A review by onegin
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold

challenging emotional fast-paced

5.0

Lois McMaster Bujold has established in the Vorkosigan saga novels one infallible law: Miles Vorkosigan always wins. And even when the reader remembers this law, as Miles is plunged into yet another seemingly unbeatable challenge, the reader pores over the pages, anxiously wondering: how is Miles going to overcome this challenge? And, most importantly: at what cost?

This far into the series, the reader is closely familiar with the characters. The reader knows each character's fears, values, and what they desire above all. LMB puts these in conflict with each other, to masterful results: each choice comes with an emotional weight, and which the reader intimately understands.

The above is true for the other Vorkosigan saga novels as well, but (as far as I've read in the series) Memory hits the jackpot. I had to take breaks reading it - sometimes even between paragraphs! - to take a breather as I read about Miles' grip of his desires and dreams slip loose. As his personal world changes, he must ask himself: what does he really want, and what is he willing to sacrifice for it? This question is a trademark of the Vorkosigan saga: desire and integrity are pitted against each other.

Reading Memory, I also enjoyed returning to Miles' home planet, Barrayar. I'm most appreciative of the world-building of the Barrayan society: it's entirely believable. The characters are aware that the idea of the monarchy and nobility is a construct, and as a reader it is satisfying to see the small details that reveal how much effort the characters put into holding up and navigating this social construct.

I cannot express how much fun I had reading Memory. Although Miles and the other characters had to face deeply personal horrors, it was extremely satisfying to experience the emotional beats of the plot. I will also not discard Miles' dry humour, as well as some hilariously ironic reveals. 

Memory would not work as well as it did without the work done establishing the characters in the previous novels. But boy, does it pay off.