The Vor Game

In my hybrid order for the Vorkosigan series, The Vor Game is the second book. There are many ways this series is like the Horatio Hornblower novels by C. S. Forester: the one I want to discuss today mostly focuses on the opening segment of this novel, which was originally published as a standalone novella, "The Weatherman." Following the events of the previous book, The Warrior's Apprentice, Miles Vorkosigan has graduated from the military academy and is sent off to his first posting... to monitor the weather at a forlorn ice-encrusted remote military base on his home planet. But, of course, he eventually ends up in the same kind of dilemma that Hornblower so often ended up in, one where the dictates of military service run up against show more his personal morality. Can he save the lives of innocent men without violating the chain of command? Like Hornblower, he distinguishes himself with clever, intellectual solutions to his problems. The way he thinks up to get out of this situation is brilliant. I love this kind of thing, a hero who is both principled and clever. That was the moment I texted my friend (who has been pushing the books on me for a decade): "This book is so totally my jam."

Then Miles is off on another adventure. This is also a very Hornblower move, the novel made up of multiple disparate stories, but the next adventure keeps twisting and turning. Soon Miles is hunting down the mercenary group he created in Warrior's Apprentice, and then he's uncovered a vast plot, and now he has a very important dignitary to protect, etc., etc. To be honest, it kind of threw me. I wanted more adventures of Miles in the service! How does he learn to fit himself into that hierarchy? It's a very Hornblower question...

...but you know, while it seems to me Bujold must have been inspired partially by Hornblower, this is not Hornblower. It has its own identity, and its own questions to ask. Once I adjusted to that, I came to enjoy the book much more; I think it's the kind of novel that even though it was good the first time, it will improve on a reread, once you can see how it all fits together. The question isn't how does Miles make himself fit, but it seems to be, where can Miles find that he can fit? At least, I think so! Bujold has wrong-footed me before, and I am sure she will do so again, but I look forward to finding out where Miles is when I next pick up his story, with Cetaganda. show less

The Vor Game follows Miles Vorkosigan as he receives his first assignments after graduation from military college. Miles, who is the most likeable of fellows, seems to have a talent for crossing his superiors and this book is no exception. After trying his hand as a weather officer on a remote arctic base, then as a spy, he finds himself in tremendous hot water and back in charge of the Denarii fleet. His objective this time is to thwart a Cetegandan invasion and rescue the Emperor, Gregor, who has fallen into the clutches of a psychopathic woman who sees herself as the Empress of Barrayar.

With some force and plenty of guile and wits, Miles again proves how capable he is. His superiors are coming to the realization that although Miles show more always gets results, he does so in his own way and not necessarily by following orders. Nevertheless, he earns his promotion to lieutenant and his next assignment as liaison officer to the Denarii mercenaries should be play right into his strengths.

Another highly enjoyable entry in the Vorkosigan Saga. I felt this book relied less on the character development of Miles and more on establishing his relationship with some of the other main characters. I really liked the scenes with Miles and Gregor and thought the author was well able to portray the affection and respect that these childhood friends hold for one another. The recurring characters in these books are becoming well-known to me and I appreciate the care the author takes to keep them consistent and fresh. I look forward to continuing on with the Saga. show less

Two novellas* and a novel put Miles back on the map. The Mountains of Mourning sees Miles deal with justice and prejudice in a rurla backwater, while Weatherman has Ensign Vorkosigan assigned to a shitty arctic training camp staffed by drunkards and commanded by a sadist. After mutinying to save the lives of 20 men, a disgraced Miles is assigned to the intelligence section. Interstellar war is heating up in a crucial jumpgate hub, and all Miles has to do is keep his head down, follow orders, and distract attention from the real spies following him to get his career back on track. Of course, nothing like that happens, and Miles has to save the Dendarii Mercenaries, himself, and some Very Important People to avert an invasion from a show more foreign power and foil the plans of a completely insane mercenary captains. Great fun, great action, and a fantastic book.

*Out of fairness to my colleagues in Bookrace2014, I'm not counting the novellas separately.

*****

((Updated for the Hugo Read Through, from August 2014.))

I have to admit, I have doubts about the Vorkosigan books. I didn't grow up with them, and started the series in 2014. I guess the roots of my suspicion are in the statement "Nothing this much fun can be good for you." The Vorkosigan books are a hell of a lot of fun, and finding out that they might actually be good is like discovering that chocolate cures cancer, or that the person you made out with backstage is perfect for you and isn't crazy at all. I can only assume Bujold got this award the old-fashioned way: writing a bunch of good books, building up a fanbase, and then writing a truly great novel (publication-wise, The Vor game is #6. Story-wise, it's #5, slotted between a bunch of prequels and sequels)

The Vor Game is the most typical straight military SF of the series. Miles Vorkosigan is the scion of a noble family on the planet Barrayar, a brilliant and hyperactive military genius who's father is a legendary general, former regent, and current Prime Minister. Miles' problem is his physical deformity, poisoned in the womb during an attempted assassination, Miles has fragile bones and a twisted body that kept him out of the military, until a truly insane series of escapades saw him in command of a mercenary fleet at the age of 18 in The Warrior's Apprentice. Having earned a second chance, all Miles needs to do is keep his mouth shut, and let his abilities carry him to a brilliant career.

