From archive (archive) Subject: A book review or two From: BPH6SSG@cms1.ucs.leeds.ac.UK (Steven S.B. Glover 791264 // 333039) Date: 17 May 89 19:15:01 GMT N E W S T A R R I S I N G A REVIEW OF FOUR NOVELS BY LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD SHARDS OF HONOUR, Headline Book Publishing PLC, 1988 #2.99, 313pp. ISBN 0-7472-3125-7 THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE, Headline Book Publishing PLC, 1988 #2.99, 315pp. ISBN 0-7472-3126-5 ETHAN OF ATHOS, Headline Book Publishing PLC, 1989 #2.99, 237pp. ISBN 0-7472-3127-3 BROTHERS IN ARMS, Baen Books, 1989 $3.95, 338pp. ISBN 0-671-69799-4 Not reviewed: FALLING FREE, Lois McMaster Bujold (Analog Dec 87-Feb 88, Baen) NEBULA Winner & Hugo Nominee. Not yet published in Britain. This one shows all the signs of being an excellent read. Do you ever find a book so good you have to rush out immediately and share it with someone? That was how I first came across Ms Bujold's books. A few years ago I visited a friend in Scotland after a convention and I was on the point of setting off South again with a full shoulder bag, when I was offered the loan of a few books. Knowing Bruce's idea of "a few books" to constitute about half a shelf, I declined, saying I had no room. "Well then, you must at least take this one". It was a copy of the American edition of ETHAN OF ATHOS. When I got back to Leeds, I devoured the book in what I thought was an evening, only discovering when I switched the radio on that it was about 3am. Since then, I've kept a look-out for any new Bujolds with the sort of feverishness I used to employ for Clarkes, Asimovs or Heinleins (okay, so I was a *LOT* younger and less discriminating then). The only problem (and it wasn't a very severe one) was that I found myself reading the first three books in reverse order. This didn't matter too much because, although all four books (five, if you count the yet-to-reach-paperback-publication FALLING FREE -- which has already won this year's Nebula award) are set in the same universe, and with some of the same characters appearing in each book, they are not really a tightly bound series at all. Reverting from the chronological to the sequential, Ms Bujold's first novel SHARDS OF HONOUR concerned the adventures of one Commander (later Captain) Cordelia Naismith of the Betan Survey. We first meet Commander Naismith exploring an unnamed planet when her base is destroyed by a surprise attack. Most of her team manage to escape off-planet, but she, and Ensign Dubauer (the botanist) were out in the field at the time, so they return to a demolished camp. They have just finished telling the Survey ship to get the heck out of there ASAP, when they are jumped by a Barrayaran officer who seems to have been left behind. It turns out that the Barrayaran Imperial Navy have a slightly more than academic interest in this world, situated very close to a hyperspace wormhole leading to the planet Escobar, which Barrayar has designs on. However, Admiral Vorkosigan has troubles of his own because he has managed to offend his Secret Police and they have tried to have him killed off. Together, Naismith and Vorkosigan set out for the Barrayaran supply cache, taking with them Dubauer, little better than a vegetable since having taken the full force of a nerve disruptor. The journey is harrowing, but eventually they make it and Vorkosigan regains his command. As their planets are not officially at war, Naismith's status is more than a little uncertain and she ends up being treated more as a houseguest than a prisoner. During this time they tell each other quite a lot about their respective backgrounds, but this is more than just a convenient way for the author to tell us about her universe. The very manner of the telling gives away a lot about the two protagonists. Cordelia Naismith is more than just a well-meaning kneejerk pacifist and Aral Vorkosigan begins to come over as, at least, a "Good German", Rommel to the rest of Barrayar's Nazi Germany. Except that the Barrayaran system seems to owe more to feudal Russia, predating even most of the 19th century reforms. At this stage, we meet a lot more Barrayaran characters, of whom the most important for now is Sergeant Bothari, a barely-controlled psychopath who (although he hates him) is devoted to his Admiral. Eventually the rest of the Betans return, having made a deal with the Barrayaran mutineers and "rescue" Cordelia. The second part of the book sees Captain Naismith as a member of the Betan Expeditionary Force about to deploy a secret weapon against the Barrayarans. After its successful use, she is captured and is rescued from a fate worse than death by the timely appearance of Sergeant Bothari. Various things happen, resulting in her spending quite a lot of time hiding with Admiral Vorkosigan. The war ends, and the prisoners are returned home. Unfortunately the Betans, first the Psychological Service and then Security, decide that Captain Naismith has been somehow 'got at'. To an extent this shows the folly of believing one's own propaganda, as in their attempts to dig out 'secrets' they do more damage than originally caused by the Barrayarans. Eventually Cordelia's only hope is to make her escape to Barrayar and an almost-broken Admiral Vorkosigan. The ending isn't quite "so they married and lived happily ever after", but it might as well be. Over all, the book can be classified as Space Opera of the old school, with just enough sentiment and "slushy bits" added to keep it light. Alternatively, it's a believable romance with just enough High SF Adventure trimmings to stop it cloying. I realise this is rather faint praise, but honestly the best thing to do is to go out and read the darn' thing yourselves. It is not at all surprising that this novel won Ms Bujold the John W. Campbell award for "Best New Writer". The second novel, THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE, takes up the tale almost a generation later. Miles Vorkosigan was born crippled as a result of a gas attack on his mother. Even so, we first meet him attempting the gruelling entrance examinations for the Barrayaran Naval Academy. Luckily he is sufficiently smart that they've decided to let him average the results of the written papers with the physicals. Unluckily, he falls and breaks both legs (his deformity includes extremely brittle bones), resulting in his return home. After the death of his grandfather, Count Vorkosigan, Miles (now Lord Vorkosigan in his own right) sets off to visit his grandmother Naismith on Beta Colony, taking with him Sergeant Bothari (who has been a combination bodyguard, valet and nursemaid all Miles' life) and his beautiful daughter, Elena. Within a few short hours of arrival at the Betan spaceport, Elena has been shocked crimson by offworld morals and Miles has negotiated purchase of a spaceship mainly because he felt sorry for the pilot (who would have been forcibly retired if the ship was scrapped; something to do with the built-in electrodes that pilots have to wear to manage wormhole jumps). Pausing only to pick up a Barrayaran deserter (who they add to their motley crew), they are soon engaged to transport a load of agricultural machinery to a country called Felice on Tau Verde IV. It looks like a great deal, paying off the cost of the ship in just one run, but there turn out to be a few drawbacks. Firstly, Felice is at war with Pelia, who have engaged a mercenary fleet to blockade them, and secondly, the "agricultural machinery" turns out to be weapons. This is where things start to REALLY speed up. They manage to hide the cargo, but when they are stopped by a unit of the Oseran fleet, they soon discover they have no option but to capture the ship. Next thing you know, Miles, or "Mr. Naismith" has inducted the crew into the "Dendarii Free Mercenary" and is on the point of helping Felice win the war. Gradually units of the Oseran Fleet desert to join the Dendarii and the war is brought to an almost satisfactory conclusion. Cue subplot: Miles' charming but no-good cousin, Ivan Vorpatril turns up with a vague message which Miles realises is a sign of Really Dirty Work At The Crossroads. He speedily returns to Barrayar and (in the nick of time) defuses the dastardly schemes of the War Party in the Council to have his father impeached for Treason. Even then, all is not totally well, and it takes him all his quick wit to get out of a really nasty situation. This book, while faster-paced than the first, continues to succeed as Space Opera with a heart. Watching Miles cope with the various problems fate (and Ms Bujold) throw at him is as thrilling as watching any tightrope artiste. Throughout, the characterisations continue to develop, with even Sergeant Bothari experiencing a sort of redemption in his last few minutes, and even though most of the action takes place in space we learn a lot more about the background to this universe. The third book, ETHAN OF ATHOS, takes a break from following the careers of the Vorkosigan family as it concentrates on a totally different pair of societies from the Beta Colony/Barrayar pairing of the first two books. Dr Ethan Urquart is one of the strangest obstetricians yet to appear in science fiction. You see, his world was colonised by a group of men who thought that all that is evil in life emanated from the incredibly dangerous WOMEN. Naturally, this means that social life on Athos is very different from that of any of the other planets. It is discovered that the egg-cultures on which they rely for having any children at all are beginning to go "off", and even the marvellous mechanical uterine replicators (technology first seen in SHARDS OF HONOUR) can't convert a mass of amorphous, undifferentiated tissue into a man. A new shipment of ovaries is ordered from the bio-engineering geniuses of Jackson's Whole (another colony world, more gangster than capitalist), but when it arrives it has obviously been tampered with. There is no other solution but for some brave volunteer to go Off-Planet to bring back fresh material. This turns out to be Ethan's job. Most of the action takes place on a giant space station where Ethan first meets a woman, Elli Quinn (one of the characters from the latter half of THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE). Elli is on some form of undercover mission for Admiral Naismith, and there are occasional references back to events in THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE. The Cetagandans get the idea that Ethan is carrying something they want, and as Elli's mission involves thwarting their scheme, she allows them to think so. Poor Ethan doesn't know what the heck's going on, but he does (eventually) begin to realise that his planet doesn't have the monopoly on perfect social arrangements. In the end, of course, everything works out quite nicely for all concerned, but only after a couple of really characteristic plot twists (and NO WAY am I giving THOSE away... you'll just have to read it for yourselves). Ms Bujold has obviously put a lot of thought into the sort of social and ecological arrangements necessary for Kline Station, and its combination of quasi-military vessel and breezy dockside resort makes for an interesting comparison with Athos and Jackson's Whole, not to mention Barrayar or Beta Colony. BROTHERS IN ARMS, the fourth book in the sequence returns us to the Dendarii Free Mercenary. In fact, just to make sure we get the point, it is billed on the cover as: "A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure". I'm not sure I like this, as it seems to imply that there'll be a lot of concentration on Miles and his problems over the next few books to the detriment of what seems to be a very nicely developed universe. Still, on starting to read, my fears (this time round, at any rate) proved groundless. The Dendarii fleet arrives in Earth orbit for Rest and Recuperation after a particularly costly (in men and machines) fight with the Cetagandans (they'd just implemented one of the largest POW escapes in history). The Cetagandans didn't take this too kindly, so now there's a price on Miles' head. Earth, however, being Earth, the repair corporations don't particularly trust mere mercenaries, so Miles has to put on his Vorkosigan hat and go to the Barrayaran Embassy (located in London) to try and scrounge the odd million marks. He gets a frosty reception when he gets there. As Lt. Vorkosigan he is seconded to the Embassy staff and discovers to his horror that Cousin Ivan is technically senior to him (except socially, and what that means is that Miles gets to escort the old dowagers to functions while Ivan gets the beautiful daughters; EVERY TIME!). All this bureaucratic make-work is okay for a few weeks, but eventually it becomes obvious that Sector Security are not sending him the money he needs to refit the fleet. During this period, he begins to fall in love with Elli Quinn, one of the few Dendarii who are aware of his double identity. The trouble is, to her, Admiral Naismith is the real person, and Lord Vorkosigan the mask. This doesn't make it easy for Miles to juggle what are effectively three different personae, and he occasionally wakes up wondering who he really is. After a 'misunderstanding' involving the fleet's accounts, several of Miles' troops are involved in a siege of an off-licence. Miles manages to sort things out, but