders. This is another series that I frequently feel drawn to reread. However, my first time through it, I found the first book and a half to be a slow-going slog. But by the second half of the second book, I was completely hooked and never wanted to stop reading and never wanted the series to end. You should be forewarned that this series does contain lots of very long, detailed descriptions of ships and naval battles. If those long descriptions interest you as little as they do me, I highly recommend that you just skim them or skip them altogether (which is easier to do when reading paper editions of the books). That way you can just focus on the incredible adventures, interesting history, and captivating relationships. And skipping those passages makes the series significantly faster to read. I find this series is an excellent companion read for Jane Austen’s works (which I also enjoy rereading) as I like to imagine that these are the kinds of adventures that the naval men in Austen’s world might have had. Some of the domestic English scenes in the series have a very Austen-like flare.
Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. This enjoyable (Napoleonic Wars period) military historical fiction series has reading order complexities that I won’t try to advise you about here. Like the Vorkosigan Saga, its publication and internal chronological orders are not the same. Richard Sharpe, like Miles during the Core 5 books, is in the military and often has to grapple with superior officers who aren’t as capable as he is. His efforts to achieve amazing military successes in spite of his superior officers is what makes the series fun (from my perspective) and reminds me of the Vorkosigan Saga’s Core 5. I watched the terrific British television adaptation of the series starring Sean Bean before I read the books. It is possible that watching the television series first favorably predisposed me to the books.
The Vorkosigan Saga internal chronological order
The guidepost notes after each titles’ name are intended to help you make informed story-by-story decisions about which works you want to include in your personal reading order for the series. I encourage you to use this chronological order list as you go along at each point in your decision-making process about which story in its order to read next.
Each of the Core 5 books are indicated below with a ⭐️. And the two recommended options for possible starting points are indicated with a 🚀.
As the short story “Weatherman” was incorporated into The Vor Game, it is not listed separately.
“Dreamweaver’s Dilemma” (a short story that you can find in the book Proto Zoa). Whatever else you do, do NOT start the series with this short story! It takes place around 500 years before Miles is born and has close to nothing to do with the Vorkosigan Saga other than that one last name and one planet name from it are reused again in the series. It was written in 1982 (before Shards of Honor was written), long before it was first published in the mid 1990s. It not only can be skipped altogether, it should be skipped altogether by anyone who isn’t already both a very hard core Vorkosigan Saga fan and a completist. It is without question my least favorite story associated with the series. Until I relistened to it for this post, the only thing I had remembered about it was that I had never wanted to revisit it again. When she wrote it, Bujold had not yet matured into the writer she became when she started winning Hugo Awards, nor did she yet know what the Vorkosigan Saga would become.
Falling Free. Do NOT start the series with this book either. It is set around 200 years before Miles is born so it won’t introduce you to any of the characters in the main storyline of the series. I only recommend you read this book if you make it all of the way to Diplomatic Immunity and also have become such a hard core Vorkosigan Saga fan that you would like to learn about the distant back story of Graf Station and its quaddie inhabitants. You could read it before Diplomatic Immunity, if you strongly prefer reading books in chronological order. However, as I enjoyed it much less than I did Diplomatic Immunity, I am glad that the first time I read it, I already cared about Graf Station. Alternatively, you might enjoy this book for itself if you are really into fiction about interesting escapes from slavery, in which case you could read it as a standalone. It does have a creatively thought-provoking plot. An earnest engineer, using his technological know-how, helps escape to freedom a group of teenagers and children who had been genetically engineered to be (four armed) slave workers. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1989. While I think it is an interesting book; I cannot love it, partially because of the use of grating negatively gendered language in it, and partially because it stays more-or-less on the same emotional keel for most of the story. I prefer to be taken on a literary rollercoaster ride with lots of emotional ups and downs. I also would have preferred to read about an escape led by the teenagers, rather than by a paternalistic figure. And I would have preferred more political theory in a book about trying to end slavery (although Bujold approaching ending slavery via engineering is thought-provoking). And finally, I don’t think the age and maturity gap romance in the story has aged well.
