Cordelia's adventures continue with Lois McMaster Bujold's 1992 political thriller Barrayar. Kirk and Sam had a great time discussing this tremendous book.
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VOR-CABULARY:
- Katas - a set combination of positions and movements performed as an exercise
- Bolero - a loose waist-length jacket open at the front (comes up multiple times as something Drou is wearing)
- Vassal Secundus - Aral uses it to refer to his position as someone who is sworn directly to the Emperor
- Vassal - a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom they have vowed homage
- Secundus - Latin term meaning second or following
- Punctilio - a minute detail of conduct in a ceremony or in observance of a code
- Cosset - to pamper or treat as a pet
- Riverine - relating to, formed by, or resembling a river
- Sobriquet - nickname, referring to Aral’s title “the Butcher of Komarr”
- Inveigled - to win over by wiles
- Paroxysm - a sudden outburst, fit, or attack (as of emotion)
- Caravanserai - an inn surrounding a court in eastern countries where caravans rest at night
- Teratogenic - Harming embryonic/fetal development. Used in contrast to mutagenic, which means altering DNA.
- Iatrogenic - a condition induced unintentionally by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures
- Prole - proletarian, the laboring class
- Sibilant - a sound resembling that of the s or the sh in sash
- Commensal - A relationship between two kinds of organisms in which one obtains food or benefits from the other without damaging or benefiting it. Used by Cordelia when she is thinking about horses.
- Flinders - Splinters, fragments. Describes Cordelia’s slippers after escaping into the mountains.
- Suasion - the act of influencing or persuading
- Grubstake - material assistance (such as a loan) provided for launching an enterprise or for a person in difficult circumstances
- Duenna - an elderly woman serving as governess and companion to the younger ladies in a Spanish or Portuguese family
- Raff - as in riffraff, disreputable persons
- Villi - small finger-like projections, such as those in the small intestine that absorb nutrients from food
- Belike - casual, noncommittal expression in the Dendarii hills, meaning “maybe” or “perhaps”
- Marquetry - Inlay or veneer forming decorative patterns
- Sere - dry
- Sitzkrieg - Referring to a period of inaction after Germany invaded Poland and the UK and France declared war to start WWII, but before any Allied operations in Europe. Also known as the Phoney War. A play on blitzkrieg.
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🎨 SHOW ART by Tom Deja, Bossman Graphics
🎸 THEME MUSIC by Kirk Hamilton
📚 VORKOSIGAN SAGA READING ORDER
- Shards of Honor
- Barrayar
- The Warrior’s Apprentice
- The Vor Game
- Cetaganda
- Brothers in Arms
- Borders of Infinity
- Mirror Dance
- Memory
- Komarr
- A Civil Campaign
- Falling Free
- Ethan of Athos
- Winterfair Gifts + Diplomatic Immunity
- Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance
- The Flowers of Vashnoi + Cryoburn
- Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen
