Lois McMaster Bujold

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

Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold

Bujold is best known for her series of novels featuring Miles Vorkosigan, a severely disabled 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 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 other orders. This illustrates the widely held view that this series consists of a set of independent works which none the less 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 Vorksosigan 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; her novella "Weatherman" won the Nebula for best novella (tied with Joe Haldeman's The Hemingway Hoax), and her novella "The Mountains of Mourning" won both prizes. 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 for a novel was for Paladin of Souls.

Lois 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.

Contents

[edit] Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

Lois McMaster Bujold in August 2005
Lois McMaster Bujold in August 2005

Lois Bujold wrote three books (Shards of Honor, Barrayar, The Warrior's Apprentice) before her third book 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 humiliating.

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.

[edit] Major Writings

[edit] The Vorkosigan Saga

Listed in series order:

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 ("The Borders of Infinity", Brothers in Arms, Mirror Dance)

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 are produced by The Reader's Chair.

[edit] Fantasy Novels

[edit] See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

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

[edit] External links

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