the spectacular nature of his rescue of the shop owner draws a reporter's attention to him. She begins to suspect his dual identities, so (thinking on his feet) he invents the idea that Naismith is a Cetagandan clone of Vorkosigan). It turns out that Captain Galeni was born on Komarr, the planet added to the Barrayaran Imperium by none other than Admiral (Aral) Vorkosigan twenty-something years before. Now, because of a few reckless underlings, Vorkosigan Snr. is stuck with the label "The Butcher of Komarr", and Captain Galeni's father was one of the Komarran resistance leaders. Could Galeni be in league with the last remnants of the freedom fighters/terrorists? Just as Miles decides to set the Dendarii onto investigating this, Captain Galeni disappears. This looks very suspicious. Pausing only to try and set the Dendarii onto raising cash for themselves, Miles accepts a contract to kidnap "Lt. Vorkosigan". This, of course, was so that he could find out just who's playing games with whom. Imagine, then, his surprise when he walks into a trap himself. He wakes up in a cell with Captain Galeni and discovers that the KOMARRANS have cloned him and want to use the clone to destabilise Barrayar enough to regain their independence. He worries a lot about how well the clone will fool his colleagues, especially Elli, who he's just started a relationship with. The Komarran leader is Ser Galen, Galeni's father, and this makes for some very interesting by-play between the two Komarrans as they discuss what's best for their home world. Miles attempts to subvert the clone, technically his brother according to Betan law, but it doesn't quite come off, and only the fact that the Dendarii were still looking for Captain Galeni allows them to be rescued at all. The situation has more ramifications than meet the eye, and suddenly Miles is in danger, not just from the Cetagandans but also from Barrayaran Security who might mistake him for his clone, Mark. The Komarrans manage to kidnap Ivan (surely it can't have been too difficult) and offer Miles a deal. The interplay of cross and double cross becomes quite intricate at this point, building up to the usual firecracker conclusion. Although the book is not by any means a comedy, it has all the speed and pace of a Buster Keaton routine, the scenarios described twine and intercurve so quickly that it becomes hard to know just what's going on. Miraculously, all the plates are kept in the air and the whole assemblage totters splendidly forward seemingly avoiding disaster by millimeters. It is, like all the books reviewed here one hell of a good read and you are really missing something if you don't give it a try. From rec.arts.sf-reviews Sun Oct 27 14:59:34 1991 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!psinntp!psinntp!rpi!uwm.edu!linac!att!pacbell.com!pacbell!pbhyc!djdaneh From: wex@pws.ma30.bull.com (Alan Wexelblat) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf-reviews Subject: REVIEW: Barrayar, by Lois McMaster Bujold Message-ID: <6888@pbhyc.PacBell.COM> Date: 23 Oct 91 20:07:10 GMT Sender: djdaneh@PacBell.COM Lines: 43 Approved: djdaneh@pbhyc.pacbell.com Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold Review Copyright (c) 1991 Alan Wexelblat Five bucks for a paperback novel. Sheesh. I don't know about you-all, but this latest jump in book prices is going to affect my buying. Simply put it means fewer books and more hardcover buying (they last longer and the author gets a bigger percentage). For me to pay that price means I need to have a pretty good idea of what I'm getting, or it has to be something I can't get any other way. Both apply to Lois Bujold's work. There's not much I can say about this book that isn't already known. It is part of the Miles Vorkosigan series, now grown to six novels and three novellas (I refuse to count "Falling Free," even thought the chronology in the back of the books lists it). Even though all the stories do not directly involve Miles, they all concern his history and actions. "Barrayar" fits nicely in the mold. I'd rate it as third best in the series after "Brothers in Arms" and "Borders of Infinity." The action takes place on the planet Barrayar after Miles' parents have settled in. As readers of other books already know, Aral Vorkosigan is more or less forced to become Regent which makes him a target for every malcontent on or off the planet. One of these attacks damages the fetal Miles, requiring that he be placed in a uterine replicator where physiological damage may be undone. Unfortunately, Aral is deposed by the Vordarian pretendership and Miles is put in serious danger. What makes this book worthwhile is that Bujold deviates from a simple retelling of already-known history into a deep exploration of the character of Cordelia, Miles' mother. She is very much the alien on Barrayar, being from an independent background and thrust into the male-dominated world of Vor. Other books from Bujold have not shown things from a female perspective, so this makes for a refreshing change. Other than that, though, there's not much new in here. I keep hoping Bujold will break out, do something different, but it hasn't happened yet. %A Lois McMaster Bujold %T Barrayar %I Baen SF %G ISBN 0-617-72083-X %O $4.99 %D 1991 From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Mar 19 13:14:44 1992 Path: herkules.sssab.se!isy!liuida!sunic!kth.se!eru.mt.luth.se!bloom-beacon!bloom-picayune.mit.edu!mintaka.lcs.mit.edu!yale!yale.edu!jvnc.net!darwin.sura.net!wupost!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!usenet.coe.montana.edu!news.u.washington.edu!raven.alaska.edu!never-reply-to-path-lines From: ecl@mtgzy.att.com (Evelyn C Leeper +1 908 957 2070) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: BARRAYAR by Lois McMaster Bujold Message-ID: <1992Mar16.232134.23321@raven.alaska.edu> Date: 16 Mar 92 23:21:34 GMT Sender: wisner@raven.alaska.edu (Bill Wisner) Organization: University of Alaska Computer Network Lines: 43 Approved: wisner@ims.alaska.edu BARRAYAR by Lois McMaster Bujold A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1992 Evelyn C. Leeper In this novel, Bujold goes back in time in her saga of Miles Vorkosigan, and relates the events of the period surrounding his birth. As with any book that is part of an on-going series, one must ask of it two questions: how is it as part of the series, and how is it as a stand-alone? Now, last year's Hugo winner, THE VOR GAME, was the first of its series that I had read (I don't count FALLING FREE, although Bujold includes it in her timeline, because it far predates Miles), and I felt it stood well enough on its own that I had no problems with its winning the Hugo. I would assume that to those who had read the other novels (some of which cover events before THE VOR GAME, some after--a complete timeline is provided in each new book) enjoyed it even more. But BARRAYAR is not as satisfying as a stand-alone; much of the interest in the events is based on the knowledge of Miles's future. Since all the blurbs, etc., reveal that Miles goes on further adventures, his survival is never in question, and the book's attempt to add tension here is somewhat annoying. (True, one can't blame an author for the blurbs, but surely Bujold must have realized that most readers would know the outcome even if they hadn't read any other works in the series.) Given all this, however, I think that for people who have read other works in the series--even just one--this book is very enjoyable and enlightening. It provides background and context for Miles which help show the forces that shaped him, both physically and emotionally. And it makes me want to read the other books in the series, which is perhaps the ultimate test, and why I recommend this (though I suggest reading THE VOR GAME first). %T Barrayar %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C New York %D October 1991 %I Baen %O paperback, US$4.99 %G ISBN 0-671-72083-X %P 389pp Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | att!mtgzy!ecl or ecl@mtgzy.att.com From archive (archive) From: duane@anasaz.UUCP (Duane Morse) Organization: Anasazi, Inc., Phoenix, Az. Subject: _Ethan_of_Athos_ by Lois Bujold (mild spoiler) Date: 21 Sep 88 01:38:06 GMT Time: relatively far future Place: planet Athos and space station Kline SF elements: advanced technology, genetic engineering Introduction: Dr. Ethan Urquhart is a hard-working, responsible obstetrician (!) on the all-male planet Athos, a planet voluntarily insulated from the rest of galactic civilization due to a religious doctrine which equates women with sin. Advances in genetic engineering and a supply of ovarian tissue cultures make this possible, but the original cultures have "worn out". An order was placed for new cultures, but the shipment received contained only dead cell masses, some from cows! Since immigration to Athos is almost nil, it's vitally important to get new cultures quickly, and Ethan is sent to the nearest stellar way station to oversee the purchase. Unbeknownst to Ethan, another party has lost its biological sample too, and that sample was of something completely different. Main storylines: Ethan's experiences meeting women for the first time; adventure when he is mistaken for a spy; discovering exactly what happened to both lost biological shipments. Critique: I had read two other books by this author (_Shards_of_Honor_ and _The Warrior's_Apprentice_), and I had enjoyed both of those books so much (both got 3.5 ratings in my catalogue) that I had noted to read ANY SF by her. This book reinforced my high option of the author's writing ability. It takes place in the same "universe" as the others, which is noted for advanced technology, particularly in genetic engineering; in fact, one of the major characters here is a minor character in another novel. The writing style is reminiscent of Jack Chalker - somewhat wry humor, brisk pace, believable characters. To give an example of a piece of dialogue I particularly liked, Ethan has just been rescued from 8 hours of torture and interrogation (he's suspected by one set of spys of being a spy for another group), and his rescurer, yet another spy, says, "I've been trying to plant a bug in Millisor's quarters for three weeks, but his counter-intelligence equipment is, unfortunately, superb". Ethan replies, "You mainly missed a lot of screaming." The story is paced perfectly. For example, exactly the right amount of time is spent giving the reader the flavor of Athos to make the culture shock of the space station real. Rating: 4.0 out of 4.0 - ranks with the very best. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. -- Duane Morse ...!noao!mcdsun!nud!anasaz!duane (602) 861-7609 From rec.arts.sf.written Wed Jan 20 12:33:04 1993 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!uunet!wupost!csus.edu!netcom.com!dani From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig) Subject: Bujold: The Spirit Ring Message-ID: <1993Jan19.061026.13695@netcom.com> Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1993 06:10:26 GMT Lines: 33 Bujold's foray into fantasy, "The Spirit Ring", is competent but unimpressive -- quite a change from her science fiction. The setting is a Renaissance Italy which is just like ours, except that magic is known to work, with white magicians having to be licensed by the Church. (This is a problem in itself, as it stretches credibility that such a difference would make no difference.) The original title of the book was "The Enchanted Saltcellar", but it was changed, which is a good thing, since while there is an enchanted saltcellar, it has almost no role in the story. "The Spirit Ring" is slightly better -- the 'time bomb' in the plot is the evil magician's plan to enslave Fiametta's father's soul within a ring -- but even it doesn't have that much to do with the story. That's one of the main problems with the book: The story hasn't really got a focus. There's a slight and generic plot framework -- an evil usurper with an eviller wizard has taken the town and it's up to the heroine in the end to face the wizard and save the day -- and not much of interest happens while the characters are going through their assigned motions. As I said to start with, it's not bad, but I expected better of Bujold. Bujold fans will still want to read this book -- but I'd advise waiting until it's released in a six-dollar edition and then resold for three. ----- Dani Zweig dani@netcom.com 'T is with our judgements as our watches, none Go alike, yet each believes his own --Alexander Pope From rec.arts.sf.reviews Thu Mar 25 12:22:13 1993 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!uunet!think.com!enterpoop.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!nobody From: C_Douglas_BAKER@umail.umd.edu (cb52) Subject: Review of Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold submitted Message-ID: <9303172338.AA26059@umailsrv0.UMD.EDU> Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Sender: news@news.media.mit.