Customer Reviews

Miles Errant (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This isn't a new book. If you were hoping to read about the further adventures of Miles Vorkosigan after _Diplomatic Immunity_, you're going to have to wait! Instead, this is a collection of earlier works arranged in a logical sequence.

The three works are "The Borders of Infinity," a novella about Miles' rescue mission to a POW camp; _Brothers in Arms_, a novel that takes place four months later on Earth, where Miles first meets his "evil twin" brother/clone; and _Mirror Dance_, another novel where Miles' brother/clone returns to cause havoc for him by acting on his earlier intent to destroy the clone labs (where he was created and saw dozens of clone-children destroyed) on Jackson's Whole.

I came across the Vorkosigan saga in a somewhat nonlinear order, reading whatever I found with a lot of backing and filling. It is really a pleasure to read these works again, in a way that lets all those asides to previous adventures have the proper resonance instead of experiencing a series of throw-away dialogue. If you already own the books there is no point in buying it, but if you don't, do buy this. Despite having read all of these books in the last 2 years I am really enjoying the rereading. Bujold is such a great writer that her works can be read many times with just as much pleasure.

This is an anthology - one of the series of Vorkosigan anthologies Baen is releasing. It contains Borders of Infinity (the short story), Brothers in Arms, and Mirror Dance. Don't buy this thinking it's a new book!

This is a compilation of two novels and one novella. No new material, but still a wonderful gift for someone just starting off on Bujold. Three books for the price of one! The novella is "Borders of Infinity" and the two novels are _Brothers in Arms_ and _Mirror Dance_

In "Borders of Infinity," Miles winds up as a POW in a Cetaganda camp. in _Brothers in Arms_ he goes to Earth and discovers he has a clone who is part of a conspiracy against Barrayar. In _Mirror Dance_, the clone returns to assume Miles' identity Admiral Naismith, gets himself in huge trouble, and Miles faces his own mortality as a result.

Bujold's writing gets better and better as her books go on, and since her first works are still fabulous you can imagine how great these later works are! Each book is independent enough to stand alone, but still part of a greater web which all the books make up. Even if you've never read a Bujold book, you will still develop an attachment to her various characters in book 10 as you would have in book 1. She's a literary genius.

One of the stronger points about the Vorkosigan saga is that the characters grow. _Mirror Dance_ takes place 10 years after we first saw Miles in his own book, and he has changed in some ways and remained the same in others. He has lived, learned, suffered, and gained. Throughout it all, some aspects of his personality have remained. _Mirror Dance_ also allows his clone Mark to grow and change. He realizes he has his own destiny just as Miles does. Each of the characters are unique and realistic, very deep in their personalities.

Another strength of Bujold's writing is that although it's not from Miles' point of view (it's written in 3rd person), you are just as unsure of what's happening to others as Miles is. Just as Miles can't see what his mother is doing, the reader can't either. So both Miles and the reader wait in suspense to find out the results of some plans, messages, etc. The history of Barrayar and the various planets are also given in snippets throughout the saga. Just as if you were visiting Barrayar from another planet and just beginning to delve into its histories. At first I was frustrated by this style because I wanted to know everything that was happening with all teh characters, and all that had happened with all the planets. Eventually I realized it is better the way Bujold gives you a snippet here or there. Not only does itkeep you coming back for more, it also makes the stories more suspenseful and enjoyable.

All around, a great book. A great starting place in the Vorkosigan saga, or just as a continuation of the books you've already come to love by Bujold. For us poorer folk, it's also wonderful to just pay the price of one book instead of 3!

This book is just a trilogy of 3 previous Miles Vorkosigan books....."The Borders of Infinity" "Brothers in Arms" and "Mirror Dance". I thought I was buying a totally new Miles novel so was quite disapointed to find that I had already read these stories.....notwithstanding that the said stories are up to the usual Vorkosigan high standards.

The two novels included here may well be the best of the whole series. But to fully appreciate "Brothers in Arms", you need to read the novella "Labyrinth" first, because it gives a lot of the backstory (as well as being excellent in its own right). You can find "Labyrinth" in the collection "Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem".

I gave Brothers in Arms to a friend in the hospital after several (simultaneous) operations. They gave her the maximum amount of painkiller, but she was still in bad shape. The only thing that made it stop hurting was the book, because she got so sucked into the story that she was completely oblivious to how much it hurt.

These stories are part of the best series I've ever read. But start with Shards of Honor. If you've never read these books, I envy you the opportunity to read them for the first time.

