Hello, Rangers! We’re back from our break to tackle the 5th book (chronologically) in Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Vorkosigan Saga — the unfortunately somewhat disappointing Cetaganda. Our newbie, Kate, is joined by Vorkosigan Veterans, Paul and Alex, to discuss the somewhat transhumanist Cetagandan empire, how Miles is still woefully caught up in the patriarchy, why Cetaganda could have really used a Cetagandan POV character, and, of course, why Ivan killed a kitten.

Next time, we’ve decided to tackle the novella omnibus, Borders of Infinity, utterly bypassing Ethan of Athos (because everyone hates it).

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Show Notes:

* Cetaganda

* Chronological Reading Order of The Vorkosigan Saga (though we’re not totally using this)

* Borders of Infinity

Feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page.

Our new intro and outro music comes “Dimension” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

Hello, Rangers! In this installment of Reading Rangers, Paul, Trish, Kate and special guest, Anne Lyle, tackle the fourth book (internal chronology) of the Vorkosigan Saga — The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold. Kate’s the only new one this time, so the old hats do their best not to spoil anything for her! They discuss Gregor’s responsibilities and the concept of noblesse oblige, the disappointment of the two dimensional femme fatale character, and why the original novella, Weatherman (otherwise known as the first six chapters of The Vor Game), is so good compared to the novel as a whole. They also ponder the very real possibility that George R.R. Martin found quite a bit of inspiration in Miles.

Next time, we’ll be discussing Cetaganda. Miles has defeated them once, but will he be able to navigate their world? Find out next time!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Reading Rangers #4 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

* The Vor Game

* Chronological Reading Order of The Vorkosigan Saga (though we’re not totally using this)

* Cetaganda

* Anne Lyle’s Things:

* Anne’s Website

* Anne’s Books

* Anne’s Twitter

Our new intro music comes “The Launch” by Chronox (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week

Hello, Rangers! In this installment of Reading Rangers, Jen, Paul, Alex, and Stina dive into the third book (internal chronology) of the Vorkosigan Saga, The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold. Alex and Paul offer the experienced voices, Stina the slightly new, and Jen the completely new (and she’s SO excited to finally meet an adult Miles)! The team tackle everything from Miles’ improbable ability to juggle lots of plates, even though he does drop a few along the way, how his level of privilege plays into some choices that have far-reaching consequences, the dunder-headedness of Ivan Vorpatril, and so much more along the way.

Next time, we’ll be discussing The Vor Game. Will the Dendarii Mercenaries join Miles again? Find out next time!

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Reading Rangers #3 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

* The Warrior’s Apprentice

* Chronological Reading Order of The Vorkosigan Saga (though we’re not totally using this)

* The Vor Game

Our new intro music comes “The Launch” by Chronox (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week

Hello, Rangers! In our second installment of Reading Rangers, Trish, Paul, Stina, and Kate dive into the second book (internal chronology) of the Vorkosigan Saga, Barrayar, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Trish and Paul offer the experienced voices, while Stina and Kate are mostly new.  There is quite a bit to unpack in this book, including why Cordelia is homesick, what the hell is up with the toxic patriarchy of the Vors, and how awesome cave systems are for screwing with stupid soldiers.

Next time, we’ll be discussing The Warrior’s Apprentice. Kate might have actually cried a little when she found out it wasn’t all about Cordelia.

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Reading Rangers #1 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

* Barrayar

* Chronological Reading Order of The Vorkosigan Saga (though we’re not totally using this)

* The Warrior’s Apprentice

Our new intro music comes “The Launch” by Chronox (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week

Butterfly in the sky! I can go twice as high! I can’t sing, so just listen to the theme song… but every time it says Rainbow… think Rangers…

Yes, we really ARE that nerdy!

Reading Rangers is our new, bi-monthly (for now) episode series in which we pick a book and then discuss it!  Thank you to our listener, Edward Giordano, for suggesting this many moons ago, because a book club seemed the perfect fit when Paul and Alex found out that Jen had NEVER READ THE VORKOSIGAN SAGA! (booooo hisssss). Clearly, burning Jen at the stake was not an option, so we’re doing this instead. Jen, Paul and Alex are joined by Stina and Kate on this edition of Reading Rangers to discuss Lois McMaster Bujold’s Shards of Honor. In future episodes, we’ll likely have a rotating cast of both new and old readers. The Vorkosigan Saga is about 50 million books long, so it may take us a while to get through it, but when we’re done we look forward to having listener input on what to read next!

We do hope you enjoy the crew’s discussion of everything from romance (or lack thereof) to interplanetary politics, culture wars, pod babies, disability representation, and Machiavellian emperors. It’s a doozy! If you like, follow along at home! Our next episode of Reading Rangers will be all about Barrayar.

Note:  If you have iTunes and like this show, please give us a review on our iTunes page, or feel free to email us with your thoughts about the show!

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Reading Rangers #1 — Download (MP3)

Show Notes:

Shards of Honor

Chronological Reading Order of The Vorkosigan Saga (though we’re not totally using this)

Barrayar

Our new intro music comes “The Launch” by Chronox (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

That’s all, folks!  Thanks for listening.  See you next week.