A Civil Campaign

Rating:
Summary: Buy This Book
Review: "A Civil Campaign" is another masterpiece from Lois McMaster Bujold. In fact, I believe that it is the finest thing she has ever done. In addition, I believe (pending re-reading) that it is one of the two or three finest books I have ever read.

I neither cry nor laugh out loud when reading. This book had me doing both within the span of 3 pages.

If "A Civil Campaign" does not win this year's Hugo Award, I will be shocked and stunned. Buy this book! Buy two copies and give one to someone who has never read any Science Fiction. It has everything. A great story, deep understanding of human nature, humor, drama. Just buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Miles (and Bujold) entice again; how DOES (s)he do it?
Review: Lucky selhat to get a complete advance copy of "A Civil Campaign"; my comments are based only on the first nine chapters currently available on Baen's website.

But believe me, the hook is set deep and I'll be paying hard cash to finish this book.

As an unabashed admirer of Miles Vorkosigan and Lois Bujold's writing, it would be tough for me not to want to buy the book. But thinking of coming cold to the universe Ms. Bujold has created, I think any sci-fi reader would first want to find out how this particular story worked out, and second go out and buy all the other stories in the series (lucky you for not having to wait all these years for the whole series to expand as all the committed fans have done.)

What happens? The hero, Miles Vorkosigan, a 30-year-old near-Count in a fuedal society turning Galactic, wants to marry a widow who doesn't think she will ever marry again. His clone brother is trying to make a buck with a gene-adapted bug modeled on a honey-bee. His hunky cousin Ivan is beginning to despair of a permanent relationship in a society which is short of females. And if that doesn't make you laugh, there are complications more to make this truly a comedy of manners in a society whose rules resemble very little those in force in late 20th century America.

"A Civil Campaign" should appeal to any reader who enjoys the worlds of fantasy but who will accept the lack of magic---and to the reader of hard science fiction who will accept that certain aspects of current-world limitations will eventually be explained (perhaps we will find "wormholes" to make "jumps" through to other parts of the sky). I think you'd pass only if you require your hero to overcome a life-threatening force closing in on him (there's enough of that in earlier Vorkosigan adventures...starting with his mother).

Not since reading Larry Niven in the 1980's have I found such enjoyable, credible writing. I look forward to finding out how it all turns out.

Rating:
Summary: Ms. Bujold, you are a God
Review: I've been chomping at the bit to finish this book since Baen books started posting chapters. I got it yesterday courtesy of a friend, and was up till late last night finishing it.

Very funny, rather touching at points. Also a little thought provoking, especially when Bujold starts to extrapolate on the impact readily available genetic engineering might have on a closed and traditionally rigid society like Barrayar. All in all, a very good, fun read.

What next, Ms Bujold?

Rating:
Summary: Five Stars aren't *NEARLY* enough
Review: I just finished an "advanced reader" copy, and this is Lois McMaster Bujold's best novel yet. Even when she's writing a romantic comedy, Ms. Bujold still manages to ask Questions: big questions, small questions, and all sizes in between. This book made my mind itch and my heart sing. I can give it no higher praise.

Rating:
Summary: Going on "A Civil Campaign"
Review: For fans of Ms. Bujold in general, and her highly popular character Miles Vorkosigan in particular, this book takes her writing to a new level as we go on a highly entertaining adventure, following Miles Vorkosigan as he wages war against an enemy unlike any he's ever faced before--Love.

For those unfamiliar with this series, "A Civil Campaign" is set on the planet Barrayar, a conservative, militaristic society with a turbulent past. It's slowly being transformed into a modern, liberal society, much of which is caused by Miles' mother, Cordelia Naismith, who comes from the highly liberal society of Beta Colony. The relationship that formed over thirty years ago between her and Miles' father, Aral Vorkosigan, the legendary war hero often referred to as "the Butcher of Komarr," resulted in an upheaval that over the years has opened Barrayar's once closed society, a transformation whose growing pains still show today.

Miles Vorkosigan is a member of the powerful Vorkosigan family. He's a living example of Barrayar's violent history, having been poisoned while still in his mother's womb. The attack resulted in Miles being being born with many handicaps, including dwarfism and extremely brittle bones. Driven by the desire to live up to his father and grandfather's military legacy, Miles managed to over-achieve, using a combination of strategic brilliance, indomitable spirit, and more than a little luck to carve out his own legacy as a member of the Barrayan secret service.

After an incredible galactic military career, Miles is discharged, having survived death itself, but resulting in crippling seizures, a result of being frozen and later revived. He then finds himself grounded on Barrayar, but still highly involved in the inner intrigues of the government, serving as a Lord Auditor, one of the legal justices of the Emperor.

After his first task as Lord Auditor in the book Komarr, where he meets Ekaterin. Miles later returns home, and in A Civil Campaign, launches his greatest strategic assault ever, to win the love of the recently widowed Ekaterin, who's currently struggling to find her own identity after years with a domineering husband. Of course, nothing ever comes easy for Miles. In the course of trying to win Ekaterin's heart, they both become embroiled in political intrigue and a wild business venture by Miles' clone brother Mark, who's also pursuing a lady love of his own.