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1993 18:32:11 GMT Approved: wex@media.mit.edu (Alan Wexelblat) Lines: 65 BARRAYAR by Lois McMaster Bujold A book review by C. Douglas Baker [SPOILER WARNING: This review has what could easily be spoilers both for this book and for others in the series. --AW] Barrayar is an outstanding work in the universe of the now well known Miles Naismith Vorkosigan. Most of the events take place before Miles' birth centering around his mother's adjustment to becoming the wife of the new regent to the Emperor Gregory. Barrayar is a planet with a history of political violence, intrigue, assassination, and sheer chicanery that rivals any of the medieval governments of Earth. Aral Vorkosigan, Miles' father, survives a couple of assassination attempts, one an attack with poisonous gas that affects Cordelia while she is pregnant with Miles. The antidote to the poison gas severely damages the fetus but Cordelia refuses to abort the pregnancy. Cordelia recruits a research driven expert in the field of military poisons and the planet's best obstetrician to place Mile's in an "uterine replicator". The replicator is used extensively on Beta, Cordelia's homeworld, as a replacement for natural childbirth. The zygote is placed in the replicator and it acts as an artificial womb freeing women of the inconvenience and pain of natural childbirth. It also allows the application of treatments to Miles' fetus to keep it viable. Cordelia wants to save her child, despite that it will be deformed and stunted in growth. While Miles is incubating at the Imperial Military Hospital, a rebellion occurs which pits Aral Vorkosigan against an arch conservative "pretender" to the throne. The pretender, Vordarian, takes possession of the capital city and the uterine replicator. This launches Cordelia into a plot, along with her closest companions, to rescue young Miles. Cordelia's daring evasion of her own husband's military personnel (he has forbidden her to make such an attempt) and her rescue of Miles is the highlight of the novel. Barrayar is a masterpiece in character development. The reader feels an intimate knowledge of the main characters and their relationship to each other by the end of the novel. Aral Vorkosigan is an enlightened man in a world of backward thinking politicians. In a militaristic, xenophobic world where women are second class and babies with the slightest defects are aborted or let die by exposure, Aral attempts to avoid wars and conflict, marries an off-world, strong willed woman whose advice he seeks out, and genuinely loves his unborn child despite his known defects. Cordelia is that strong willed woman who stands up not only to Piotr, Aral's conservative father who cannot bear the thought of having a deformed heir, but also launches a daring scheme to rescue her son from the clutches of Vordarian. For anyone who has never read a Miles Vorkosigan novel, the final eight pages are a must read. In just those eight pages one gets a humorously painted personality sketch of young Miles and what we can expect from him in the future. Bujold also manages to maintain the drama of Cordelia's rescue of Miles, despite our knowledge of its success given previous works of Miles' adventures as a young adult. The only real criticism I have of Barrayar is the writing of the action scenes. Fighting or other quick paced activity tends to unfold too slowly taking the excitement out of the scene. This drawback is definitely overshadowed by the overall quality of the entire work. %T Barrayar %A McMaster Bujold %C New York %D October 1991 %I Baen Books %G ISBN 0-617-72083-X (paperback) %P 386 %O $4.99 (pbk) C. DOUGLAS BAKER Email: cb52@umail.umd.edu (Doug Baker) From rec.arts.sf.written Thu Apr 8 09:44:33 1993 Xref: lysator.liu.se rec.arts.sf.written:9148 alt.books.reviews:340 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,alt.books.reviews Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!uunet!haven.umd.edu!wam.umd.edu!cbaker From: cbaker@wam.umd.edu (C. Douglas Baker) Subject: _Falling Free_ by Lois McMaster Bujold REVIEW Message-ID: <1993Apr8.043647.12353@wam.umd.edu> Sender: usenet@wam.umd.edu (USENET News system) Nntp-Posting-Host: rac1.wam.umd.edu Organization: University of Maryland, College Park Date: Thu, 8 Apr 1993 04:36:47 GMT Lines: 62 FALLING FREE by Lois McMaster Bujold Book Review by C. Douglas Baker Formulaic. This is the best way to describe the disappointing _Falling Free_ which is predictable from page one. The basic plot line should sound familiar: Multiuniversal (as opposed to multinational) corporation creates genetically engineered human beings that are perfect for work in free fall and drastically lower operating costs; these "quaddies" become obsolete after invention of artificial gravity for space stations; corporation wants to rid itself of the quaddies and cut costs. You can imagine for yourself how they may want to dispose of them. _Falling Free_ also has the standard hero who wants to save the quaddies and is set up against the heartless corporate administrator who will do anything to advance in the company and cut costs. The reader knows what will happen from page to page and it makes for a rather boring book. There is no in-depth character analysis or drama which make the Miles Vorkosigan books so enjoyable. I knew the basic plot and outcome of many of Bujold's Vorkosigan novels but her characters, humor, themes, and surprises from page to page made them greatly enjoyable and entertaining. This is not the case with _Falling Free_. The most interesting aspect of _Falling Free_ was the exposition of the horrors of genetic engineering. The "quaddies" are four armed human beings designed to work more efficiently in free fall. The quaddies are raised and completely controlled by GalacTech who exploits them to the fullest. Their eduction, reproduction, reading material, free time, literally every aspect of their lives are controlled by the corporation. When the quaddies become a liability rather than an investment the corporation cares little about how they are "disposed". Bujold could have had a more interesting book had she explored the moral dilemmas presented by genetic engineering and its possible abuses. Unfortunately, the reader's anger at the plight of the quaddies dissipates rather quickly because of the superficial nature of the entire book. Bujold's quaddies are interesting, however, and she does a nice job of briefly exploring their characters. Having been raised and educated on a space station for specific purposes affects their interactions with one another, their sexual mores, and how they interact with two- legged creatures. For Miles Vorkosigan fans this book is NOT a must read. While the quaddies show up in the _The Vor Game_ you really do not learn anything essential about them in _Falling Free_. _Falling Free_ does not approach the high quality to which Miles Vorkosigan fans have become accustomed. ~Title: Falling Free Author: Lois McMaster Bujold City: New York ~Date: 1988 Publisher: Baen Books ISBN: 0-671-65398-9 (paperback) pages: 386 price: $4.99 (pbk) From rec.arts.sf.written Tue Apr 27 02:33:04 1993 Xref: lysator.liu.se rec.arts.sf.written:10425 alt.books.reviews:374 rec.arts.books:14875 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written,alt.books.reviews,rec.arts.books Path: lysator.liu.se!kth.se!sunic!uunet!haven.umd.edu!wam.umd.edu!cbaker From: cbaker@wam.umd.edu (C. Douglas Baker) Subject: __Borders of Infinity__ by Lois McMaster Bujold Book Review Message-ID: <1993Apr26.042848.14866@wam.umd.edu> Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Sender: usenet@wam.umd.edu (USENET News system) Nntp-Posting-Host: rac1.wam.umd.edu Organization: University of Maryland, College Park Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1993 04:28:48 GMT Lines: 79 __Borders of Infinity__ by Lois McMaster Bujold Book Review by C. Douglas Baker Bujold explores the character of Mile Vorkosigan in great detail in __Borders of Infinity__. This may sound like an odd statement given the numerous books that have been written about Miles but nowhere else does Bujold really probe into Miles' personality and inner motivations like she does here. The reader also learns more about the psyche of Barrayarans. __Borders of Infinity__ is a collection of three stories: the Hugo award winning "The Mountains of Mourning", "Labyrinth", and "The Borders of Infinity". Each stand on their own as a single story. Miles is recounting each to Simon Illyan, his father's security chief, to account for the cost overruns of the auspicious Dendarii Mercenaries. "The Mountains of Mourning" finds Miles' dispatched deep into the Dendarii mountains to investigate an infanticide that has been laid before the feet of Aral, his father. The local authority appears to be stifling the investigation and letting the culprit of the crime go. Bujold uses this story to show Miles in a deeply self-conscious and introspective mood. He is forced to confront his own deformities and what that means both on Barrayar and in the world (universe) at large. Miles has a deep seeded inferiority complex that he overcomes throughout his life and here we see clearly what motivates Miles. Miles is clearly haunted by the reputations of his grandfather and father, who are Vor class military heroes. Miles innately feels he must live up to their reputations as can be seen in his reflections on his own fathers stress under the weight of his grandfather's achievements. Yet, Miles has much more to overcome being a deformed, albeit brilliant, young man. He sets out to do so. In this story we see why. [Minor Spoiler for "Labyrinth"] Bujold once again explores the implications of genetic engineering, especially without any moral guidelines, in "Labyrinth". The Dendarii Mercenaries are sent to assist a genetic engineer escape his Jackson Whole employers. This geneticist has a variety of interesting genetic samples that are important to his research and refuses to leave without them. Unfortunately he has hidden them in the calf of this part-human, eight-foot tall, incredibly strong, wolfish looking, genetically engineered creature. Worse yet, the creature has been sold to another Jackson Whole entrepreneur and Miles must form a plan to get the material then murder the creature before the geneticist will leave. This sets up a series of very interesting events. In fact, at one point, this reader almost fell out of bed laughing. Finally, "Borders of Infinity" finds Miles trapped in a Cetagandan prisoner of war camp. The Miles timeline in the back of many Vorkosigan books gives away the plot and if you have not read it avoid doing so. This too is a very enjoyable adventure and shows Miles at his best. We also see Miles has inherited the empathy and hatred of death that his mother and father have exhibited. All three stories in __Borders of Infinity__ are highly enjoyable. And you do not have to be a Miles Vorkosigan fan to enjoy any of Bujold's work (novels or short stories). They easily stand as discrete pieces. I would speculate that once you have read one, however, you will find yourself hooked. %T Borders of Infinity %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C New York %D 1989 %I Baen Books $4.99 (pbk) %G ISBN 0-671-72093-7 (paperback) %P 311 From rec.arts.sf.written Wed May 12 11:44:05 1993 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!uunet!pipex!doc.ic.ac.uk!syma!baum1 From: baum1@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Speaker To Animals.) Subject: 'Brother's In Arms' by Bujold. Message-ID: <1993May11.164347.1037@syma.sussex.ac.uk> Summary: Addition to Vor universe Keywords: Bujold, Vor, Vorkosigan, Miles Organization: University of Sussex X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8] Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 16:43:47 GMT Lines: 55 Review of 'Brother's In Arms' by Lois McMaster Bujold. I read this soon after 'Borders of Infinity' and re-reading 'The Warrior's Apprentice' (as you can tell, my interest in Bujold's books has undergone a sudden rise), they both come before this book within the universe's chronology, and are worth reading first as they explain where the characters come from and the unusual situation they are in. There must be one or two books between this and Borders... but I found this did not quell my enjoyment at all, and there seemed to be no major spoilers hidden within the book that will spoil my reading of the others, when I get hold of them. Brothers In Arms takes place soon after the break out at the POW camp on Dagoola (VI?) as seen in Borders..., it deals with the ongoing problems this has caused Miles Vorkosigan/Naismith and his mercenaries as there are assasins out looking for Miles. The book takes place on Earth, with the Dendarii Mecenaries stopping off for repairs and looking for the payment of the Dagoola break-out. Miles has to keep up with both his personalities: Admiral Naismith of the mecenaries and Lieutenant Vorkosigan, the son of the Barrayar Prime Minister, while under orders from the Barrayar military, and trying to stop anyone linking his two personalities together into one person and discovering the Naismith character is just a front. This becomes difficult as he has to appear as both people within the same city on Earth, and is even commisioned to kidnap himself! On-running throughout the book is the theme of his splitting personailities, that the Naismith and Vorkosigan parts of him are becoming separate personas, with him having to swap between and not being able to work out his loyalties: to his homeworld or his mercenaries? This is extenuated by an irritating commanding officer, and cash-flow problems on a major scale for the mercenaries. The book sees Miles grow closer to his bodyguard, Elli Quinn (who first appeared in Warrior's Apprentice) and delves deeper into his personality, and a sudden crisis bought about by the appearence of a doppelganger, but can he change the situation to his advantage? Well, I'm not going to tell you everything. If you have all ready read some Bujold and like her style then this is a good book to read. If you are thinking of reading some Bujold I suggest either at least The Warrior's Apprentice first, it will give a good background on how the mercenaries came about and who Miles is. T% Brother's In Arms. A% Lois McMaster Bujold. P% Headline. D% 1989. Pp% 338. $% 4.50 (sterling). -- baum1@syma.sussex.ac.uk $ prepare xpanic $ enable xpanic $ xpninit AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Revision - don't ya just love it? From rec.arts.sf.reviews Mon May 17 16:48:09 1993 Path: lysator.liu.se!isy!liuida!sunic!