Shards of Honor. 🚀 This is a prequel-like story about Miles’s parents’ relationship and early adventures on the planets of Sergyar and Beta Colony before Miles was conceived. It is one of the two most logical places to start the series, and where I usually start when I reread it. This is literally an enemies-to-lovers romance as they began on opposing sides of an inter-planetary conflict. If you don’t start with this book, you can read it anytime later when you want to learn more about Miles’s parents and/or about Emperor Gregor’s father or about the characters Bothari and Koudelka. You can also skip it altogether. And you particularly may want to skip it if you don’t feel up for reading about an on-page attempted rape or reading discussions about rape-related trauma.
Barrayar. In 1992, this book won both the Hugo and Locus Awards for Best Novel. This is a great prequel-like story about Miles’s parents trying to thwart a coup on Barrayar. It explains what caused many of Miles’s health problems and provides background information about the planet Barrayar and about the characters Simon Illyan, Bothari, Lady Alys Vorpatril, and the Koudelkas. I think you would benefit from reading either Shards of Honor, or a few books in the Core 5, before you read this book to introduce you to its characters and the situation on Barrayar. It makes for a nice duology with Shards of Honor. Or it can be skipped altogether.
The Warrior’s Apprentice. 🚀⭐️ This is the first book in the series that focuses on Miles Vorkosigan, the star of the series. It is an excellent place to start the series your first time through as it is the first book in the Core 5. It begins at a low point for adolescent Miles and ends on a high point months later, after Miles becomes successful mercenary space fleet commander Admiral Naismith.
“The Mountains of Mourning” (a novella that you can find in the book Borders of Infinity). In this somber, moving story, Miles investigates and passes judgement on the murderer of a rural Barrayaran infant who was born with mutations. It won Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella in 1990. This story will increase your understanding of Miles’s issues with Barrayaran society. And it is extensively referenced in one part of the book Memory. However, you can skip it if you aren’t in the mood to read a mystery or a somber story about infanticide.
The Vor Game. ⭐️ The series really hits its fun stride with this 1991 Hugo Award winning action-adventure story. Miles and Emperor Gregor end up on a cleverly plotted, madcap adventure together, which requires Miles to once again assume his Admiral Naismith identity.
Cetaganda. This is a side mystery and diplomatic story. It contains world building about the planet Cetaganda and amusing interactions between Miles and his cousin Ivan. It works well in this chronological location, but you don’t significantly need the background information from within it about Cetaganda until you get to Diplomatic Immunity. So, you can postpone reading it until right before that book, if you are not a big fan of mysteries or are not in the mood for one. There are extremely brief references to this book in Memory and Komarr. And reading it is somewhat helpful for better understanding Cetagandan characters in general, including the ones in Ethan of Athos.
Ethan of Athos. This is a creatively fun, queer, side story that has no significant impact on the main storyline of the series as it currently stands. You can read it as a standalone, skip it completely, or read it at anytime at or after its chronological location. Miles is briefly mentioned in it as Admiral Naismith. And something from this story is very briefly mentioned in the novella “Labyrinth.” Mercenary Elli Quinn is the only character from the main storyline who is an important character in this story. If you ever find yourself wanting to read more about Elli Quinn, that would be a good time to read this book. Dr. Ethan Urquhart is a timid, gay, reproductive biologist who has always lived on the all-male planet of Athos where he was taught to fear women. He is sent alone on a crucial off-planet mission to make purchases that can be used to help create the next generation of men on his world. As soon as he arrives at his first stop on a space station, however, he gets mixed up in a mad cap adventure. Being terrified of women greatly (and humorously) complicates his efforts to get help. He very reluctantly teams up with Elli Quinn (who is visiting the same space station on her own) to outmaneuver the bad guys.
“Labyrinth” (a novella that you can find in the book Borders of Infinity). A number of later stories in the series mention that it would be dangerous for Admiral Naismith to return to Jackson’s Whole. This novella explains why. And it notably provides background information about the Betan hermaphrodite Bel Thorne and the quaddie Nicol, both of whom play important roles in the later book Diplomatic Immunity. The origin story of quaddies is told in the book Falling Free. “Labyrinth” also tells the story of Miles’s recruitment of, and early interactions with, the unique individual who becomes mercenary Taura. She is briefly mentioned in a number of later stories (including Mirror Dance and Memory) and is one of the main characters in the novella Winterfair Gifts. And Dr. Canaba, a very minor character who makes very brief appearances again in Memory and in Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance under his cover name Wendall Vaughn, makes his first appearance in the series in this novella. You can skip this story entirely if you want to, as you can pick up everything from within it that you really need to know later, but it does contain a lot of interesting background information.
