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A review by duffypratt
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
5.0
This book was thoroughly charming, with a dinner party in one chapter that ranks among the funniest things I've ever read. It's dedicated to Jane (Austen), Charlotte (Bronte), Georgette (Heyer) and Dorothy (L. Sayers). And it's subtitled "A Comedy of Manners and Biology." That's an unusual mix for a science fiction novel, but Bujold makes it work almost effortlessly.
Miles is determined to marry Ekaterina, and courts her with much of the same calculation and obsessive determination that he brings to everything else. That works less well in matters of love than it had for him as a fake Admiral of a space fleet. In the meantime, his brother is starting a galactic changing new enterprise based on the genetic engineering of bugs who produce edible vomit. And there are a couple of disputed seats on the Vor council that may be up for grabs.
Mix all of those things together and you get a delightful romp that sits equally well in thoughtful commentary, some surprising action, and ridiculously funny slapstick. Moreover, the reason it all works so well is because of how thoroughly well Bujold has drawn her extensive cast of characters in the earlier books. The things that they do are both absurd and perfectly natural based on what we already know about them.
This is by far my favorite of the Vorkosigan books, and I was already enjoying these books immensely. Bujold is truly a wonderful writer and, now, I am not only looking forward to the remainder of the Miles books, but I think I will also pick up her other books somewhere along the line.
Miles is determined to marry Ekaterina, and courts her with much of the same calculation and obsessive determination that he brings to everything else. That works less well in matters of love than it had for him as a fake Admiral of a space fleet. In the meantime, his brother is starting a galactic changing new enterprise based on the genetic engineering of bugs who produce edible vomit. And there are a couple of disputed seats on the Vor council that may be up for grabs.
Mix all of those things together and you get a delightful romp that sits equally well in thoughtful commentary, some surprising action, and ridiculously funny slapstick. Moreover, the reason it all works so well is because of how thoroughly well Bujold has drawn her extensive cast of characters in the earlier books. The things that they do are both absurd and perfectly natural based on what we already know about them.
This is by far my favorite of the Vorkosigan books, and I was already enjoying these books immensely. Bujold is truly a wonderful writer and, now, I am not only looking forward to the remainder of the Miles books, but I think I will also pick up her other books somewhere along the line.