Cetaganda
It only took a few pages of this book to remind me how much I like Lois McMaster Bujold and her Vorkosigan saga. She has created a fantastic world, filled with any number of interesting technologies, governments, and cultures. She has a wonderfully interesting protagonist in Miles and surrounds with gems like Ivan and Mia Maz. She blends all of her components into amazing, engaging, and interesting stories. And she does it all in less than 300 pages.
Don't get me wrong. I love a good epic. I wouldn't be reading Wheel of Time if I didn't. But sometimes it's nice to have a plot-driven story that wraps up quickly.
Cetaganda puts Miles and his cousin in the middle of a convoluted plot of murder and treason. While attending the funeral services for the Empress of the neighboring empire, Cetaganda, Miles is framed for theft and murder. He begins to race against the clock, trying to clear his name and find the real culprit before he's ensnared fully. This involves learning a great deal about the alien power structures of a culture where war is not the end-all, be-all of power.
The mystery here is really well constructed. I alternated between knowing more and knowing less than Miles, which is rare, and I ultimately didn't put all the pieces together before him. Which made it that much more fun when they did fall in place and I saw all the clues I'd missed. But even if I had figured it out, spending time with Miles is just so much fun. He's an interesting blend of ambition and rashness, of anger and cool plotting. He always gets himself into trouble by acting before he thinks, but he can usually think his way back out.
I'm glad I have so much more of this series left. Fifteen (or maybe seventeen now, I'll have to check) books seems a lot less daunting when they're this short and fun.
Don't get me wrong. I love a good epic. I wouldn't be reading Wheel of Time if I didn't. But sometimes it's nice to have a plot-driven story that wraps up quickly.
Cetaganda puts Miles and his cousin in the middle of a convoluted plot of murder and treason. While attending the funeral services for the Empress of the neighboring empire, Cetaganda, Miles is framed for theft and murder. He begins to race against the clock, trying to clear his name and find the real culprit before he's ensnared fully. This involves learning a great deal about the alien power structures of a culture where war is not the end-all, be-all of power.
The mystery here is really well constructed. I alternated between knowing more and knowing less than Miles, which is rare, and I ultimately didn't put all the pieces together before him. Which made it that much more fun when they did fall in place and I saw all the clues I'd missed. But even if I had figured it out, spending time with Miles is just so much fun. He's an interesting blend of ambition and rashness, of anger and cool plotting. He always gets himself into trouble by acting before he thinks, but he can usually think his way back out.
I'm glad I have so much more of this series left. Fifteen (or maybe seventeen now, I'll have to check) books seems a lot less daunting when they're this short and fun.
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