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!darwin.sura.net!udel!news.intercon.com!psinntp!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: baum1@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Speaker To Animals.) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: 'Brothers In Arms' by Bujold. Summary: Bujold book within Vor universe. Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Organization: University of Sussex Message-ID: <8277@sheol.UUCP> Date: 15 May 93 14:17:11 GMT Lines: 47 Review of 'Brothers In Arms' by Lois McMaster Bujold. I read this soon after 'Borders of Infinity' and re-reading 'The Warrior's Apprentice' (as you can tell, my interest in Bujold's books has undergone a sudden rise), they both come before this book within the universe's chronology, and are worth reading first as they explain where the characters come from and the unusual situation they are in. There must be one or two books between this and Borders... but I found this did not quell my enjoyment at all, and there seemed to be no major spoilers hidden within the book that will spoil my reading of the others, when I get hold of them. Brothers In Arms takes place soon after the break out at the POW camp on Dagoola (VI?) as seen in Borders..., it deals with the ongoing problems this has caused Miles Vorkosigan/Naismith and his mercenaries as there are assasins out looking for Miles. The book takes place on Earth, with the Dendarii Mecenaries stopping off for repairs and looking for the payment of the Dagoola break-out. Miles has to keep up with both his personalities: Admiral Naismith of the mecenaries and Lieutenant Vorkosigan, the son of the Barrayar Prime Minister, while under orders from the Barrayar military, and trying to stop anyone linking his two personalities together into one person and discovering the Naismith character is just a front. This becomes difficult as he has to appear as both people within the same city on Earth, and is even commisioned to kidnap himself! On-running throughout the book is the theme of his splitting personailities, that the Naismith and Vorkosigan parts of him are becoming separate personas, with him having to swap between and not being able to work out his loyalties: to his homeworld or his mercenaries? This is extenuated by an irritating commanding officer, and cash-flow problems on a major scale for the mercenaries. The book sees Miles grow closer to his bodyguard, Elli Quinn (who first appeared in Warrior's Apprentice) and delves deeper into his personality, and a sudden crisis bought about by the appearence of a doppelganger, but can he change the situation to his advantage? Well, I'm not going to tell you everything. If you have all ready read some Bujold and like her style then this is a good book to read. If you are thinking of reading some Bujold I suggest either at least The Warrior's Apprentice first, it will give a good background on how the mercenaries came about and who Miles is. %T Brother's In Arms %A Lois McMaster Bujold %I Headline %D 1989 %P 338 %O 4.50 (sterling) From rec.arts.sf.reviews Tue Jun 8 16:51:20 1993 Path: lysator.liu.se!kth.se!sunic!news.funet.fi!news.tele.fi!uunet!psinntp!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: reeder@reed.edu (P. Douglas Reeder) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Review of "Falling Free" by Lois McMaster Bujold Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: Date: 07 Jun 93 00:47:15 GMT Lines: 52 Review of "Falling Free" by Lois McMaster Bujold review copyright 1993 by P. Douglas Reeder In this 1988 Nebula Award winning novel, a group of humans genetically engineered for free fall by GalacTech, a large corporation, are legally considered "post-fetal tissue cultures", i.e. property, not people. Invention of practical antigravity has rendered them obsolete. The 'quaddies' (they have extra arms instead of legs) are led to revolt by Leo Graf, a normal welding and non-destructive testing engineer. The characters are believable and well drawn, and their problems realistic, but they divide cleanly into good guys and bad guys, save for a few GalacTech employees (who play little role) who are loyal to the company but sympathetic to the quaddies. Bujold's most basic theme, people obsolescent by their genes, not their skills, is an important and fresh one. It forms the background for the work, but fails to have much impact because the only resultant is the good-guys/bad-guys conflict. Women with children are ill-represented in adventure stories, and Bujold shows why. She also shows an engineer at work, instead of having his results appear from offstage. The only problem this reader had with the novel was that it fails to develop its material. Short shrift is given to internal conflicts and disagreements of the quaddies and the divided loyalties of normal employees, to whom the quaddies are both work and friend, but who have little power to help them. (Admittedly, that's not the theme of the novel but...) Furthur commentary on this work can be found in _Nebula Awards 24_, in "Themes and Variations: A View on the SF and Fantasy of 1988" by Ian Watson and "Free Associating About Falling Free" by Bujold. Watson describes this novel as a juvenile. Bujold wrote it as her _Analog_ story, writing in a style that heavily influenced her (and contests the juvenile label). I found it a pleasant read, but on the light side. %A Lois McMaster Bujold %T Falling Free %I Baen Books %C Riverdale, NY %D copyright 1988 %G ISBN 0-671-65398-9 %P 307 %K quaddies,Nebula Award,Analog %O paperback $4.99 %X This 1988 Nebula Award winning novel is set in the same universe as Barrayar, Borders of Infinity, and Ethan of Athos, and concerns the 'quaddies' - humans genetically engineered to live in free fall. It appeared as a serial from December 1987 through February 1988 in _Analog_. Doug Reeder Internet: reeder@reed.edu Div, Grad & Curl USENET: ...!tektronix!reed!reeder programming & derivative work I am actively seeking scientific programming contracts. From rec.arts.sf.written Sun Oct 31 01:02:21 1993 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!uunet!haven.umd.edu!cville-srv.wam.umd.edu!cbaker From: cbaker@wam.umd.edu (C. Douglas Baker) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: __Ethan of Athos__ by Lois McMaster Bujold Book Review Date: 26 Oct 1993 22:03:02 GMT Organization: University of Maryland, College Park Lines: 59 Message-ID: <2ak6qm$dg3@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: rac6.wam.umd.edu __Ethan of Athos__ by Lois McMaster Bujold Book Review by C. Douglas Baker __Ethan of Athos__ is a difficult book to review because the bulk of the novel is a rather average adventure story set in the universe of Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan stories. __Ethan of Athos__ does have some very engaging and thought provoking peripheral details, however. Ethan is from an all male planet where women are seen as little more than demons. The planet is entirely based on homosexual relationships between males who must form contracts for permission to reproduce. Reproduction is accomplished artificially through the use of ovaries purchased from other planets. Athos is cheated out of a group of ovaries they purchased from Jackson's Whole so Ethan, being the head of one of Athos' reproduction centers, is sent as an emissary to discover what has occurred and to purchase new ovaries. Arriving on Kline Station, Ethan, who had never seen a woman before and views them as evil incarnate, is saved from being abducted by Jackson's Whole thugs by the vivacious Elli Quinn of the Denderii Mercenaries. Elli Quinn, Miles Vorkosigan fans may recall, is the attractive, aggressive, female bodyguard of Miles. Thrown into the mix is a paranoid telepath fleeing the same Jackson's Whole thugs. Each are interested in the missing ovaries for their own reasons. The tenuous teamwork of these three incompatibles sets up humorous interactions as the mystery of the missing ovaries unravels. Despite a promising plot the novel unfolds rather tediously. The novel's most engaging characteristic is its exploration of life on an isolated space station. Within such a closed environment there is grave fear of viral and other infectious diseases. Being the number one public safety concern, quarantine of infected persons and items takes precedence over just about anything. Extensive recycling of all kinds of valuable resources and a quite unique air cleansing and oxygen generating system are also norms life aboard a space station. Bujold also explores the abuse and terrible consequences of genetic engineering. These interesting asides, along with brief glimpses of the social life on Athos and the comical, really farcical, nature of the adventure make __Ethan of Athos__ mildly entertaining. %T Ethan of Athos %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C Riverdale, New York %D 1986 %I Baen Books $4.99 (pbk) %G 0-671-65604-X %P 237 Doug Baker cbaker@wam.umd.edu cb52@umail.umd.edu From rec.arts.sf.reviews Sun Aug 15 20:56:57 1993 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!doc.ic.ac.uk!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!psinntp!dg-rtp!sheol!dont-reply-to-paths From: C_Douglas_BAKER@umail.umd.edu Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE by Lois McMaster Bujold Book Review Approved: sfr%sheol@concert.net (rec.arts.sf.reviews moderator) Message-ID: <9308140211.AA08047@umailsrv0.UMD.EDU> Date: 14 Aug 93 04:44:26 GMT Lines: 57 THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE by Lois McMaster Bujold Book Review by C. Douglas Baker __The Warrior's Apprentice__ is a typical Miles Vorkosigan adventure. To those who are not familiar with Miles that last sentence may look like a derogatory comment. That could not be further from the truth. __The Warrior's Apprentice__ is typical because it is a fast paced, seat of your pants, romp through the universe adventure with the eccentric Miles Vorkosigan. Bujold's entire cannon set in this universe merits high praise. __The Warrior's Apprentice__ finds Miles breaking his leg and being unable to complete his training in the Barrayan military academy. A deeply depressed Miles feels he has let his father and grandfather down and becomes inconsolable. His mother, Cordelia, sends him to Beta Colony hoping it will take his mind off his troubles at home. Once on Beta Colony the fun begins. Miles saves a deranged jumpship pilot from Betan security forces and in the process purchases a jumpship. He then offers to use his new found toy to deliver armaments to a warring planet in a dead-end worm hole nexus. The catch is he must break through an embargo being enforced by mercenaries on the other side of the worm hole. In the meantime Mile runs across a deserter from the Barrayan military who he decides to take along with him. Miles, accompanied by a mentally unstable jumpship pilot, a Barrayan deserter, Sergeant Bothari, Bothari's daughter Eleni, and the agent for whom Miles is working, Daum, breaks the blockade and become embroiled in a battle between mercenary fleets. Miles, using the ingenuity he is now well know for, finds himself the captain of the a rag-tag group of mercenaries who he eventually dubs the Dendarii Mercenaries. Unfortunately for Miles, the act of creating a standing army of one's own is a capital offense on Barrayar and he must go face the Council of Counts. In an emotionally wrenching scene Miles' father attempts to protect him from these charges. This short sketch of events masks both the humor and sadness that accompany Miles on his adventure. Bujold has the ability to elicit both laughter and sadness in her writing and she does both here. There are few writers of any genre who are as good at characterization as Bujold. Even peripheral characters take on a complicated psyche of their own. And the interaction between Miles and his father, Aral, are superbly written. %T The Warrior's Apprentice %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C Riverdale, New York %D 1986 %I Baen $4.50 (pbk) %G ISBN 0-671-72066-X (pbk) %P 315 C. DOUGLAS BAKER Email: cb52@umail.umd.edu From rec.arts.sf.written Sun Jan 23 02:17:09 1994 Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!uunet!decwrl!pa.dec.com!hildy.zso.dec.com!rcrowley From: rcrowley@hildy.zso.dec.com ("Rebecca Leann Smit Crowley") Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Lois McMaster Bujold's Barrayar/Miles/etc. series Date: 20 Jan 1994 