“The Borders of Infinity” (a novella that you can find in the book Borders of Infinity). In this novella, Admiral Naismith heroically frees prisoners trapped on Dagola IV. The rescue is referred to often in later books (particularly in Brothers in Arms), but it is not necessary to read this novella in order to get the gist of all of those references. It can be skipped.
Brothers in Arms. ⭐️ This is a very fun, action-adventure story with lots of identity juggling. It takes place on Earth. Miles’s clone Mark makes his first appearance in this book. Who will win their battle of wits, Miles or his clone? The character Duv Galeni is also introduced in this book and Miles starts dating his first serious girlfriend. The events in “The Borders of Infinity” are mentioned in this book, but enough explanation is given that the novella doesn’t need to be read first.
Borders of Infinity interstitial material. The three earlier mentioned novellas are combined in the book Borders of Infinity, which has a brief framework that is set at this point in the chronology. Miles remembers the events in those novellas while he is in a hospital on Barrayar recovering from having broken arms replaced with synthetic bones. This framework is not important to read and can be skipped.
Mirror Dance. ⭐️ In 1995, this book won both the Hugo and Locus Awards for Best Novel. The main character in this book is Miles’s clone Mark, although Miles is an important character in it too. Much of the main action in it takes place on Jackson’s Whole. The story involves identity stealing, lots of clones, and amnesia. The character Taura, who is first introduced in the novella “Labyrinth,” makes brief appearances. Miles has a romantic dalliance. And Mark is tortured while in captivity.
Memory. ⭐️ Lingering health effects from the events in Mirror Dance contribute to Miles needing to make a career change. In this book, after returning to Barrayar, Miles experiences some challenging personal growth while also battling wits with an unknown enemy who sabotaged Chief of ImpSec Simon Illyan’s memory chip. It is a captivating, high stakes, investigative mystery. As it is the last book in the series in which Miles uses his Admiral Naismith identity, it the last book in the Core 5. Memory contains lots of references to earlier “optional” stories, including brief references to people/events in Cetaganda, “Labyrinth,” and “The Borders of Infinity,” and more extensive references to the events in “Mountains of Mourning” and Barrayar (including background information in it about Simon Illyan). However, there is enough explanation in Memory about those earlier events that you can enjoy it without having read any of those earlier optional works.
Komarr. This investigative mystery takes place on the planet of Komarr and marks the commencement of a more mature and settled version of Miles in his new career as an Imperial Auditor. While investigating and trying to thwart what turns out to be a dangerous plot, Miles falls in love. Much of this book is focused on his love interest Ekaterin’s perspective. There is one brief reference to the events in Cetaganda.
A Civil Campaign. In 2000, this book won the Saphire Award for Best SF Romance Novel. Now back on Barrayar, Miles continues to try to woo Ekaterin, humorously in secret from her. His clone makes a reappearance and silly mayhem ensues. Armsman Pym plays a fun, Jeeves-like role at times. So, P.G. Wodehouse fans may particularly appreciate this book. This is also a political drama. And references are made in it to the Koudelkas’ romance in Barrayar now that their daughters are forming romantic attachments of their own. However, you can manage without having read Barrayar first.
Winterfair Gifts (novella). This Hugo nominated novella tells the story of Miles’s wedding, as experienced by Armsman Roic. Roic has a romantic moment with Taura and together they try to thwart a plot. It is a mystery to a very limited extent. You may want to read the novella “Labyrinth” beforehand to better understand Taura’s backstory, but it is not necessary to do so. This novella can be skipped if you aren’t in the mood to read about a wedding.
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance. Miles’s cousin Ivan “accidentally” and very humorously gets married to his perfect match in this delightful, madcap romantic comedy. It is a marriage of convenience/fake relationship trope romance. The story focuses on both Ivan and his wife’s perspectives.
The Flowers of Vashnoi (novella). This is a somber novella about children who are mutated and sickened by radiation on Barrayar and who feel excluded from society. It focuses on Miles’s wife Ekaterin’s interactions with them while she is involved in a terraforming project. This story can be skipped if you aren’t in the mood for it.
