Komarr

Rating:
Summary: "He's not so short. . . . He's just concentrated."
Review: When you're the author of an ongoing series--especially one as beloved by fans as is this one--you're confronted with the problem of character development. You can simply ignore the issue altogether--as Rex Stout famously did for 40 years with the never-aging Nero Wolfe--or you can do as Lois Bujold has done--allow her character to grow.

"Komarr" finishes Miles's transition (which started in "Memory") from youthful adventure to "auditor" (roving troubleshooter) and confidant of Emperor Gregor of Barrayar. In "Memory" he was given a temporary assignment, and now, age 30, his position permanent, he is sent to Komarr (which is still restive about being placed under the Imperial administration) to investigate the sabotage of a terraforming project. During his investigation Miles encounters for the first time Ekaterin Vorsoisson, and falls in love while wrapping up the case.

The book, told both from Miles's and Ekaterin's points of view, is darker, more pensive than previous books. Ekaterin, with a nine-year-old son, is trapped in an unhappy marriage to a mid-level civil servant. The author devotes an entire chapter to Ekaterin's attempts to sexually please a man she can hardly stand any more, and the entire tale is filled with emotional issues. As for Miles, he of course still plunges ahead with his customary elan, but with more maturity, and with a shock of recognition or two along the way.

As always readers need not have read previous books in the series to enjoy this one although (especially considering the time line the author helpfully provides in the appendix) it's hard to imagine many new readers would choose this volume as their point of entry.

Rating:
Summary: More Space Soap Than Space Opera
Review: I enjoyed reading this book. But, I can see the writing on the wall. It looks like from now on Bujold is going to focus more on Mile's romance and personal activities instead of on an Action and Adventure type of plot. The Romance is well written, but I'd rather it took up 10% of the book instead of the 90% it did here. It looks like "Mirror Dance" was the last "true" Vorkosigan book, with "Memory" serving as the transition, and "Komarr" as the first of the new style. A shame, really. But, still good.

Rating:
Summary: The good and the bad...
Review: I started reading this series last month with Shards of Honor and Barrayar. What a beginning! If I have had any regrets about subsequent books, it is that Cordelia rarely appears in later books (until she is given a small but important role in A Civil Campaign, the last but one book published in this series).

Those who are new to the series should stop right here. Please, please, go back. At the very least, start with Mirror Dance. Better still, go back to Shards of Honor (the story of how Miles's parents met).

Nearly all the books in this series (beginning in terms of internal chronology with Falling Free) are about a brilliant young aristocrat turned mercenary admiral, Miles Vorkosigan/ Naismith. What is different about him, apart from his uncanny luck, is his physical disabilities. Miles Vorkosigan (the "Vor" is a nobiliary honorific on his home planet, Barrayar) was born badly crippled and stunted, thanks to a poison gas attack on his pregnant mother.

At the beginning of his career, Miles manages to pull triumph out of disaster, bluffing his way through major crises. [Read The Warrior's Apprentice and The Vor Game for details]. He later undergoes a life-changing experience after meeting his clone, who has been created by his father's enemies.

In KOMARR, Miles has shed his old career and his Naismith identity to become an Imperial Auditor (a high-ranking investigator of sorts). This book combines Miles-as-investigator with Miles-as-suitor. Except that the romantic interest Ekaterin Vorsoisson [nee Vorvayne] is already a wife, although she is married to an immensely selfish and irresponsible man Etienne (Tien) Vorsoisson. In the past, Miles has attempted to persuade at least two serious prospects to marry him and become Lady (and in the future, Countess) Vorkosigan. Both ladies have declined, wanting nothing to do with Barrayar. In KOMARR, Miles meets and falls in love with a real Vor lady, a lady of the middle to low aristocracy from his own planet. I am not sure what this means - is Miles actually deeply Vor inside (despite his youthful shenanigans), or is he reconciled to the fact that only a Vor lady would be happy on Barrayar? In short, is Miles attracted to Ekaterin because she is available (by the end of the book), or would he be attracted to her even if his old loves were willing and able to settle down to Vorish life with him?

I cannot answer that question, but I hope it will be addressed in later books. The story that unfolds in the meantime combines an investigation of an apparent accident, the political intrigues on Komarr (where Miles's family name is reviled for historic reasons), and a slow but growing love story. We also see a lot of the story from Ekaterin's point of view, as a Vor wife committed to her culture. Considering her upbringing and Barrayaran law (also followed for the Vor on Komarr), her choices or lack of choices are understandable. She is not a wimp, just a woman struggling with very limited choices. She begins to come into her own (very fortuitously!) at the end, showing us hints of what might have attracted Miles to her in the first place.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I don't object to the sad marriage between Ekaterin and Tien (Etienne, her first husband). Like others, while I appreciated the fact that much of this book was written from Ekaterin's point of view, I felt that the book created too much of a stock pseudo-villain in her husband (who we are meant to hate instantly). Adding a scene or two from his point of view might possibly have helped.

My problem, apart from Tien's one-sided portrayal, is that the pacing is rather slow in this book. The investigation and crime aspect seems underdone, and what the crime implies for Barrayar has been glossed over. Why must the whole episode be kept a secret? Without an understanding of Barrayaran politics and relations with Komarr (and even then), this veil of secrecy makes no sense.

