Something I can say about the Vorkosigan books that's not a spoiler!

[sholio]

One of the things I love about these books is that it feels like the characters really live in this world, this universe. A lot of sci-fi, especially the more space-operatic sort, focuses on the big-picture stuff -- it's all about starship captains and space marines. Bujold's cast of characters includes starship captains and space marines, but also includes space accountants and supply clerks, and the starship captains spend most of their time worrying about things like where the money to operate the big space fleet comes from, or what happens to the family members of space marines killed in action. I was thinking about this reading "Cryoburn"; I just hit a scene in which the main character, who's hiding out on an unfamiliar-to-him planet, has wandered into one of the areas where low-income people go:

The scattering of tables was divided from the cooking area by a long serving counter, with metal cupboards above. He made his way around it to find a sort of large electric samovar promising tea. Next to the dispenser was a mismatched collection of mugs, with a hand-lettered sign over it, Wash your cup! He couldn't quite tell if these were personally owned or up for grabs, which gave him a perfect opening for conversation with the woman who was stirring a ten-liter pot of soup.

He addressed her, "May I use one of these?"

She shrugged. "Go ahead. Wash it after, though." She tapped her spoon on the pot rim and laid it aside. "You new here?"

"Very new."

"Rules are, cook what you want, clean up after yourself, replace what you use, contribute money to the pantry when you can. Sign up on the cleaning duty roster on the front of the fridge."

It really has that communal-kitchen feel ... and how many sci-fi authors actually think about where people eat or how they live, let alone note all those little details that evoke a sense of "shared hostel kitchen", anyway? A lot of sci-fi novels go for "gritty", but I haven't read too many that capture a lived-in, everyday feeling the way these do.