Memory
by Lois McMaster Bujold
Vorkosigan: Publication Order (11), Vorkosigan: Chronological Order (10)
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Dying is easy. Coming back to life is hard. At least that's what Miles Vorkosigan thinks, and he should know, having done both once already. Thanks to his quick-thinking staff and incredible artistry from a medical specialist, Miles's first death won't be his last. But it does take some recovery, a fact he has been reluctant to admit. When he makes the mistake of returning too soon to military duty, he finds himself summoned home to face the Barrayaran security chief, Simon Illyan. But show more Miles's worst nightmares about Simon Illyan are nothing compared to Illyan's own nightmares. Under suspicion himself, Miles must seek out the answers to Ilyan's nightmares or see the inevitable destruction of Imperial Security and, with it, the Empire. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
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 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 show more 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
After inadvertantly slicing the legs off the hostage he was rescuing while on a mission 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 show more 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
Miles' lies and old injuries catch up with him and he is expelled from the Barrayaran Imperial Security. That means he loses his admiral Naismith alter ego, or at least has to choose between it and his real identity as Miles Vorkosigan. He now has to figure out who he really is and what he wants to do with his life. In the meantime, shortly after firing Miles, Simon Illyan's memory chip fails, and chaos ensues in ImpSec.
This is another quite entertaining book, even though there is no space action. It's mostly a mystery, but when the hyperactive Miles Vorkosigan is the detective you can be sure that the investigation won't be boring. Also, Miles finds a new role in Barrayar, possibly more appropriate for his qualities than ImpSec field show more agent.
This is the ninth book in my reread of the series, not counting the short novels, and it's still going strong. It's not the place to look for deep science-fictional concepts. This series is just fun adventures with a truly great main character, but what it does it does incredibly well. show less
This is another quite entertaining book, even though there is no space action. It's mostly a mystery, but when the hyperactive Miles Vorkosigan is the detective you can be sure that the investigation won't be boring. Also, Miles finds a new role in Barrayar, possibly more appropriate for his qualities than ImpSec field show more agent.
This is the ninth book in my reread of the series, not counting the short novels, and it's still going strong. It's not the place to look for deep science-fictional concepts. This series is just fun adventures with a truly great main character, but what it does it does incredibly well. show less
This is probably my favorite series of all time. I've read it many times, and just finished reading it 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. Memory is not in an omnibus. The writing is 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 show more him. Truly, these book are not-to-be-missed. Memory takes the character of Miles to a whole new level. Highly recommended. show less
Miles Vorkosigan is turning 30, and is loving his life as Admiral Naismith, running the Dendarii Mercenary group for the Barrayan security services. He has a big problem though: since being brought back to life after a major battle injury in a previous volume, he has a seizure disorder that is not responding to treatment. Then, leading a rescue mission, he has a seizure and lasers off the legs of the hostage. Miles is called back to Barrayer, but tries to cover up his seizure, is caught by Ilyan, and forced to resign from the service.
Immediately after Miles is mustered out, Ilyan is stricken with a malfunction to his implanted memory chip. It seems that the security service doesn't know what it's doing, and Miles goes to Emperor Gregor show more for authority to take over the investigation as a Royal Auditor. The remainder of the book is dedicated to the investigation, and it is gripping and fast-paced.
There is a B plot involving Gregor and his interest in a Komarran woman, who agrees to marry him. This gives the space for some explanation of the geopolitics of this world, and we learn about Barrayan royal traditions.
This is one of my favorite Vorkosigan books. The plot moves along well, but not as frantically as some of the other books, giving some time to breathe. And I like where it brings Miles' arc, as someone with dual identities trying to figure out who he really is. We've been led to believe that he sees Naismith as the "True" identity, but I always found that difficult to swallow, and I'm glad that Lord Vorkosigan's benefits are finally examined here. show less
Immediately after Miles is mustered out, Ilyan is stricken with a malfunction to his implanted memory chip. It seems that the security service doesn't know what it's doing, and Miles goes to Emperor Gregor show more for authority to take over the investigation as a Royal Auditor. The remainder of the book is dedicated to the investigation, and it is gripping and fast-paced.
There is a B plot involving Gregor and his interest in a Komarran woman, who agrees to marry him. This gives the space for some explanation of the geopolitics of this world, and we learn about Barrayan royal traditions.
This is one of my favorite Vorkosigan books. The plot moves along well, but not as frantically as some of the other books, giving some time to breathe. And I like where it brings Miles' arc, as someone with dual identities trying to figure out who he really is. We've been led to believe that he sees Naismith as the "True" identity, but I always found that difficult to swallow, and I'm glad that Lord Vorkosigan's benefits are finally examined here. show less
This is always summarised as the 'Miles hits 30, 30 hits back' book. But Bujold was in her 40s when it was published, and reading it in my 40s it seems more full of those themes. Bodies that don't work like they once did, starting to face your own limits and mortality, dealing with illnesses in the next generation up and realising that the people you thought were infallible are frailer and weaker now, looking at the career you poured yourself into and wondering what passed you by when you were doing it...
It's a very kind book, and quite unputdownable.
It's a very kind book, and quite unputdownable.
This is my favorite of all the Vorkosigan books (although, oh my god, don't start here; you have to read all the ones that came before it to appreciate it), because in it, Bujold does something very difficult very well: she massively changes the main character of an ongoing, established series.
