Lois McMaster Bujold

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the giants of modern science fiction. Born in Columbus, Ohio in 1949, she became a voracious reader as a child, influenced by her father, an engineering professor at Ohio State University. Robert Charles McMaster was very well known in the scientific community, editor of the most important text in the field of welding engineering.

The best place to start is the Vorkosigan Saga series, the earliest of Lois McMaster Bujold's multi-book series: it opens with Aftermath (In the Cordelia's Honor Collection) (1986) and runs to 24 books across 1986–2018, ending with The Flowers of Vashnoi (2018). Lois McMaster Bujold's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.

Lois McMaster Bujold has 107 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1985 and 2026. 91 of them belong to 7 named series — the largest being the Vorkosigan Saga series with 24 books — and 16 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Lois McMaster Bujold's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Vorkosigan Saga (1986–2018, 24 books), Curse Of Chalion (2000–2005, 3 books) and The Sharing Knife (2006–2019, 5 books), plus 3 more.

This guide splits Lois McMaster Bujold's 107 books into 7 named series and 16 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Vorkosigan Saga (24 books, 1986–2018); Penric and Desdemona (16 books, 2015–2026); The Sharing Knife (5 books, 2006–2019); Curse Of Chalion (3 books, 2000–2005); Vorkosigan Collections (1 book, 2008), plus 2 further series.