Rating: 
Summary: Not quite what it could have been
Review: My bias: Lois Bujold is one of my very favorite writers. I've read all of her public work, and have most of it on my shelves.The long-awaited "next Miles book" is out, but even after a couple of years (Chalion) it has the sense to me of being not quite ready to go. The plot is straight-ahead, sort of like an early Miles book. But after the multiple viewpoints of A Civil Campaign, returning to a tight Miles focus seems limiting. And the ultimate plot turns out to be, well, not up to the standards set by some of her recent work. In the end, for all the damage done, the villain is not really anything more than a petty crook. I think Lois would have been better served by writing the same story from the viewpoint of Armsman Roic. This really should have been a Holmes and Watson story, especially since Roic was actually the character who I think interested Lois the most. It's a good book, filled with all the ironic byplay one expects from a Bujold novel, but it seems like an uncompleted short story compared to the sweeping scale of Curse Of Chalion or the inspired plot-weaving of A Civil Campaign. Mostly of interest to fans of Miles, I would think. It also seems designed to close up a few "frequently asked questions" about various people and cultures from earlier novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Losing steam
Review: The plot of Diplomatic immunity is pretty much vintage Bujold peppered with stupid asides. Perhaps this is a holdover from her recent foray into fantasy, an excursion I found unsuited to her writing style. She is much more at home here, in the easier world building of the future, but something is missing. The characterization that made Miles so endearing is growing thin. That being said, it's not a really awful book. For Bujold fans, however, it is disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonderful work of knots to untangle
Review: Beautifully written, it ties together many of the things that have happened to date in the series (and out of it, by the location). Looking at it from a series POV, this would be an excellent place to end the series, as it completes the story arc. We began a little before Miles' birth, and this book ends a little after the birth of his children. In the early stages of the book, the marital bliss of Miles and Ekaterin seem almost overdone for comedy, which could distract some readers and pull them out of "suspension of disbelief," but probably only if this is their FIRST Miles book that they read. The rest of us just smile and eat it up. The early stage's comedy becomes a marked contrast from later, where things are deadly serious and all falling apart. A very well-written device to bring the reader along for the roller-coaster ride of the book. So, basically, I'd reccommend this book to anyone, even die-hard enemies.
Rating:
Summary: Well, I had wondered ...
Review: Lois never wastes words. Even at her most descriptive and ebulliant, she never wastes a single word. This is a good thing, considering the relative shortness and lightness of this book among her oeuvre. What springs immediately to the eye as a cat's snarl of brightly colored threads is, by the end, all woven tightly into a beautifully detailed wall-hanging. And, thriftily, she has tied it off with loose threads from earlier books as well. Lois does mystery, comedy, space-opera, romance, and drama. Any one book has all of these elements, and usually one predominates. This one is a mystery. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it now!
Review: The Vorkosigan books has got to be one of the best science fiction series of all time. Unlike most science fiction stories, the plot does not rely on "special effects" and futuristic science to hold your interest. It holds your interest through well developed characters and complex, well thought out plot lines. One of the best things is watching the characters develop through the series.
This book is a murder mystery. A Komarr trade fleet is impounded at Graff station by Quaddies and a Barryaran security chief is presumed murdered. Miles interrupts his honeymoon to solve the mystery, get the fleet released and clean up the diplomatic mess the Barryaran's caused. You have to read the book to get the rest of the story, but expect plot twists, surprises, mayhem, etc. To those that have read "Komaar" and "A Civil Campaign", you will be pleased to see how Eketerin is developing. I would not be surprised to see her playing a major role in the next book. I do have one complaint however. I don't like waiting a year between books.
Rating:
Summary: Diplomatic Immunity
Review: How does she do it??!! Good stories are all about character, character, character, and LMB is *sans pareille* at creating characters that linger with us through the kids' soccer games, the dinner dishes, and all the way through the Late News. In the classic story form of the Hero's Journey, LMB gave Miles more than his share of Achilles' heels from birth, with a twisted, fragile body in a world that only values the strong and beautiful. Then, having given us ample reason to believe that Miles has overcome those frailties and the problems that accompanied them in her earlier books, in Diplomatic Immunity, LMB gives us something new to worry about in the lingering aftereffects of Miles' misadventures at Graf Station. Once again, in a few pages, LMB has let us glimpse a rich new character, jump pilot Corbeau, and already we can't wait to meet him again in some future Miles imbroglio. Moreover, LMB is never quite done developing a character or a relationship-Miles' heart-wrenching musings over Bel Thorne being a case in point. And what about the kids, little Aral and Helen? Do we already know who's going to be hell-raiser twin! Would that Baen could surround LMB with armsmen, drivers, cooks, and a secure comconsole in every room so she'd have nothing to do but write, write, write! Or maybe they could send her to Jackson's Hole to be cloned. Hmmm.
