Barrayar

This is the third of Bujold's Vokosigan Saga novels I've read so far. I haven't read them in order. I think I might have appreciated them more if I had. Barrayar has to do with the birth of Miles Vorkosigan, the protagonist in the other two I've read, during an Imperial coup on the planet Barrayar. The usurper is thwarted by Cordelia Vorkosigan, Miles mother, and her cohorts. There are occasional references to things that happened before, that led to the current characters' circumstances, that presumably took place in Bujold's Shards of Honor, which I have not read.

Bujold's writing is characterized by dialogue that could better be described as banter, even in the most dire of circumstances. Even though there is treachery, mayhem, and murder, this style gives these novels a lighthearted tone.