Customer Reviews

Cetaganda (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Cetaganda, is, by Bujold`s own testimony, a rather light-hearted romp, a bit of a step down in seriousness and apparent ambition from Barrayar and Mirror Dance, the two Vorkosigan novels that immediately preceded Cetaganda, and two of her best novels.

This novel is set a few years prior to the action of Mirror Dance. Miles is 21. He and his amiably dim-witted (by Miles` standards) cousin, Ivan, are sent to the home planet of the Cetagandan empire to attend the funeral of the Cetagandan empress. Naturally, no sooner have they arrived (indeed, slightly before their actual arrival) they encounter a mysterious character and come into possession of a mysterious object (i. e. a MacGuffin). Miles being Miles, he does not sensibly report the incident to the Barrayaran Ambassador, nor to the local Imperial Security agent (to be sure, conveniently for the purposes of the plot, this latter person is away on some vague assignment). Instead, Miles bamboozles Ivan into supporting him in an attempt to resolve what quickly becomes a very delicate situation, on his own.

The two face deadly dangers, encounter beautiful ladies of both of the Cetagandan upper classes, and eventually find themselves enmeshed in a plot which threatens Cetagandan internal stability (and thus Barrayaran security, as Cetaganda is a traditional enemy.) A number of the details of the plot and the Cetagandan custom upon which the plot turns are unconvincing, but the book is exciting and entertaining and reads very well. Romance is somewhat backgrounded, although Miles does fall in love (hopelessly) with the most beautiful woman he`s ever seen (why does such a clever individual as Miles seem consistently to rate female beauty so highly? Though to be sure, he is only 21, and I guess us guys are guys, huh?!), and there is an almost perfunctory romance between two minor characters. (Ivan, to be sure, is quite amusingly involved with some beautiful Cetagandan women, and Bujold does provide one quite funny incident involving him and an anti-aphrodisiac: another quite pointed and appropriate (I suppose) comment on male-female relationships results.)

The most serious side of the book is an exploration of Cetagandan culture, which is built around genetic engineering of themselves. This culture consists of the haut, who are the true rulers, and the most highly "engineered", the ghem, who provide the military might, and who are less "engineered" and less controlled (partly to allow for the spontaneous generation of potentially useful traits), the ba, neuter servants who also serve as useful safe experimental objects for genetic changes (safe because they are neutered and couldn`t pass on harmful traits), and, presumably, large middle- and under-classes of mostly normal humans. This society is quite interesting, and Bujold makes some subtle and intriguing observations on the sources of power, and the different kinds of power, in particular the power divisions between the males and females of both the haut and the ghem. However, I think a proper exploration of this society would require a good deal more space, and I would quibble with some of the assumptions, in particular, the Cetagandans don`t seem different enough to me to be the result of centuries of genetic engineering. Also, they seem to be optimizing for feminine beauty (by "normal" standards, yet!), even while sex is completely divorced (no pun intended) from their procreation efforts. I find that hard to believe.

All in all, this is certainly an enjoyable book, though not her best.

Although this is (at this writing) Bujold's latest addition to her series about Miles Vorkosigan (one of SF's all-time best characters), chronologically it comes before Mirror Dance and Brothers in Arms. Missing, therefore, is Miles' clone/brother Mark, introduced in the latter. Also missing (and greatly missed) is Miles' alter ego, Admiral Naismith. Without the little admiral, the pace is not quite so bone-breaking and mind-bending, but this is still a very good story, very well told. It will best be appreciated, however, by those who have read the pre-quels. (Start with Shards of Honor and Barrayar, which are about Miles' parents, then the Warrior's Apprentice, The Borders of Infinity andThe Vor Game.) In Cetaganda, Miles and his foppish cousin Ivan travel to the capital of the Cetagandan Empire (perennial cold-war and hot-war rival of their own homework, Barrayar) to attend a state funeral, and they immediately get involved in murder and intrigue at the highest levels of this supposedly more sophisticated culture. The paperback edition of Cetaganda (at least) also includes a 3-chapter teaser from Ms. B's next book: Memory (described in the chronology at the back of the book as: "Miles hits thirty; thirty hits back")

This is another installment in the continuing adventures of Miles Vorkosigan. If you haven't read any of the Vorkosigan stories before, this might not be the one to start with... it assumes some knowledge of the characters and their world, and it's also rather lightweight compared to the other books in the series. You might want to check out "Borders of Infinity" or "The Warrior's Apprentice" first. Still, this is a pretty good book (even lightweight Bujold is well worth reading), with an intriguingly offbeat take on genetic engineering. The Cetagandans are a culture dominated by one of the oldest SF canards of all, a genetically-engineered master race. The novel twist here is that the haut-lords are not your ordinary genetic supermen (super-strong, super-smart, etc.). They have designed themselves to be *aesthetically* superior... intelligent, yes, but more importantly, beautiful, charismatic, and with a superhuman sense of aesthetic appreciation. They rule (quite effectively) by manipulation and charisma rather than force. The interesting result is a warlike culture ruled by, well, movie stars. The book is somewhat flawed by a rather clunky murder mystery, but the Cetagandan culture is interesting, and there are some extremely funny bits. Any fan of Miles Vorkosigan will want this one to round out the collection

This isn't the first book. Have you read the first book? If not, you should immediately drop everything and order it. Now. Immediately. Right away. Read the whole series.

