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fogisbeautiful's review
5.0
Easily five stars! The arc in this particular omnibus was especially wonderful to me, as I love sibling relationships and this was the most interesting sibling relationship I think I've read so far. And so well handled. As a friend told me, it was very human, much more human than I was afraid it would be, and with a happy ending besides! I have never been so pleased to be wrong in my predictions in all my life! :)
titusfortner's review
5.0
So, this book had 3 portions. I absolutely loved Borders of infinity, I was a little annoyed with Brothers in Arms, and while Mirror Dance was a little slow through the middle I felt like the payoff at the end was supremely worthwhile.
I really wasn't sure how I felt about the cloned brother thing. I guess it solves the problem of why no database in the galaxy includes a picture of both Miles Vorkosigan and Naismith. At the same time, I found Mark very uncompelling as a character until toward the end of Mirror Dance. At that point, trudging through his character arc felt justified.
Spoiler
I really wasn't sure how I felt about the cloned brother thing. I guess it solves the problem of why no database in the galaxy includes a picture of both Miles Vorkosigan and Naismith. At the same time, I found Mark very uncompelling as a character until toward the end of Mirror Dance. At that point, trudging through his character arc felt justified.
jandi's review
5.0
This omnibus edition contains a novella, "Borders of Infinity", along with two novels, "Brothers in Arms" and "Mirror Dance". The three stories are quite closely related to each other, you definitely need to read them in sequence (and should read at least the "Young Miles" omnibus before jumping in).
"Border of Infinity" is a brilliant novella where we see Miles thrown into a Cetagandan POW camp, with literally nothing but his wits and charming personality. It features Miles being, well, Miles, and is quite enjoyable. The resolution is very satisfying. This novella made me think a lot of Saramago's [b:Blindness|40495148|Blindness|José Saramago|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528481068l/40495148._SY75_.jpg|3213039], how different that one would have played with Miles around.
"Brother in Arms"is a little more disjointed and a weaker entry in the series. It's main purpose tho is to introduce a new character that plays a much larger (and darker, disturbingly darker, consider yourself warned) role in "Mirror Dance". The new character is fairly annoying on the first book, but managed to redeem himself on the second. The events on both books are a whirlwind, and they keep you reading compulsively, but the psychological aspect of the characters is masterful (specially on Mirror Dance). We see displays of brilliance again, but in contrast to [b:The Warrior's Apprentice|61906|The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga, #2)|Lois McMaster Bujold|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1170597854l/61906._SY75_.jpg|2792], there are few laugh out loud moments, this is more serious fare.
Even though half of the story in "Mirror Dance" did not feature Miles, this is one of my favorites in the series. The first arc of the story was painful, watching a train wreck every one could see from a mile away. Incompetence driven narratives drive me crazy, so I was happy to see character growth and a plot that highlighted the characters strengths, along with their weaknesses after that.. Cordelia also plays a bigger role in "Mirror Dance", so that may have something to do with my extra enjoyment of it. I'd like to see more of Ivan in the future tho, it is becoming more and more apparent there is more to him than meets the eye. And it was nice to see some references to Koudelka.
"Border of Infinity" is a brilliant novella where we see Miles thrown into a Cetagandan POW camp, with literally nothing but his wits and charming personality. It features Miles being, well, Miles, and is quite enjoyable. The resolution is very satisfying. This novella made me think a lot of Saramago's [b:Blindness|40495148|Blindness|José Saramago|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1528481068l/40495148._SY75_.jpg|3213039], how different that one would have played with Miles around.
"Brother in Arms"is a little more disjointed and a weaker entry in the series. It's main purpose tho is to introduce a new character that plays a much larger (and darker, disturbingly darker, consider yourself warned) role in "Mirror Dance". The new character is fairly annoying on the first book, but managed to redeem himself on the second. The events on both books are a whirlwind, and they keep you reading compulsively, but the psychological aspect of the characters is masterful (specially on Mirror Dance). We see displays of brilliance again, but in contrast to [b:The Warrior's Apprentice|61906|The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga, #2)|Lois McMaster Bujold|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1170597854l/61906._SY75_.jpg|2792], there are few laugh out loud moments, this is more serious fare.
Even though half of the story in "Mirror Dance" did not feature Miles, this is one of my favorites in the series. The first arc of the story was painful, watching a train wreck every one could see from a mile away. Incompetence driven narratives drive me crazy, so I was happy to see character growth and a plot that highlighted the characters strengths, along with their weaknesses after that.
Spoiler
Now that Mark, Miles'clone, can stand on his own feet, it will be very interesting going forward how the interaction between the two plays out. I'm also curious on whether Aral will take on the governor role, even if just to revisit the romantic spot where he met Cordelialisagoe's review
5.0
These books are awesome. You should read them all immediately. This omnibus contains 3 novels again and they all involve spy vs. spy type thriller action. Bujold is brilliant at pacing and at creating believable plot twists when you think the story is about to crash and burn.
wildflowerz76's review
4.0
"The Borders of Infinity" - 1/1/12 - A - I liked this story. I liked how we didn't know why Miles was there for most of it, so we didn't know what was coming at all. Very entertaining.
Brothers in Arms - 1/2/12 - B+ - I rather liked this one as well, but it felt like it dragged a lot in places. I liked the Galani character. I get that Ivan's not the fastest thinker, but I don't get why Miles seems to dislike him so much.
Mirror Dance - 1/5/12 - B- - I liked this one too, but it felt like me took forever to get through it. This one felt like it drug a bit too. Am I reading these too close together? I'm not sure. I think I should take a break from them for a little while. Maybe. I don't know.