This is, by the way, several collected previously published works.

While all of these three stories have been in print before it was nice to see them together. Lois is one of the best writers out there.

A great omnibus, containing three amazing tales of Miles Vorkosigan's military days:

"The borders of infinity": Miles lets himself be sent to a POW camp the Cetagandans have set up to hold the captured Marrilacan soldiers (one who read "Cetaganda" would remember the Marillacans were counting too much on the Cetagandans' help... and it did eventually turn against them). The only hope for Marrilac is a captive officer... and in getting him out Miles will first free everyone alse. Superb writing, highly emotional. I loved it to tears!

"Brothers in arms": following the few intense moments of actual fighting, there are the times Miles (and his Fleet accountants) hate most: the tallying up of the losses and the paying of bills... A bit short of money, Miles juggles with his identities on Earth, unaware that the last Komarrran resistance forces, led by the pretty mad Ser Galen, is plotting to replace him with his clone&torture bred brother Mark-Pierre. Taken by surprise, Miles has only the feeble hope he's not so easily confusable, and that Galen's son, a loyal captain, will help him get escape his would-be tomb. Mark-Pierre emerges powerfully as an anti-Miles personality, but endowed with the same capacities... a threat to the hyperactive little Admiral/Lord.

"Mirror dance": the masterpiece of the series so far!!! Mark-Pierre gathers all his courage and attempts to free the clones on a Jackson's Whole clinic... and the Vorkosigan luck sticks to him as to Miles: he loses the clones, the battle, Miles' Dendarii mercs, and gets Miles killed, all in one day's work!
Saved by payment, in Miles' place, Mark is thrown in the world of Barrayar, the one place in the universe he tried never to set foot upon. Confronted with the "real" Vorkosigan's place, Mark has one chance to redeem himself: get a new rescue mission on track to hunt for Miles' maybe-not-so-dead-after-all body... After touching with the tips of his fingers the promise of salvation, Mark loses everything, including his sanity, when captured by the torture-master Baron Ryoval...
A heart-wrenching tale. The twin Vorkosigans are the faces of the coin: one up when the other one is down, and the one that surfaces gets to live, while the other might be left to drown.

Why can't words be enough?... This is a DO NOT MISS!!!

Therefore i'm keeping my copy of it. You go get your own :).

However, if you are new to the Vorkosigian saga then buy these compilation books. What makes these books exceptional is that they generaly incude 2 novels and either a short story or a novella. Right now I don't have the book in review with me so I will not write a specific review. Later on, when I do have it in hand I will do so. Instead I will give an overview of the series.
Who is Miles? Well he is at least two people, Miles Vorkosigian, heir to his fathers title and a mutie (he really isn't but if you look at him you would think so). He is also Admiral Naismith, mercenary naval leader of an elite mercenary unit that specializes in covert rescue operations and revolutionary movements. The super books chronical the adventures of Admiral Naismith and his Betan mother. What hasn't been compiled is really a look at Miles whithout a dual personalty.

Lois McMaster Bujold has earned her Hugos and Nebulas the hard way with well written stories, superb characterization, and novel ideas on what makes humans click. Cordelia's Honor is the first super book in the series and details the trials and tribulations of Aral Vorkisogian, the Butcher of Komarran; and his Dear Captian, the fearless daughter of Beta Colony. Actually Cordelia Vorkisogian is the real hero in the first super novel, the first 2 books in the Vorkosigian Chronicles, and she almost lives up to her son's reputation.

Are the Vorkosigian novels worth reading? HELL YEAH!!!! Warning where as most novels take me a day to a little over a day to read, these books demand on average 2 to 2 and a half days, and these are barn burning give up sleep and work page turning novels that you can't put down!

Start with Cordelia's Honor if you insist on reading in chronological order. Start with any book avalable in your favorite bookstore as reading out of turn is not detrimental to your reading enjoyment. Better yet read all of the super books first and then read what is left.

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the most decorated authors in science fiction, only Robert Heinlein has more nominations. Every time a new book is translated into a new language that country's Hugo people instantly nominate it for their Hugo equivalent award. I expect her to become the acknowledged Mother or Grandmother of SCI-FI, her ownly competition is Anne McCaffrey.

What can I say? I love the stories of a guy who truly overcompensates- who goes the extra Miles in life. My only regret is now I have finished all of Ms. Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan stories. The Vor stories present a well developed fictional universe (and engaging charactors) that is well worth visiting.