Free Winterfair Gifts (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Ebooks To Download
This Hugo-nominated novella adds a delightful extra chapter to Bujold's Vorkosigan series, describing the wedding of Miles and Ekaterin and events leading up to it. In the festive season of Winterfair on the planet Barrayar, Lord Miles Vorkosigan is making elaborate preparations for his wedding. The long-awaited event stirs up romance and intrigue among his eccentric family and friends, particularly for bioengineered space mercenary Sergeant Taura and shy, diffident Armsman Roic. But Miles also has an enemy who is plotting to turn the romantic ceremony into a festival of death.
Series: Miles Vorkosigan Adventures
Audio CD
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks; Unabridged edition (January 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1433250187
ISBN-13: 978-1433250187
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 5.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #4,386,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #23 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( B ) > Bujold, Lois McMaster #3042 in Books > Books on CD > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction #3539 in Books > Books on CD > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy
As a long time fan of Miles Vorkosigan, I really enjoyed reading about his wedding and all the fun that can happen when a mutant like Taura visits Barrayar. The story holds true to the elements present in the rest of the series, interesting characters that you get invested in enough to care about, both wry and silly humor, and a good story that moves fast enough that even without a lot of action/adventure gets to the end leaving you wishing for more.This work is much shorter than the novels, and while extremely entertaining, does not have enough background information about the Vorkosiverse to make it a good starting point for the series. So if you are just starting the saga, begin with one of the novels and let this be a dainty little tidbit to digest in between reading a couple of them. Good story, good narrator, and a throughly enjoyable listen.
WINTERFAIR GIFTS is a beautiful little gem. I have a copy on my Kindle and another on my iPod so I can reread it when ever I'm stuck somewhere and don't want to die of boredom. As far as I'm concerned McMaster has never written a bad book, and since I can't carry my entire collection with me (I have her books in hard copies so the won't wear out so quickly), I can take this along to give myself a quick fix. Miles is not the main character this time, but it doesn't matter. He there just enough, while Tara gets to shine. There is also a nice little mystery ... I recommend this story highly. If you liked the Vorkosigan Saga, WINTERFAIR GIFTS is a wonderful addition.
Despite having only one vocal actor I had no problems at all "seeing" the different characters. I found the story, as I have come to expect from Lois McMaster Bujold, to be funny, moving, dramatic and satisfying, though I do wish it was longer. By being a novela some parts were glossed over in a hurry that left me wanting more. The audio adaptation is never quite what I hear and see in my mind when I read the story, but this one was well done. Not quite to the standards of a "Readers Chair production", but since they are out of business right now, this is very good.
Miles Vorkosigan's wedding comes off without a hitch. But the few days preceding it, not so much. Eketerin is endangered, Taura is dressed to the nines, and Roic gets what he wished for. Winterfair Gifts is a must-read for fans of the Vorkosigan Saga.
I have been reading Bujold's Vor series for many years, and eagerly await each new story. Often, popular authors get asked to write stories to be included in someone's anthology, or perhaps a special collection for a show, etc. Winterfair Gifts reads like one of these, tossed off quickly.The story takes place between two of the novels and involves Miles' wedding with Ekaterin. The focus, however, is mainly on Sergeant Taura, a character well known to readers of the earlier stories about Miles with the Dendarii Free Mercenaries. I will admit that Taura has not gotten her time in the spotlight, so the story is worthwhile for that. Ultimately, though, Winterfair Gifts felt like a "throwaway" story, one which you could easily skip if you didn't feel a need to read everything Vor. It is a good story, don't get me wrong, but is not as complex as the novels (it is more a novella-length) and doesn't add anything significant to the canon.
I'm going to post the same review for the entire Vorkosigan saga. MANY years ago (shudder to think - we only had books made of paper) I was stuck at an airport with nothing to read. The only book I could find in the store was named Cordelia's Honor. It was about a woman and written by a woman. From what I could discern from the cover, it was a combination of books from some sort of "Vor" series. With no intent to offend anyone, for me back in those days the book had 2.9 strikes against it before I read the first word: it was about a woman, science fiction written by a woman, and this stupid sounding "Vor" word. I very reluctantly bought it. I sat down in that miserable airport (aren't they all?) and started reading. On that day, the fickle finger of fate was FINALLY pointing favorably for me. The book had rich and deep characters, complex plot, thought provoking ideas and statements, a different way of "seeing" things, it forced you to think instead of numbly process words - it was everything I love about my life long relentless pursuit of reading. I've read the series several times. They still make me think, they still make tears, and I keep finding little tidbits that I missed. I could write much more but I'm going to try to imitate a wonderful author named Lois McMaster Bujold and use just the right amount of words - no more, no less. Please read these in order. I promise you won't regret it. I'm ashamed of myself for not writing a review years ago. I feel that I did a great author a disservice by not giving her a few timely words after the thousands of wonderful words she's given me.
Lois McMaster Bujold is currently being published by Baen books. She is rereleasing the Vorkosigan novels as duologies with a new short story added to each duology. Miles in Love is a duology featuring the novels Komarr and A Civil Campaign. WinterFair gifts was a short story added to the duology to provide new content. The entire trio is available from Baen as an eBook for $6.00. I am not sure of it's availability from .This is NOT a good choice for a stand alone short story. If you are interested in learning about and enjoying the Vorkosigan series I heartily recommend starting with Cordelia's Honor, a duology about Miles's mother which introduces the series $5.00 or Warrior's Apprentice about the early adventures of Miles Vorkosigan. Warrior's Apprentice is available as a FREE download from the Baen Free Library.If you are looking for romantic murder mystery sci-fi I recommend starting with Miles in Love as the earlier books are more action adventure oriented.SPOILERThis is a pleasant little murder mystery with Miles and Ekaterin cast as victims while their friends and staff react to save them. Hardly a must read, but if your are a Vor fan I am sure you will enjoy it.
Winterfair Gifts (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Ethan of Athos (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) (The Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Cryoburn (A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure) (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Komarr: A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Borders of Infinity: A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures, Book 17) (Vorkosigan Saga) Miles on Miles: Interviews and Encounters with Miles Davis (Musicians in Their Own Words) Brothers in Arms (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) The Warrior's Apprentice (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) A Civil Campaign: A Comedy of Biology and Manners (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Mirror Dance (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Memory (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Diplomatic Immunity (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Cetaganda (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures, 1995) Komarr (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures, 1998) A Civil Campaign (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Borders of Infinity (Three Miles Vorkosigan Adventures)(Library Edition) Ethan of Athos (Library (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) Cryoburn (A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure) (Library Edition)
