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Crossbow posted 11/20/2011 19:01 PM

I have read and loved the Vorkosigan books, and am casting about for something else now.

I am *not* typically into sci-fi, but those books were gripping and fun.

Suggestions?

ladyvorkosigan posted 11/21/2011 08:33 AM

Ah, finally, one of my fishies swims over the finish line. Somehow I knew it'd be you!

Well, the series that I think are most similar to the Vorkosigan series are not scifi at all. That's because to me that series is a feeling, not a genre. So, this will be things that give me a similar feeling.

The Amelia Peabody series, Elizabeth Peters. You must read through "Seeing a Large Cat" to know why I draw this comparison. You must read it three times to find all the callbacks and filled in spaces.

The Lymond series, Dorothy Dunnett. Buy the reading companion, it's quite an arcane read even with it.

That's mystery and historical fiction respectively, but truly, Bujold is quite influenced by Regency romance (particularly A Civil Campaign, which *is* a Regency romance), but of course with you we must avoid anything with sex in it or you will no longer be able to remain loftily above your wife wrt reading material, so I will suggest Georgette Heyer (try The Grand Sophy) and Carla Kelly (gosh, so much love...perhaps Reforming Lord Ragsdale, since it's the funniest).

In SF, I keep seeing people compare Vorkosigan to things like Honor Harrington (David Weber), but since that series gives me no feeling whatsoever I have a hard time figuring it out. Perhaps in the most shallow of ways.

Oh, you could also try the Temeraire series, Naomi Novik. Fantasy.

Whatever you do, avoid non-Vorkosigan Bujold works. If you feel you must venture there despite my warnings, the Chalion series is less cringeworthy than the Sharing Knife series.

Oh, and finally, you might consider taking three months off and then re-reading the Vorkosigan series, because ten times through and I'm still picking up subtleties. You won't find anything as rich and intelligent anywhere else. At least, I haven't.

[This message edited by ladyvorkosigan at 8:37 AM, November 21st (Monday)]

Crossbow posted 11/21/2011 13:00 PM

I find myself missing the Cordelia books, and since I read everything in order, those were the furthest back. She is a fantastic character.

Looking over the Non-Vorkosigan Bujold books made me a little cringe-y.

I've read a few of the Amelia Peabody books and they weirdly irritated me. Go figure.

I liked the Lymond books.

I guess not all guys like female authors (or admit to it), but I have to confess that I prefer less blood-and-guts gore and more to think about (puzzles and relationships).

I've actually been fascinated by relationships since I read "Gone With The Wind" back when I was 11 or so. That was the first time that I got the concept that love could DIE. That was weridly life-changing, at least for an 11-year-old. It was almost as epically mind-blowing as discovering (when I was 3ish) that "dead" meant something broken that even my Daddy couldn't fix. That's how I "got" the permanence of death. I was shocked. It was life-altering.

It's funny, of all the messages and nuances of GWTW, the 2 that hit me the most were the "love can die" and "you can THINK you love someone, but it's actually your idea of what they're like." That was very influential as well.

Knowing that "love can die" and "you can love an illusion rather than the person" were useful going into puberty and adulthood.

Sorry for the ramble.