Tag: Lois McMaster Bujold (Page 2 of 3)

June Round Up

June 22, 2016 / Kaetrin

Monthly Mini Review

Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold, narrated by Grover Gardner – B Another strong entry into the Vorkosigan saga, (I’m getting close to the Miles romance books! Whee!!) which I am slowly making my way through. I listened to Borders of Infinity before Brothers in Arms and the former has a framing story around three novella length tales – I’m pretty sure at least one of those short stories takes place after Brothers in Arms so I did have a bit of cognitive dissonance when Miles was doing the business with Elli Quinn. I’m sure I’ve heard a story where Ellie falls in love with someone else. (Did I get that wrong? Am I confusing this series with something else?)

I enjoyed Miles’ ponderings on what makes family and I liked Ivan’s appearance in this one – he makes me laugh actually. Ivan strikes me as a fairly simple sort of guy, not at all stupid but a little lazy and almost Miles’ polar opposite. He makes a good foil for our hero. I also liked the way Elli and Miles hooked up here and how it was implicit that they were having, essentially, a FWB relationship. Appearances are another theme in this story – Miles’ appearance, Elli’s appearance and how it has changed since Miles has known her, the various consequences of their respective visages and bodies, not to mention the appearance of “Mark”. Continue reading

Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold, narrated by Grover Gardner

August 29, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I’m continuing my Vorkosigan series listen and this one was next. Or I’d skipped it. The reading order is somewhat fraught I must say. In any event, it’s kind of a tangent from the rest of the series so it fit where I was up to well enough.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Dr. Ethan Urquhart, an obstetrician on a planet forbidden to women, is Chief of Biology at the Severin District Reproduction Center and one of the busiest men on the planet Athos. Then a mysterious genetic crisis threatens Athos with extinction. Drafted to brave the wider universe for his cloistered fellows in quest of new ovarian tissue cultures, Ethan braces himself for his first encounter with those most alien of aliens–females of his own species.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): As is usually the case with books from the Vorkosiverse, I didn’t bother to read the blurb before diving in. So I had no expectations at all except that very likely Miles would not appear in this one given the title. (I was correct.)

Ethan is a doctor at the Reproduction Centre in the Severin District on Athos. It quickly becomes apparent that Athos is a very unusual place – there are no females on it. At all. The babies are all created from sperm donations from the male inhabitants who have earned sufficient “social credits” to be a father and ovarian tissue which is cultured to create egg cells. Once fertilised via an IVF-like procedure, the fetuses are gestated in uterine-replicators (just like the one in which Miles spent the latter part of his gestation).

The Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold, narrated by Grover Gardner

July 28, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: This is another from my personal stash. I was in the mood for a little more Miles Vorkosigan and it was the next one in the series (which I am trying to listen to in order).

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) [A Miles Vorkosigan Story] Miles infiltrates a prison camp at Dagoola IV, where he plots from within to free the prisoners. [Publisher’s Note: The Borders of Infinity was originally published as a stand-alone novella in the anthology Free Lancers in September 1987. It was then included in the novel Borders of Infinity (October 1989). For the novel, Ms. Bujold added a short “framing story” that tied the three novellas together by setting up each as a flashback that Miles experiences while recovering from bone-replacement surgery. Fictionwise is publishing these novellas separately, but we decided to leave in Ms. Bujold’s short framing story for those who may also wish to read the other two novellas (The Mountains of Mourning and Labyrinth).]

What worked for me (and what didn’t): In this full length audiobook, the author has created a “framing story” to join the three novellas together. Miles is recovering from bone replacement surgery and Ilyan, the spymaster, asks him about certain expenses he has incurred in some of his missions. A rival faction is using a bean counter who is dedicated to counting beans to stir up trouble for Count Aral Vorkosigan and unseat him from the Prime Ministership – Ilyan wants to learn everything about these missions so that he can nip trouble in the bud – even if Miles is resentful of the unsaid accusation of misappropriation.

The Mountains of Mourning

This novella takes place when Miles is only 20 and is on leave shortly after graduating from the Academy. A woman begs for justice for her murdered baby daughter and Count Aral Vorkosigan sends Miles in his stead to investigate the crime and mete out said justice. The baby was born with a hare lip and a cleft palate but was managing to feed well enough. Simple plastic surgery could have fixed the defect (should Hara have been able to access the treatment of course) but on Barrayar, birth defects are not tolerated well. It is particularly so in the remote villages where there is no good communication with the cities and where the people cling to old traditions. Miles is, of course, a “mutant” himself and his own life was threatened on the basis of his defect before he was even born (see Barrayar). Things are slowly changing on Barrayar but Aral wants Miles to sent a message that the killing of infants on the basis of a birth defect is NOT OKAY and will no longer be tolerated. Miles has to use his ingenuity (as always) to sort out the truth and in the process he has to win over people (as always) who judge him on the basis of his physical imperfections.

The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold, narrated by Grover Gardner

July 9, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I listened: After finishing The Firebird, I listened to some podcasts – a bit of a sorbet if you will, and I thought it was safest to listen to something from another genre altogether for my next audiobook – Kearsley casts a long shadow. Also, Bujold is always reliable I have found. This was no exception.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Together, they can get into a lot of trouble. Trouble only the combined forces of the Free Dendarii Mercenaries can get them out of. At least, that’s what they’re hoping…

In this latest adventure with the galaxy’s craftiest mercenary leader Miles, starts out by so shaking up the High Command on his home planet of Barrayar that he is sent to the other side of the galaxy – where who should he run into but his old pals the Free Dendarii Mercenaries. And a good thing too, because it turns out that Miles’ childhood chum, that’s Emperor Gregor to you, has been the victim of foul play, and only Miles – with a little Dendarii muscle – can save him. This is very important to Miles; because if Gregor dies, the only person who could become the new emperor is Miles himself – and that he regards as a fate worse than death.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): As is most often the case with the Vorkosigan books, I didn’t read the blurb before I clicked play. The story begins when Miles is given his first assignment after graduating from the Barrayaran Military Academy. He is sent to Kiril Island (“Camp Permafrost”) where his mission is to learn to be subordinate to superior officers and to also learn how to command ordinary soldiers. What I thought was going to be the story (which perhaps would have been clearer had I read the blurb!) was not at all what the story turned out to be. But, it’s an adventure tale and it’s an adventure when you don’t know where the story is going. I was happy to go along for the ride and marvel at the way things went from point A to point Z and all the wonderful journeys in between.

