A Civil Campaign

A Victorian romance in a military scifi series - this is why I love these books. There is a minimum of people behaving stupidly because they don't fucking talk to one another (some, but a realistic amount,) plenty of scheming both romantic and political, occasionally over-the-top comedy, and a happy ending. What more could anyone ask for?

(Thirteenth of 17 (I suppose): Vorkosigan saga (chronological order). Science fiction / fantasy/ Regency romance)

Emperor Gregor's long-awaited marriage is finally here and, as well as intergalactic diplomats, Miles's friends and family are all returning to Vorbarr Sultana for the festivities. Romance and political manoeuvring are in the air.

Miles's chosen lady, however, has just been released from a toxic marriage and has declared she will have nothing more to do with the institution now she has finally been given the chance to find herself. So Miles decides to keep his wooing secret. From her - although he somehow manages to let it slip to everyone else. His cousin Ivan realises that, for the first time in his life, Miles is unsure of show more himself.

But Miles had so few humilities, it seemed almost a sin to take this one away from him. Bad for his soul, eh.

Mark knows his chosen lady loves him, but after their return to parochial Barrayar after their stint on infamously liberal Beta Colony, she's not sure if she can make her family see that they belong together. But don't underestimate Mark; despite appearances, he does seem to have inherited his family's acumen.

Ivan is, well - Ivan. He is seconded to his mother (who leads a platoon of tradition-defending matriarchs) for the duration of the wedding celebrations and the run-up to them and, for once, doesn't seem to be having much luck with ladies.

"...It's like working in an office with an entire boatload of mothers-in-law-to-be with pre-wedding nerves, every one of them a flaming control freak. I don't know where Mama found that many Vor dragons. You usually only meet them one at a time, surrounded by an entire family to terrorise..."

And speaking of ladies, we get introduced to Dr. Borgos's butter bugs. I leave it to your delighted imagination to investigate further ;0)

Things come to a head when Miles hosts a memorably disastrous dinner for his lady, just before his parents are due to return to Barrayar. Add to the mix some political wrangling where the rights of succession of some of the Counts are called into question and we have a thoroughly engaging novel.

This is a delightful blend of sci-if and fantasy; there are some anachronisms, left over, presumably, from the Time of Isolation - ancient piles with suspect drains like Vorkosigan House and Vorhartung Castle are compared to modern edifices like Vorbretten House and we get to see the glorious display of the banners of the Council of Counts in session as well as their colourful House liveries. We get to rummage around in the attics of Vorkosigan House and attend a session of the Council of Counts as well as see Gregor and Cordelia in action again. I like Bujold's plotting and I love her sense of humour (although I must confess I'm still working out the Vorrutyers in this book).

Did I mention that I really enjoyed the book? Bujold (as usual) interweaves the politics and romantic entanglements while maintaining the humour; I laughed out loud several times. The dedication at the front reads 'For Jane, Charlotte, Georgette and Dorothy - long may they rule' and the book is a delightful compliment.

I suppose this could have been a finishing point for the series, with Gregor safely married at last and other happy endings nicely wrapped up, but thankfully it's not and I'm really looking forward to continuing reading about Miles & Co. Absolutely delicious!

5***** show less

This is a book I find myself re-reading every few years. Even if I don't re-read others in the series, I will pick up this one. It has the distinction of being the first Vorkosigan book I've ever read, despite it being 12th in the series. It says something about Lois's ability to hook a reader that despite the obviousness that there was stuff that happened before, I was fully invested in the characters now.

Re-reading this, I fell in love with it again. This was Bujold at her finest. There is political machinations, romantic intrigue (of a sort), Miles being Miles, and Ivan shines and proves he is not nearly as incompetent as his much more competent relatives see him as.

As an aside, poor Ivan. He's always seen as the slow one, but that's show more slow relatively to those around him: Miles, Aral, Cordelia, his mother for heavens sake! I'm sure Ivan is actually quite brilliant by ordinary standards but he doesn't often has a chance to shine given his much brighter relations. This book allows the reader to see him coming into his own.

Also, butter bugs. Gotta love the butter bugs. And Roic. show less

I have enjoyed each and every Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan story that I have read so far, but I expect this one, A Civil Campaign will hold a special place in my heart and memory. A great story filled with humor, romance and excitement, this book totally absorbed me for days. As Miles struggles to get his romance with Ekatrin launched, his brother Mark struggles to get his new butterbug business off the ground. The two brothers, along with their cousin Ivan play off each other constantly and the whole story is set against the detailed preparations for Emperor Gregor’s upcoming wedding.

Amid all the pomp and circumstance, Miles is carefully trying to woo Ekatarin, the lovely widow that he met in the previous book, but political show more enemies and his own blundering has Ekatarin turning down his first proposal, which took place during one of the funniest dinner party scenes I have ever read. But perhaps all is not lost, as Ekatarin finds herself thinking about the dwarfish yet talented Miles constantly. Meanwhile, Miles’ cloned brother, Mark, has romance and business problems of his own as he deals with an eccentric scientist in developing bugbutter, a revolutionary food source and tries to keep the love of his life at his side.

A Civil Campaign lives up to it’s subtile “A Comedy of Biology and Manners”. It is a wonderful blend of science fiction, romance and humor that was a very satisfying read. This well-crafted novel has great characters, interesting relationships, and plots that keep the pages turning. I would have to say that A Civil Campaign is my favorite read of 2021 so far. show less

Summary: While a lot of, if not most, science fiction has to do with the interplay between culture and technology, A Civil Campaign uses that interplay in service of a romance -- or, as the subtitle puts it, "a comedy of biology and manners." In this case, the manners come in the form of Barrayaran society, which is still clinging to the feudal government and rigid sex roles that it developed during the Time of Isolation. The biology comes primarily in the form of galactic uterine replicators, which, when they were first introduced to Barrayar, were primarily used by the Vor class to produce sons and heirs.

