Just finished reading "Barrayar"/the second half of "Cordelia's Honor". I would have finished the book in any case, but I still was glad to know, going in, that "Barrayar" is a tighter, better written story. Although still a bit rushed in backstory, Cordelia/Aral grows into a lovely relationship, much more real and believable. I also grew to like Kou, Drou, and Bothari a lot -- they make a great team of characters, and I hope they continue to be important members of the cast even as the story shifts in focus to Miles in future books (as I assume it must). Bothari, especially; I want to see what direction Bujold takes with him.
The intrigue and coup plot works well. Making unborn Miles a time-dependent hostage I thought was particularly inspired. The pieces of the endgame were all placed nicely -- Bujold seems to be a master of Chechov's gun, placing her weapons subtly enough that I didn't even notice they were there until she fired them. But then I'd look back and think: "Of course." All well-constructed.
The omnibus volume was a good choice, I think. In her Afterword, Bujold says that she started writing this as a single story, and it shows.
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