Memory
The internal chronological order of the Vorkosigan Saga bears no resemblance to the publication order. For the past 30 years, Bujold has written the stories she feels like writing when the inspiration strikes. Given this, it's actually a little amazing how well the references to earlier events work in her series. And because of it, each book contains a timeline with a brief synopsis of each book, to help orient the reader. The entry for this book simply reads "Miles hits 30. 30 hits back." Which is why I went ahead and bought this book over a year ago, even though I had, as yet, read only the beginning of the series and was intending to read the rest in chronological order. So it's been sitting on my shelf, and I have restrained myself from diving into it while I hunted down and read all the stories that came before it.
This decision paid off in spades. The series has been building very organically, and now there are all sorts of great hints and references. There were even one or two that had me anticipating possible future stories - I'd love to know what adventures Miles and Galeni had on Komarr. But there's also just such a rich world at this point, and I'm so glad that so much of the book was focused on the intricacies of the social and political systems on Barrayar.
What really startled me was when I realized near the end that this book is structured and paced almost identically to Lady Audley's Secret. But I was never bored or exasperated with the characters. When this crime was solved and confessed to with 50 pages left, I was excited to spend that time with the characters, tying off loose ends. Maybe it's because Bujold is a less flowery writer, or maybe it's because I tend to agree with her world-view. Maybe it's just that this is obviously a transitional book in a very long series populated with characters I love and feel that I never get to spend much time with. Whatever the reason, despite the similarities, I was orders of magnitude more interested in this book than in the other one.
A lot of that might just have to do with the themes of transition. Miles is reaching 30. Many of his mentors are dead or retired. His peers are either finding new directions or achieving promotions. He's surrounded by change on all sides and it's reflecting changes he's going through himself, in the wake of his resurrection and abrupt career change. A lot of that feels familiar to me right. Looking back at the last 30 years and wondering what I want for the next 30 years. It's not a mid-life or quarter-life crisis so much as a reaffirmation of adulthood. An examining of your talents and goals to make sure you're on the track you want to be on, and whatever course corrections you need to make.
This was, simply put, a wonderful story. Amazingly crafted with relatable characters. It's giving me a lot to think about, and I know it will stick with me for years to come.
This decision paid off in spades. The series has been building very organically, and now there are all sorts of great hints and references. There were even one or two that had me anticipating possible future stories - I'd love to know what adventures Miles and Galeni had on Komarr. But there's also just such a rich world at this point, and I'm so glad that so much of the book was focused on the intricacies of the social and political systems on Barrayar.
What really startled me was when I realized near the end that this book is structured and paced almost identically to Lady Audley's Secret. But I was never bored or exasperated with the characters. When this crime was solved and confessed to with 50 pages left, I was excited to spend that time with the characters, tying off loose ends. Maybe it's because Bujold is a less flowery writer, or maybe it's because I tend to agree with her world-view. Maybe it's just that this is obviously a transitional book in a very long series populated with characters I love and feel that I never get to spend much time with. Whatever the reason, despite the similarities, I was orders of magnitude more interested in this book than in the other one.
A lot of that might just have to do with the themes of transition. Miles is reaching 30. Many of his mentors are dead or retired. His peers are either finding new directions or achieving promotions. He's surrounded by change on all sides and it's reflecting changes he's going through himself, in the wake of his resurrection and abrupt career change. A lot of that feels familiar to me right. Looking back at the last 30 years and wondering what I want for the next 30 years. It's not a mid-life or quarter-life crisis so much as a reaffirmation of adulthood. An examining of your talents and goals to make sure you're on the track you want to be on, and whatever course corrections you need to make.
This was, simply put, a wonderful story. Amazingly crafted with relatable characters. It's giving me a lot to think about, and I know it will stick with me for years to come.
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