The Vorkosigan Saga reading order

A plan for the whole series

20 volumes, 6,533 pages, about 120 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 5 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 6, “Borders of Infinity” (by 53%). Plan your break after volume 5, before the series plans it for you.
• Readers scored volume 10, “Cetaganda”, below its predecessor (7.9 after 8.2). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you. From volume 12 the form returns.

Stages

8 stages, with 7 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around May 15, 2027, about 6 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 116 habout 3 weeksby November 19, 2026

   • 1. Shards of Honor1986 · 300 pages · 6 h
   • 2. The Warrior's Apprentice1986 · ≈ 327 pages · 6 h
   • 3. Ethan of Athos1986 · 240 pages · 4 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 23, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 212 h16 daysby December 9, 2026

   • 4. Falling Free1988 · 307 pages · 6 h
   • 5. Brothers in Arms1989 · 338 pages · 6 h
4. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 18, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 319 habout 4 weeksby January 12, 2027

   • 6. Borders of Infinity1989 · 311 pages · 6 h
   • 7. Weatherman1990 · ≈ 327 pages · 6 h
   • 8. Barrayar1991 · 389 pages · 7 h
6. Short breakThe Emperor's Soul · Brandon Sanderson · 96 pp. · score 8.82 h, by January 16, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 420 habout 4 weeksby February 11, 2027

   • 9. Mirror Dance1994 · 448 pages · 8 h
   • 10. Cetaganda1996 · 302 pages · 6 h
   • 11. Labyrinth1989 · ≈ 327 pages · 6 h
8. BreakI'm Glad My Mom Died · Jennette McCurdy · 320 pp. · score 8.96 h, by February 21, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 515 h19 daysby March 12, 2027

   • 12. Memory1996 · 462 pages · 8 h
   • 13. Komarr1998 · 332 pages · 6 h
10. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by March 16, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 615 h20 daysby April 6, 2027

    • 14. A Civil Campaign1999 · 428 pages · 8 h
    • 15. Winterfair Gifts2004 · 76 pages · 1 h
    • 16. Diplomatic Immunity2002 · 330 pages · 6 h
12. Short breakA Room of One's Own · Virginia Woolf · 144 pp. · score 8.23 h, by April 10, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 715 h20 daysby April 30, 2027

    • 17. Cryoburn2010 · 373 pages · 7 h
    • 18. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance2012 · 432 pages · 8 h
14. Short breakThe Prophet · Kahlil Gibran · 116 pp. · score 8.22 h, by May 4, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 89 h12 daysby May 15, 2027

    • 19. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen2016 · 391 pages · 7 h
    • 20. The Flowers of Vashnoi2018 · 93 pages · 2 h
16. The end of the series

    May 15, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: peak in the middle. The middle volumes (8.1) are the best; the ending (7.8) does not match them.

Best volume: Memory (8.3, 170 ratings). Weakest: Ethan of Athos (7.5). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 5 and 6: 53%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (7.6) scores close to the series average or above it.