My soul snapped over the weekend. In a good way. I came across Lois McMaster Bujold last summer when Jonathan was reading her, and he recommended her Curse of Chalion books. I read them - devoured them - snarfed them, even. But they needed to mentally settle and I wasn't quite prepared to start her outer-space series yet.
But there I was at the library. I meant to check out and re-read the second Chalion book, but it wasn't available. But what was there was Bujold's A Civil Engagement, which looked like a sci-fi... romance? And an apparently funny one? That did it. I got it home and read about five pages when Jonathan noticed. I was informed in no uncertain terms I could not start with that. I gathered it was the equivalent of reading Busman's Honeymoon as an introduction to Lord Peter. He, my Jonathan, dashed to the bookshelf for a better one, and somehow I've read three entire Miles Vorkosigan books in the last three days, on top of two Pratchetts the week before.
The Vor Game - This was my first one. Lord Miles Vorkosigan, son of legendary General Aral Vorkosigan, is fresh out of the military academy and determined to make a brilliant career. He's been deformed from birth, but has figured out how to compensate for his physical shortcomings with his brains. The problem is, his superiors just keep giving the wrong orders. And things keep happening. Seriously, who would have planned to misplace a missing Emperor on a simple fact-finding mission? How many identities can he keep juggling at once? More urgently, how many at once can they arrest him under?
A Civil Engagement - Miles lost his mind when he found the perfect woman. It was infuriating and I started predicting his doom about page 2. He tried planning his romance like a ship hijacking and, not surprisingly, it blew up in his face. (That was one awful dinner party.) Meanwhile his brother is trying to market butter bugs (don't ask), the Emperor is getting married, and Vor politics are their usual cutthroat selves. It made me even more grateful than usual to be happily married to Jonathan.
Borders of Infinity - a group of three novellas in a frame story. Miles solves an infanticide among hillbillies, makes himself obnoxious to pretty much every one on the planet Jackson's Whole (for a good-ish cause), and mysteriously checks himself into a POW camp.
This really is the kind of sci-fi I like best: the kind with adventure, panache, humor, nifty technology, worldbuilding, and really clever heroes (plural) who pull off the surprise ending. It would take a post each to discuss the books in detail, and there's quite a bit in each to admire, or argue about, or just disagree with. For instance, regarding Engagement, I don't think a sex change operation works like that, even granted the Betan technology. The story "Labyrinth" got pretty racy, though she had other ideas going on with it, and of course the racy bit was what the paperback had as its frontispiece. Publishers. One constant through the books is Miles' great parents, who appear as interesting characters in their own right and are always doing helpful and plot-furthering things. I should caution readers about adult themes (obviously) and strong language. She mostly handles things tastefully.
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Yeah, I read a few of the Miles books many years back, but the "adult themes" (if that's the word) got too much for me.
I am nevertheless an admirer of The Curse of Chalion. Never read the sequels because my sister said they weren't as good (and honestly, how could they be?).
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