23:31:28 GMT Organization: Canaries For Freedom Lines: 138 Message-ID: <2hn48g$63t@usenet.pa.dec.com> Reply-To: rcrowley@zso.dec.com NNTP-Posting-Host: hildy.zso.dec.com X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL0] Between being sick, and knowing _Mirror Dance_ was about to come out in hardback, I thought I'd reread some Bujold, and see if it was as good as I remember it being. It was -- maybe even a bit better. I skipped _Falling Free_ and _Borders of Infinity_, which the following review indicates by their absence. The following are reviewed according to internal chronology; since some of the books "spoil" others, I'll insert a generic spoiler warning here. I tried not to give away too much in the reviews, but I tend to like to know ahead of time how things come out so I don't have to worry about what happens and can pay attention to the interesting details along the way. Needless to say, sometimes I ruin endings as a result. I know a lot of people around here have already read and enjoyed these books immensely, as recent discussion has indicated. I hope, if you haven't read these books yet, you give them a try. Lois McMaster Bujold has a great take on the military subcategory of adventure sf, particularly the mercenary subsubcategory. She also writes an enjoyable romance. Spoilers ahead: _Shards of Honor_ is the story of an invasion which was a bad idea in the first place, and which takes what appears to be a sharp turn for the worse along the way. It is also the story of an unexpected mid-life romance for two people on opposite sides of the war, in search of a separate peace. It's about honor and loyalty, principles and love. It is, in spots, very funny. Our unlikely couple from the previous novel, Aral Vorkosigan and Cordelia Naismith marry in _Barrayar_, hoping, rather distractedly, for a quieter future than their recent past. They are not to get it, however, as Aral is appointed target er, Regent for the young Emperor and Aral's policies result in wrath against him personally. They have a son, and find themselves in the middle of a palace coup. This one is more about desire and duty, wants and needs, and, in spots, this one is even funnier. All relevant parties survive and their son, Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, grows up, determined to overcome his disabilities and prove himself great even with the hand he was dealt, but equally determined not to lose his mother's love and his father's respect along the way. In _The Warrior's Apprentice_, Miles fails to pass the physical examination to enter the Imperial Military Academy. Dejected, he takes a vacation to his mother's old home on Beta Colony. He tries to do a good deed, and maybe impress Elena, but like telling a little lie, he has to scramble fast to cover the good deed with more good deeds until he inadvertantly creates the Dendarii, a mercenary army, and brings peace to Tau Verde. He succeeds in getting out with enough money to cover the original debt and scrambles back to Barrayar in time to stand trial for a charge of treason. He slides out of that problem, and into the academy. This one is about the easy way and the hard way, the merely good and the dangerously great. It's funny in parts, too. When his military career takes a dive in _The Vor Game_ following a collision with a psychotic commanding officer with no political sense, Miles winds up tagging along with agent Ungari to scope out a nearby (galactically speaking) political situation. He finds the Dendarii in disarray, reverted to their old name and commander, but largely still loyal to him. Gregor, meanwhile, managed to escape his keepers, and Miles is appalled to find himself personally responsible for the Emperor's safekeeping, particularly when he fails in this task. Miles being Miles, or, rather, Admiral Naismith, and all others inspired by his peculiar brand of manic insanity, this all works out in the end. The Dendarii become the Emperor's Own, and get a budget. This one's about demands and sacrifices, debts and costs. In _Ethan of Athos_, we get a break from the, uh, breakneck pace of life around Miles, only we get it in the form of Elli Quinn, who moves quicker, if not as fast. She's running a side business in espionage for Miles (think of it as diversification of services), trying to find out why a Jackson's Hole lab was destroyed. Her life intersects with that of the title character, sent by his all-male society to find out what happened to their shipment of ovarian cultures, desperately needed to propagate the Athos people and uh, culture. The culture shock for Ethan (meeting women, the Sink of Sin for the first time!), and the hectic nature of the chase they are both involved in make for a fascinating tale. Bujold's ability to create a conflict in which all characters are sympathetic, and in pursuit of mostly worthy goals is apparent. I'd describe this one as being about means and ends, about ethics and morals. After an unbelievably successful caper on Dagoola IV (depicted in _Borders of Infinity_, and proof that Bujold can do heartwrenching, as well as she can do funny), the Dendarii are fleeing from the Cetagandans, first the fleet, then assassins and political players, in _Brothers in Arms_. They arrive on Earth, where they thought they were expected, but where no one knew they were coming, where a Komarran heads the Barrayaran embassy (why is this a problem? Aral is known as "the Butcher of Komarr"), and where a plot is brewing against Miles Vorkosigan (as opposed to against Admiral Naismith, his Dendarii alter ego, who merely has a price on his head). This one is about family duty, family loyalty, about who is family, and whether you are their keeper. Miles is one of the most memorable characters in recent science fiction, but for me, Cordelia, Elli and Elena (and, for that matter, minor characters such as Kareen, Drushnakova, Lt. Bone, Elizabeth Naismith and Alys Vorpatril) make these stories wonderful to read, particularly in such a male-dominated genre. The contrast between Betan-style constitutionalism and feudal Barrayar, and that between Cordelia's theism and many of the other's indifference to religion, give depth to the things held in common: personal loyalty and honorable behavior. Bujold's sympathetic portrayal of people whose beliefs and behavior differ wildly, and who often come into conflict is refreshing. Her books are highly entertaining adventure stories with enough of a moral and philosophical background to reward rereading. And some of them are riotously funny. The weakest of these books is probably _The Vor Game_, the complexity of the plot(ting -- and I mean it in both senses) gets a bit overwhelming. _Ethan of Athos_ works the best as a stand-alone novel (_Shards of Honor_ being pretty clearly the chronological entry point to a series). _The Warrior's Apprentice_ is probably the best, altho it's a tough call between that and _Barrayar_. _Brothers in Arms_ makes the least sense out of context, and leaves an enormous amount hanging at the end so altho the writing is, imo, technically the most competent, and the characterization is the sharpest (Ivan is finally more than ThatIdiot -- he's acquired a specific kind of idiocy and it's by choice, rather than congenital; furthermore, hanging out with Miles is having a beneficial influence. The Komarran diplomat is one of Bujold's more compelling side-characters, and we're finally getting some insight into the Miles-Mom connection. We knew it had to be there; we're finally getting a glimpse of it.), it loses as a novel what it gains as a series entry. I look forward (intensely) to _Mirror Dance_. I want to know what Miles did with his baby brother. And what Cordelia said when he tried to explain. ;-) -- Rebecca Crowley standard disclaimers apply rcrowley@zso.dec.com It doesn't matter. You can't tell. People are probably lying to you. From rec.arts.sf.written Mon Feb 7 14:04:04 1994 Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Path: liuida!sunic!pipex!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!netcomsv!netcom.com!dani From: dani@netcom.com (Dani Zweig) Subject: Bujold: Mirror Dance Message-ID: Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Date: Mon, 7 Feb 1994 09:34:17 GMT Lines: 23 I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus. Much as I deplore the bad habit of printing books in hardcover that could perfectly well have been printed in paperback instead, sometimes the book is worth the price. This one is. It's good. Not as much fun as "The Warrior's Apprentice", but then, it's much more ambitious. It's not much of a spoiler to reveal what the reader knows within the first few pages of the book, which is that Mark shows up on the Dendarii fleet's doorstep, pretending to be Miles, and uses them in a move against Jackson's Whole. Instead of trying to make an entire book out of this, though, Bujold disposes of the episode in about a hundred pages. The heart of the book is Mark's coming to terms with Barrayar and with himself. Poor Barrayar. Readers who have enjoyed the previous Vorkosigan books will enjoy this one as well. As a number of people have already pointed out, though, this is not the place to start reading Bujold's books. If you haven't read the others, start with "Shards of Honor" or "The Warrior's Apprentice". ----- Dani Zweig dani@netcom.com Aphorism is better than none. Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews,rec.arts.books.reviews Path: news.ifm.liu.se!liuida!sunic!sunic.sunet.se!trane.uninett.no!Norway.EU.net!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news!nobody From: "Evelyn C Leeper" Subject: Review: MIRROR DANCE by Lois McMaster Bujold Message-ID: <9507061100.ZM706@mtgpfs1.mt.att.com> Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Sender: news@media.mit.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Date: Fri, 7 Jul 1995 17:11:23 GMT Approved: wex@media.mit.edu (Alan Wexelblat) Lines: 53 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:795 rec.arts.books.reviews:688 MIRROR DANCE by Lois McMaster Bujold Baen, ISBN 0-671-87646-5, 1994, 563pp, US$5.99 A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1995 Evelyn C. Leeper A few bookkeeping details first: in spite of Don D'Ammassa's review quoted on the back cover calling this "One of the Best SF Novels of 1993," this is a 1994 novel, and as such was nominated for a Hugo this year. What may have helped in that regard was that Baen sent unsolicited copies out to well-known reviewers and Worldcon attendees. (Normally a reviewer must request a specific book from Baen. But every year about Hugo nomination time, I get two or three that they feel are Hugo material or whose authors they feel are Campbell Award material.) In any case, since Bujold has already won the Hugo twice for previous Miles Vorkosigan novels (THE VOR GAME and BARRAYAR) and once for a Miles Vorkosigan story ("The Mountains of Mourning"), it isn't surprising that MIRROR DANCE was nominated as well. The last by internal chronology, as well as by publication date, it gives the reader sufficient background to follow it on its own, with a two-page summary of events occurring in the previous novels and stories. This is described on the cover as a "Vorkosigan Adventure" rather than a "Miles Vorkosigan Adventure," and this is good, because in this novel, the main character is not Miles Vorkosigan, but his clone-brother Mark. In fact, though much of the novel, Miles is dead. (In the odd fashion of science fiction, this is not necessarily a spoiler. He dies fairly early on, and the plan is to resurrect him through some scientific means that they have then, but his cryo-chamber goes missing and much of the novel is about trying to find it, and him.) Frankly, that doesn't matter. Mark is an interesting enough character in his own right to keep the story going (if at times a bit too contrived in terms of factors that shaped his personality). While I wouldn't call this a Hugo-quality novel, it is certainly an enjoyable enough adventure story, and readable even by those unfamiliar with the rest of the Vorkosigan books. %T Mirror Dance %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C New York %D March 1995 %I Baen %O paperback, US$5.99 [1994] %G ISBN 0-671-87646-5 %P 563pp %S Miles Naismith Vorkosigan %V 9 -- Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | Evelyn.Leeper@att.com "I don't care what may be his politics. I don't care what may be his religion. I don't care what may be his color. I don't care who he is. So long as he is honest, he shall be served by me." --Theodore Roosevelt Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Path: news.ifm.liu.se!fizban.solace.mh.se!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.ysu.edu!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!gatech!