Rating: 
Summary: get this book to attain understanding!
Review: well, borders of infinity features as one of the most confusing book in the back of each vorkosigan saga book, where the times of miles vorkosigan/admiral naismith is shown. what you actually have here is a collection of 3 stories, written in a style in which miles is telling them to simon. so in between each short story, you have the interaction between miles and simon. so in the end you have four stories! no! don't skip this book! each story is important and will be mentioned again later in the series! the first of the three stories appears in the collection, young miles, but the other two stories don't appear anywhere else. if you are new to the vorksigan series, start with shards of honour (about miles' parents) or skip the parents and start at the warrior's apprentice or the collection young miles. this is a fantastic sci-fi series ; funny and interesting. you won't regret reading the series!
Rating:
Summary: Touching, Funny as Hell and Mind-Blowing
Review: A friend suggested the Vorkosigan series and after a lot of hesitation (it's hard to find something good after Weber, Drake and Ringo.) I thought after reading The Vor Game I wouldn't be shocked by anything Miles does. Then I read Borders of Infinity. Mountains of Morning has to be one of the more sentimental stories I've read, with a powerful finish that's both humorous yet shows Miles determination. Labyrinth was full of typical Miles humor, especially the wolf-girl. Then Borders of Infinity blew me away both in it's psychological depth and Miles utter insanity of brilliance. I'd reccomend this book after reading the first few, but definitely once you're read up, get this.
Rating:
Summary: Touching, Funny as Hell and Mind-Blowing
Review: A friend suggested the Vorkosigan series and after a lot of hesitation (it's hard to find something good after Weber, Drake and Ringo.) I thought after reading The Vor Game I wouldn't be shocked by anything Miles does. Then I read Borders of Infinity. Mountains of Morning has to be one of the more sentimental stories I've read, with a powerful finish that's both humorous yet shows Miles determination. Labyrinth was full of typical Miles humor, especially the wolf-girl. Then Borders of Infinity blew me away both in it's psychological depth and Miles utter insanity of brilliance. I'd reccomend this book after reading the first few, but definitely once you're read up, get this.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: A fun Sunday afternoon read. I would read it after Cetaganda but before Brothers in Arms, as recommended by Amazon, even though one of the stories technically takes place after Brothers in Arms.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended
Review: A fun Sunday afternoon read. I would read it after Cetaganda but before Brothers in Arms, as recommended by Amazon, even though one of the stories technically takes place after Brothers in Arms.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Stories in the Miles Vorkosigan Universe
Review: Book Review by C. Douglas Baker Bujold explores the character of Mile Vorkosigan in great detail in Borders of Infinity. This may sound like an odd statement given the numerous books that have been written about Miles, but nowhere else does Bujold really probe into Miles' personality and inner motivations like she does here. The reader also learns more about the psyche of Barrayarans. Borders of Infinity is a collection of three stories: the Hugo award winning "The Mountains of Mourning", "Labyrinth", and "The Borders of Infinity". Each stand on their own as a single story. Miles is recounting each to Simon Illyan, his father's security chief, to account for the cost overruns of the auspicious Dendarii Mercenaries. (Read Brothers in Arms for details). "The Mountains of Mourning" finds Miles' dispatched deep into the Dendarii mountains to investigate an infanticide that has been laid before the feet of Aral, his father. The local authority appears to be stifling the investigation and letting the culprit of the crime go. Bujold uses this story to show Miles in a deeply self-conscious and introspective mood. He is forced to confront his own deformities and what that means both on Barrayar and in the world (universe) at large. Miles has a deep seeded inferiority complex that he overcomes throughout his life and here we see clearly what motivates Miles. Miles is clearly haunted by the reputations of his grandfather and father, who are Vor class military heroes. Miles innately feels he must live up to their reputations as can be seen in his reflections on his own father's stress under the weight of his grandfather's achievements. Yet, Miles has much more to overcome being a deformed, albeit brilliant, young man. He sets out to do so. In this story we see why. [Minor Spoiler for "Labyrinth"] In "Labyrinth" Bujold once again explores the implications of genetic engineering, especially without any moral guidelines. The Dendarii Mercenaries are sent to assist a genetic engineer escape his Jackson Whole employers. This geneticist has a variety of interesting genetic samples that are important to his research and refuses to leave without them. Unfortunately he has hidden them in the calf of this part-human,eight-foot tall, incredibly strong, wolfish looking, genetically engineered creature. Worse yet, the creature has been sold to another Jackson Whole entrepreneur and Miles must form a plan to get the material then murder the creature before the geneticist will leave. This sets up a series of very interesting events. In fact, at one point, this reader almost fell out of bed laughing.
