Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Barrayar

By: Lois McMaster Bujold
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Political intrigue, culture clash and romance make a stirring mix in this award-winning follow-up novel to the acclaimed Shards of Honor.

In the wake of interplanetary war, former commander Cordelia Naismith has deserted her own planet to marry the leader of the defeated enemy, Aral Vorkosigan. On his home planet of Barrayar, two rival factions are eyeing the recently vacated throne, and Aral, recently appointed Regent of Barrayar by the Emperor on his deathbed, must stand between them.

Lord and Lady Vorkosigan, Aral and Cordelia struggle to establish stability in a fragile government thrown into confusion by the transition of power and the threat of civil war. When a palace coup endangers the government, their lives, and her unborn son, Cordelia takes action to secure the safety of her new family and new home.

Hi-fi sci-fi: listen to more in the Vorkosigan saga.
©1991 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Falling Free cover art
Crystal Soldier cover art
The Hallowed Hunt cover art
The Sharing Knife, Volume 1 cover art
Past Imperative cover art
Urban Legends cover art
Under the Rushes cover art
Timekeeper cover art
Incubation cover art
The Very First Damned Thing cover art
The Midwife's Revolt cover art
Faerie Wars cover art
The Poisoner's Enemy cover art
The Black Madonna cover art
The Cat Who Walks through Walls cover art
Time for the Stars cover art

Critic reviews

1992 Hugo Award, Best Novel

What listeners say about Barrayar

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    172
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    139
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    147
  • 4 Stars
    37
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a classic!

Absolutely fabulous reading of the Hugo Award winning Barrayar. By turns, exhilarating moving & funny

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love this book!

Wonderful characters and great pacy plot. So much humour and humanity. And the narrator is excellent too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

flawless

the narrator is great. incomparably good science fiction. McMaster is rightfully acknowledged​ as an SF great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not as good but still enjoyable

Compared to its predecessor, this book is not as enjoyable. Cordelia’s charisma never gets to me, although I am fascinated by supporting characters such as Bothari and Illyan. Cannot wait to finally read Miles’ adventures!

Grover Gardner does a good job as usual, every character recognizable and easily differentiated from each other. I do agree, however, that this is a story better to be told by a female narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my favorites

Bujold is great at adding humor to dramatic stories. she also has a talent for using just a few words to give a range of visuals, emotion and dialogue. I enjoy her strong female characters in this story and listen to it every year or two.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

awesome

i have always loved this book series, this one fills in gaps in plot nicely

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

This series is a masterpiece.

I have loved this series since I was first introduced to it in the early 2000's. LMB manages to combine sci-fi, and what feels like a historical drama effortlessly, all based around characters who grow and change with the reader. This is where it begins in earnest, and while so many of the books are included with membership, I'd recommend them to anyone without hesitation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

I thought it was a great follow-up to Shards of Honor. I will be getting the next book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding adaptation

I love the books by Lois McMaster Bujold and so my standards for judging an adaptation are pretty high. I am delighted to say I thought this was a superb job. Everything about it was so enjoyable. I laughed, frowned, worried and even wept at points where the emotions I first felt from reading this book were brought to the fore once again by the reader’s performance. I will be buying others in the series without a doubt. Well done Audible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story well read

Excellent start to the Miles Vorkosigan novels. Really recommend these novels. The set up for the rest of the series and the introduction to the most fascinating characters in any science fiction novel. Flawed but superbly gifted and driven Miles and his family.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!