Rating:
Summary: complex mystery within a strong outer space adventure
Review: Imperial auditor Miles Vorkosigan and his wife Ekaterin enjoy their belated intergalactic honeymoon until the ship's Tau Cetan captain informs them that a Barrayaran Imperial Courier has an official sealed data disc for him. Lieutenant Smolyani of the Imperial courier ship Kestrel provides a message from Emperor Gregor Vorbarra involving an impoundment of a Komarran trader ship on Graf Station in remote "Quaddiespace". Apparently murder has occurred and each side spins a different tale. Miles is to investigate the murder. Miles and Ekaterin arrive at the space station inhabited by Quaddies, genetically engineered humans. Miles makes inquiries into the case where he learns that a Barryar ensign fell in love with a Quaddie dancer, which led to trouble. The investigation turns further complex because no one is cooperating making the situation even more tense. The latest Vorkosigan outer space adventure is a thrilling tale that showcases the small hero at his best. The story line contains a very complex mystery that is further complicated by the hostilities requiring high level diplomacy to keep the combatants from fighting while solving the case. Interwoven into the plot are "asides" that provide insight into previous tales in Lois McMaster Bujold's Hugo Award winning universe for new readers, but long time fans will find that disruptive. DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY is a fine science fiction mystery that is not quite on a level with much of the series previous novels, which for the most part are some of the best written over the last fifteen years. Still the book remains better than most novels of this sub-genre. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Harmless fun
Review: _Diplomatic Immunity_ marks a return to the early form of the Vorkosigan books. It's fun, fast-paced, amusing, and light. It's not the book to start with if you're not already a fan, but it's a pleasant diversion if you are. This is much more like, say, _The Warrior's Apprentice_ than Bujold's more recent fare. In particular, her last two books had some structural issues that set them apart from the rest of the series. In _Komarr_, the plot goes nowhere until some secondary characters find out the important information and present the answer to Miles, gift-wrapped. In _A Civil Campaign_, a large proportion of the "action" lies in the shifting attitudes of the characters toward one another; it's a Regency romance/comedy of manners, and not to everyone's taste. _Diplomatic Immunity_, by contrast, starts off with a bang and never slows down. We get the enormous fun of watching Miles do what he does best--get hold of one end of a tangled ball of twine and unravel the whole thing at top speed. Miles's trademarked "forward momentum" strategy is much in evidence. That said, this is not a major work. The ending is a bit of an anticlimax, with a lot of plot being wrapped up (rather perfunctorily) offstage. There's one major character whose only function is as a plot device: he appears, unloads a huge chunk of expository dialog, and isn't seen again. Miles's wife Ekaterin remains a cipher--try to think of three adjectives to describe her and you'll see what I mean. More importantly, there is no theme to this book. It's not about anything. This puts it a definite notch below Bujold's best books, such as _Mirror Dance_ and _Memory_, which each had things to say about identity and responsibility. _Diplomatic Immunity_ is plot, no more. (OK, there's a little bit of emoting about Miles's soon-to-be-children, but it's not sustained enough to count as a theme.) This book will undoubtedly be a Hugo nominee, and is very likely to win. It isn't that good. It *is* good space opera, though, and a pleasure for any Vorkosigan fan.
Rating:
Summary: Tactic-Manic Impunity
Review: Lord Miles, heir to and agent of a stellar political power, is diverted from his honeymoon/Grand Tour to a distant space colony -- populated with genetically-modified, four-armed [and legless] zero-gravity-dwelling humans, the descendants of escaped technician-slaves of an oppressive corporation -- to unsnarl a crisis involving seized merchant starships [owned by Miles' Emperor's wife], a hair-trigger, mutant-fearing military trying to locate a mysteriously vanished officer, and the freedom-loving Quaddies protecting another officer who has defected. One of the first people Lord Miles [his resourceful wife at his side and sometimes ahead of him] encounters is the ex-mercenary Captain responsible for Vorkosigan's near-death. If the preceding paints a picture in your head, be prepared to have one's preconceptions rearranged like the strings of a cat's cradle as Lois McMaster Bujold tugs on plot-lines and straight-lines until one is wound-up in and winded by her magic. Unlike nearly any series I've known, Bujold characters never brush off injury for the next take: they bleed and you'll bleed for them, your heart in your throat, counting every scar acquired along their rapid-fire race as a badge of honor. She is, simply, the best.
Rating: 
Summary: OK, but not up to usual Bujold standards
Review: I was anticipating this book since I finished reading "A Civil Campaign" (twice, the second time to see what I missed while I was desperately trying to avoid laughter-induced seizures). However, it seems a little thin in points, especially as the typical Bujold intricate plot unfolds. There are resonances here of current world affairs that it would have been nice to see a post-Sept 11 take via Miles, a nice foil. Also, the subtleties of Miles' peculiar relationship with the Cetagandans (see "Cetaganda"--the best of the early Miles books, and the series installment with the most bearing on this novel) aren't explored nearly enough for my taste; the ending chapter, with its wake-out-of-near-death to find all loose ends are tied up, really makes this apparent.
Still anything with Miles in it, though notable characters are conspicuous by their absence (see Ivan's role in "Cetaganda" and "A Civil Campaign"), is worth reading
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