On one hand Shards of Honor is showing its age. It is definitely a cold war book with the Barrayarans as a mix of Soviet Russia and Imperial Japan.

On the other hand this 1986 military sci-fi has a female lead and a strong anti-war message, using brains to try and stop a war within the limits of a Militaristic honor code.

Sadly back then, a romance between the two leads was inevitable.

Advanced for its time, Shards of Honor is still a good read.