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Barrayar
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The Vorkosigan Saga: Book 2

Barrayar (1991) (edit title/settings)

by Lois McMaster Bujold (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Sick of combat and betrayal, Lady Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan was ready to settle down to a quiet life, interrupted only by the occasion ceremonial appearances required of the Lady Vorkosigan. But when the Emperor died, her husband Lord Aral Vorkosigan became guardian of the infant heir to... read more

Summary edit see section history

As Barrayar begins, the Vorkosigans are expecting their first child. When the crafty old Emperor dies, Aral takes over as Regent. An unsuccessful plot to assassinate Aral with poison gas seriously threatens the lives of him and his pregnant wife Cordelia. The antidote to the poison, while... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

As Barrayar begins, the Vorkosigans are expecting their first child. When the crafty old Emperor dies, Aral takes over as Regent. An unsuccessful plot to assassinate Aral with poison gas seriously threatens the lives of him and his pregnant wife Cordelia. The antidote to the poison, while quite effective, is a powerful teratogen which attacks the bones of their unborn son, Miles. In a radical procedure for Barrayar, the fetus is transferred to a uterine replicator – an artificial womb to undergo an experimental recalcification treatment that may repair some of the damage to his bones.

While Cordelia and Aral are recuperating at the Vorkosigan country estate, Count Vidal Vordarian attempts a coup. Gregor is rescued by his loyal security chief Captain Negri and reunited with the Vorkosigans. Cordelia, Gregor, and various retainers escape into the hills on horseback and hide amongst the rural peasant population while Aral and his father organize the resistance.

After Cordelia rejoins Aral at a military base, they learn that the replicator containing Miles has been captured. Without proper maintenance, the fetus will succumb within six days, but Aral cannot bring himself to mount a rescue when there are greater concerns. However, Cordelia convinces her bodyguard, Ludmilla Droushnakovi, and one of Aral's officers, Clement Koudelka, to help her rescue Miles and Gregor's mother, Princess Kareen. Once in the palace, Cordelia and her party are caught. They overpower their captors, execute Vordarian after his bodyguards accidentally kill Princess Kareen, and escape with the replicator. Returning to the military base, Cordelia barges in on her husband Aral and father-in-law Piotr as they are bargaining with a couple of Vordarian's senior officers about the latter switching sides, and interrupts these delicate negotiations by dumping Vordarian's severed head onto the conference table. The coup falls apart without its leader and peace returns to the planet. The enlightened Betan Cordelia is given charge of Prince Gregor's early education, with far-reaching consequences for Barrayar.

