Cordelia's Honor (AKA Cordelia's Honour) by Lois McMaster Bujold was the 178th official Sword and Laser Book Club selection.
This book is an omnibus version that includes Book 1 of the Vorkosigan Saga, "Shards of Honour" and Book 7 "Barrayar"
Reading period: Apr 1, 2024 - Apr 30, 2024
How/Why was this book chosen: It won a March Madness style knockout poll.
| Round 1 | Match 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 127 | 45.7% | The Black Company | Glen Cook |
| 151 | 54.3% | The Steerswoman | Rosemary Kirstein |
| 278 | Total | ||
| Match 2 | |||
| 151 | 56.1% | Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries | Heather Fawcett |
| 118 | 43.9% | The City of Dreaming Books | Walter Moers |
| 269 | Total | ||
| Match 3 | |||
| 112 | 43.6% | Just Stab Me Now | Jill Bearup |
| 145 | 56.4% | The Spear Cuts Through Water | Simon Jimenez |
| 257 | Total | ||
| Match 4 | |||
| 146 | 55.7% | Dungeon Crawler Carl | Matt Dinniman |
| 116 | 44.3% | The Blue Sword | Robin McKinley |
| 262 | Total | ||
| Match 5 | |||
| 141 | 52.8% | The Ministry for the Future | Kim Stanley Robinson |
| 126 | 47.2% | Vita Nostra | Marina Dyachenko |
| 267 | Total | ||
| Match 6 | |||
| 145 | 55,6% | Some Desperate Glory | Emily Tesh |
| 116 | 44.4% | Shades of Grey | Jasper Fforde |
| 261 | Total | ||
| Match 7 | |||
| 153 | 58.6% | Cordelia’s Honor | Lois McMaster Bujold |
| 108 | 41.4% | Empire of Silence | Christopher Ruocchio |
| 261 | Total | ||
| Match 8 | |||
| 155 | 56.2% | The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams |
| 121 | 43.8% | She Wolf and Cub | Lilith Saintcrow |
| 276 | Total |
| Round 2 | Match 1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 138 | 48.3% | The Steerswoman | Rosemary Kirstein |
| 148 | 51.7% | Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries | Heather Fawcett |
| 286 | Total | ||
| Match 2 | |||
| 123 | 43% | The Spear Cuts Through Water | Simon Jimenez |
| 163 | 57% | Dungeon Crawler Carl | Matt Dinniman |
| 286 | Total | ||
| Match 3 | |||
| 135 | 47% | The Ministry for the Future | Kim Stanley Robinson |
| 152 | 53% | Some Desperate Glory | Emily Tesh |
| 287 | Total | ||
| Match 4 | |||
| 150 | 50.2% | Cordelia’s Honor | Lois McMaster Bujold |
| 149 | 49.8% | The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams |
| 299 | Total |
| Sem Final 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 162 | 51.1% | Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries | Heather Fawcett |
| 155 | 48.9% | Dungeon Crawler Carl | Matt Dinniman |
| 317 | Total | ||
| Sem Final 2 | |||
| 153 | 48.7% | Some Desperate Glory | Emily Tesh |
| 161 | 51.3% | Cordelia’s Honor | Lois McMaster Bujold |
| 314 | Total |
| Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 141 | 48.1% | Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries | Heather Fawcett |
| 152 | 51.9% | Cordelia’s Honor | Lois McMaster Bujold |
| 293 | Total |
Sword and Laser Discussion of Cordelia's Honour
Cordelia's Honour by Lois McMaster Bujold[]
In her first trial by fire, Cordelia Naismith captained a throwaway ship of the Betan Expeditionary Force on a mission to destroy an enemy armada. Discovering deception within deception, treachery within treachery, she was forced into a separate peace with her chief opponent, Lord Aral Vorkosigan - he who was called "The Butcher of Komarr" - and would consequently become an outcast on her own planet and the Lady Vorkosigan on his.
Sick of combat and betrayal, she was ready to settle down to a quiet life, interrupted only by the occasional ceremonial appearances required of the Lady Vorkosigan. But when the Emperor died, Aral suddenly became guardian of the infant heir to the imperial throne of Barrayar - and the target of high-tech assassins in a dynastic civil war that was reminiscent of earth's Middle Ages, but fought with up-to-the minute biowar technology. Neither Aral nor Cordelia guessed the part that their cell-damaged unborn son would play in Barrayar's bloody legacy.