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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I liked it, but not quite as much as the others in this series I've read so far, probably because there wasn't as much emphasis on anyone's character development but Miles' and Gregor's (although I did really enjoy those moments, especially getting to have a closer look at grown-up Gregor and his struggles). Cavilo was interesting and I'm sure she'll be back. And I truly feel for Illyan, poor man. No escape from Miles now.
Two novellas* and a novel put Miles back on the map. The Mountains of Mourning sees Miles deal with justice and prejudice in a rurla backwater, while Weatherman has Ensign Vorkosigan assigned to a shitty arctic training camp staffed by drunkards and commanded by a sadist. After mutinying to save the lives of 20 men, a disgraced Miles is assigned to the intelligence section. Interstellar war is heating up in a crucial jumpgate hub, and all Miles has to do is keep his head down, follow orders, and distract attention from the real spies following him to get his career back on track. Of course, nothing like that happens, and Miles has to save the Dendarii Mercenaries, himself, and some Very Important People to avert an invasion from a foreign power and foil the plans of a completely insane mercenary captains. Great fun, great action, and a fantastic book.
*Out of fairness to my colleagues in Bookrace2014, I'm not counting the novellas separately.
*****
((Updated for the Hugo Read Through, from August 2014.))
I have to admit, I have doubts about the Vorkosigan books. I didn't grow up with them, and started the series in 2014. I guess the roots of my suspicion are in the statement "Nothing this much fun can be good for you." The Vorkosigan books are a hell of a lot of fun, and finding out that they might actually be good is like discovering that chocolate cures cancer, or that the person you made out with backstage is perfect for you and isn't crazy at all. I can only assume Bujold got this award the old-fashioned way: writing a bunch of good books, building up a fanbase, and then writing a truly great novel (publication-wise, The Vor game is #6. Story-wise, it's #5, slotted between a bunch of prequels and sequels)
The Vor Game is the most typical straight military SF of the series. Miles Vorkosigan is the scion of a noble family on the planet Barrayar, a brilliant and hyperactive military genius who's father is a legendary general, former regent, and current Prime Minister. Miles' problem is his physical deformity, poisoned in the womb during an attempted assassination, Miles has fragile bones and a twisted body that kept him out of the military, until a truly insane series of escapades saw him in command of a mercenary fleet at the age of 18 in The Warrior's Apprentice. Having earned a second chance, all Miles needs to do is keep his mouth shut, and let his abilities carry him to a brilliant career.
Of course it's never easy. His first assignment out of the Academy is as weather officer to Camp Frostbite, an arctic training station run by alcoholics and sadists. Miles is nearly killed when a prank goes awry, and then having gained some level of competence, throws everything on the line when the insane General Metzov orders a group of technicians to manually clean a leaking chemical weapons bunker rather than purifying it with fire. When they refuse, he charges them with mutiny and has them strip at gunpoint in sub-zero temperatures. Thinking quickly, Miles joins them, since refusing to obey an illegal, or at least very dangerous, order during peace-time isn;t mutiny, and Miles is important enough that his death can't be covered up.
Of course, it's a political disaster and the Vorkosigans are too honest to pull strings and get Miles the job he really wants on the latest battlecruiser. So after months of purgatory in ImpSec headquarters, Miles is assigned as the junior member of an intelligence mission to scout out the Hegen Hub, a star system with strategic jump points leading all over place, where various powers are militarizing. In the second act, the intelligence operation goes awry, as Miles' cover is blown by a sergeant from the mercenaries he commanded in The Warrior's Apprentice, he's accused of murdering a source by the local authorities, separated from his commander, and worst of all, runs into Cousin Greg, AKA Gregor Vorbarra Emperor of Barrayar, who's gotten very drunk, very depressed, skipped out on a diplomatic visit, and is now without money or contacts in a place where he might be captured by enemy agents.
When Gregor falls into the hands of Cavilo, the five foot, blond, and completely insane commander of another mercenary fleet, Miles needs to get his emperor back by any means necessary. Which involves first retaking command of his own mercenaries, who have fallen under the sway of their previous admiral in his absence, figuring out Cavilo's triple-backstab plot to let the age-old enemies of Barrayar seize the Hegen Hub and then escape by marrying Gregor and becoming Empress, retrieving Gregor in a tense negotiation, and then holding the line until reinforcements arrive.
It's an insane display of forward momentum and faking it until you make, inspired by T.E. Lawrence among other things. The characters are true joys to experience, especially Miles' continual striving and attempts to con his way out of trouble that he in no way is responsible for. Bujold also has a subtle skill as a writing and setting builder. She stays away from giant info dumps, but there's a diversity and ease to her ideas that I'm not sure I've seen in this series since Heinlein. The only flaw, and one which becomes more apparent later in the series, is that Miles wins too completely. Both Cavilo and Metzov are dead at the end of the story, when they would've made fine antagonists to grow along with Miles. The foes of Memory onwards barely seem to pose a threat to our heroes, which weakens the later books.