Of course it's never easy. His first assignment out of the Academy is as weather officer to Camp Frostbite, an arctic training station run by alcoholics and sadists. Miles is nearly killed when a prank goes awry, and then having gained some level of competence, throws everything on the line when the insane General Metzov orders a group of technicians to manually clean a leaking chemical weapons bunker rather than purifying it with fire. When they refuse, he charges them with mutiny and has them strip at gunpoint in sub-zero temperatures. Thinking quickly, Miles joins them, since refusing to obey an illegal, or at least very dangerous, order during peace-time isn;t mutiny, and Miles is important enough that his death can't be covered up.

Of course, it's a political disaster and the Vorkosigans are too honest to pull strings and get Miles the job he really wants on the latest battlecruiser. So after months of purgatory in ImpSec headquarters, Miles is assigned as the junior member of an intelligence mission to scout out the Hegen Hub, a star system with strategic jump points leading all over place, where various powers are militarizing. In the second act, the intelligence operation goes awry, as Miles' cover is blown by a sergeant from the mercenaries he commanded in The Warrior's Apprentice, he's accused of murdering a source by the local authorities, separated from his commander, and worst of all, runs into Cousin Greg, AKA Gregor Vorbarra Emperor of Barrayar, who's gotten very drunk, very depressed, skipped out on a diplomatic visit, and is now without money or contacts in a place where he might be captured by enemy agents.

When Gregor falls into the hands of Cavilo, the five foot, blond, and completely insane commander of another mercenary fleet, Miles needs to get his emperor back by any means necessary. Which involves first retaking command of his own mercenaries, who have fallen under the sway of their previous admiral in his absence, figuring out Cavilo's triple-backstab plot to let the age-old enemies of Barrayar seize the Hegen Hub and then escape by marrying Gregor and becoming Empress, retrieving Gregor in a tense negotiation, and then holding the line until reinforcements arrive.

It's an insane display of forward momentum and faking it until you make, inspired by T.E. Lawrence among other things. The characters are true joys to experience, especially Miles' continual striving and attempts to con his way out of trouble that he in no way is responsible for. Bujold also has a subtle skill as a writing and setting builder. She stays away from giant info dumps, but there's a diversity and ease to her ideas that I'm not sure I've seen in this series since Heinlein. The only flaw, and one which becomes more apparent later in the series, is that Miles wins too completely. Both Cavilo and Metzov are dead at the end of the story, when they would've made fine antagonists to grow along with Miles. The foes of Memory onwards barely seem to pose a threat to our heroes, which weakens the later books. show less

I finished The Vor Game, by Lois M. Bujold.

The second Miles Vorkosigan adventure after The Warrior's Apprentice, for me this one was even better. It's divided in three parts: the first one has Miles as a humble ensign in the Barrayaran navy, the second has him as a humble operative in the Barrayaran secret service, and the third has him unleashed in his Admiral Naismith persona. You could argue that the first part is kind of standalone, although there's a connection eventually, but for me it was fascinating seeing Miles in so many different roles (making his superiors crazy when he has them and making things happen when he doesn't).

Then, later in the novel, where Miles' crazy hyperactivity gets going... damn, these books are show more entertaining. Space opera, military SF, adventure... it has everything. Even in a reread it can keep me awake during the night, knowing that I'll have to pay the price the following day at work.

This is not brainy SF, but it's incredibly fun. show less

**The Vor Game** is another Miles book in the **Vorkosigan Saga**, and as usual, it is a lot of fast-paced fun. I felt a bit lost over the first third or so, where it wasn't clear where the plot was going, and every time I thought I had it figured out, it switched to an entirely new track. I spent a good amount of time wondering how those threads would be tied back together, and the story did not disappoint at all. I love that while the Miles stories are mostly fun and action, all characters are consistent, and have noble and less-noble motivations, capabilities, and dreams. Not only Miles himself (who could be a Mary Sue were it not for his depression, and social issues, and missing ability to stop escalating, and … see? Good show more character building!), but all of his friends, comrades, subordinates, bosses, and enemies. Love the series. show less

The Vor Game tells the story of Miles Vorkosigan's entry into the Barrayaran military. He begins as a weather officer in an obscure training camp, where he quickly pisses off his (admittedly terrible) commanding officer and gets transferred to a post in Imperial Security. It then spirals out from there, as his new commanding officer abandons him on some secret mission, he accidentally runs into his own Emperor who has childishly run away, he reconnects with his mercenary band from a previous story, and eventually works to stop an interstellar war. The plot does seem to jerk you around a bit, but I really enjoyed the politics in the last part of the book (even if the main villain seemed to be a bit of a caricature). This was a solid show more entry in the series. show less

Good space opera is my crack. And Miles Vorkosigan one of my literary heart throbs. Miles was born into Barayar's aristocracy, which doesn't mean he has it easy--he was born practically crippled in a society that routinely killed infants with birth defects. He's not tall and handsome--he's short, brittle-boned, with a bit of a chip on his shoulder--but brilliant. This is the fourth book in the series, certainly not the book to start with or you'd be lost, and the last of three included stories in the omnibus edition Young Miles where I first encountered him. This particular story is a great ride in the classic space opera tradition. Not what you'd look for if you want literary polish or high concept hard science fiction, but for wit, show more intrigue, action and daring do and a twisty cunning protagonist (in a good way), this is the book to go to, and was a lot of fun to read. show less