However, now that this generation of sons has grown up, they're suddenly feeling the dearth of marriageable women rather sharply. show more Miles Vorkosigan has never lacked for partners, but the galactic women he'd previously favored all found Barrayar to be backwards and repressive. Miles thinks he has found the answer in the Vor widow Ekatarin Vorsoissin, but she comes with a host of complications: Miles was present at her abusive husband's suspicious death -- the details of which are strictly classified -- and Ekatarin herself has no desire to remarry, ever. However, fearful of losing such an intelligent, beautiful, and eligible woman to other suitors, Miles sets out to woo her in secret -- or, at least, secret from her.

Miles isn't the only one that's having relationship trouble: his cousin Ivan has also never lacked for female attention, but now that he's starting to give up his playboy ways and think about settling down, he's run up against the same lack of eligible women. He's got his sights set on a older woman -- and former lover -- but when they re-connect, her recent brush with galactic technology puts a serious crimp in Ivan's plans.

Finally, Miles's clone brother Mark has spent the past year of schooling and therapy on Beta Colony falling hopelessly in love with Kareen Kudelka, the youngest daughter of his parents' friends and former armsmen. Mark and Karene have returned to Barrayar with the eccentric Dr. Enrique Borgos in tow, complete with a plan to use biological agents (the truly revolting "butter bugs") to revolutionize Barrayar food production -- and make Mark rich in the process. However, being back at home has put a damper on their relationship, as their freewheeling Betan sexual experience is thrown into direct conflict with the stricter Barrayaran cultural mores.

Dealing with interpersonal romantic relationships is not exactly a strong point of Ivan's, Mark's, or Miles's, especially when they're up against some deeply-rooted societal norms, but for the sake of their future happiness, they'll have to learn to think on their feet... and they'll have to do it all while preparing for Emperor Gregor's Imperial wedding.

Review: Things that will surprise absolutely no one: I loved this book. I mean, really, what other reaction would you expect when you put an audiobook subtitled "a comedy of biology and manners" into the hands of a period-romance-loving scientist? And, true to its dedication ("For Jane, Charlotte, Georgette and Dorothy -- long may they rule."), A Civil Campaign absolutely reads like a Regency romance... just a Regency romance that happens to be set on another planet. The inheritance disputes and marriage proposals may be complicated by technological advances, but the story remains remarkably true to its roots, with a complicated dance of suitors and titles and courtship and heirs and country manor houses and a disastrous dinner party, not to mention one of the best love letters I've seen this side of Persuasion. This is a book that really highlights how broad the genre of sci-fi can be, and how broad of an audience to which it can appeal.

The reason A Civil Campaign is so widely appealing is that while it certainly has all of the trappings of conventional sci-fi -- foreign planets, genetic engineering, uterine replicators, wormholes -- its focus is always on the people, not the technology. A real pleasure of this series is in watching its protagonist(s) grow and change over time, and in this volume, we get not only Miles, but also Mark and Ivan, all of whom by this point feel like family. This book is just packed full of absolutely wonderful character moments for everybody, not just the romantic leads. Aral and Cordelia are both in fine form, especially when dispensing romantic advice; Emperor Gregor continues to be quietly, solidly awesome; even Nicky, Ekaterin's nine-year-old son, gets in a few great scenes. Lois McMaster Bujold's talent for clever, dryly witty dialogue extends to farce as well: during the aforementioned dinner party, as things just kept going so spectacularly wrong, I was nearly choking from laughter, even as my heart was breaking for Miles.

Some of the subplots involve a fair amount of Barrayar politics, which were certainly interesting in their own right, but occasionally they seemed to distract from rather than complement the main romance storylines. That's about the only negative I can come up with in this entire book, however. It was enormous fun and a satisfying listening experience, and Grover Gardner reads it so wonderfully that I can't imagine anyone else as the voice of Miles. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: While part of me wants to run the street recommending this book to everyone and anyone, particularly romance readers who wouldn't normally touch a sci-fi novel, the truth is that it's really best read in order -- so much of the joy of these books comes from the established investment in the characters. But I still secretly think that any reader who gave this series a chance would fall in love with Bujold's characters just as much as I have. show less

By far, my favorite book in this new favorite series. The dinner party near the midpoint was comedic gold. I haven’t laughed so much over a scene - book or movie - in ages.

Like previous novels, the various plotlines are beautifully woven together. Bujold has created characters distinctive enough to recognize with only a few words. Miles, for all his flash, comes across as full of humanity if not humility. In spite of his sometimes high-handed ways, his ingenuity and flare make him lovable.

The best part of Miles’ character is how he has grown from his first adventures as a twenty-year-old trying to find his place in the universe into a man in his prime, returning to his home world to take up his socio-political responsibilities. show more The adventures change a little, but still put Miles in dicey situations he must escape by using his wits. show less

Romance and romantic missteps, intrigue and counter-intrigue, and painful emotional growth (not to mention insect growth as well) abound in this installment of the Miles Vorkosigan series.

This book took me from laughter bursting forth to tears trickling down my cheeks. Bujold is a master of the one-liner, but she also sets up and unfolds the most absurd situations in absolutely believable detail. Her characters are so real, so layered, so nuanced--not just Miles, but his clone-brother Mark, his new lady love Ekaterin, even the supposedly feckless Ivan.

Just as the characters in the series continue to grow and develop, so does Barrayar as a culture. Bujold never loses sight of the fact that the planet with its history and its people is a show more character in her novels.

Poor Ivan--the only main character left without a partner at the end of the lively dance that is A Civil Campaign. show less