Ok, ok. Here's the series:

Shards of Honor
Barayar
(these two books are also combined into "Cordelia's Honor")
The Warrior's Apprentice
Short Story: The Mountains of Mourning
(all short stories are contained in "Borders of Infinity")
The Vor Game
Cetaganda
Ethan of Athos
Short Story: Labyrinth

Short Story: The Borders of Infinity
Brothers in Arms
The Borders of Infinity
Mirror Dance
Memory
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
Diplomatic Immunity

Now, go start at the begining and read them all through to the end.

Want an easy, enjoyable read? Some laughs, whimsical characters, not-at-all-hard SF?

YEP?

Young Miles and his sidekick Ivan stumble through political intrigues in the Cetagandan Empire. Once again Miles is the pint-sized hero who saves the day and Ivan just looks good, charms the ladies and tries to stay out of trouble.

I finished it in less than three days, and if you wanted to, you could do it in one session. I forgot to get off at my trainstation, and that's always a good sign!

Another entry in the Miles Vorkosigan series that stands alone well. In this adventure Miles and his cousin Ivan have been sent on a diplomatic mission to the Cetagandan multi-planet empire (long the enemy of their native Barrayar). They are to attend the funeral of the late Empress. Never one to stay out of trouble long, Miles is soon up to his short, hyperactive ears in trouble. As in most Vorkosigan books there is a sorcerer's apprentice-like flair to the unfolding of events, with the quick-witted Miles one step (barely) ahead of the deluge. Odd events dog their mission, sabotage, assassination, or mere accident? Does some nameless enemy have a deadly grudge against Miles? As usual Mile's refusal to play by the rules, or accede to sanity, keeps his opponents guessing. Fast paced and intelligent. The intricacies of Cetagandan culture are fascinating, and as usual, Miles is an outrageous, larger than life (although smaller than most) hero. Great book.

Although not one of my favorite Bujold novels, Cetaganda is still worth reading. Following the epic Mirror Dance, I felt let down by Cetaganda. When comparing this book with the Mountains of Morning we can see the variety in Bujold's works. Ivan gets to become a fully developed character in this story, but the Dendarii are missing.

One misstep - not in style, but in subject.

Miles gets an official mission, one he should accomplish as his own self, the Lord Vorkosigan. He has the help of his cousin Ivan and the blessing of both Illyan and the Emperor. All he has to do is atend a state funeral, make a ritual offer and return home.

But the first thing that happens when they get to Cetaganda is a ba servant crashing into them and "losing" one piece of equipment that turns out to be the only Key to the Imperial Haut Gene Banks - the only thing in the Cetagandan Empire everybody worships... as the Key is exposed as fraud and Miles gets his first mad crush on the acting Haut Empress, the only way out for the Barrayaran Envoys is finding the real Key, returning it to the rightful owner, and discovering the culprits...

This would've been another exceptional hit but for the strained love tale (that doesn't impede on Miles' capacity of acting as a detective) and for Ivan's over-affirmed shortage on brainpower. I actually like Ivan - he'll turn out to have a great heart in all other Vorkosigan novels. There is a highly attractive Ghem Colonel - Benin - and a hint of Terran C's whereabouts ( he's also known as Terrence Cee to those who care he's human - not his Cetagandan creators) that will eventually put Ellie Quinn on his tail in "Ethan of Athos".

As it is - Miles undoes the knots, makes his official appearence at the state funeral and gets awarded a Cetagandan medal (which on formerly conquered Barrayar equals treason) and retires unconsolated...

Liked it, but it's not the very best Vorkosigan adventure.
This whole series is for keeps, though!

I have a HUGE sci-fi library. I have read all the greats. This is a fantastic series. My wife and I read this to each other every couple years. Please try this you will not be sorry. It starts with Warriors Apprentice.

Miles and Ivan are the Barrayarian envoys to the funeral of the Cetagandian Empress. They barely reach the transfer station above Cetaganda when they are boarded and attacked...or are they. From this minor incident, Miles finds himself in the middle of intrigue that could kill him, cause Barrayar to be plunged into war, and destabilize the Cetagandan Empire. Moreover, Miles also learns that Barrayar's intelligence network is not always seeing the world as it is as he learns that the haut women of Cetaganda are more than merely decorative beauties in a bubble.

There's non-stop action as the tensions build and the plot thickens. We learn more about Ivan and Miles and their interactions with others. It's the usual Bujold book filled with action, adventure, well-drawn characters, and told with wit and humor.