Finally, "Borders of Infinity" finds Miles trapped in a Cetagandan prisoner of war camp. The Miles timeline in the back of many Vorkosigan books gives away the plot and if you have not read it avoid doing so. This too is a very enjoyable adventure and shows Miles at his best. We also see Miles has inherited the
empathy and hatred of unnecessary deaths that his mother and father have exhibited. All three stories in Borders of Infinity are highly enjoyable. And you do not have to be a Miles Vorkosigan fan to enjoy any of Bujold's work (novels or short stories). They easily stand as discrete pieces. I would speculate that once you have read one, however, you will find yourself hooked.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Stories in the Miles Vorkosigan Universe
Review: Book Review by C. Douglas Baker Bujold explores the character of Mile Vorkosigan in great detail in Borders of Infinity. This may sound like an odd statement given the numerous books that have been written about Miles, but nowhere else does Bujold really probe into Miles' personality and inner motivations like she does here. The reader also learns more about the psyche of Barrayarans. Borders of Infinity is a collection of three stories: the Hugo award winning "The Mountains of Mourning", "Labyrinth", and "The Borders of Infinity". Each stand on their own as a single story. Miles is recounting each to Simon Illyan, his father's security chief, to account for the cost overruns of the auspicious Dendarii Mercenaries. (Read Brothers in Arms for details). "The Mountains of Mourning" finds Miles' dispatched deep into the Dendarii mountains to investigate an infanticide that has been laid before the feet of Aral, his father. The local authority appears to be stifling the investigation and letting the culprit of the crime go. Bujold uses this story to show Miles in a deeply self-conscious and introspective mood. He is forced to confront his own deformities and what that means both on Barrayar and in the world (universe) at large. Miles has a deep seeded inferiority complex that he overcomes throughout his life and here we see clearly what motivates Miles. Miles is clearly haunted by the reputations of his grandfather and father, who are Vor class military heroes. Miles innately feels he must live up to their reputations as can be seen in his reflections on his own father's stress under the weight of his grandfather's achievements. Yet, Miles has much more to overcome being a deformed, albeit brilliant, young man. He sets out to do so. In this story we see why. [Minor Spoiler for "Labyrinth"] In "Labyrinth" Bujold once again explores the implications of genetic engineering, especially without any moral guidelines. The Dendarii Mercenaries are sent to assist a genetic engineer escape his Jackson Whole employers. This geneticist has a variety of interesting genetic samples that are important to his research and refuses to leave without them. Unfortunately he has hidden them in the calf of this part-human,eight-foot tall, incredibly strong, wolfish looking, genetically engineered creature. Worse yet, the creature has been sold to another Jackson Whole entrepreneur and Miles must form a plan to get the material then murder the creature before the geneticist will leave. This sets up a series of very interesting events. In fact, at one point, this reader almost fell out of bed laughing.