*Out of fairness to my colleagues in Bookrace2014, I'm not counting the novellas separately.
*****
((Updated for the Hugo Read Through, from August 2014.))
I have to admit, I have doubts about the Vorkosigan books. I didn't grow up with them, and started the series in 2014. I guess the roots of my suspicion are in the statement "Nothing this much fun can be good for you." The Vorkosigan books are a hell of a lot of fun, and finding out that they might actually be good is like discovering that chocolate cures cancer, or that the person you made out with backstage is perfect for you and isn't crazy at all. I can only assume Bujold got this award the old-fashioned way: writing a bunch of good books, building up a fanbase, and then writing a truly great novel (publication-wise, The Vor game is #6. Story-wise, it's #5, slotted between a bunch of prequels and sequels)
The Vor Game is the most typical straight military SF of the series. Miles Vorkosigan is the scion of a noble family on the planet Barrayar, a brilliant and hyperactive military genius who's father is a legendary general, former regent, and current Prime Minister. Miles' problem is his physical deformity, poisoned in the womb during an attempted assassination, Miles has fragile bones and a twisted body that kept him out of the military, until a truly insane series of escapades saw him in command of a mercenary fleet at the age of 18 in The Warrior's Apprentice. Having earned a second chance, all Miles needs to do is keep his mouth shut, and let his abilities carry him to a brilliant career.
Of course it's never easy. His first assignment out of the Academy is as weather officer to Camp Frostbite, an arctic training station run by alcoholics and sadists. Miles is nearly killed when a prank goes awry, and then having gained some level of competence, throws everything on the line when the insane General Metzov orders a group of technicians to manually clean a leaking chemical weapons bunker rather than purifying it with fire. When they refuse, he charges them with mutiny and has them strip at gunpoint in sub-zero temperatures. Thinking quickly, Miles joins them, since refusing to obey an illegal, or at least very dangerous, order during peace-time isn;t mutiny, and Miles is important enough that his death can't be covered up.
Of course, it's a political disaster and the Vorkosigans are too honest to pull strings and get Miles the job he really wants on the latest battlecruiser. So after months of purgatory in ImpSec headquarters, Miles is assigned as the junior member of an intelligence mission to scout out the Hegen Hub, a star system with strategic jump points leading all over place, where various powers are militarizing. In the second act, the intelligence operation goes awry, as Miles' cover is blown by a sergeant from the mercenaries he commanded in The Warrior's Apprentice, he's accused of murdering a source by the local authorities, separated from his commander, and worst of all, runs into Cousin Greg, AKA Gregor Vorbarra Emperor of Barrayar, who's gotten very drunk, very depressed, skipped out on a diplomatic visit, and is now without money or contacts in a place where he might be captured by enemy agents.
When Gregor falls into the hands of Cavilo, the five foot, blond, and completely insane commander of another mercenary fleet, Miles needs to get his emperor back by any means necessary. Which involves first retaking command of his own mercenaries, who have fallen under the sway of their previous admiral in his absence, figuring out Cavilo's triple-backstab plot to let the age-old enemies of Barrayar seize the Hegen Hub and then escape by marrying Gregor and becoming Empress, retrieving Gregor in a tense negotiation, and then holding the line until reinforcements arrive.
It's an insane display of forward momentum and faking it until you make, inspired by T.E. Lawrence among other things. The characters are true joys to experience, especially Miles' continual striving and attempts to con his way out of trouble that he in no way is responsible for. Bujold also has a subtle skill as a writing and setting builder. She stays away from giant info dumps, but there's a diversity and ease to her ideas that I'm not sure I've seen in this series since Heinlein. The only flaw, and one which becomes more apparent later in the series, is that Miles wins too completely. Both Cavilo and Metzov are dead at the end of the story, when they would've made fine antagonists to grow along with Miles. The foes of Memory onwards barely seem to pose a threat to our heroes, which weakens the later books.
Maybe 3.5 stars. A little slow in parts, but it ultimately comes together into another surprising adventure of Miles Vorkosigan. Really enjoying this series.
adventurous
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My love for Miles knows no bounds and continues here. I was glad to spend some time with Gregor as well. I like the dynamic of the childhood friends. I love that in any other series Ivan would be the handsome hero and Miles would be his acerbic, smarter sidekick. So I love that Miles gets to be the hero.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a very fun book that I don't think I was especially in the mood for. I really loved the beginning where Miles, fresh from the military academy, gets sent to work on an arctic military base to do a job he doesn't know how to do, commanded by an officer he doesn't know how to charm. This is the kind of situation that it's interesting to see Miles in, where he's on uncertain ground and in over his head. Once he leaves the arctic he's confident again and people at the highest levels are always waiting to back him up and fix his mistakes. That's where I lose interest.