Series tend to stagnate because authors don't let their characters develop in any but inconsequential ways. Bujold has never had that problem; Miles has grown up over the course of the books he's in, developed, become a real adult.
But it became obvious, in the novels preceding Memory, that Bujold had written herself into a corner: Miles couldn't develop anymore without major changes to his life and his character. And Bujold makes those changes, show more and pulls it off.
I really don't want to spoil this here; if this is your thing, I want you to read it, see how she does it. So I will just say: wow. This is an impressive novel - fun plot, good pacing, strong narrative, and a character reboot done right. (And, to be honest, I wish I'd stopped reading the series here; this would've been the best ending note in all the world.) show less
Series tend to stagnate because authors don't let their characters develop in any but inconsequential ways. Bujold has never had that problem; Miles has grown up over the course of the books he's in, developed, become a real adult.
But it became obvious, in the novels preceding Memory, that Bujold had written herself into a corner: Miles couldn't develop anymore without major changes to his life and his character. And Bujold makes those changes, show more and pulls it off.
I really don't want to spoil this here; if this is your thing, I want you to read it, see how she does it. So I will just say: wow. This is an impressive novel - fun plot, good pacing, strong narrative, and a character reboot done right. (And, to be honest, I wish I'd stopped reading the series here; this would've been the best ending note in all the world.) show less
Review upon reread: I’ve been avoiding rereading any of the Vorkosigan books for, oh, about a decade now, because I knew that it wouldn’t quite hold up, and indeed, it doesn’t fully. Some of the assumptions that underpin this universe are no longer something I can just read past uncritically, and some of the stuff Miles says and does makes him seem like even more of an asshole than it did twenty years ago. And, let’s face it: I love Miles as a character, but he’s enough of an asshole that I would hate him in real life. I do think this book was, or at least could have been, a step toward making him less of as asshole, though. Miles, in short, is finally growing up in this one, and let’s just say it is definitely time.
But what show more I love about this book did hold up. I love that one of Miles’s terrible decisions finally comes home to roost, and he loses big, and survives and finds a new life in the ashes. I love the mystery, even if it was obvious the first time I read this and continues to be obvious now. I love Simon, living through a much worse personal apocalypse and finding his new life a lot more gracefully than Miles ever could. And, on a more Doylist level, I love seeing someone completely reboot a series on book 10, just change everything it and the main character are about. It’s impressively well done.
Just not quite the perfect book it used to be for me. show less
But what show more I love about this book did hold up. I love that one of Miles’s terrible decisions finally comes home to roost, and he loses big, and survives and finds a new life in the ashes. I love the mystery, even if it was obvious the first time I read this and continues to be obvious now. I love Simon, living through a much worse personal apocalypse and finding his new life a lot more gracefully than Miles ever could. And, on a more Doylist level, I love seeing someone completely reboot a series on book 10, just change everything it and the main character are about. It’s impressively well done.
Just not quite the perfect book it used to be for me. show less
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Author Information
104+ Works 85,704 Members
Science fiction and fantasy author Lois McMaster Bujold was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1949. After graduating from Ohio State University, she worked as a pharmacy technician at Ohio State University Hospitals. Her first short story was published in Twilight Zone Magazine in 1984 and her first three novels were published in 1986. She received the show more Nebula Award for Falling Free and The Mountains of Mourning and the Hugo Award for The Vor Game, Barrayar, Mirror Dance, The Mountains of Mourning, and Paladin of Souls. She also received the Locus award for Mirror Dance and Paladin of Souls, the Minnesota Book Award for Komarr, the Mythopoeic Award for The Curse of Chalion, and a Romantic Times 2003 Reviewers' Choice Award for Paladin of Souls. She is best known for her series featuring Miles Vorkosigan. She currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- Memory
- Original title
- Memory
- Original publication date
- 1996-10
- People/Characters
- Miles Vorkosigan; Simon Illyan; Duv Galeni; Laisa Toscane; Lucas Haroche; Alys Vorpatril (show all 22); Ivan Vorpatril; Gregor Vorbarra; Elli Quinn; Taura; Ma Kosti; Tsipis; Sgt. Pym; Lem Csurik; Harra Csurik; Dr. Hugh Canaba; Guy Allegre; Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan; Aral Vorkosigan; Martya Koudelka; Delia Koudelka; Dr. Georg Vorthys
- Important places
- Vorbarr Sultana, Barrayar (fictional capital of a fictional planet); Vorkosigan Surleau, Barrayar (fictional); Silvy Vale, Barrayar (fictional); Vorkosigan House, Vorbarr Sultana, Barrayar; the Imperial Residence, Vorbarr Sultana, Barrayar; Imperial Security (ImpSec) Headquarters (also known as 'Cockroach Central), Vorbarr Sultana, Barrayar (ImpSec | also known as 'Cockroach Central)
- Dedication
- For Trudie Senior and Trudie Junior.
- First words
- Miles returned to consciousness with his eyes still closed.
- Quotations
- Some prices are just too high, no matter how much you may want the prize. The one thing you can't trade for your heart's desire is your heart.
Miles followed the nod to notice Illyan, quite sharp in a dark and unusually well cut civilian-style tunic and trousers, yet managing by pure habit to look not-quite-there, as if light parted to flow around him. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)He was beginning to be very curious about his future.
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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