The Warrior's Apprentice

Executive Summary: I really enjoyed this book, and I'm a lot more eager to continue on with the series than I was after [b:Shards of Honor 531792 Shards of Honor (Vorkosigan Saga #1) Lois McMaster Bujold https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388212776s/531792.jpg 9673658].Audiobook: Grover Gardner does a good job once again. He's speaks clearly and with good inflection and volume. I don't feel like he added anything extra to the book to make this a must listen, but it's certainly a good option.Full ReviewDespite this being the series that made Ms. Bujold's career, I came to her work instead through her Chalion books instead. I really liked her as an author. Of course those are fantasy which is much more in my wheelhouse than Science Fiction books seem to be. I know this series has a “recommended” reading order from the author herself, but I'm stubborn about reading things in publication order. In my opinion if the books were meant to be read in a different order, they should have been written/released in that order. As a result I started with [b:Shards of Honor 531792 Shards of Honor (Vorkosigan Saga #1) Lois McMaster Bujold https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388212776s/531792.jpg 9673658] and continued on with this one.I must say I enjoyed this one much more than the first. I'm not sure if it's how much I enjoyed the character of Miles Vorkosigan, or the general pacing/direction of the plot, but after a so-so feeling from Shards, I'm pretty excited to continue this series now.I didn't know much going into this book apart from what I remember from the first one. At first I thought it was a flashback novel with how Vorkosigan came to be where he was in the first book, only to realize that no, I was reading a book set several years later about his son. Oops.The physical issues Miles has, make him an interesting character amidst a world that values strength and proficiency at war. Of course he's only half Barrayan, which also puts him apart from his peers as well. I'm always drawn to characters who outthink their opponents rather than simply through superior force.I believe that much of the series focuses on Miles, which makes me happy because he is by far the character I'm most interested so far. I am however interested in revisiting his parents down the road as well. This is a long series and I've only just begun, but I suspect I may put a good dent in it by the end of the year, at least as long as the next books end up being as good as this one was.