The romance between Miles and Ekaterin itself, such as it is, is not badly done but I felt something lacking. Some of this might be inherent in the fact that Ekaterin is very much married for the first half of the book, and afterwards, it is impossible for several reasons for Miles to court her openly or secretly.

The Ekaterin of KOMARR is not yet the Ekaterin of A Civil Campaign (the next book). Here, in some ways, Ekaterin is more vulnerable and yet oddly likeable. She has been trapped here by the legal and social constraints upon her as a Barrayan wife and a Vor woman; in the next book, some of those constraints will continue to operate. In some ways, I liked the Ekaterin of Komarr far more than that of A Civil Campaign, perhaps because Miles himself (oddly muted in this book compared to his hyperactivity in the rest of the series) is far more vulnerable in this book. As such, he evokes a different response in her. It is certainly worth reading this book if only to read how other Barrayarans not well acquainted with the high Vor (aristocracy) view Miles Vorkosigan.

KOMARR was a pleasant read, but I really did not feel the pull, the compulsion to read and re-read, that I do with most of Bujold's books. A new reader to this series might be somewhat puzzled by some obscure references to Komarran-Barrayaran history, not to mention Miles's own personal history. I am not sure that this book stands alone very well. As such, I rate this book at 3.8 stars, although the series as a whole rates about 4.5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Miles finds love! Well, maybe...
Review: Komarr is another book in the series of adventures in the life of Miles Vorkosigan. In this one, he and another Imperial Auditor come to the planet Komarr (a planet in the Barrayaran empire) to investigate the crash of a starship into the solar array above the planet. This takes place a few months after "Memory," the book where Miles got the job of Auditor. He's still feeling his way around the job, though, trying to figure out just how to use the vast powers of his position, when to use it and when not to. During his investigation, he stays with the Vorsoissons, another Barrayaran family living on Komarr. There, he meets Ekaterin, and things start to steamroll from there. Oh yeah, Miles continues the investigation as well.

Hopefully, that shows the order of importance in the events of this novel. Yes, this is a romance. I know I keep saying this in the Vorkosigan books, but it's not your normal romance. Ekaterin, for one thing, is unattainable at the moment. There is no bodice-ripping scenes, no "I must have you!" confrontations. There is a rescue, but even that's not like normal rescues. Bujold has a way of avoiding these types of clichés in her writing and it's refreshing. It is almost cute how this romance develops. Miles has a crush on her almost from the first moment he sees her. At first, she can't get past his obvious physical differences from normal men, but she learns in time. Miles tries to do things to please her without betraying how he really feels. It's adorable.

Bujold writes her characters very well. They are all believable. This includes the main villains of the book. As Miles and the other investigators start tracking them down, their motivations are well-established. It's not obvious what they're trying to do until the reader is actually told. They're not murderers, and when there is death involved, they are noticeably affected by it. The characters on the "good" side are also well-drawn, especially the Imperial Security officer that's based on Komarr. He's given a past and a motivation for doing the things he does as well.

Ekaterin is a normal woman, not a super-heroine. She's trapped in a situation that she can't see her way out of, but when events transpire to change that situation, she handles things with aplomb. She's not a typically whining female, like some other writers may have portrayed her as. Then again, female characters are Bujold's strong point. All of her female characters are strong in their own way, but they're not emotionless. The best compliment you can give a writer is that the characters she writes are real, and these definitely are.

The best thing about this book is how it fits into the series. It represents a radical change in direction that was only hinted at in "Memory." The tone of the series has changed drastically. The previous books were adventure books, even the ones that deeply examined the character of Miles and his brother. This book is still deep with the characters, but the tone is a lot lighter. Miles has moved on, away from his past as a mercenary captain and soldier, and he seems content with it. It's a nice change of pace, and it allows Miles to grow, unlike some series writers where the main character is stagnant.

There really isn't anything bad about this book. I greatly enjoyed reading it. The only fault is that it's not quite as interesting as the previous books. The pace is a bit slower. This isn't normally a bad thing, but it just feels a bit off in this case. It's still very enjoyable, though. Even the worst Bujold book would be immensely readable, and this is nowhere near the worst book. It's quite good in fact. I would certainly recommend that you not start with this one, though. I think it would lose some of the richness if you didn't know how Miles got to this point. On the other hand, it's certainly understandable with no background knowledge, so if you do start with it, it's not a tragedy.

Rating:
Summary: SF takes back seat to romance.
Review: Komarr was my first exposure to Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan novels that have been popular for several years. While not a masterpiece, it was an entertaining read if somewhat slow moving. In this installment Miles, now an Imperial Auditor investigates an accident that may be part of a larger plot and falls in love.

So Komarr is essentially two novels, one of intrigue and one of romance. In the intrigue portion, Miles is always one step behind the saboteurs reluctant to use his authority when using it would interdict the saboteurs well before the novel's climax. The romance is somewhat predictable.

Women writers typically write better about men than men do about women. If the reader didn't know that the sex of the writer then the reader might reasonably assume that a man had written the portion of the novel written from Miles vantage. However, few men could write the segments from Ekaterin's viewpoint. I found that I was in foreign territory in much of the novel dealing with Ekaterin. It was instructive to say the least.

The novel has some interesting science fiction (although it is vague), suspense and a thunderous climax. It is slow moving however. If Komarr was the best of the series, I probably wouldn't be tempted to read any more but I have read that it is one of the weaker entries. Komarr covers familiar ground but with an interesting and human perspective. It's worth the read if character and setting take precedence over action.