Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Finished! Have now read AND written reviews for The Vorkosigan Saga, a militaristic space opera with some romance (but not in this book), plenty of suspenseful action-adventure, and sound character development. I read about 19 books in the past month, crushing on Lord Aral and Lady Cordelia Vorkosigan and their midget-like son Miles, aka The Mutie Lord, Shorty, Admiral Naismith, etc. Aka bloody brilliant.

I loved the main bulk of the story, with Miles and Gregor and the Dendarii Mercenaries. Loved the scene where something big comes through the wormhole, and the scene where Miles is reunited with his da. Great scenes with Tung. Loved it when he went ga-ga about the great military tactician, Aral Vorkosigan. In front of Miles. Enjoyed the scene with Lieutenant Ygeurof (sp?) escorting Admiral Naismith to meet the big man on deck, and telling Mikes to mind his military manners and salute appropriately. Chuckles.

Along with the humor, the suspense, and the action, there are some sad and serious scenes, a few beatings, a few deaths, and some heartwarming scenes of friendship and parental love. A nice mix.

We see some nice cameos of Cordelia and Aral, as well as Simon Illyan and Ivan.

Good story, but there are a lot of chance encounters -- it's such a small galaxy, after all. Haha! Also, there is a flat section, between Weatherman and The Vor Game (cobbled together into one narrative), when Miles is detained at ImpSec. Finally, I wasn't crazy about the first six chapters (Weatherman).

Weatherman: Only 3 stars for the first six chapters of The Vor Game, published originally as a novella. The two stories are completely distinct, except that one of the main characters from Weatherman appears later in the book.

Plot: Ensign Miles Vorkosigan, young graduate of the Imperial Service Academy, receives his first assignment: Weatherman, at Kyril Island Military Base, near the Arctic Circle. He's sorely disappointed, but this assignment comes with a promise: If Miles proves to be a good little subordinate at Kyril Island his next assignment will be a dream come true: Placement on the new starship fighter, The Prince Serg.

I enjoyed the section where Miles is confronted with a tough choice, one that could cost him everything, even his soul. That whole bit was great. However, the corpse section had nothing to do with the main plot and was not resolved to my satisfaction. It seemed like filler. Also, I didn't care for how it ended, how the military applied "justice" in this case.

My reviews of this series (*favorites):

Shards of Honor review
*Barrayar review
*The Warrior's Apprentice review
The Vor Game review
Cetaganda review
The Mountains of Mourning review
Labyrinth review
*Borders of Infinity review
Brothers in Arms review
Mirror Dance review
*Memory review
*Miles in Love: Komarr, A Civil Campaign, Winterfair Gifts review
*Komarr review
Diplomatic Immunity review
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance review
Cryoburn review