The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold, narrated by Grover Gardner

May 27, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I listened to it: I decided to sneak in one of my own listens between review audios. This isn’t a romance but I love the Vorkosigan world so the series is one of my rare exceptions.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Miles Vorkosigan is the leader of a fast growing mercenary force and the hero of an all-out space battle. At the end of the conflict, he heads a fleet of 19 ships and 3,000 troops. The only problem is, it is treason–as in, a hanging offense–to command a private army.

Warning: **Mild series spoilers for Shards of Honor/ Barrayar**

What worked for me (and what didn’t): When I last left Miles Vorkosigan at the end of Barrayar, he was a rambunctious 5 year old, getting into mischief even while breaking bones all the time due to his medical condition. The series picks up here, with Miles at age 17, trying out for the Barrayaran Military Academy. Aral (Miles’ dad) is now the Prime Minister, Gregor having ascended to the throne on his majority.Due to Saltoxin poisoning when he was in utero, Miles is short of stature (just under 5 feet so far) and has very brittle bones. A mishap on the obstacle course means his hopes of becoming an Officer are dashed.Miles has a huge crush on Elena Borthari, now 18, and, to try and woo her, he agrees to help her discover information about her mother. Miles, Elena and Sgt. Borthari travel to Beta Colony ostensibly to visit his grandmother, but Miles has a secret plan to stop at Escobar and see what he can find out about the mysterious woman who is the other half of Elena’s DNA.Miles has a somewhat amazing ability to get into scrapes. He jumps from frying pan to fire multiple times, each solution to problem A becoming a worse problem B. Even as I was enjoying the story immensely, part of my brain was marvelling at the clever writing which so deftly brought Miles (and myself) full circle to wrap everything up.

There is very little by way of romance in this book and, what there is, doesn’t really involve Miles. I must admit when I first listened to Barrayar, I wondered if Elena and Miles would end up together. I thought it was very clever of Ms. Bujold to dangle the possibility and then explain why it would not work, also giving Miles some heartache to temper him further as he grows to full adulthood. Of course, after listening to Barrayar, I became aware that Miles gets his HEA in A Civil Campaign (quite a few books yet to go) so I wasn’t upset as I may otherwise have been. Nevertheless, this isn’t a genre romance. It is sci-fi adventure.

Miles is young, but his disabilities mean that he has to be flexible in mind (as he cannot be in body) and creative with problem solving. He gets into messes, but he is a young man of honour and he is good hearted. Honestly, the scrapes he gets himself into here are all from the best of motives.

The story was funny, clever, emotional (I got teary at one point), exciting and smart. I like Miles and enjoy the Vorkosigan world.

Grover Gardner is such an excellent narrator. I did notice in this one that there were a few slips in terms of when sentences were supposed to end and when they actually did and one or two phrases which were intoned incorrectly. But they are small niggles. He renders Miles with deftness fitting to how he is written and the other characters are also similarly well drawn and voiced.

I find I can be more adventurous in my audiobook listening than I want to be in my reading. When the narration is this good and the story this entertaining, it is no hardship to slip away from the romance genre for a little break.

Favourite Quote:

Bed was a null G bubble warmed womb-like by infra-red. Null G sex, Miles had heard, was one of the high points of space travel. He’d never had a chance to try it personally. Ten minutes of attempting to relax in the bubble convinced him he never would either. Although, when heated the smells and stains that permeated the chamber suggested that a minimum of three people had tried it there before him recently.

Grade: B+

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Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold, narrated by Grover Gardner

April 29, 2013 / Kaetrin

Why I listened to it: Having enjoyed Shards of Honor and Barrayar so much, I decided, whether or not any of the other books had a strong romantic thread (or any) I was going to listen to the rest of the series. I decided to start at the beginning – Falling Free was written after Shards of Honor but is chronologically the first book in the series. There are no Vorkosigans in the book, but apparently the author recommends starting here.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Leo Graf was an effective engineer…Safety Regs weren’t just the rule book he swore by; he’d helped write them. All that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat. Leo was profoundly uneasy with the corporate exploitation of his bright new studentstill that exploitation turned to something much worse. He hadn’t anticipated a situation where the right thing to do was neither save, nor in the rules…

Leo Graf adopted 1000 quaddies now all he had to do was teach them to be free.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I hadn’t even read the blurb for this one. So, the “quaddies” and the whole set up was a bit of a shock. Essentially, the quaddies are a genetically engineered human species, designed to be perfectly adapted to life in freefall (zero gravity). They have no need of legs. They have four arms instead. They can cope with a lot more radiation than a “normal” human and for a variety of reasons, represent a huge potential saving to the company “Galactech” – they don’t need to send the quaddies to 1G atmosphere for 1 month every 3 months – no transport costs, no wages, no employee benefits. Because the quaddies aren’t regarded as human.

Leo, from whose (3rd person) POV most of the story is told doesn’t think of them that way (thank God or I would have hated him). But the story does raise interesting questions about what is humanity, about genocide, slavery and corporate disinterest and greed – both of which can only mean disaster for the quaddies.