Because of his exposure to the antidote, Miles Naismith Vorkosigan is born with extremely fragile bones that tend to break under any stress, and his growth is stunted. On Barrayar, babies with birth defects are common, due to poisoning from native Barrayarian plant life and to lingering radiation from the earlier war between Barrayar and Cetaganda. Such babies were traditionally subject to infanticide, though this practice is illegal by the time of Miles' birth. So-called "muties" are still reviled and shunned, and Miles, though genetically healthy, must deal with prejudice throughout his life, starting with his grandfather Piotr.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • Cordelia Vorkosigan: Lady Vorkosigan; married to Aral, the Regent of Barrayar. Legendary former ship commander in the Betan Expeditionary Force.
  • Aral Vorkosigan: Lord Vorkosigan, a retired Barrayan Admiral, and newly named Regent of Barrayar; married to Cordelia.
  • Piotr Vorkosigan: Count Vorkosigan and a General; Aral's father.
  • Simon Illyan: Commander; Chief of Aral's Security.
  • Bothari: One of the Vorkosigan family's liveried retainers; formerly a Sergeant under Aral's command in the military.
  • Clement Koudelka: A Lieutenant; Aral's personal secretary. Called Kou.
  • Gregor Vorbarra: Emperor of Barrayar; five years of age.
  • Captain Negri: Chief of Imperial Security.
  • Ludmilla Droushnakovi: A Servant of the Inner Chamber; Princess Kareen's bodyguard. Called Drou.
  • Kareen Vorbarra: Princess-dowager of Barrayar; widow of Prince Serg and Gregor's mother.
  • Vortala: Count; Ezar Vorbarra's Prime Minister.
  • Ezar Vorbarra: Emperor of Barrayar; deceased.
  • Vidal Vordarian: Count and Commodore; conservative; rival to Aral
  • Padma Xav Vorpatril: Count; Aral's first-cousin. Married to Alys.
  • Vorhalas: Count and older brother of Admiral Vorhalas; one of Aral's political allies.
  • Evon Vorhalas: Commander; son of Count Vorhalas.
  • Carl Vorhalas: Son of Count Vorhalas.
  • Alys Vorpatril: Wife of Padma Vorpatril; pregnant with Ivan.
  • Dr. Henri: A research scientist from the Imperial Military Hospital.
  • Elena Bothari: Bothari's infant daughter from the Escobaran War.
  • Carla Hysopi: A military widow at Vorkosigan Surleau that Bothari hired to care for his daughter.
  • Captain Vaagen: The Imperial Military Hospital's resident expert on military poisons.
  • Esterhazy: One of Count Vorkosigan's armsmen.
  • Amor Klyeuvi: Formerly a Major under General Piotr's command; now the Imperial Mail for Vorkosigan Surleau and much of the Dendarii hillfolk.
  • Admiral Kanzian: Part of Barrayaran High Command. Formost military strategist.
  • Miles Naismith Vorkosigan: Son of Aral and Cordelia.
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “"The first person Aral fools with that prosey-stone-soldier routine is himself. It's the sort of man he always wanted to be, I think. Like his father.""Hm. Yes, I had noticed a certain political bent to his conversations. In the middle of the most extraordinary circumstances, too. Marriage proposals, for instance."”
    Padma Vorpatril and Cordelia Vorkosigan
  • “Great secret scandal? Isn't that an oxymoron? Like 'military intelligence,' or 'friendly fire.' Also typical Barrayaranisms, now that I think on it.”
    Cordelia Vorkosigan
  • “-"Cordelia, you can't. . . you really can't sit at the breakfast table and imply my ancestors were bastards. It's a mortal insult here."-"Where should I sit?"”
    Aral and Cordelia Vorkosigan
  • “-Cordelia said anxiously, "Take care of him, Armsman."-Esterhazy gave her a driven look. "He's my Emperor, Milady. He holds my oath."-"He's also a little boy, Armsman. Emperor is. . . a delusion you all have in your heads. Take care of the Emperor for Piotr, yes, but you take care of Gregor for me, eh?"”
    Cordelia Vorkosigan and Armsman Esterhazy
  • “You should have fallen in love with a happy man, if you wanted happiness. But no, you had to fall for the breathtaking beauty of pain. . .”
    Cordelia Vorkosigan (to herself)
  • “. . . pain. . . 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?”
    Cordelia Vorkosigan
  • “Welcome to Barrayar, son. Here you go: have a world of wealth and poverty, wrenching change and rooted history. Have a birth; have two. Have a name. Miles means "soldier," but don't let the power of suggestion overwhelm you. Have a twisted form in a society that loathes and fears the mutations that have been its deepest agony. Have a title, wealth, power, and all the hatred and envy they will draw. Have your body ripped apart and re-arranged. Inherit an array of friends and enemies you never made. Have a grandfather from hell. Endure pain, find joy, and make your own meaning, because the universe certainly isn't going to supply it. Always be a moving target. Live. Live. Live.”
    Cordelia Vorkosigan
  • “The only recordings were made by ImpSec, for their own purposes, which did not include choreography. The people in this room danced only for each other, all their glittering show tossed blithely away in time, which carried it off forever; the event would exist tomorrow only in their memories.”
  • “The anti-Vor, because my lord Regent is too conservative for their tastes. The military right, who fear he is too progressive for theirs. Leftover members of Prince Serg and Vorrutyer's old war party. Former operatives of the now-suppressed Ministry of Political Education, though I doubt one of them would have missed. Negri's department used to train them. Some disgruntled Vor who thinks he came out short in the recent power-shift. Any lunatic with access to weapons and a desire for instant fame as a big-game hunter-shall I go on?”
    Illyan
  • “Suicidal glory is the luxury of the irresponsible.”
    Cordelia Vorkosigan

Setting & Locations edit see section history

Barrayar

First Sentence edit see section history

I am afraid.

Glossary edit see section history

  • The Time of Isolation: The period between Barrayar's original wormhole collapsing and the discovery of the current wormhole to Komarr.
  • Count: Originally a contraction of 'accountant' -- the title given to the Emperor's tax collectors during the Time of Isolation. Now a titled rank.
  • Fast-penta: A truth drug.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

  • Children: The central theme of Barrayar. This book presents multiple parents and their children and shows what parents are ready to do for their children. There is Cordelia with unborn Miles, Kareen with Gregor, Padma and Aylis Vorpatil with little Ivan, even Bothari and Elena. All of them make great sacrifices for their children, and those acts affects everyone around them.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 2 of 19 in The Vorkosigan Saga. (standard series)

Preceded by Shards of Honor, and followed by The Warrior's Apprentice.

This book is in F-sari. (publisher series)
This is book 8 of 15 in The Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order). (standard series)

Preceded by The Vor Game, and followed by Mirror Dance.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Lois McMaster Bujold (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Baen
Country: U.S.A.
Publication Date: 1991
ISBN: 067172083X
Page Count: 389

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • The Vorkosigan Companion
  • Dreamweaver's Dilemma
  • Federations

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

   
  • Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
  • Whose Body?

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

   
  • GURPS Vorkosigan Saga

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