Brothers in Arms – Lois McMaster Bujold
This book follows closely on from Labyrinth, and also introduces a key character for later books. After his ‘rescue work’ in Labyrinth, Miles and his fleet are chased by the Cetagandans. Shards of Honor saw an explanation for Miles’ Dad’s nickname – The Butcher of Komarr. In this book, we meet one of the relatives of someone who suffered at the battle. Unfortunately, this person is Miles’ & Ivan’s new boss.
As I mentioned, an important character is introduced in this book – Miles’ clone! Interesting facts are revealed, and if you want to know more, again, ask me or buy the book :>
Apr 26 2007
Brothers in Arms
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Apr 26 2007
Borders of Infinity
Borders of Infinity – Lois McMaster Bujold
This is actually a collection of three other books, all pressed together. The books – The Borders of Infinity, The Mountains of Mourning and Labyrinth do vary in their style slightly, and the scenes surrounding the areas betwixt original stories do feel a little strained at times.
However, the very fact that they vary, and touch on such delicate subjects as infanticide make this collection worth reading. The 1st book is a reasonably predictable PoW story, but you’ll still find yourself cheering Miles on, constantly second guessing what will happen next.
In Mountains of Mourning, Miles is sent out into the wild backwards country, where the old laws of nature often take precedence over any decrees from the Regent – Miles’ father. He is sent out mainly to gain some experience, and to appreciate what a heavy responsibility being a judge can be. His own deformed body is a constant reminder that ‘muties’ (genetic mutations) will experience a tough life outside of the cities, if they live that long.
In the last book, we start to discover that playing with sexual preconceptions will become a running theme for Lois’s books, and for this reason, I couldn’t really recommend this particular book for young children. Obviously this is down to the parents concerned, but I wouldn’t want parents to buy this book for their children without reading it first. Anyway, Miles goes on a mission to pick up a scientist whose expertise are in fields with highly questionable ethics. Nothing goes to plan, and Miles has to escape imprisonment with a creature called Taurus.
It has been a while since I read this last book, but I’m pretty sure a quad (last seen in Falling Free) gets a couple of quick mentions.
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Apr 26 2007
Ethan of Athos
Ethan of Athos – Lois McMaster Bujold
Picking up on the starts of some ideas in the Cetaganda book, this novel is unusual in the Miles Vorkosigan series, in that Miles does not make a direct appearance.
However, if you have liked the books so far, I would still definitely recommend this book. Not only does Lois take an original look at how men may come to view women in the future, the character interplay does, in places, even exceed the high standards set in previous books.
If you’ve ever wondered what the planet might be like without Woman, now is your chance to discover one possibility, well portrayed.
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Apr 26 2007
Cetaganda
Cetaganda – Lois McMaster Bujold
The invasion force I mentioned in the last review come from the Cetagandan Empire, a society with extreme division between the different classes. Even though it was not that long since Miles was defending his life against these people, he finds himself struggling to help their people.
Never sure who is truly a comrade, and who has daggers for his back, he muddles through and eventually receives a surprising reward.
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Apr 25 2007
The Vor Game
The Vor Game – Lois McMaster Bujold
In this book, Miles eventually joins forces (literally) with his Dad, to repel an invasion of the Hub. Before that however, he finds himself on a cold outpost, having graduated from the military Academy.
His commanding officer is a nasty piece of work, and Miles doesn’t find much camaraderie with his fellow troopers. Imperial Security (ImpSec), more specifically Illyan (another character in it for the long run) start to see the possible benefits of such an un-orthodox agent as Miles.
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Apr 25 2007
Barrayar
Barrayar – Lois McMaster Bujold
The two characters I mentioned in the last book review (Shards of Honor) are still happily together in this novel. Miles, the future star and main character of this series, is in Cordelia’s womb still.
Meanwhile, the emperor dies, and after a little soul searching, Mile’s dad becomes Regent, until Gregor is old enough to take power himself. Unfortunately, not all the political movers and shakers are happy with the situation, and try to kill Aral. As his wife is hurt in the attack, Miles life is put in danger…
Want to know more? Leave me a comment, or read the book ;>
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Apr 18 2007
Shards Of Honor
Shards Of Honor – Lois McMaster Bujold
This is one of the Miles Vorkosigan series, though it is set about a year before his birth.
There are two main characters in this novel, who start off with completing opposing idealogies, or at least it would seem.
The female character is Capt. Naismith, who is on a planet for a survey for her homeworld – The Beta Colony. She meets the other main character Capt Vorkosigan, who has already (mostly unfairly) earned the nickname the Butcher of Komarr. They come from different planets, and find themselves on this planet for very different reasons.
The story follows the two characters fight for survival on this planet, and without wanting to give the game away too much, the future Miles Vorkosigan must have a mother!
I liked this book enough to read all the others in the series.
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Apr 17 2007
Falling Free
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
You will be seeing a LOT more of her books reviewed by me in the coming weeks, but I’ve decided this is the first one I’ll mention.
This book isn’t part of the series I’ll be talking about later, so I should probably start by mentioning the sort of book this is. If you think of a story about corporate ethics, set in space, in the not too distant future, and then add a dash of cross-planetary romance, you’re heading in the right direction. Oh and a genetically altered race of people, with 4 arms and no legs. (You don’t need legs when there is no gravity, no fixed ‘up’ or ‘down’.
Compared to the other books I’ve read from the author, this one is definitely more heavy on the SciFi side of things that the character-led series of Miles Vorkosigan. You will find many other reviewers have decided they couldn’t recommend this book, but if you get the opportunity to read it, I would.
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