The Sixth novel of the Vorkosigan Saga. It takes place immediately after the events of the short story "Borders of Infinity".

Miles and the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet are recovering on Earth from their last mission. There is something holding up the Dendarii payroll and it might be a Komarran rebel plot. Miles is having to switch back and forth between his identities as Admiral Naismith and Lieutenant Vorkosigan to sort things out. ( )

Brothers In Arms is yet another book in Lois McMaster Bujold's long-running space opera the Vorkosgian Saga, and one that won't really make too much sense to somebody new to that sequence.

The story here picks up immediately after the events of the short story 'Borders Of Infinity', though the events of this book aren't directly related to that one. Miles and the Dendarii arrive on Earth to recuperate after a mission against the Cetagandans. At the Barrayan Embassy, Miles is reunited with his cousin Ivan, and clashes with another superior officer, the Komarran-born Captain Duv Galeni. Not used to having to be both Lieutenant Vorkosigan and Admiral Naismith in the same place for long, Miles is anxious to be off as soon as possible - but as the promised funds from central command keep failing to materialise, Miles is forced to devise increasing elaborate excuses to ward off a suspicious Earth-based journalist. The Cetagandan Embassy is awfully close to the Barrayan one, and the Cetagandans have put a price on "Admiral Naismith's" head ...

If you've read The Warrior's Apprentice or other early Vorkosigan books, you won't find much to surprise you here (and if you haven't, you may simply be confused). The story follows the pattern established in those books, as Miles argues with superior officers, schemes with Ivan and his friends and is pushed by his concern for the Dendarrii (and occasionally the slightly too heavy hand of the author) into a series of escalating problems which end up being resolved rather too neatly by the conclusion of the book.

It's perfectly satisfactory light space opera, but not much more than that. That said, some of the consequences of this book are a little more substantial than other early volumes, and the book as a whole nicely sets up the much more impressive sequel Mirror Dance. This is worth reading to get to that, or if you're already a fan of the series, but otherwise you might be better off elsewhere.

Not the strongest book in this series. Reminds me a bit of one of those costume comedies where the maids dress as their mistress and nobody is sure who anybody is... only not as funny. Except for the nonstop recitation of Richard III. That was funny.

A mission against the Cetegandan Empire in Dagoola leads to to deaths, injuries, and damage to the ships, and Miles Varkosigan is forced to stop at old Earth while the Dendarii mercenaries recover. While on Earth, Miles is required to check in with the Barrayaran Embassy and ends up for the first time having to juggle the roles of Admiral Naismith and Vor. To account for the similar appearances of his two personalities, Mile invents the story of a clone created by the Cetegandans. When the fiction turns out to have a grain of truth, things begin to get extremely complicated. ( )

Link to a review on my personal website. ( )