This book has romance, politics, humor, and above all, characters that you'll fall in love with in just a few pages. The book stands well on it's own, but if you ever pick this one up, you'll find yourself in the bookstore looking for the rest of the series. I'm a long time reader of SF, and this is one of the most creative and fun series I've ever read.

Give A Civil Campaign a try!

Rating:
Summary: The best of the best
Review: Simply the best book I have read in years; perhaps the best I've ever read. LMB writes so elegantly (yes - in a Science Fiction book no less!)and her characters are wonderfully human and funny. I discovered A Civil Campaign by accident and was immediately hooked. I've laughed until tears streamed down my face even on the umpteenth reading of the dinner party sequence and the Ivan/Donna/Dono scenario. Mile's courtship of Ekaterin, planned like one of his military campaigns, is a gem from his first nervous visit, through many ups and downs (that marvellous "abject" letter), to the final page. As Miles would say "No battle plan survives the first encounter with the enemy" and this battle plan goes awry in so many hilarious ways. Read this book (and all of her others) and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Another excellent Miles adventure
Review: Did you think that Miles was the definitive example of how far the Vor will go to be Vor? You were wrong. Someone else has Miles beat by, um, miles. But that's okay; Miles, as usual, has his own problems. There's his brother Mark's new business venture, which involves some rather unattractive bugs, currently stashed in an old laundry room in Vorkosigan House. There's convincing Ekaterin that the fact that she made a mistake in marrying Tien at twenty doesn't mean that she's forever incapable of making good marital choices. There's convincing Ekaterin that he's not trying to manipulate her, which is tough, because he is. He's Miles, after all; it's easier for him to skip breathing for a few days than to skip manipulating people for a similar period. There's Miles' old friend Count René Vorbretten, whose unfortunate and previously unsuspected Cetagandan ancestry is endangering his possession of the countship--and risks turning that vote in the Council of Counts over to the Conservative Party. There's the rumors going around that Miles murdered Ekaterin's first husband. There's the other countship that's in dispute, with one of the putative heirs trying to blackmail Miles to force the Vorkosigans to support him when the Council of Counts votes on who's the real Count. There's the most disastrous dinner party in, possibly, the history of Barrayar. (Well, perhaps not. Nobody dies, after all. It's just that some people wish they had.)

And he can't even run away to be Admiral Naismith anymore. Aside from the fact that Admiral Naismith is dead and everyone knows it, his uniform doesn't even fit anymore.

No one has time to give him any sympathy; everyone has their own problems. Ekaterin has persistent unwanted suitors, and annoyingly helpful relatives and in-laws. Mark has his business partner Enrique, and his on-again off-again romance with Kareen Koudelka, and Kou and Drou's reaction when they find out. Ivan has been formally assigned as an aide to Lady Alys, while she manages the arrangements for Gregor and Laisa's wedding. And then there's the startling discovery he's made about his old love, Lady Donna Vorrutyer...

Great fun. And I don't recommend that you annoy any Lady Vorkosigan, present or future; it seems to be bad for your career prospects.


Rating:
Summary: Irresistible!
Review: Here in the past month Bujold hooked me into the Vorkosigan saga (how have I managed to miss it for so many years?) and I'd thought I'd seen every twist there was. Now she gives us a Sci Fi Regency! And a great one! Certainly this is one of the most fun books of the series: hilarious, touching, imaginative, and all written in LMB's exquisite style. Even the dialogue tags made me laugh! Thank you, LMB, for a wonderful reading experience. I hope many more Miles books are coming. (PS: Please do something to help poor "idiot" Ivan!)

Rating:
Summary: Good Read
Review: Love A Civil Campaign & the book right after it, Diplomatic Immunity? Well -- through the magic of out-of-order authorship, we can now go back and enjoy the period *between* those two books!

Bujold has written a new Miles novella called Winterfair Gifts. It's in the anthology Irresistible Forces by Jennifer Roberson, et al., to be released February 3, 2004. The story reportedly covers . . . events presaged in A Civil Campaign.

Rating:
Summary: A Harlequin Romance in the Worst Sense
Review: I couldn't take it. Day after day, I forced myself to read a little bit more of this book. Day after day, it made me more and more ill. It's hard to believe that such a good writer as Bujold could take her Vorkosigan saga and turn it into this. For all intents and purposes, there's no plot whatsoever outside of Miles trying to woo his lady love. Oh, sure, there's Mark having troubles with his girlfriend and with a startup business. There's some stuff about Gregor and his wedding. And, in the closest thing to approach anything beyond self-absorbed mush, there's some stuff involving the succession to a couple of Countships. But, as of page 295 (out of 534), there's nothing else. Ugh. I'm sorry. But, where's someone saving the world? Or, how about saving a fleet? Destroying an evil scourge? Saving Miles' life? Mark's? Anyone's? Nope. Nothing. It's all trivial stuff that's important only to the characters involved. I'd also like to point out that almost every person in the book, though most are over 30, acts like a love-sick, idiotic teenager. In fact, to show you how out of character everyone is, the most mature person in the book is Ivan, Miles' cousin. It looks like this is the last of the Vorkosigan series I'll ever read. I've read all the other books in the Vorkosigan series (and loved them all). I've also read Bujold's books outside the series and they're pretty good. So, I guess that's where I'll look from now on.