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news.kei.com!uhog.mit.edu!news!nobody From: Alayne McGregor Subject: Review of CETAGANDA by Lois McMaster Bujold Message-ID: <199601300154.UAA07791@freenet5.carleton.ca> Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Keywords: author= Alayne McGregor Sender: news@media.mit.edu (USENET News System) Organization: Date: Tue, 30 Jan 1996 04:01:39 GMT Approved: wex@media.mit.edu (Alan Wexelblat) Lines: 53 CETAGANDA by Lois McMaster Bujold reviewed by Alayne McGregor Lois McMaster Bujold must have had a really good time writing this book. A whole new culture to invent with two (or was it three?) separate sub-cultures. A great idea for locked-room mystery, combined with intricate political maneuvering, and even some slapstick for Ivan. And the generally lighter tone must have been a relief after Mirror Dance. But don't let that make you underestimate this novel. The latest Miles Vorkosigan adventure is fully equal to others in the series. Miles' angst may be better hidden in this book, but it pops out occasionally, even when he makes fun of it, and lighter tone doesn't completely disguise some difficult ideas dealt with in this novel. The story starts with Miles and his cousin, Ivan Vorpatril, on route to Eta Ceta, the capital planet of the Cetagandan empire. They are to represent Barrayar at the obsequies of the late Cetagandan Empress, which should require them to do no more than sit and stand when they are told and look properly attentive. Naturally, events get more complicated than that. As soon as they've docked, a strange, almost hairless man attacks them. Miles and Ivan relieve him of his nerve disruptor, and a strange stick. As quickly as he attacked, the man flees. Soon afterwards, the man is found dead in the middle of one of the empress' funeral ceremonies, and is revealed to be one of the late empress' closest attendants. Then Miles discovers that the stick he retrieved is extremely important to a large number of the Cetagandan nobility, particularly the haut-ladies who served the empress and the Cetagandan genome. Miles can't help but become involved with one of the haut-ladies in her efforts to solve this problem, especially if he can keep Barrayar from being blamed for the whole mess. I loved the intricate society-building Bujold did in this book, and her careful explanation for the interesting political balancing with Cetagandan society. The story was fast-paced, but always believable, and leaves several possible openings for more Barrayar/Cetaganda stories in the future. I'm looking forward to them. %T Cetaganda %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C New York %D 1996 %I Baen %O hardcover, US$21.00, CDN$28.50 %G ISBN 0-671-87701-1 %P 302pp Alayne McGregor aa692@freenet.carleton.ca alayne@ve3pak.ocunix.on.ca mcgregoa@cognos.com Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lejonet.se!newsfeed.tip.net!uunet!in1.uu.net!gatech!newsfeed.internetmci.com!news.kei.com!nntp.coast.net!torn!nott!cunews!freenet.carleton.ca!FreeNet.Carleton.CA!aa692 From: aa692@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Alayne McGregor) Subject: Review of CETAGANDA by Lois McMaster Bujold (second try) Message-ID: Sender: aa692@freenet5.carleton.ca (Alayne McGregor) Reply-To: aa692@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Alayne McGregor) Organization: The National Capital FreeNet Date: Tue, 30 Jan 1996 01:44:11 GMT Lines: 56 CETAGANDA by Lois McMaster Bujold reviewed by Alayne McGregor Lois McMaster Bujold must have had a really good time writing this book. A whole new culture to invent with two (or was it three?) separate sub-cultures. A great idea for locked-room mystery, combined with intri- cate political maneuvering, and even some slapstick for Ivan. And the generally lighter tone must have been a relief after Mirror Dance. But don't let that make you underestimate this novel. The latest Miles Vorkosigan adventure is fully equal to others in the series. Miles' angst may be better hidden in this book, but it pops out occa- sionally, even when he makes fun of it, and lighter tone doesn't com- pletely disguise some difficult ideas dealt with in this novel. The story starts with Miles and his cousin, Ivan Vorpatril, on route to Eta Ceta, the capital planet of the Cetagandan empire. They are to represent Barrayar at the obsequies of the late Cetagandan Empress, which should require them to do no more than sit and stand when they are told and look properly attentive. Naturally, events get more complicated than that. As soon as they've docked, a strange, almost hairless man attacks them. Miles and Ivan relieve him of his nerve disruptor, and a strange stick. As quickly as he attacked, the man flees. Soon afterwards, the man is found dead in the middle of one of the empress' funeral cere- monies, and is revealed to be one of the late empress' closest atten- dants. Then Miles discovers that the stick he retrieved is extremely important to a large number of the Cetagandan nobility, particularly the haut-ladies who served the empress and the Cetagandan genome. Miles can't help but become involved with one of the haut-ladies in her efforts to solve this problem, especially if he can keep Barrayar from being blamed for the whole mess. I loved the intricate society-building Bujold did in this book, and her careful explanation for the interesting political balancing with Cetagandan society. The story was fast-paced, but always believable, and leaves several possible openings for more Barrayar/Cetaganda stories in the future. I'm looking forward to them. %T Cetaganda %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C New York %D 1996 %I Baen %O hardcover, US$21.00, CDN$28.50 %G ISBN 0-671-87701-1 %P 302pp -- Alayne McGregor aa692@freenet.carleton.ca alayne@ve3pak.ocunix.on.ca mcgregoa@cognos.com Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews,rec.arts.books.reviews Path: news.ifm.liu.se!solace!paladin.american.edu!zombie.ncsc.mil!nntp.coast.net!news.kei.com!uhog.mit.edu!news!news From: "Evelyn C Leeper" Subject: Review: CETAGANDA by Lois McMaster Bujold Message-ID: Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Keywords: author=Evelyn C Leeper Lines: 37 Sender: wex@tinbergen.media.mit.edu (Graystreak) Reply-To: ecl@mtcts1.mt.att.com Organization: Intelligent Agents Group X-Newsreader: (ding) Gnus v0.94 Date: Mon, 1 Apr 1996 22:08:03 GMT Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Lines: 44 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:921 rec.arts.books.reviews:1484 CETAGANDA by Lois McMaster Bujold A book review by Evelyn C. Leeper Copyright 1996 Evelyn C. Leeper Some of Bujold's "Miles Vorkosigan" stories are serious examinations of deep issues. CETAGANDA is not. It's a murder mystery. Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan go to Cetaganda to attend a state funeral. When they arrive, they are mysteriously attacked; then there is a murder. The rest of the novel is basically Miles solving the murder, along with unraveling a plot involved genetic engineering banks and a possible coup. As such, CETAGANDA seems to be written for people who are already fans of the series; if you haven't read any of the other stories, you will probably not find this one anything special, and you will undoubtedly wonder what all the fuss is about the series. This is, I believe, the first Vorkosigan novel to be published in hardback, and I find that a bit ironic, since it is a fairly lightweight entry. It's enjoyable enough, but you might as well wait for the paperback unless you're a collector of first editions. (And why did they decide to use a cover so similar to that of MIRROR DANCE? I mean, the two heads facing each other made sense there, but for this book they are meaningless.) %T Cetaganda %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C New York %D January 1996 %I Baen %O hardback, US$21 %G ISBN 0-671-87701-1 %P 302pp %S Miles Vorkosigan %V 6 (internal chronology) Evelyn C. Leeper | +1 908 957 2070 | eleeper@lucent.com <==NOTE NEW ADDRESS "People are worried about online porn on the Internet. It's the endless `Who's better--Kirk or Picard?' threads that *should* scare them." -- Jim Mullen, _Entertainment Weekly_ -- --Alan Wexelblat O- MIT Media Lab - Intelligent Agents Group finger(1) for PGP Key Voice: 617-253-9833, Pager: 617-945-1842 wex@media.mit.edu http://wex.www.media.mit.edu/people/wex/ "When you can't say 'fuck,' you can't say 'fuck the government'" - Lenny Bruce Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Path: news.ifm.liu.se!liuida!newsfeed.sunet.se!news00.sunet.se!sunic!mn6.swip.net!plug.news.pipex.net!pipex!tank.news.pipex.net!pipex!howland.erols.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!news.sgi.com!uhog.mit.edu!news!news From: sfreviewer@aol.com (SFReviewer) Subject: Review: Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold Message-ID: Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.reviews Keywords: author= Ernest Lilley Lines: 41 Sender: wex@tinbergen.media.mit.edu (Graystreak) Reply-To: sfreviewer@aol.com (SFReviewer) Organization: America Online, Inc. X-Newsreader: (ding) Gnus v0.94 Date: Wed, 4 Sep 1996 21:05:47 GMT Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Lines: 41 Memory, Lois Mc Master Bujold Review by Ernest Lilley, Sci-Fi Talk. [as one of a continuing series of books about the same character, this can be considered a spoiler for earlier books in the series. --AW] Death before Dishonor. Thanks to his own demons, and the author s decision that it was time for him to grow up, Miles experiences the latter in her latest book, MEMORY. In fact, he experiences it in the first few pages, and with an intensity that left me reeling in sympathy with one of the best liked characters in all of SF, past or present. The title of this book tries to convince us that the story is about Simon Illyan s memory chip going glitchy. In reality, that's only the vehicle that Miles takes for a ride in this character-building saga. The story opens with Miles waking from a blackout that stemmed from the after effects of being dead in the previous book. Mile chooses a particularly poor time to black out, of course, in the middle of a rescue he was leading in his Naismith persona. Blacking out is one thing, but cutting the Imperial courier you are trying to save in half with a laser in the process is another. Both pale beside trying to hide the truth from Simon Illyan, Miles boss and the head of Barryaran Intel. All of which Miles does, and none of which goes unnoticed. The rest of the book is about Miles redemption. For a character who has spent so much time trying to become something, to have his feet pulled firmly out from under him seems almost malicious. In a lesser author s hands perhaps, but not in Lois . Realizing that Miles cannot run around playing Admiral for the rest of his life, she stuffs him into an oven and warms him to a glowing red before quenching him in the oils of duty and friendship. Miles does survive the ordeal, and emerges much tempered by the process, but only time will tell if Miles the adult will capture our imaginations as his prolonged adolescence did. Certainly this is an excellent piece in the Vorkosigan Saga, but neophytes should start with WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE and MIRRODANCE before taking the plunge. Posted with permission from Sci-Fi Talk FREQUENCIES September issue. Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!newsfeed.sunet.se!news01.sunet.se!sunic!02-newsfeed.univie.ac.at!news.ecrc.de!blackbush.xlink.net!fu-berlin.de!news.apfel.de!nntp.uio.no!newsfeeds.sol.net!news.ececs.uc.edu!news.kei.com!uhog.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!news!wex From: Alayne McGregor Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: MEMORY by Lois McMaster Bujold Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 04 Feb 1997 21:28:57 GMT Organization: Software Agents Group Lines: 67 Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:1207 Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold Review Copyright 1997 Alayne McGregor [Contains spoilers for Bujold's earlier novel "Mirror Dance" --AW] If the real nature of a person only comes out under stress, is it not the duty of an author to put her characters in those stressful situations? Does it not increase the tension and impact of the book? Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the authors, like Dorothy Dunnett, who believes in character torture -- for their own good, of course. Her characters never get to take the easy way out; their innermost fears and weaknesses are her grist for stories. Yet one never feels that Bujold is being cruel; what happens to her characters is necessary in terms of her plots and the growth of the characters. In Memory, the sacrifice is Miles Vorkosigon, the main character of most of Bujold's science fiction adventures. Miles, who by sheer force of will pushed himself from physical disability to military command, is suddenly faced with a mutiny from the source he least expects: his brain. For the previous 30 years, he had always been able to rely on thinking himself out of situations; now it may not be possible. In a previous novel, "Mirror Dance," Miles was killed but later cryo- revived and brought back to health. But not quite full health: he is still suffering from seizures at unpredictable intervals. One those seizures occurs as he is commanding a rescue mission of a Barrayar courier. As Miles' troops look on with horror, the plasma arc on Miles' space armour locks on and cuts off the legs of the courier. Miles blacks out, and has to be rescued along with the courier and his legs. When he returns to Barrayar, Miles must explain how the incident happened. But, if he admits his illness, he'll be grounded, and not allowed to command troops in combat any more. The thrill of combat and danger is what he lives for; he would be nothing with his alter-ego as Admiral Naismith. Miles is tempted beyond his control. He can't stand to admit the truth, and fakes his report to Simon Illyan, the head of Barrayan Imperial Security. Simon quickly finds out the truth, and, in one of the most wrenching scenes in the book, cashiers Miles from ImpSec and orders him to stay on-planet. What can Miles do now? Is he left with only his memories? Luckily -- for Miles, not Simon -- Simon Illyan needs Miles' help shortly afterwards. The eidetic memory chip implanted in Simon's brain, which he has used for decades to store all the secrets of Imperial Security, suddenly begins to malfunction and spray memories across his consciousness. He can't distinguish between the present and the past, and is effectively immobilized. Miles must discover which forces -- on- or off-planet -- are responsible for Simon's illness. That he does in an old-fashioned Sherlock Holmes-style detection, whose solution was reasonably well hidden. "Memory" was a very satisfying book, particularly in how it advances Miles' career. But I especially liked the side scenes in this book, such as Gregor's lunch with his guest, and Ivan's method of getting Miles out of his funk. These were scenes to enjoy and savour over and over. As I wrote this review, I realized how real Bujold had made her characters appear to me. I felt as though I was writing about people I knew, not just characters. Her books have made the jump from stories to addictions, and I am looking forward to many more. %T Memory %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C New York %D 1996 %I Baen Books %O hardback, US$22, US$29.50 %G ISBN 0-671-87743-7 %P 462pp Alayne McGregor aa692@freenet.carleton.ca alayne@ve3pak.ocunix.on.ca mcgregoa@cognos.com Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.ecrc.net!howland.erols.net!news.maxwell.syr.edu!firehose.mindspring.net!gatech!sipb-server-1.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!usenet From: "Rob Slade, doting grandpa of Ryan and Trevor" Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: REVIEW: "Memory", Lois McMaster Bujold Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 13 Aug 1999 12:01:45 -0400 Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User Lines: 63 Sender: wex@tinbergen.media.mit.edu Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca NNTP-Posting-Host: tinbergen.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.3/Emacs 19.34 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2427 "Memory" by Lois McMaster Bujold Review Copyright 1999 Robert M. Slade Bujold's books, particularly her "Vorkosigan" series, are a delight to read. While sometimes politically complex, they are socially simple, with well defined good guys and bad guys. Humour, mostly ironic, is abundant. There are enough plot twists to keep you turning the pages, but there are also clues enough to keep you guessing at the development, with little use of the "deus ex machina" to get the author out of a hole. As with any good series, there are similarities enough between books to make the reader feel comfortable. The main technology of this particular book is the "memory" of the title. This is a brain implant that augments the memory of the bearer, recording input and playing it back, providing the carrier with an artificially eidetic memory. The psychological aspects of such a device are nicely examined: the likely confusion of learning to control an additional memory, better than one's own, and the difficulty of learning to live "impaired" again once it is taken away. The technology of the chip itself is not dealt with in great detail, of course, but there are some interesting points. The chip (actually more of a large scale multichip module) is made of a combination of organic and inorganic parts. One assumes that this description reflects the current interest in biotechnology, and a frequently made speculation that organic computers will be better than the current silicon beasts. In fact, while organic computers may be able to perform parallel calculations, they are probably ill-suited to data storage. DNA-like structures can store a lot of data very compactly, but the writing, and particularly retrieval, of the information probably would not be very fast. Indeed, the total volume of such storage would have to be immense. Thirty years worth of full motion, wide field, high resolution "video," plus audio and tactile, would make for an awful lot of bits. Quantum memory might be more suitable, or something else entirely. Which brings up an interesting point to do with most science fiction: it's too tame. The series is set in the far future when colonies have not only been set up on distant planets, for generations, but when some of these colonies have been "lost" for a while before being found again. Yet the "comconsoles" seem to bear a remarkable resemblance to desktop PCs. Pocketbook sized reminder devices are only smart enough to recognize speech and do a little filing. Surely by this time such simple machines should have shrunk sufficiently to be woven into clothing, or even to be injected internally, which would make the need for a memory implant a little more problematic. Boxes of pills can be flagged for inventory, but the individual pills can't. We have, in our own day, tracking and inventory devices only about the size of a legible letter. We also have the beginnings of technologies that will be able to track *all* movements in high security environments, and identify individuals. %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C P. O. Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471 %D 1996 %G 0-671-87743-7 %I Baen Publishing Enterprises %O U$22.00/C$29.50 jim@baen.com %P 462 p. %T "Memory" rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@sprint.ca slade@victoria.tc.ca p1@canada.com http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev or http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.online.be!news.be.easynet.net!easynet-tele!easynet.net!newspeer1.nac.net!netnews.com!howland.erols.net!peerfeed.news.psi.net!gatech!sipb-server-1.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!usenet From: David Brukman Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review of A CIVIL CAMPAIGN by Louis McMaster Bujold Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 31 Aug 1999 16:16:50 -0400 Organization: none Lines: 85 Sender: wex@basil.media.mit.edu Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: Reply-To: David.Brukman@iname.com NNTP-Posting-Host: basil.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.5/Emacs 20.3 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2445 A CIVIL CAMPAIGN by Louis McMaster Bujold Book review copyright 1999 by David Brukman A humorous Regency Romance set on the planet Barrayar, this novel features politics, romance, and Bujold-trademark sympathetic characters and excellent dialogue, amid somewhat artificial plot developments and not much action. Genre: Science Fiction (Romance, Intrigue) Synopsis: As Miles Vorkosigan continues his anxious pursuit of Ekaterin, a number of obstacles, some self-inflicted, arise to complicate the road to happiness for him and his relatives. Meanwhile, the social and political maneuverings surround the wedding of Emperor Gregor. Full Review: Bujold burst onto the American Science Fiction scene with her superb _Shards of Honor_ in 1991, about a fascinating future, with wars and commerce, cruelty and and compassion, and anachronistic, personal honor. What made the book so fascinating were the main characters, the admiral and aristocrat Aral Vorkosigan, and explorer Cordelia Naismith. She continued her success with the equally excellent _Warrior's Apprentice_, about their son Miles. A number of subsequent novels detailing the life and adventures of Miles Vorkosigan make for one the most enjoyable series in the modern Science Fiction. _A Civil Campaign_ follows closely on the events in _Komarr_. Miles is desperately afraid of driving away his beloved Ekaterin, who, after her painful marriage, is loath to contemplate a commitment to another man. In his fear, Miles nearly pushes her away, as his relatives and friends watch, with occasional glee, Miles' suddenly bumbling moves. His cousin Ivan is beginning to regret his pleasant but short-lived romances, as more and more of his former girlfriends reject dalliance for commitments to other men. Two Countships are contested, and Miles, as the appointed voice of his father, Count Vorkosigan, as well as an Imperial Auditor, is involved in what is becoming a bitter and dirty political battle. To add to this, Miles' brother Mark, whose romance with the pretty Kareen Koudelka is in trouble, is knee-deep in a risky investment scheme that may drag the House Vorkosigan into an ecological or economic disaster. The earlier Vorkosigan books have always had humor, but in this case some of the plot developments seem to be shoehorned for the sake of the comedy. The novel is full of complications and misunderstanding, much like a Heyer romance (one of the book's dedications is to Georgette). While not as frustratingly obtuse as heroes of a typical Regency Romance, the main characters commit several annoyingly out-of-character blunders. Ivan Vorpatril (a.k.a. That Idiot Ivan) proves more capable than he traditionally lets on, although his past and continuing childishness causes both him and his friends some annoyance. As in many Bujold books, there is some smoothly handled view-hopping. As one expects in a Bujold novel, there is excellent monologue and dialogue, and lines one longs to reread as soon as the book is finished. The warmth, wit and sympathy sparkle between several of the main characters, and Aral and Cordelia make brief but effective appearance. Cordelia in particular is still frighteningly efficient when she sets her mind on something. While different in style from many of the more military Vorkosigan adventures, this novel adds enough development to some of the most enjoyable characters in modern science fiction, that it is guaranteed to be a hit with Bujold's fans. Despite some strained plot devices, this book is a pleasure to read, and can stand on its own, although I would recommend starting with _Shards of Honor_, or at least _Warrior's Apprentice_ for those new to the Vorkosigan Saga. Series: Vorkosigan Adventures Overall: 7; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 8; Style: 7; World-building: 7.5; Originality: 5.5; %A Bujold, Louis McMaster %D September 1999 %G ISBN 0-671-57827-8 %I Baen Publishing Enterprises (Baen) %O Cloth %P 405 pp. %T A Civil Campaign David Brukman "Long live Jame Talissen!" Email: David.Brukman@iname.com http://InOtherWorlds.cjb.net "Fantasy, SF & Mystery Reviews" Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!nntp.primenet.com!nntp.gctr.net!newsfeed.cwix.com!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!usenet From: "Aaron M. Renn" Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 11 Oct 1999 23:08:52 -0400 Organization: GNU's Not Unix! Lines: 87 Sender: wex@deepspace.media.mit.edu Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: deepspace.media.mit.edu X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.5/Emacs 20.3 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2475 Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold Review Copyright (c) 1999 Aaron M. Renn Conclusion: Worth Reading Many years ago I saw a martial arts film called "The Five Deadly Venoms," which was named after five characters who each practiced some unique and deadly skill. One of them - the Toad, if I recall correctly - had an iron skin. Almost nothing could break it. However, if ever anything did manage to pierce it, he was through. One of the other "venoms" managed to get him with a special dart, after which he was put in an iron maiden, then subjected to a red hot iron coat, then suffocated back in his prison cell. That story was in the back of my mind as I read this book. I've had a sort of iron skin that has protected me against all things Bujold. I'm not sure why I've so resisted reading these books. Just sheer perversity I guess. But when I went to the bookstore the other day, that wily Jim Baen hit me with his own special dart: a $1.99 special edition of Borders of Infinity. Talk about hitting a guy in his weak spot. Though I have plenty of money these days to buy as many books as I want, I still can't resist a deal. Especially this one, which made me drift back to my earliest days as an SF fan when all paperbacks were just $1.95. Sigh. Luckily, I don't think I'm going to share the same fate as the Toad. Quite honestly, I was underwhelmed by this book. As insanely popular as this Vorkosigan series is, and as many awards as it has received, I was expecting a lot more. First off, this is an anthology, not a novel, a fact the publisher neglected to tell us anywhere on the cover. That was a strike against it right away. It contains three stories, one of which - The Mountains of Mourning - won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for best novella. So I'm assuming that I wasn't getting the bottom of the barrel here. But only one of them really clicked with me, and interestingly it wasn't the award winner. I must be the only person on the planet who hasn't read this book by now, so my synopsis will be brief. Miles Vorkosigan is the son of a powerful count from