Captain Vorpatril's Alliance

Diving back in to Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga is always great fun. And while I was wary of this one at first, as it focuses on Ivan rather than Miles, I really ought to have known better. The book is part farce, part heist, part romance, It draws expertly on thirteen previous books of history such that the myriad misunderstandings and reveals had me laughing out loud at times

The book starts with Ivan once again getting comandeered for a mission above his pay-grade. He is kidnapped and held hostage almost immediately. I was surprised when the action started up so quickly, and glad that it took a while to really slow down again. When it did slow down, it was mostly for a parade of cameos from Ivan's friends and family on Vorkosigan.

I'd be more irritated with the slow middle if I wasn't having so much fun seeing all these characters again. It was especially fun to see them from Ivan's point of view, since it's so different from Miles'. But the heist portion of the book kicks in before too long, making for a thrilling conclusion.

In some ways, this is clearly a late installment in the series. It trades a lot on good will and knowledge of previous events. And it starts ushering in some happy endings for a bunch of characters. There aren't so many places to go for some of these people. Then again there are only two books left. And there's an entire new generation of Vorkosigans and Vorbarras who can have their own adventures should Bujold wish to continue this series.

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