Finally, "Borders of Infinity" finds Miles trapped in a Cetagandan prisoner of war camp. The Miles timeline in the back of many Vorkosigan books gives away the plot and if you have not read it avoid doing so. This too is a very enjoyable adventure and shows Miles at his best. We also see Miles has inherited the
empathy and hatred of unnecessary deaths that his mother and father have exhibited. All three stories in Borders of Infinity are highly enjoyable. And you do not have to be a Miles Vorkosigan fan to enjoy any of Bujold's work (novels or short stories). They easily stand as discrete pieces. I would speculate that once you have read one, however, you will find yourself hooked.
Rating:
Summary: Great short story collection about our favourite space hero
Review: Borders of Infinity is a collection of 3 short stories in the "Miles-verse," each taking place at different points of his career. All three stories are different in tone, thus showing multiple aspects of Miles' character. All of them are well done and worth reading. They aren't really essential to get the "whole story" of Miles, but they do get referred to again, so it's nice to actually know what's being talked about. The first one, Mountains of Mourning, is probably the best of the bunch. Miles has just graduated from the academy, and is on vacation at the family mansion in the country. He helps a woman from a local village get an audience with his father, and in return for that, his father tasks him with solving the murder of her infant daughter. This is a real growing experience for Miles, and comes at a perfect time for him. He has to deal with the remaining prejudices that still lurk in the less urbanized areas of Barrayar, and especially how they apply to him. Bujold effectively shows his indecision as he starts out wishing he had never gotten involved, and ends up being enormously glad he did. This is an effective character-building story for Miles, and he definitely learns a lot about himself. The second story, Labyrinth, isn't quite as effective. There really isn't a lot of emotional involvement, though it does have some touching scenes. Again, in some ways, Miles has to learn about prejudices and first impressions as he gets involved in the retrieval of a genetic experiment gone wrong. It's very interesting watching Miles' attitude change toward Taura as he learns more. With the exception of a few scenes in the middle, though, this story is straight action-adventure as Miles has to continually use his brains to get himself out of sticky situations. It's certainly not a bad story (the story of Taura is actually kind of touching), but it's the weakest in the group. Finally, there is Borders of Infinity. I have to agree with another reviewer in saying that I marvel at how Bujold wrote this completely from Miles' point of view without actually revealing any of the planning. However, once you know what's going on, a lot of the stuff shown previously actually makes sense. It was very intriguing. This story really showcases Miles' ability to think on his feet and talk people into things they might not otherwise have agreed to. There are also quite a few incidents that show just how physically fragile he is, though. You hear about it a lot in the books, but they haven't really shown it that often, but this story does. The framing story serves its purpose. It's not really that interesting (though Simon is a great character), but it introduces the stories very nicely. I'm reading these chronologically, so I was a bit worried when I found out the framing story takes place after Brothers in Arms, but there's really nothing in it that spoils Brothers. All in all, this is a very effective set of stories. There's an emotional one, an action one, and one that's a bit in between. Variety is the spice of life, as they say. While not crucial to your enjoyment of the Miles books, this collection is certainly worth your time to read.
