At least the (possibly) spoiled pairing is one I will wholeheartedly approve of if it is actually canon, heh.
what's the first book in the series?
This is a surprisingly difficult question! First, because the earliest books were published out of series-internal sequence, and second, because many of the books were published once as stand-alone novels and then later in anthologies, and there are novellas/short stories that fit into the sequence and may only be in the anthologies.
I like reading according to the series chronology (although there are a couple of stories set in the far distant past that I haven't read yet). So my personal suggestion would be to start with the two novels about Miles's parents, Shards of Honor and Barrayar, before moving on to the Miles books. (Miles's mother, Cordelia, is an excellent specimen of a strong Bujold heroine.) Confusingly, of course, these two books have been republished as one volume, Cordelia's Honor.
I actually use this Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_mcmaster_bujold#The_Vorkosigan_Saga) as a guide for what order to read the series in! (Yes, I am a geek.) I've read through Mirror Dance so far.
I think you will enjoy the Vorkosigan series if you do give it a try. It's set in a world with planetary governments and space travel, but it's really about people and complicated political situations. And although there are certain similarities between the patriarchal structure of Barrayaran society and what we see in Chalion, I've actually been quite struck by how different the two series feel -- LMB isn't just rehashing her futuristic galactic politics in medieval pseudo-Spain, more power to her.
no subject
what's the first book in the series?
This is a surprisingly difficult question! First, because the earliest books were published out of series-internal sequence, and second, because many of the books were published once as stand-alone novels and then later in anthologies, and there are novellas/short stories that fit into the sequence and may only be in the anthologies.
I like reading according to the series chronology (although there are a couple of stories set in the far distant past that I haven't read yet). So my personal suggestion would be to start with the two novels about Miles's parents, Shards of Honor and Barrayar, before moving on to the Miles books. (Miles's mother, Cordelia, is an excellent specimen of a strong Bujold heroine.) Confusingly, of course, these two books have been republished as one volume, Cordelia's Honor.
I actually use this Wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lois_mcmaster_bujold#The_Vorkosigan_Saga) as a guide for what order to read the series in! (Yes, I am a geek.) I've read through Mirror Dance so far.
I think you will enjoy the Vorkosigan series if you do give it a try. It's set in a world with planetary governments and space travel, but it's really about people and complicated political situations. And although there are certain similarities between the patriarchal structure of Barrayaran society and what we see in Chalion, I've actually been quite struck by how different the two series feel -- LMB isn't just rehashing her futuristic galactic politics in medieval pseudo-Spain, more power to her.