Most people I know who have read the Vorkosigan Saga consider this to be their favourite of the series so I had high expectations. The last book, Komarr, was basically a ‘meet cute’ between our series hero, Miles, and his new ladylove, Ekaterin. I was expecting A Civil...
See moreMost people I know who have read the Vorkosigan Saga consider this to be their favourite of the series so I had high expectations. The last book, Komarr, was basically a ‘meet cute’ between our series hero, Miles, and his new ladylove, Ekaterin. I was expecting A Civil Campaign to be a romance between the two with some sort of misunderstanding/conflict, maybe a touch of mystery for Miles to solve somewhere along the line before he wins the girl over completely. Well… It is this story but quite a bit more. LMB dedicates the book to an impressive list - Jane, Charlotte, Georgette, and Dorothy. I can draw some fascinating comparisons between A Civil Campaign and their works (well, the ones I’m most familiar with -- I admit to having never read Heyer). Actually, the fact that Miles and Ekaterin’s storyline is pretty much just a homage to Sayers’s Lord Peter and Harriet Vane (who are probably my favourite book couple evah) was probably the biggest reason I was swooning over this book, and Ekaterin and Miles’s scenes in particular. I feel like I need to write a thesis to explain how a couple in a scifi book, set on another planet and in the future, are almost exactly the same as a couple who solve mysteries in a series of novels set in England in the 1920s. To keep it more brief though - Both Miles and Peter are considered less attractive than the women they’ve fallen for, leaving all and sundry to assume they’ve somehow used their peerage to trick their respective leading ladies into a relationship; Ekaterin and Harriet are both victims of domestic abuse where their past partners have not hit them but belittled them constantly; Miles and Peter are both mindful of the abuse and are incredibly honorable in wanting to fiercely protect Ekaterin and Harriet from slander and character assassination; instead of the typical alpha male protection though, Miles/Peter [perhaps unknowingly] give the girls a chance to recognise their inner strength and ability to fight misogyny and injustice in their own dignified and intelligent way; Miles/Peter’s wit and intelligence are what attracts these (outwardly seemingly) more attractive women; and, in the end, whilst Miles and Peter are plotting, it’s Ekaterin and Harriet who end up rescuing their beaus. I can also see the similarities to Austen’s books. For starters, there’s a heavy focus on family and siblings. Besides Miles’s rocky relationship with his clone brother, Mark, the familial plots feature Ekaterin’s brother and brother-in-law’s ‘helpful’ response to her association to Miles (very Sense and Sensibility-like), the four Koudelka sisters (the daughters of the second novel Barrayar’s Kou and Drou acting very Bennet and/or Dashwood sisters-like) , and Miles’s pseudo brothers Ivan and Gregor. She also, like Jane and Dorothy etc, added a healthy helping of hidden feminism. There is no weak Koudelka sister, physically or mentally. Strong independent women each one, a credit to their parents, which becomes the great irony of the plot as Kou, after raising these superwomen, forgets the independence he and his wife have nurtured for so long by attempting to stifle it. One of the best scenes in the book is my beloved Cordelia pointing out the error in his judgement when it comes to Mark’s relationship with one of his girl’s (Kareen). Kou’s cry that Cordelia isn’t fighting fair with the addition of an old couch is all sorts of hilarious for those who’ve read Barrayar . Seriously, LMB was on point with her humour throughout this book. There’s a whole wedding proposal going awry plot point which plays out during a dinner party which, without doubt, is probably the funniest thing I’ve ever read. I am not exaggerating when I say I laughed out loud and almost had tears streaming down my face at one stage. The book is worth reading for this scene alone. (And let me just mention - slight (view spoiler) Besides the dinner party and couch scene, I felt like Cordelia and Aral need to be added to the great comedy duos of all time -- all their scenes are hilarious but I especially laughed at their reflections on meeting Ekaterin for the first time. There’s also Gregor’s straight faced delivery of one-liners, mostly in response to something Miles, Ivan, or Ekaterin’s son might have done. And there’s Ivan - full stop - hilarious - one of his closing scenes made me whoop with laughter (besides me yelling ‘I knew it!’). And I haven’t started on the butter bugs… (They’re difficult to explain, just read the thing. Or maybe a couple of the books prior to this one first. I don’t think this is one you can just pick up and understand all the humour etc without reading some of the others in the series.) Highly recommended obviously. Definitely a favourite. 5 out of 5
Most people I know who have read the Vorkosigan Saga consider this to be their favourite of the series so I had high expectations. The last book, Komarr, was basically a ‘meet cute’ between our series hero, Miles, and his new ladylove, Ekaterin. I was expecting A Civil Campaign to be a romance between the two with some sort of misunderstanding/conflict, maybe a touch of mystery for Miles to solve somewhere along the line before he wins the girl over completely. Well… It is this story but quite a bit more.
