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A review by ccgwalt
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
5.0
SFR Reading Challenge 2012
Grade A+
Miles is in love! Unfortunately, he seems fairly inept at wooing the object of his affection. Miles met Ekaterin on the planet Komarr (and in the book [b:Komarr|61884|Komarr (Vorkosigan Saga, #11)|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1322572043s/61884.jpg|1129294]) when he went to investigate an accident involving a solar mirror. Ekaterin is widowed during that time and returns to Barayar with her young son. Miles plots a campaign to win her heart and beat out all the other eligible men who are soon showing up on Ekaterin's doorstep. Woven seemlessly into the courtship of Miles and Ekaterin are several other story lines involving love, honor, political intrigue and Butter Bugs.
Bujold must have had fun writing this book, and I certainly had fun reading it. The dinner scene alone is worth the price of admission. The many characters are so well drawn, even the secondary characters. Bujold writes great characters, even the ones you want to throttle. Of course at several points in this book you may want to throttle Miles, but at other times his love for Ekaterin will warm your heart.
While this book can stand alone, in my opinion it would lose some impact if you don't know the back story on the characters, especially Miles and Ekaterin. It also helps to know who Mark is (Miles' clone) and some of the history and social structure of Barayar and the other planets. I've listened to or read [b:Shards of Honour|61903|Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan Saga, #1)|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327967143s/61903.jpg|9673658] (where Miles' parents meet--fabulous book), [b:The Warrior's Apprentice|61906|The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga #3)|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170597854s/61906.jpg|2792] (the first book in the series about Miles), [b:The Vor Game|68483|The Vor Game (Vorkosigan Saga, #4)|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1322571824s/68483.jpg|1129239], and the above mentioned Komarr. I highly recommended all the books and I plan to read more.
Grade A+
Miles is in love! Unfortunately, he seems fairly inept at wooing the object of his affection. Miles met Ekaterin on the planet Komarr (and in the book [b:Komarr|61884|Komarr (Vorkosigan Saga, #11)|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1322572043s/61884.jpg|1129294]) when he went to investigate an accident involving a solar mirror. Ekaterin is widowed during that time and returns to Barayar with her young son. Miles plots a campaign to win her heart and beat out all the other eligible men who are soon showing up on Ekaterin's doorstep. Woven seemlessly into the courtship of Miles and Ekaterin are several other story lines involving love, honor, political intrigue and Butter Bugs.
Bujold must have had fun writing this book, and I certainly had fun reading it. The dinner scene alone is worth the price of admission. The many characters are so well drawn, even the secondary characters. Bujold writes great characters, even the ones you want to throttle. Of course at several points in this book you may want to throttle Miles, but at other times his love for Ekaterin will warm your heart.
While this book can stand alone, in my opinion it would lose some impact if you don't know the back story on the characters, especially Miles and Ekaterin. It also helps to know who Mark is (Miles' clone) and some of the history and social structure of Barayar and the other planets. I've listened to or read [b:Shards of Honour|61903|Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan Saga, #1)|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327967143s/61903.jpg|9673658] (where Miles' parents meet--fabulous book), [b:The Warrior's Apprentice|61906|The Warrior's Apprentice (Vorkosigan Saga #3)|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170597854s/61906.jpg|2792] (the first book in the series about Miles), [b:The Vor Game|68483|The Vor Game (Vorkosigan Saga, #4)|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1322571824s/68483.jpg|1129239], and the above mentioned Komarr. I highly recommended all the books and I plan to read more.