the planet of Barrayar. An attempt to assassinate his parents by poison while he was still in the womb caused a birth defect that left him stunted and with brittle bones. However he more than makes up for this as an unassuming but extremely competent general purpose hero. It's interesting that I read this book soon after the recently published Rhapsody. Miles reminds me very much of a male version of the title character in that novel. Rhapsody is the perfect woman: multi-talented, beautiful, and above all blessed with an extremely high moral sense that leads her to make impulsive and foolish, but always ultimately successful, stands of principle. With the exeception of his physical appearance, Miles is exactly the same. Each of these stories is a type of morality play, and well, a bit preachy. A bit too preachy for my taste. When Miles risks all to recuse the mutated damsel in distress, I had the same reaction as when Rhapsody ran into the street to rescue the kid being beaten by his father. I pretty much wanted to vomit. It's not that displays straight out of Profiles in Courage are a bad thing, but when they come one right after the other, it begins to grate on the nerves. Nobody can possibly be so amazingly wonderful all of the time. At least Miles, unlike Rhapsody, occasionally has to put up with some suffering for his heroism. I must admit though, the title story from this book did leave me with a bit of a lump in my throat. In "The Borders of Infinity," Miles infiltrates a POW camp filled with people living in a pit of despair. A Christ-like figure decending to earth, Miles offers himself up as a living sacrifice and symbol of hope to those who are hopeless in this classic tale of redemption. I think I liked this one the best because it was a straight ahead spiritual story. Just as I don't mind a character like Rhapsody in a romance, one like Miles is just fine with me in an inspirational. However, I can deal with both story types in only limited doses. If the rest of the Vorkosigan books are as full of cloying moralisms as this one, I think I'll have to spread them out in order to get them all down. But at least now that my iron skin is broken, it will be legal for me to go back and read the Hugo winners I've missed. %A Bujold, Lois McMaster %T Borders of Infinity %S The Vorkosigan Saga %I Baen %D 1999-09 (original publication 1989-10) %G ISBN 0-671-57829-4 %P 311 pp. %O mass market paperback, US$1.99 Reviewed on 1999-09-27 Aaron M. Renn (arenn@urbanophile.com) http://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/ Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!newsfeed.cwix.com!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail Sender: wex@deepspace.media.mit.edu From: "Aaron M. Renn" Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Subject: Review: A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold Organization: GNU's Not Unix! Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 27 Dec 1999 15:10:26 -0500 Message-ID: X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.5/Emacs 20.3 Lines: 60 NNTP-Posting-Host: deepspace.media.mit.edu X-Trace: dreaderd 946325429 22878 18.85.23.65 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2545 A Civil Campagin by Lois McMaster Bujold Review Copyright 1999 Aaron M. Renn Conclusion: Recommended [ Warning: SPOILERS for Komarr, the previous book in this series ] . . . A Civil Campaign is the latest installment in the never-ending chronicles of Miles Vorkosigan. It's subtitle is "A Comedy of Biology and Manners". It is supposed to be a romantic comedy of sorts, where we get to see Miles Vorkosigan stumble around as he attempts to do the one thing he's not good at, naemly courting the recently widowed Kat Vorsoisson. Unfortunately, except for a couple brief episodes I didn't think the book was very funny. But luckily that doesn't kill the work. Even though I didn't get the humor, I still thought this one was better than Komarr, though I have a bit of difficulty articulating just why. The funniest part by far was the now legendary dinner party scene, where a clever (he thinks) ploy by Miles to impress the Lady Vorsoisson unravels. Still, I only got a couple chuckles out of it. Interestingly, I saw a performance of Die Fledermaus at the Lyric Opera of Chicago while reading this book. That opera also features a party and a number of scheming members of the upper classes. And I laughed my ass off, so I know that my sense of humor wasn't taking a vacation that week. In addition to Miles' courtship of Kat, there are a number of other subplots going on. Some of these were more successful than others. But they keep you turning the pages, even though their ultimate conclusion is never much in doubt. The only serious problem I had with the book was in the subplot involving an inheritance dispute between a Richars Vorrutyer and the "Lord Dono" Vorrutyer. Richars was portrayed as the manifestation of evil incarnate. Among other things, he's an attempted rapist and likely murderer. I've always hated it when SF writers divide things a little too starkly into good and evil, and unfortunately this was a case where Bujold's moralizing got the best of her. Again Bujold treats us to solid writing, solid characters, and solid plotlines, resulting in a few hours of light but satisfying entertainment. Note that in order to really understand this book, Komarr -- its immediate prequel -- should be read first. Luckily that's a good one as well. %A Bujold, Lois McMaster %T A Civil Campaign %I Baen %D 1999-09 %G ISBN 0-671-57827-8 %P 405 pp. %O hardcover, US$24.00 Reviewed on 1999-12-15 Aaron M. Renn (arenn@urbanophile.com) http://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/ Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!cam-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail Sender: wex@deepspace.media.mit.edu From: "Rob Slade, doting grandpa of Ryan and Trevor" Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Subject: Review: A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold Reply-To: rslade@sprint.ca Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 27 Dec 1999 15:26:27 -0500 Message-ID: X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.5/Emacs 20.3 Lines: 59 NNTP-Posting-Host: deepspace.media.mit.edu X-Trace: dreaderd 946326389 22878 18.85.23.65 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2547 A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold Review Copyright 1999 Robert M. Slade My brother has been at me to review more of Bujold's books. Trouble is, while I like Bujold's books, too, she writes space opera. Not much scope for technical reviewing, there. When he loaned me Bujold's latest, even he admitted that there was nothing I could review in it. But we'll come to that. Bujold is a very good author. She is consummately professional in wordcraft, plotting, scenes, and dialogue. But unlike other writers who are merely technically competent, there is a strong thread of humanity that illuminates and enlivens all her books. Her characters are complex, which occasionally leads to rough spots as she skates a thin line between different aspects of her actors: a line that may sometimes waver a little. Bujold has a strong sense of both irony and comedy, using both but abusing neither. But, as regular readers know, I am a critic of technology, not literature. I was deeply engrossed in the book before I realized that it had a very strong, and central, technically related component. A major subplot in the story is the development of a new product, and the trials and tribulations thereof. This plotline, while nowhere near the detail of "Making It Happen," outlines the necessary considerations for product development: functional development, interface design, market research and marketing, financial and organizational evolution of a company, and project management. There is the great idea. There is the fact that the great idea has to be "productized." There is the really disgusting interface. There is the initial product. There is the really, really bad marketing idea -- anybody who has worked in high tech will recognize this one. There is the discovery that the interface really has nothing to do with the function, and that it can be changed almost arbitrarily. There is the marketing presentation, done rather well. There is the attempted hostile takeover -- almost literally, in this case. Finally, there is the "killer app." This is the technology industry's version of "happily ever after," with about the same level of reality. I was a trifle disappointed that an earlier, and rather perceptive, discussion of terraforming got lost as the story progressed. It made some interesting points, and could have been significant. Oh, well. Maybe in a later book. %A Lois McMaster Bujold %C P. O. Box 1403, Riverdale, NY 10471 %D 1999 %G 0-671-57827-8 %I Baen Publishing Enterprises %O U$24.00/C$35.50 jim@baen.com %P 405 p. %S A Vorkosigan Adventure %T "A Civil Campaign" ====================== (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer) rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@sprint.ca slade@victoria.tc.ca p1@canada.com There is nothing in this world constant but inconstancy. - Swift http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev or http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade Path: news.ifm.liu.se!news.lth.se!feed2.news.luth.se!luth.se!newsfeed.berkeley.edu!netnews.com!micro-heart-of-gold.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!dreaderd!not-for-mail Sender: wex@deepspace.media.mit.edu From: "Aaron M. Renn" Approved: wex@media.mit.edu Subject: Review: Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold Organization: GNU's Not Unix! Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.reviews Followup-To: rec.arts.sf.written Date: 27 Dec 1999 14:57:12 -0500 Message-ID: X-Newsreader: Gnus v5.5/Emacs 20.3 Lines: 68 NNTP-Posting-Host: deepspace.media.mit.edu X-Trace: dreaderd 946324634 22878 18.85.23.65 Xref: news.ifm.liu.se rec.arts.sf.reviews:2544 Komarr, Lois McMaster Bujold Review Copyright (c) 1999 Aaron M. Renn Conclusion: Worth Reading Why write a review of any already popular book? That's a good question. After all, most of the people who are going to read Komarr probably already have, or at least are committed to doing so. With an author as highly regarded as Bujold, and the large amounts already written about Komarr, it's doubtful anything I write will convince anyone of anything. Nevertheless, I think it's worthwhile to review books like this because it can give you insights into my thinking process. My reviews of well-known works serve as reference posts of a sort. If you've read the work yourself and agree with them, then perhaps you'll be more likely to take my word for it on something you haven't. If on the other hand you're such a cretin that you don't agree with my all wise evaluation... After the Barrayarans threw off the yoke of their Cetagandan overlords, they promptly launched an invasion of their own, taking over a planet called Komarr that just happened to be near the only wormhole link back to Barrayar. During this invasion, there were apparently a few massacres that took place under the command of Miles Vorkosigan's father Aral. In the grandest traditions of Presidents Clinton and Reagan, Aral Vorkosigan swore that he had no knowledge of this, and that the actions were taken by rogue subordinates. Aral's protestations notwithstanding, the Komarrans have dubbed him the "Butcher of Komarr." I guess that's why out of 12 imperial auditors, Empereor Gregor of Barrayar chose to send Miles son-of-butcher Vorkosigan to Komarr to investigate a space collision that damaged a mirror being used in the ongoing Komarr terraforming operation. Nothing like rubbing the Komarrans' nose in things, eh? Anyhow, Miles never really gets a chance to start investigating things. He first goes with co-auditor Vorthys down to the surface to meet some of Vorthys relatives, Tien and Kat Vorsoisson. Tien is the administrator of one of the terraforming subdirectorates. Miles takes an instant interest in the Vorsoisson family, particularly Kat, and ends up spending most of his time dealing with various situations concerning them while Vorthys does most of the heavy lifting on the mirror crash investigation. Naturally there are a whole lot of twists and turns that lead to interesting and unexpected places. The book is well-written. The characters are strong. One of the things I really like about Bujold is that she doesn't try to get flowery on us. The story is told in a straightforward and clean way that still manages to give the impression of being expertly done. More writers should be like this. But the story was also a fairly light and unambitious one. I get the impression that Bujold's skills are a bit wasted on something this light. Of course I've not read anything by her that was more meaty, so I could be wrong about that. Komarr is a short, quick, interesting read. Compared to the Borders of Infinity anthology, it was much less preachy, so I liked it a bit more. It should, and of course does, have a broad appeal. %A Bujold, Lois McMaster %T Komarr %I Baen %D 1999-04 (original publication 1998) %G ISBN 0-671-57808-1 %P 366 pp. %O mass market paperback, US$6.99 Reviewed on 1999-12-15 Aaron M. Renn (arenn@urbanophile.com) http://www.urbanophile.com/arenn/