Young Miles (The Warrior's Apprentice / The Mountains of Mourning / The Vor Game)

I fell in love with the novels and stories in this book as they came out and have re-read them more than any other SF books, and I re-read a lot.
Funny, fast, heartbreaking, clever, wildly romantic in the older sense, but with a solid layer of grit.

I am re-reading the Vorkosigan books for the second time this year and enjoying them even more the second time around. There's so much humor in these stories, it's easy to overlook the deeper issues that Bujold addresses. I love her commentaries on family, war, politics and sexuality. I love her generosity as a writer -- I think I know which way she leans personally, but she is so fair in presenting both sides. I'm fascinated with her approach to plot ("I take my character and think, what is the worst thing I can do to this person?"). Love, love, love her writing. I have only read through Ethan of Athos, and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. She is one of my new absolute favorite authors.

This is an omnibus edition consisting of three tales. The first novel, "The Warrior's Apprentice," is where I officially fell in love with Miles, who sure isn't the usual square-jawed, bicep bulging sci-fi hero, and he's what made me go and seek out more of the series. It's rare I can say I fall in love with a character in a book, but I fell hard for Miles Vorkosigan, which is why this book gets five stars. Not because it's mind-expanding or has amazing prose--but because I loved the character so much. The first two books in the series, among the first things Bujold ever wrote, focus on Miles' parents--this is the one where he comes into his own. Miles is born a "Vor"--into an aristocratic family in a very traditional, military culture show more on the planet of Barrayar. That society had for a long time practiced infanticide--killing any child born in any way disabled. Due to an attack before he was born, Miles is short in stature and has various physical problems--particularly very brittle bones. His grandfather wanted him killed--in fact at a certain point tried to kill him. Miles has had to fight hard for a measure of acceptance in his society and worked hard to earn the right to enter the planet's military academy--but couldn't pass the final physical tests--and then proceeds to form a path his own.

One could see there part of why I love Miles--not conventionally handsome, handicapped, someone who has to work so hard. But it's more than that. I've always had a weakness for the kind of character not only with gifts of leadership, but a certain kind of cleverness. Whether Homer's Odysseus, CS Forester's Horatio Hornblower or Roddenberry's Captain Kirk of Star Trek. Miles has that quality in abundance--of turning defeat into a fighting chance to survive. In the two novels that bookend this volume you'll find plenty of action--enough to satisfy any fan of space opera. But above all I liked how Miles thinks and talks his way out his problems. show less

"This is probably my favorite book of all time. I've read it many times, and just finished reading the whole series again. The characters and the world Bujold creates are outstanding, but what is perhaps the most fascinating is the way she uses those characters and setting to tell so many kinds of stories: classic space opera, murder mysteries, psychological thrillers, and even straight-up comedy of manners, a la Jane Austen. Her themes are universal and tend to at least touch on the theme of the search for identity in all her books. Young Miles is an omnibus of The Warrior's Apprentice (book), The Mountains of Morning (short story), and The Vor Game (book). All are outstanding and belong together in this collection. The writing is show more elegant, the humor subtle and yet LOL-funny, and the plot satisfyingly original. Her creation of Miles Vorkosigan is a true literary masterpiece, and also I'd like to marry him. Truly, these book are not-to-be-missed." show less

This omnibus of two novels and a novella tells the story of Miles Vorkosigan's first adventures. In The Warrior's Apprentice, Miles has just flunked out of the Imperial Academy, where he'd hoped to distinguish himself like his father, the Prime Minister of Barrayar. Instead, he consoles himself by going on a mission to help his bodyguard's daughter (and secret love), Elena. Of course, things quickly go wrong, and he finds himself at the head of a troop of space mercenaries. In The Mountains of Mourning, Miles is sent to a remote Barrayaran village to investigate the murder of a deformed child, a case that has special meaning for him. And in The Vor Game, Miles rejoins his army of mercenaries after a simple intelligence-gathering mission show more goes awry -- with Gregor, the Emperor of Barrayar, in tow. Miles just can't seem to stay out of trouble; but his brilliant strategic mind always keeps him one step ahead of his enemies.

I read the two books about Miles' parents, Shards of Honor and Barrayar, several years ago and really liked them. So I'm glad I finally picked up these next books about the beginning of Miles' career. I liked all three stories a lot, mostly because Miles is such a wonderfully entertaining character. In these books he's often immature, and he still has a lot of growing up to do; but he does start to change for the better when he encounters some of the harsh realities of being a commander. Miles has a tendency to bluff his way from one situaton to the next, and he eventually learns that this approach often has dangerous consequences for his subordinates. I think the weak link in this omnibus is the first half of The Vor Game; not much happens that's relevant to the later plot, and there is also a loose end with a corpse in a drainpipe that I wish had been more developed. But overall, I really enjoyed these books and would recommend them to anyone who likes space opera. I look forward to reading more about Miles and his adventures! show less

There is something fantastically wonderful about this series. I'm revealing my preferences here, but these books have a feminist sensibility that is beyond refreshing. In addition they're all short with thrilling plot-lines! It makes it hard to put a Vorkosigan book down once you've started. Still, there is so much worthwhile going on in these books. They're fantastic! Check 'em out.

I should point out that "Young Miles" is actually an omnibus of Vorkosigan books, starting with the novel in which Miles is the youngest and continuing with two short stories in internal chronological order. In the case of this omnibus all three stories are also in real-world chronological order, but that isn't always the case. I think it's pretty cool that show more a few of the books that take place later in Miles' timeline were written before parts of "Young Miles" (publishing order can be found here). My general stance on anthologies from a single author is "No, thank you," because all the books are written by the same author around the same period of time, so they share similar themes and ideas. However this anthology (less so than "Miles in Love") feels like it was written by several different authors.The staggered nature of each story in the publishing order does a good job of cutting out any feeling of monotony.

More at: http://dragonldy.blogspot.com/2011/10/review-young-miles.html show less

This is easily one of my favorite books ever. Honestly, I didn't think it would be. My college roommate hyped it up like crazy, so when I finally got to reading it, I was expecting disappointment because it didn't seem like it was going to be as good as she promised.

It was.

This particular edition consists of two novels and a short story that all revolve around a young man named Miles Vorkosigan who has a birth defect (not congenital, he frequently assures others) and because of that is fragile. His bones break under the smallest pressure and he's less than five feet tall. The problem is that he was born on a militant planet to a very important family. When he washes out of the military academy, he has to find his own path to greatness show more -- and find it he certainly does.

What impressed me the most about this book (and the rest of the series) is the level of characterization. Firstly, I love Miles. He is practically a cripple, but he doesn't let that stop him, because while his body is weak, he is a genius. I appreciate that Bujold has created a character that doesn't go into situations and use his strength or extreme fighting prowess to save the day; instead, he thinks about solutions and launches schemes to achieve his goals.

Secondly, all the characters characters are written in shades of grey; she shows the softer sides of rampaging killers and the darker sides of sheltered researchers. This is achieved through ingenious storytelling. With adventure, mystery, suspense, and plot twists that give you whiplash, I kept turning the pages and the characters kept evolving and growing. All this, combined with in-depth universe (not world) development and fascinating cultures, this book made me want more and more and more.

And don't think it's all just running around and doing brave deeds -- though there is a lot of that -- Bujold adds a lot of humor to these books and I found myself laughing aloud quite often.

I really can't recommend this book strongly enough. It's SO good! And I don't think it's just for science fiction fans; there is plenty of material for all kinds of readers to find something they like.

Also posted on Going on to the Next. show less