CryoBurn. In this mystery, while investigating some fishy cryo-corporations (which preserve dead bodies until they are set to be revived) on the Japanese-influenced planet of Kibou-daini, Miles receives help from an animal-loving orphan whose Snow White like single mother is among the dead waiting to be revived. The book focuses on both Miles’s and the child’s experiences. At the end of the book, Miles receives some important news.
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Miles’s mother Cordelia, now widowed, finds love again and decides to have more children at the age of 76. This is a creatively complicated age gap romance and reproduction story. Her love interest, Oliver Jole, is 50 and like her first husband, is a bisexual Barrayaran Admiral (she has a type). The story focuses on both of their perspectives. They are both grappling with grief and the book’s tone is fairly somber. As it is currently the last book in the series, it can easily be skipped. Although it does contain some interesting nuggets of information about Miles, Ekaterin, and their children (who all make supporting appearances late in the book). The story takes place on Sergyar, the same planet where most of the action in Shards of Honor takes place. Having read both Shards of Honor and Barrayar beforehand is helpful as they provide Cordelia’s backstory, but it is not necessary.
The Vorkosigan Saga publication order
Shards of Honor (1986)
The Warrior’s Apprentice (1986)
Ethan of Athos (1986)
“The Borders of Infinity” (1987)
Falling Free (1987-88)
Brothers in Arms (1989)
“The Mountains of Mourning” (1989)
“Labyrinth” (1989)
Borders of Infinity (1989). This book contains the earlier published novellas “The Mountains of Mourning,” “Labyrinth,” and “The Borders of Infinity.”
The Vor Game (1990)
Barrayar (1991)
Mirror Dance (1994)
Cetaganda (1995 serialized novel, 1996 book)
“Dreamweaver’s Dilemma” (1995 or 1996? Different sources list the date differently.)
Memory (1996)
Komarr (1998)
A Civil Campaign (1999)
Diplomatic Immunity (2002)
Winterfair Gifts (2004)
CryoBurn (2010)
Proto Zoa (2011) This book contains the earlier published short story “Dreamweaver’s Dilemma.”
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance (2012)
The Flowers of Vashnoi (2018)
The Vorkosigan Saga romance guide ❤️
Miles has an unrequited crush: The Warrior’s Apprentice and Cetaganda
Miles has a romantic connection with someone he doesn’t marry: “Labyrinth,” Brothers in Arms, Mirror Dance, and Memory
Miles woos the woman he later marries: Komarr and A Civil Campaign
Miles marries: Winterfair Gifts
Miles’s mother Cordelia has romances/romantic developments with bisexual men: Shards of Honor, Barrayar, and Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen
Miles’s cousin Ivan stars in a romantic comedy: Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance
Miles’s clone brother Mark has romantic developments in subplots: Mirror Dance and A Civil Campaign
Supporting characters have nice romances: Barrayar and Memory
Supporting characters have entertaining or interesting romantic connections: The Vor Game, Cetaganda, A Civil Campaign, and Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance
Characters who are the focus of side stories have a little bit of romance: Falling Free, Ethan of Athos, and Winterfair Gifts
Main male characters have a little male male romance and/or fond reminiscences about a past male male romance: Ethan of Athos and Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen
Characters reminisce about a polyamorous romance: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen
A supporting character who changes gender finds a romantic partner: A Civil Campaign
A supporting hermaphrodite character finds a romantic partner: hinted at in “Labyrinth” and developed in Diplomatic Immunity
The Vorkosigan Saga mystery guide 🔎
The following stories are mysteries/investigations to some extent or another:
Winterfair Gifts (only to a very small extent)
Wow! What an extremely thoughtful and thorough guide. I'm almost finished listening to the series (about to start Captain Vorpatril's Alliance) and I've been surprised at my voracity to listen almost every night. I'm reading them in chronological order starting with Falling Free and including all the novellas. I generally agree with your core 5 and also think that the reader would be missing out on a lot of great stories of they only stick to the core 5. I thought about starting with Warrior's Apprentice but found I really appreciated Cordelia's and Aral's story and it made their minor appearance that much more meaningful in later books. I actually was initially dismayed that Cordelia wasn't the main protagonist after the 1st 2 books but quickly came to like Miles like an old friend. I normally don't read sci-fi that is so character-driven / romance focused but ended up really liking the series and consider it in my top sci-fi books.