Vorkosigans for the win! (Literally.)

[sholio]

There aren't very many years when I have really strong opinions on Hugo award winners, but this was one of those years when there was one category where I did have very strong opinions, and I'm completely delighted that the Vorkosigan books won for best series. (Full list of winners and nominees here.)

This isn't specifically because of my personal feelings about it (all the nominated series are ones that I either personally really enjoy or have heard good things about). It's because, of all the series on the list, it's the only one that I consider really, truly groundbreaking at the time it came out. Yes, the series has dated badly in some ways, but it's still kind of amazing to me that these books (the first half-dozen or so, anyway) were written in the 1980s. They stand out much less today, with so much more diversity of books available -- not just in the kinds of people in the books, but the kind of books that are around in the genre. But even by modern standards, these books are kind of weird (one part mil-SF, one part generation saga, one part comedy of manners). And at the time they were written, they were really, truly visionary. There just wasn't anything else like them. I think they were the first SF books I ever read where gay and agender and disabled characters were just there, as an ordinary human component of the future -- and yes, I know that is one aspect of the books that hasn't aged very well, but it was the 1980s! One thing that sticks in my head is LMB's account of what made her write Ethan of Athos: as a mom herself, she had a conversation with some male friends about whether men would be able to raise children by themselves (without a woman in the picture). She thought it was possible. Not a single one of her male friends agreed. I mean, literally didn't think it was a thing that could happen. So she went and wrote Ethan of Athos about an all-male planet to prove them wrong.

That's how much the world has changed in the last 30 years, and that's the milieu that the early books in the series were written in, and yet, books like Shards of Honor and the early Miles books are still completely readable today; they've dated a bit, but to me, anyway, they don't feel nearly as dated as the vast majority of 1970s/80s sci-fi does now.

So yeah, that's why I had strong feelings on that category, and that's why I'm really thrilled it went the way I was hoping it would go. The other series are excellent books. All of them have their own individual strengths; many of them do well what the Vorkosigan books don't. But I wanted LMB to win because, though they have their flaws, I think her books are really, truly visionary, groundbreaking, and influential in a way the others aren't, and that's what I think the Hugo awards (ideally) should recognize.

Comments

[philomytha]

Hurray! I'm so glad she won, and yes, I completely agree about just how groundbreaking the series was. The genre mash-up is particularly great - some of the books are capers, others detective stories, others political drama, others romance, others war stories - and yet they're all part of one series. I'm glad that it's getting recognition as a series.

[sholio]

Yes! It's just such an unusual series in so many ways. There's still nothing quite like it out there, but it was utterly unique in the late 1980s. I also love that she's been working on it for so long; it's a lifetime achievement in a way the other nominated series aren't, either.

[melagan]

I love that series SO HARD and I'm thrilled it won for best series. Very deservedly so.

[sholio]

I was so delighted to see that. :D It's the only category I really had any strong feelings about, so it was nice to have it go my way.

[madripoor_rose]

So glad Bujold won!

Yeah, there are still so many days where "Forward momentum!" and "If Miles could do it, I can do it!" gets me through the rough spots.

[sholio]

They're just very unique books in so many ways! I was really delighted to see them win.

[muccamukk]

I was really pleased with that one as well, partly because they just work so well AS a series. You couldn't start on say Memory, but by the time you get to it it's a PUNCH IN THE FACE. But it's also a good book in its own right. Even if I personally like the Chalion books better, I think the award for Vorkosigan is well earned.

[sholio]

Yeah, I kinda feel like, even if there are other book series out there that I actually like better, nothing else on the list of nominees comes even close to matching the Vorkosigan books' achievement as a series. And that's precisely the kind of thing that should get a Hugo in that category.

[vicki_rae]

So happy the series won! You summed up my feelings perfectly and for the same reasons.


On a more personal level, I started with Memory and it (and the whole series) are still among my favorite books. Huge influence for me post-cancer on reshaping my life when you can't do what you thought you were going to be able to do.

[sholio]

Yeah; one of the reasons why I'm so glad it got the Hugo is because none of the other nominees even come close to matching its achievement as a series -- and part of that is the way it follows its characters from birth (in Miles' case) or youth (with Cordelia) all the way to middle age/parenthood/grandparenthood, with all the changes that go along with that. I reacted very differently to reading Memory in my mid-20s vs. in my late 30s. The books are layered enough that you can get different things out of them, and have different favorites, when you read them at various times in your life, which is a pretty neat thing.

[mecurtin]

YES, exactly. When I voted for it, I wrote:

It's the one that has been growing with me for decades, parts of which I've re-read many times, so it's hard to separate my love of the series from my life. Just as important for my decision is that it has periods of lightness, humor, and grace: fantasy of manners. Complexity and darkness are all very well, but comedy is REALLY hard. And in these difficult, Interesting Times, it's more necessary than ever to have something that can give a feeling of light-hearted joy – while reminding us to honor "Persons before principles."

When I put together my ballot, I ended up voting for almost all women in first place -- through no intention of my own, it just kind of happened that way. So I'm not all that surprised that Hugo voters as a whole also ended up voting for all women.

