ISBN: 0671878778 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
Solid, enjoyable addition to Bujold's Miles Vorkisigan saga which is not quite as good as some of her exceptional earlier novels.
Reviewed by David on June 05, 1998
Genre: Science Fiction (Mystery)
Synopsis: This book continues the Miles Vorkisigan's saga after he becomes an Imperial Auditor. This time he has to solve a deadly accident on Komarr, which may have been sabotage, in the midst of growing political and personal tensions on this hostile colony of Barrayar.
Full Review: Bujold had burst onto the American Science Fiction scene with her superb Shards of Honor in 1986, 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, abouth 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.
Komarr follows closely on Memory, where he changes careers from intelligence to investigation.
In this novel, Miles, a newly appointed Imperial Auditor, arrives on Komarr, a planet conquered by his father Aral. The integration of Komarr into the Imperium is barely underway; most natives still think of Miles' father as the "Butcher of Komarr".
In this tense atmosphere, a deadly accident with an orbital mirror provides a background for a increasingly personal investigation. Miles has to deal with a fascinating (and married) Vor woman, several brilliant and overly-patriotic Komarr engineers, and the slowly growing group of people on both sides of the occupation that prefer to forget the past and work for a common future.
The novel is quite enjoyable and well-paced. Miles' personal interactions, are, as always, breathtaking. In this novel, Miles possibly finds a long-sought partner that can accept Barrayar. For Bujold, this is a light-weight book. It is still better than most of the books now published, but not up to her best. Miles' "girlfriend confession" at the end is fun, but a bit too pat for realism. The way the previously paranoid secrecy about Miles' dual life was not so much relaxed as ignored, was a bit inconsistent.
Nevertheless, I am eagerly looking forward to further developments in Miles' fascinating career.
Universe: Vorkosiverse
Overall: 6; Plot: 7; Characters: 6.5; Style: 6; World-building: 6; Originality: 4;
Baen, May 1998, Cloth
ISBN: 0671878778 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com