Brothers in Arms - 1/2/12 - B+ - I rather liked this one as well, but it felt like it dragged a lot in places. I liked the Galani character. I get that Ivan's not the fastest thinker, but I don't get why Miles seems to dislike him so much.
Mirror Dance - 1/5/12 - B- - I liked this one too, but it felt like me took forever to get through it. This one felt like it drug a bit too. Am I reading these too close together? I'm not sure. I think I should take a break from them for a little while. Maybe. I don't know.
collegecate's review
5.0
11/4/18: This time around, I read the short story and Brothers in Arms in a different volume, so just read mirror dance.
So good! Lots of identity issues. There's nothing like sci-fi to highlight a theme that would utterly bore me in a "lit fic" style novel.
So good! Lots of identity issues. There's nothing like sci-fi to highlight a theme that would utterly bore me in a "lit fic" style novel.
testpattern's review
4.0
The latest episode in my literary digression. I read this when I was like, 12 or 13, and erased it from my mind. Recently, I've been rediscovering the mainstream sf of my youth, and picked this collection up again, and I'm really liking this. Rip-roaring political-military sf adventure. Light, but well-executed.
arswearingen's review
4.0
More like 4.5 stars. The short story starting this book was wonderful, full of detail and action and an unexpected twist showing that Miles really did have a solid plan the whole time. The next two books involved Miles’ clone, first his discovery on Earth and then his plot to replace him and finally Mark coming into his own as a Vorkosigan. The Earth story was just alright, I didn’t really care about the clone story line throughout that but finally in Mirror Dance Mark really came to life as Miles did the opposite. I liked how the story shifted in new directions I wasn’t expecting, and how both Mark and Miles really changed and grew as characters throughout the book.
shantastic's review
5.0
Basically, I love this series and this particular omnibus is my favorite so far. I love watching Miles grow up as the series progresses. Very highly recommended!
mrswhiteinthelibrary's review
4.0
Well okay, this is two novels and a short story (and I feel it's glaringly missing "Labyrinth," which really should be included).
"Borders of Infinity" is incredible- it's tense, exciting, hopeful, and damnably tragic. One of the best stories featuring Miles Vorkosigan, but blessedly brief- its intensity would become unbearable if it were any longer.
Brothers in Arms is, I think, one of the weakest of the Vorkosigan books. It's not bad, per se, and like many of the Vorkosigan books, the pacing isn't off, but something about it didn't work for me. I was interested to have a book actually set on Earth- in futuristic London, no less!- but Bujold did almost nothing with what could have been a fascinating setting. More importantly, the introduction of the clone concept seemed to come out of nowhere and really wasn't developed terribly well. I never completely understood why Miles felt so much dedication towards his clone-brother and the character did little for me. I liked that Ivan was just hanging around randomly again (one of my favorite running jokes, if it can be called a joke, is Ivan popping up seemingly for no reason in all of Miles' adventures) and I really enjoyed the rapport between Miles and Quinn. I also liked the new character of Galeni and the idea of the political complexities on Komarr, but I feel like the novel just didn't go anywhere to speak of. Especially coming off the intensity of "Borders of Infinity" it just felt rather lackluster. Not bad, but not great.
What Brothers in Arms lacks in intensity, Mirror Dance makes up for. It is probably the only novel I've read that- slight spoiler- straight up kills the protagonist 1/4 of the way through the book. At first, Mark is a frustrating POV character but as the book goes on, he undergoes incredible development that really wins you over to him- he's no Miles, to be sure, but then again, that's the whole point, isn't it? Like other Vorkosigan books, the pacing IS rather wonky, but when the book picks up, it certainly picks up. It's also nice to see some more from Cordelia and Aral, who have been rather absent in the last few books, and to see the changing family dynamic with the introduction of Mark. I'm definitely on board to see what the future holds for the Vorkosigans.
"Borders of Infinity" is incredible- it's tense, exciting, hopeful, and damnably tragic. One of the best stories featuring Miles Vorkosigan, but blessedly brief- its intensity would become unbearable if it were any longer.
Brothers in Arms is, I think, one of the weakest of the Vorkosigan books. It's not bad, per se, and like many of the Vorkosigan books, the pacing isn't off, but something about it didn't work for me. I was interested to have a book actually set on Earth- in futuristic London, no less!- but Bujold did almost nothing with what could have been a fascinating setting. More importantly, the introduction of the clone concept seemed to come out of nowhere and really wasn't developed terribly well. I never completely understood why Miles felt so much dedication towards his clone-brother and the character did little for me. I liked that Ivan was just hanging around randomly again (one of my favorite running jokes, if it can be called a joke, is Ivan popping up seemingly for no reason in all of Miles' adventures) and I really enjoyed the rapport between Miles and Quinn. I also liked the new character of Galeni and the idea of the political complexities on Komarr, but I feel like the novel just didn't go anywhere to speak of. Especially coming off the intensity of "Borders of Infinity" it just felt rather lackluster. Not bad, but not great.
What Brothers in Arms lacks in intensity, Mirror Dance makes up for. It is probably the only novel I've read that- slight spoiler- straight up kills the protagonist 1/4 of the way through the book. At first, Mark is a frustrating POV character but as the book goes on, he undergoes incredible development that really wins you over to him- he's no Miles, to be sure, but then again, that's the whole point, isn't it? Like other Vorkosigan books, the pacing IS rather wonky, but when the book picks up, it certainly picks up. It's also nice to see some more from Cordelia and Aral, who have been rather absent in the last few books, and to see the changing family dynamic with the introduction of Mark. I'm definitely on board to see what the future holds for the Vorkosigans.