LMB dedicates the book to an impressive list - Jane, Charlotte, Georgette, and Dorothy. I can draw some fascinating comparisons between A Civil Campaign and their works (well, the ones I’m most familiar with -- I admit to having never read Heyer). Actually, the fact that Miles and Ekaterin’s storyline is pretty much just a homage to Sayers’s Lord Peter and Harriet Vane (who are probably my favourite book couple evah) was probably the biggest reason I was swooning over this book, and Ekaterin and Miles’s scenes in particular. I feel like I need to write a thesis to explain how a couple in a scifi book, set on another planet and in the future, are almost exactly the same as a couple who solve mysteries in a series of novels set in England in the 1920s.
To keep it more brief though - Both Miles and Peter are considered less attractive than the women they’ve fallen for, leaving all and sundry to assume they’ve somehow used their peerage to trick their respective leading ladies into a relationship; Ekaterin and Harriet are both victims of domestic abuse where their past partners have not hit them but belittled them constantly; Miles and Peter are both mindful of the abuse and are incredibly honorable in wanting to fiercely protect Ekaterin and Harriet from slander and character assassination; instead of the typical alpha male protection though, Miles/Peter [perhaps unknowingly] give the girls a chance to recognise their inner strength and ability to fight misogyny and injustice in their own dignified and intelligent way; Miles/Peter’s wit and intelligence are what attracts these (outwardly seemingly) more attractive women; and, in the end, whilst Miles and Peter are plotting, it’s Ekaterin and Harriet who end up rescuing their beaus.
I can also see the similarities to Austen’s books. For starters, there’s a heavy focus on family and siblings. Besides Miles’s rocky relationship with his clone brother, Mark, the familial plots feature Ekaterin’s brother and brother-in-law’s ‘helpful’ response to her association to Miles (very Sense and Sensibility-like), the four Koudelka sisters (the daughters of the second novel Barrayar’s Kou and Drou acting very Bennet and/or Dashwood sisters-like) , and Miles’s pseudo brothers Ivan and Gregor.
She also, like Jane and Dorothy etc, added a healthy helping of hidden feminism. There is no weak Koudelka sister, physically or mentally. Strong independent women each one, a credit to their parents, which becomes the great irony of the plot as Kou, after raising these superwomen, forgets the independence he and his wife have nurtured for so long by attempting to stifle it. One of the best scenes in the book is my beloved Cordelia pointing out the error in his judgement when it comes to Mark’s relationship with one of his girl’s (Kareen). Kou’s cry that Cordelia isn’t fighting fair with the addition of an old couch is all sorts of hilarious for those who’ve read Barrayar .
Seriously, LMB was on point with her humour throughout this book. There’s a whole wedding proposal going awry plot point which plays out during a dinner party which, without doubt, is probably the funniest thing I’ve ever read. I am not exaggerating when I say I laughed out loud and almost had tears streaming down my face at one stage. The book is worth reading for this scene alone. (And let me just mention - slight (view spoiler)
Besides the dinner party and couch scene, I felt like Cordelia and Aral need to be added to the great comedy duos of all time -- all their scenes are hilarious but I especially laughed at their reflections on meeting Ekaterin for the first time. There’s also Gregor’s straight faced delivery of one-liners, mostly in response to something Miles, Ivan, or Ekaterin’s son might have done. And there’s Ivan - full stop - hilarious - one of his closing scenes made me whoop with laughter (besides me yelling ‘I knew it!’).
And I haven’t started on the butter bugs… (They’re difficult to explain, just read the thing. Or maybe a couple of the books prior to this one first. I don’t think this is one you can just pick up and understand all the humour etc without reading some of the others in the series.)
Highly recommended obviously. Definitely a favourite. 5 out of 5