Rating:
Summary: Great short story collection about our favourite space hero
Review: Borders of Infinity is a collection of 3 short stories in the "Miles-verse," each taking place at different points of his career. All three stories are different in tone, thus showing multiple aspects of Miles' character. All of them are well done and worth reading. They aren't really essential to get the "whole story" of Miles, but they do get referred to again, so it's nice to actually know what's being talked about. The first one, Mountains of Mourning, is probably the best of the bunch. Miles has just graduated from the academy, and is on vacation at the family mansion in the country. He helps a woman from a local village get an audience with his father, and in return for that, his father tasks him with solving the murder of her infant daughter. This is a real growing experience for Miles, and comes at a perfect time for him. He has to deal with the remaining prejudices that still lurk in the less urbanized areas of Barrayar, and especially how they apply to him. Bujold effectively shows his indecision as he starts out wishing he had never gotten involved, and ends up being enormously glad he did. This is an effective character-building story for Miles, and he definitely learns a lot about himself. The second story, Labyrinth, isn't quite as effective. There really isn't a lot of emotional involvement, though it does have some touching scenes. Again, in some ways, Miles has to learn about prejudices and first impressions as he gets involved in the retrieval of a genetic experiment gone wrong. It's very interesting watching Miles' attitude change toward Taura as he learns more. With the exception of a few scenes in the middle, though, this story is straight action-adventure as Miles has to continually use his brains to get himself out of sticky situations. It's certainly not a bad story (the story of Taura is actually kind of touching), but it's the weakest in the group. Finally, there is Borders of Infinity. I have to agree with another reviewer in saying that I marvel at how Bujold wrote this completely from Miles' point of view without actually revealing any of the planning. However, once you know what's going on, a lot of the stuff shown previously actually makes sense. It was very intriguing. This story really showcases Miles' ability to think on his feet and talk people into things they might not otherwise have agreed to. There are also quite a few incidents that show just how physically fragile he is, though. You hear about it a lot in the books, but they haven't really shown it that often, but this story does. The framing story serves its purpose. It's not really that interesting (though Simon is a great character), but it introduces the stories very nicely. I'm reading these chronologically, so I was a bit worried when I found out the framing story takes place after Brothers in Arms, but there's really nothing in it that spoils Brothers. All in all, this is a very effective set of stories. There's an emotional one, an action one, and one that's a bit in between. Variety is the spice of life, as they say. While not crucial to your enjoyment of the Miles books, this collection is certainly worth your time to read.
Rating:
Summary: Great short story collection about our favourite space hero
Review: Borders of Infinity is a collection of 3 short stories in the "Miles-verse," each taking place at different points of his career. All three stories are different in tone, thus showing multiple aspects of Miles' character. All of them are well done and worth reading. They aren't really essential to get the "whole story" of Miles, but they do get referred to again, so it's nice to actually know what's being talked about. The first one, Mountains of Mourning, is probably the best of the bunch. Miles has just graduated from the academy, and is on vacation at the family mansion in the country. He helps a woman from a local village get an audience with his father, and in return for that, his father tasks him with solving the murder of her infant daughter. This is a real growing experience for Miles, and comes at a perfect time for him. He has to deal with the remaining prejudices that still lurk in the less urbanized areas of Barrayar, and especially how they apply to him. Bujold effectively shows his indecision as he starts out wishing he had never gotten involved, and ends up being enormously glad he did. This is an effective character-building story for Miles, and he definitely learns a lot about himself. The second story, Labyrinth, isn't quite as effective. There really isn't a lot of emotional involvement, though it does have some touching scenes. Again, in some ways, Miles has to learn about prejudices and first impressions as he gets involved in the retrieval of a genetic experiment gone wrong. It's very interesting watching Miles' attitude change toward Taura as he learns more. With the exception of a few scenes in the middle, though, this story is straight action-adventure as Miles has to continually use his brains to get himself out of sticky situations. It's certainly not a bad story (the story of Taura is actually kind of touching), but it's the weakest in the group. Finally, there is Borders of Infinity. I have to agree with another reviewer in saying that I marvel at how Bujold wrote this completely from Miles' point of view without actually revealing any of the planning. However, once you know what's going on, a lot of the stuff shown previously actually makes sense. It was very intriguing. This story really showcases Miles' ability to think on his feet and talk people into things they might not otherwise have agreed to. There are also quite a few incidents that show just how physically fragile he is, though. You hear about it a lot in the books, but they haven't really shown it that often, but this story does. The framing story serves its purpose. It's not really that interesting (though Simon is a great character), but it introduces the stories very nicely. I'm reading these chronologically, so I was a bit worried when I found out the framing story takes place after Brothers in Arms, but there's really nothing in it that spoils Brothers. All in all, this is a very effective set of stories. There's an emotional one, an action one, and one that's a bit in between. Variety is the spice of life, as they say. While not crucial to your enjoyment of the Miles books, this collection is certainly worth your time to read.
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