The Mountains of Mourning

If I hadn’t already fallen in love with Miles Vorkosigan in The Warrior’s Apprentice, then this novella, The Mountains of Mourning would certainly have sealed the deal. This small tale of sorrow and loss, has Miles travelling to a remote mountain village on his father’s estate to investigate the tragic murder of a deformed baby.

This was a quieter, more mature Miles than the jokester we met in the previous book. Considered a mutant himself, this was a case that became very personal to him. There could be no happy ending here, but Miles comes up with a resolution to this event that allows everyone to move forward and gives hope for the future and with the added advantge of giving us a glimpse of the resolute, compassionate man he show more will become.

Although technically this is a science fiction story, it’s universal appeal doesn’t limit who it’s audience should be. I think most anyone would appreciate this moral, reflective story of dealing with the intolerance of ignorance, no matter what planet it is played out upon. show less

**The Mountains of Mourning** is a very touching **Vorkosigan** novella by *Lois McMaster Bujold*. It's deeply impressive to me how very emotional and touching this novella gets in under 150 pages, while still maintaining the character and tone of the overall series. Our favourite hero, Miles, confronts a backwater village while investigating a child murder. The crippled man confronting a society where killing crippled children is more than just tolerated – and at no point Bujold goes for the easy way out. No good vs evil here, oh no, just heartbreak.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-mountains-of-mourning-by-lois-mcmaster-bujol...

This is an old favourite of mine. If you don’t know Bujold’s Vorkosigan saga, I urge you to give it a try. Most of the stories are about Miles, a nobleman from a conservative planetary empire which is only just re-engaging with the rest of the galaxy and with modernisation, who suffers from restricted growth and brittle bones in a society where disability is abhorred.

In “The Mountains of Mourning”, one of the earlier stories in the sequence, Miles investigates and judges a case of infanticide in the impoverished back-country of his ancestral fiefdom. It’s about change to an ancient way of living, and poisonous family dynamics, and about show more disability in society. Every character is credibly, in some cases agonisingly, drawn. I think I first read it when I was getting to grips with my own family’s situation, and it has a special place in my heart for that reason. I think also it would be a very good place to start your journey into the Vorkosigan saga. You can get it here and here as a standalone, and here as part of a larger collection.

I’d also note that apart from the “truth drug” which Miles and his henchmen use to discover the identity of the murderer, the story could be perfectly well set in other times and places, with no sfnal elements at all. show less

The Mountains of Mourning, a short story in the Vorkosigan universe, tells the story of Miles acting as an arbiter of an infanticide in a backwoods village. The baby was ostensibly murdered because of a genetic defect, and the local village officials wanted to look the other way because that sort of thing is a longstanding tradition, despite more recent laws against it. Miles, who has his own deformities, has the patience to listen to all parties and not just blame it on the obvious suspect, the conspicuously-absent husband. A mix between a whodunit and a social commentary about rapidly changing norms in a modernizing society, this story, while short, was poignant and enjoyable.

I read the Hugo and Nebula winning "The Mountains of Mourning" following "The Warrior's Apprentice" and I am glad I did. This story, remarkable on its own merits, added a lot to the background culture of the planet Barrayar. I can see now how people would get hooked on this series of books and I look forward to reading additional stories in the Vorkosigan saga.

In the Mountains of Mourning, young Miles Vorkosigan is fresh out of the Academy on a short break before assignment. He finds a road-weary woman pleading at the gates of the estate and sends her to his father to hear her plea. Miles is then dispatched by his father the Count to solve a possible murder (infanticide) in a far district. The characters are really well defined and show more written, as is the whole story. This was very different from "The Warrior's Apprentice" which was almost too space opera for me, and I can't wait to read the next in the timeline, "The Vor Game". show less

Third read, 2/3/18:

You know, maybe it's just me, but the other times I'd read these books in a row, I really wanted big pew-pew military action. I wanted something big and outrageous like we had in Warrior's Apprentice.

When I read this in the timeline order, I was mightily pissed to have a measly character-building and societal change message wrapped tight in a murder mystery in the boondocks on Vorkosigan lands, in what should have been a lull right after graduation.

Upon a lot of reflection and ratcheting up a just eye, I'm reading this novella as if it had nothing to do with anything. I took it on its own merits.

What did I come up with?

Great mirroring of themes. Prejudice against mutants among all the ignorant peoples. Infanticide, show more blind fear, and a Miles who is automatically assumed to be the devil because he looks like a mutation. And even if he isn't, it'll be impossible to look into a murder of a child for being a mutant without having a ton of hate also centered on him. Maybe the backwater population of his own people should have been justified in being afraid of what Miles would do.

He's livid. But he's also trying to be just and clever and impartial even when it doesn't seem remotely possible in this situation. What can he do in a day and a half? Where can justice be found? Children are still being murdered in ignorance. In his own people's eyes, he should have been murdered in his own crib.

It's a powerful story.

Miles is still reeling under the effects of his own impossible grandfather who had been such a source of pain and a rift in his own family, who had wanted to do the same to him as the rest of these people, and yet Miles had won him over just by being super stubborn.

The young, freshly graduated military man Miles, having broken nearly every bone in his body from experimental treatments to keep him alive throughout his childhood, survived and thrived by this same stubbornness.

The solution and the resolution of this particular murder mystery are very bittersweet. It requires a lot of understanding and a lot of painful wisdom... all of which Miles must cultivate through his own tears.

I upped my rating. I didn't give this enough justice. There are no spaceships, but there is fast-penta interrogations, horses, firebombs, and vitriol. Sometimes scaling it all back is worth it for the penetrating look into a people.

(This won the best novella for hugo, btw)


Original Review:

This novella was intended to underscore social change and flesh out the backwaters of Barrayar and did so in murder-mystery fashion. Miles got himself into it and eventually got himself out, as well. The story takes place right after his graduation, and while it doesn't create immediate and widespread social change, it's a start. It's also not particularly my favorite out of the series, but it does have its place. There's no space battles, mercenary fleets, or megalomaniac dictators. That being said, it's certainly not a bad story. It should be judged on the murder mystery sci-fi standard. show less

I am not usually a fan of short stories or novelettes, but [b:The Mountains of Mourning|2684541|The Mountains of Mourning (Vorkosigan Saga)|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416ZAN41FDL._SL75_.jpg|2709863] by [a:Lois McMaster Bujold|16094|Lois McMaster Bujold|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1199059582p2/16094.jpg] is a joy. There is enough backstory to help the reader place the story in some context and enough detail to feel like more than just a glimpse into the lives and world of the characters.

I am just working my way through Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books and this is only by second contact with young Miles. The reader clearly sees his intelligence and humor, as well as his determination to make his way show more and his mark in the world. We get a taste of the forceful personalities that have helped him become the young man he is, as well as the important role of the planet Barrayar itself in shaping him.

I'm now looking forward to following Miles into his next adventure and watching him mature as he struggles with his own limitations and those of the people and society around him. show less