Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Shards of Honour

Wow. This novel really impressed me, even though it falls outside of my preferred genres. I am definitely going to start working through the back catalogue of Lois McMaster's work now, particularly within the Vorkosigan series.

"... I've always tried to walk the path of honour. But what do you do when all choices are evil? Shameful action, shameful inaction, every path leading to a thicket of death."

I have seen some reviews describe this novel as a 'romance'. I both agree and disagree. I feel as though this is a science fiction novel that has romance in it, rather than a romance novel based in a science fiction world - if that distinction makes sense. A significant amount of the plot actually revolves around political intrigue and manoeuvring. Cordelia, the POV character, gets caught up in this - and through the events that unfold, winds up forming a bond with a man who is supposed to be her enemy, Aral Vorkosigan.

"Well, I don't hate him. Can't say as I worship him, either." She paused a long time, and looked up to meet her mother's eyes square on. "But when he's cut, I bleed."

Cordelia and Vorkosigan's relationship is one that forms from mutual admiration and respect. How this tentative friendship progresses, and how they come to develop stronger feelings for one another, is beautifully done. Their connection, and how they navigated being somewhat 'star-crossed', was one of my favourite parts of the story. However, don't read this novel if you're after steamy scenes with heaps of sexual tension. Like I said, I would describe this novel as sci-fi political intrigue first and a romance second.

"The cup of victory; bitter on the tongue, heavy in the stomach, sad as defeat..."

Other things I loved about this story were the worldbuilding, Cordelia as a character, and - of course - the fact that it revolved so heavily around strategy and political intrigue. I'm a sucker for that stuff, so getting to enjoy it alongside a bit of romance made for a thoroughly enjoyable read!

I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes science fiction, obviously, but I would also recommend giving it a try if you're the kind of person who sometimes enjoys a sweet romance and other times enjoys a story about spies and wars and backstabbing. Because I would say Shards of Honour provides a nice blend of both of those moods.

Please check the trigger warnings before reading this book. This is a science fiction story where a war takes place. As such, there are naturally quite a few references to things like death, violence, murder, imprisonment, etc. as well as some mental health stuff like trauma, PTSD, and unhealthy coping mechanisms like alcoholism.

An additional trigger warning I would like to mention is that the "guns" used are actually "nerve disruptors" and can cause traumatic brain injury. This happens to one of the secondary characters at the beginning of the book and there is a lot of detail given in regard to his condition afterwards.

Content Warnings

f18's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

The audiobook includes Aftermaths which I give 5 stars and includes cw:

death, grief, gore

I feel like I may have read it before in a different book in the series but I haven't figured out which. Possibly the first time I attempted SoH in which I DNF'd it during the scene with Vorrutyer and skipped ahead to Miles' books, though I was reading the physical copy at that time and I'm not sure it also has it. Possibly I just found it online.

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