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Lois McMaster Bujold

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Template:Infobox Science Fiction Writer

Lois McMaster Bujold (born November 2, 1949, Columbus, Ohio) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy works.

Bujold is best known for her series of novels featuring Miles Vorkosigan, a physically-impaired interstellar spy and mercenary admiral from the planet Barrayar, set approximately 1000 years in our future. The series demonstrates Bujold's mastery of various science fiction genres and sub-genres. Earlier titles are generally firmly in the space opera tradition with no shortage of battles, conspiracies, and wild twists, while in more recent volumes Miles becomes more of a detective. In A Civil Campaign, Bujold explores yet another genre: a high-society romance with a plot that pays tribute to Regency romance novelist Georgette Heyer (as acknowledged in the dedication). It centers on a catastrophic dinner party, with misunderstandings and dialogue justifying the subtitle "A Comedy of Biology and Manners". Her psychological insights and creation of complex characters are particularly appreciated by many readers.

There is considerable debate among readers as the best order to read the Vorkosigan series. Some favor reading in publication order, some in order of internal chronology, and some prefer other orders. This illustrates the widely held view that this series consists of independent works which nonetheless gain from their inter-relations.

The author has stated that her Miles Naismith Vorkosigan series structure is modeled after the Horatio Hornblower books documenting the life of a single person. In themes and echoes, they also reflect Dorothy L. Sayers' mystery character Lord Peter Wimsey. Bujold has also said that part of the challenge of writing a series is that many readers will encounter the stories in "utterly random order", so she must provide sufficient background in each of them without being excessively repetitious. Most recent printings of her Vorkosigan tales do include an appendix at the end summarizing the internal chronology of the series.

Bujold is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's earlier record; and her novella "The Mountains of Mourning" won both the Hugo and Nebula Award. In the fantasy sphere, The Curse of Chalion won the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for the 2002 World Fantasy Award for best novel, and her fourth Hugo and second Nebula for a novel was for Paladin of Souls.

Bujold is the daughter of Robert Charles McMaster and attributes her early interest in SF, as well as certain aspects of the Vorkosigan saga, to his influence. He was editor of the monumental Nondestructive Testing Handbook generally referred to as McMaster on Materials.

Bujold currently lives in Minnesota. She is divorced and has two children.

Science fiction and fantasy

Lois Bujold wrote three books (Shards of Honor, Ethan of Athos and The Warrior's Apprentice) before The Warrior's Apprentice was accepted after four rejections. On the strength of The Warrior's Apprentice, Baen Books agreed to a three-book deal to include the two prior novels. Thus began Bujold's career in science fiction.

She also wanted to break into the Fantasy genre but was met with early setbacks. Her first foray into Fantasy was with The Spirit Ring. She wrote the book "on spec", shopped it around, and found very low offers, forcing her to go back to Baen Books, where Jim Baen bought The Spirit Ring for a fair price in exchange for the promise of more Vorkosigan books. Bujold called this experience, combined with the mediocre sales and lack of critical acclaim of that book, very educational.

She would not attempt to break into the Fantasy market again for almost another decade, with The Curse of Chalion. This book was also written on spec and offered up to a book auction, like her previous The Spirit Ring. But this time, she met with considerable critical and commercial success, tapping into a cross-over market of Fantasy and Romance genre fans.

Selected works

The Vorkosigan Saga

Listed in series order:

  • "Dreamweaver's Dilemma" [set in the Vorkosigan universe long before the rest of the series] (1995) (included in collection Dreamweaver's Dilemma) NESFA Press
  • Falling Free [set approximately 200 years before the birth of Miles Vorkosigan] (1988) -- Nebula Award
  • Shards of Honor [set approximately 1 year before the birth of Miles Vorkosigan] (1986)
  • Barrayar (1991) -- Hugo Award
  • The Warrior's Apprentice (1986)
  • "The Mountains of Mourning" (1989) (included in Borders of Infinity) -- Hugo Award, Nebula Award. First published in Analog magazine. Available online via the Baen Free Library
  • The Vor Game (1990) -- Hugo Award
  • Cetaganda (1995)
  • Ethan of Athos [Miles Vorkosigan is referred to, but does not actually appear, in this novel] (1986)
  • "Labyrinth" (1989) (included in Borders of Infinity) --First published in Analog magazine.
  • "The Borders of Infinity" (1987) (included in Borders of Infinity) -- First published in Freelancers. Available online via Baen Webscription
  • Borders of Infinity (1989) (Collection of "The Mountains of Mourning", "Labyrinth" and "The Borders of Infinity", tied together with an original frame story interspliced between them, which is set shortly after Brothers in Arms.)
  • Brothers in Arms (1989)
  • Mirror Dance (1994) -- Hugo Award winner
  • Memory (1996) (unavailable in any omnibus volume)
  • Komarr (1998)
  • A Civil Campaign (2000)
  • "Winterfair Gifts" (2002 in Croatian (as a "Zimoslavni darovi") and Russian, 2004 in English) -- First published in Irresistible Forces, a Science Fiction/Romance genre crossover anthology edited by Catherine Asaro. The "Winterfair Gifts" novella is also available as a standalone ebook from Fictionwise.
  • Diplomatic Immunity (2002)

Omnibus volumes:

  • Cordelia's Honor (contains Shards of Honor, Barrayar)
  • Young Miles (contains The Warrior's Apprentice, "The Mountains of Mourning", The Vor Game)
  • Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem (contains Cetaganda, Ethan of Athos, "Labyrinth")
  • Miles Errant (contains "The Borders of Infinity", Brothers in Arms, Mirror Dance)
  • Miles, Mutants and Microbes (contains Falling Free, Diplomatic Immunity, "Labyrinth")
  • Miles in Love (contains Komarr, A Civil Campaign, "Winterfair Gifts")
  • Vorkosigan's Game (Out of Print - contained The Vor Game, "The Mountains of Mourning", "Labyrinth", and "The Borders of Infinity" including the framing story for the collection Borders of Infinity)

Audiobooks:

"Books-on-tape/CD" versions of Falling Free, Shards of Honor, Barrayar, The Warrior's Apprentice, The Vor Game, Cetaganda, Ethan of Athos, Borders of Infinity, and Brothers in Arms were produced by The Reader's Chair.

"Books-on-tape/CD/MP3 downloads" versions of The Warrior's Apprentice, The Vor Game, Cetaganda, Brothers in Arms, Mirror Dance, Memory, Komarr and A Civil Campaign are produced by Blackstone Audio and are also available from Audible.com.

Fantasy novels

Audiobooks:

"Books-on-tape/CD/MP3 downloads" versions of The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, The Hallowed Hunt, The Sharing Knife: Vol1 Beguilement and The Sharing Knife: Vol 2 Legacy are produced by Blackstone Audio and are also available from Audible.com.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Lois McMaster Bujold.

The Fivefold Pathway of the Soul, one of the (fictional) primary religious texts for the southern cultures in The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls

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