Lois McMaster Bujold

At first I struggled with it. It's a bit jumpy at first. As I texted my friend when I was partway through, "Like he's failing out of school, now there's a party, now he's on Beta Colony, it wasn't clear to me what the book was actually about. But now that he is on his smuggling run with his weird crew it is super fun."

And indeed, groups of weird people who must work together to run a spaceship is basically my favorite genre of science fiction, and this is a particularly well-executed example show more of it. I like how Miles bluffs his way into a situation, and then is forced to escalate his bluffs again and again, and soon he supposedly runs a massive mercenary organization... and then he does run a massive mercenary organization! I loved his "inspection" of the mercenary ship he captures. Forward momentum! Miles himself is the kind of character I love, of course: logical, honorable, cunning, clueless. Basically Hornblower in space, how could I not like him?

I had some niggles, aside from the opening—a romance subplot didn't convince me too much, the stuff about a certain character felt a bit too icky but not handled sufficiently well—but on the whole this was a highly enjoyable book, one that gave me exactly what I want. As I write this, I have not yet got to my next Vorkosigan book, but I hope to do so soon! show less

It's a bit odd to think of a Vorkosigan book that doesn't have Miles as the main character. But once I started reading, I hardly missed him. I haven't had this much fun since A Civil Campaign.

It was really good to see more of the players who have taken more of a backseat in previous books, including Ivan's formidable mother and his um-stepfather Simon. (Also, it's Simon. I love the man.)

But this is the book where Ivan gets hitched. But Ivan being Ivan, the marriage is done spur of the show more moment, in order to keep himself and his bride from being arrested. The comedy of politics, legalities, and cultural misunderstandings is amazing.

I laughed, I squeed (multiple times), I cringed in sympathy, and I fell in love with Ivan in a way that I had never done before. The inside of his brain is fascinating, and I'm really glad Lois finally told his story. He also had this rather interesting perspective on his cousin:
"Miles was…the thing is, he was afflicted with a severe birth injury. He grew up pretty much crippled, so he poured all his frustrated energy into his intellect. Since the Vorkosigan family motto might as well be, Anything worth achieving is worth overachieving, the effect was pretty frightening. And it worked for him, so he did it some more."

If you're a Vorkosigan fan, you'll love this. If you're not a Vorkosigan fan, go back and start from the beginning and when you make your way to this book, you'll love it too. show less

Hilarious - it had me chuckling throughout - and exquisitely plotted, as always. This one, I think, marks a major turning point in Miles's life. It is set mainly in Vorbar Sultana, the capital of Barrayar and, while Miles never stops using his brains and is still caught in fraught situations, he's not ricocheting from pillar to post with his hitherto customary frenetic activity. Maybe Miles is growing up?

After inadvertantly slicing the legs off the hostage he was rescuing while on a mission show more with the Dendarii, Miles returns to Barrayar to await his next mission. He is left kicking his heels for a while and the news, when it comes, is shocking. Then Simon Illyan, head and nerve centre of ImpSec, Barrayaran Imperial Security, starts to fall ill, as it seems that the experimental eidetic memory chip implanted in his brain is failing. Concerned that his friend and mentor is being treated as a security asset rather than as a person, Miles swings into action, and the whirlwind that is centred on Miles starts to spin.

We also get to see a bit of Vor life and Miles's duties as Gregor's cousin, and there are some complications when it looks like the Komarran revolt might be raising it's head again. I love the touches of humour throughout the book, and the way Bujold reminds us that though humans may have inhabited Barrayar for centuries, it is still being terraformed.

And though we barely glimpse Aral and Cordelia, they are my foundation stones of the whole series. Cordelia (though she feels more distant to me here, as a reader, being mainly referred to as 'the Countess') is always practical and supportive without being cloying, and I love the way that Bujold conveys Aral's deep love and pride in his son in the simplest of sentences; though maybe I'm projecting the way I feel about my kids.

At the end of the story, when Miles feels he has finally stepped out of his father's and grandfather's shadows:

"I'm the first in the family," Miles informed him smugly. "I am unprecedented."

The Count smiled. "This is not news, Miles."

A great addition to one of my favourite series.

5***** show less

Barrayar picks up right after Shards of Honor, in much the same way that a JATO-powered VW bug picks up after a horsedrawn wagon. Cordelia has one a few months to enjoy her marriage before Aral Vorkosigan becomes Regent of Barrrayar and she's thrust back into the fatal whirl of Barrayaran politics. Aral has to hold the planet together for 15 years, until Prince Gregor comes of age, and Cordelia has to hold Aral together. Meanwhile, she's dealing with medieval culture shock, the confused show more love-lives of her favorite staffers, and Sergeant Bothari's brittle sanity.

The action kicks off almost immediately with a Soltoxin gas assassination attempt that she and Aral survive by the thinnest of margins, but which grievously maims her unborn child. Immediately after, Lord Vondarian launches a military coup against the Vorkosigans, and Cordelia has to flee to the hills with the Child-Emperor until Aral can organize the resistance. And even though this book is over 20 years old, I hesitate to spoil the final third, which has some of the best raiding and most satisfying comeuppances I've read.

I said in my review of Shards of Honor that I didn't buy Cordelia as a lover, but I absolutely believe in her here as a fiercely protective wife and mother, as a clever and capable leader, and above all, as a fount of honor. Barrayar won the Hugo, and is everything that a great sci-fi novel should be.

*****

Updated from August 2014, for the Hugo read-through project.

In the final third, Cordelia takes her personal retainers into the palace on a desperate raid to end the rebellion before the embryonic Miles' uterine replicator tank fails. This is some of the most intense, heart-stopping action that I've encountered, because the personal and political stakes are so high. In the end, Cordelia confronts Vondarian and has Bothari kill him with a sword in the burning palace. It's an incredible moment, one where a very capable person takes a step into the realm of mythic archetypes. It makes me wonder a little bit about what Miles was told growing up. "Yeah, mom and Bothari killed a crown prince and a man who wanted be emperor."

As always, Bujold's talents are in characterization, and there are three major focuses here. Cordelia herself and her journey into motherhood, feels a little like one of those author-insert moments, but I don't mind because Bujold has some genuine humanistic wisdom to share about the responsibility of bringing life into the world. In a lot of ways, Cordelia is what Jubal Harshaw from Stranger in a Strange Land wishes he could be. The second are Kou and Drou, respectively one of Aral's officers maimed by disruptor fire and now trying to rebuild his life in a world that hates cripples, and the Crown Princess's bodyguard, a female commando officer from a society where war is a strictly masculine pursuit. The awkward young-adult romance is both cringe-worthy, and a lot more fun from the outside. Finally, there's Bothari. The psychopathic killer, war criminal and rapist, and mind-wiped for his sins. A man with barely any personality of his own, Bothari becomes what those around him need him to be, and Cordelia needs a hero. It's an interesting look at the kind of limited redemption a monster can achieve. show less