[sholio]

Yes! It's just ... this series is an achievement, in a way that none of the other nominees, while all of them are excellent on their own, can really match.

[winter_elf]

Very glad Bujold won - and a bit surprised at some of those on the 'series' ballot - some VERY new series there. I would have thought more older ones would have gotten recognized/nominated.

However, a bit disappointed in the Best novel winner. It's a sequel - and the 1st book won last year. I would have voted for Becky Chambers - as I found Closed and Common Orbit very well written and a wonderful world building

[muccamukk]

Rules stated that they had to have a new entry in the past year, so that cut a lot of older stuff out.

[sholio]

Oh, I didn't know that either! That explains why the other entries were all such recent series. I wasn't sure if it was just because those were the ones people were reading now.

[sholio]

There's usually a certain amount of "huh, I wouldn't have expected that" for me in the specific books/stories/etc that win awards. Still, everybody's taste is so individual that it's kind of amazing it's even possible to get that much of a consensus!

Anyway, yeah, I think of the nominees, the Bujold books are far and away the ones that deserved to win. Nothing against the others, but they can't really compare for sheer cultural impact.

[veleda_k]

I've actually just started the Vorkosigan series (only read Shards of Honor and Barrayar so far), and I can say they hold up really well to a new reader in 2017. Also, I love Cordelia.

But even before I actually started reading the series, I was very firm that Bujold should win. No one on that list has affected science fiction like her.

[sholio]

Oh, that's really nice to know that they still hold up well! I reread (most of) the series a couple of years back and still really enjoyed it, but I've been reading the series for over 20 years now, so obviously it's not the same as getting an initial impression of it.

I hope you continue to enjoy it!

[sheron]

Is this the kind of thing you think I might like? I haven't actually read this series, it just keeps popping up in various conversations and I'm starting to think I should let it bubble up to the top of my reading list.

ETA: Basically I'm asking if you think there are some hard NOPEs for me there or not.

[sholio]

Er .... this is not an easy question to answer! Knowing you noped out on the torture scene(s) in GotG2 makes me think there are a number of scenes in several of these books that you'd also nope out on -- not just torture, although definitely that (my favorite book in the series actually has an incredibly disturbing and squicky torture scene in it, though it's only a couple of pages), but, in general, the books are about mercenaries and war, so they include some of the highly unpleasant stuff that happens in war: torture, rape, getting the wrong people killed, etc.

Having said all of THAT, though, the books overall are very optimistic about human nature, they're very much about making friends in adversity and accepting your responsibilities and generally being the best person you can, and the dark stuff is effectively there to give them things to deal with and rise above; these books aren't grimdark in the slightest. Also, many of them are different genres mashed up with sci-fi, e.g. one of the books is basically Jane Austen In Space, a couple are murder mysteries, etc.

I know your tastes in TV sci-fi better than book sci-fi. Let me know some of the books you like and I can tell you if these push the limits harder than other things you've read.

[sheron]

I'm actually okay with written torture. A lot more so than visual. I mean, IDK how it works, but I can read endless fanfics of pretty gruesome stuff and if I nope out it's only for a few paragraphs of the worst parts. Similarly with TV, it's not like I didn't watch the torture scenes at all, I just fast forwarded through them (apparently fast enough to miss the good bits XD ). Anyway, *that* part isn't going to be a NOPE thing. I guess the stuff we talked about where nobody seems to actually like each other or care about each other depresses me the most, and if that's absent I'm pretty flexible about the rest. (Except random MCD for an ending. XD )

[sholio]

Oh yeah, in that case, that's not a problem at all in these books; the characters tend to suffer from more of a "caring too much" problem. XD Also, since the series covers a number of years, some of my favorite character relationships develop over the course of several books.

So yeah, I think you should give them a try! There is definitely dark stuff, but overall the books are very optimistic and very much about family.

You should know there is a big timeskip after the first two books. The main characters in the first two books are the parents of the main characters in the rest of the series. So you can either start with Shards of Honor (the first book in the series both in terms of chronology and writing order), or skip ahead to The Warrior's Apprentice (where the main cast for the rest of the series is established) and read the first two books later for backstory. People usually recommend reading in order because you get a ton of cultural and historical stuff from the first two books that is important for context in the later ones, and also, Cordelia, the main viewpoint character in the first two books, is very charming and likable. However, I did it the other way around and it worked fine for me. So ... whatever you'd prefer, really!

[sheron]

Thanks!

the characters tend to suffer from more of a "caring too much" problem. XD

my faaaavourite :D :D

[rachelmanija]

I think it was far and away the best series. I don't like the last few books but if you stop at A Civil Campaign it's wonderful.

[sholio]

Yeah, my favorite part of the series stops with A Civil Campaign too. I didn't have the problems with the later books that others did (and I really enjoyed the Ivan book) but the first part of the series is by far the best -- and yeah, nothing against the other nominees, they all have their strengths, but for uniqueness and forward-looking-ness and just general impact, LMB's early books are in a class by themselves.

[shehasathree]

\o/

[sholio]

:D :D