Ratings25
Average rating4
New York Times Best-Selling Author. The Long-Awaited New Installment in the Popular and Award-Winning Vorkosigan Series. Starring the Explosively Charismatic Miles Vorkosigan. Miles Vorkosigan is back! Kibou-daini is a planet obsessed with cheating death. Barrayaran Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan can hardly disapprove—he’s been cheating death his whole life, on the theory that turnabout is fair play. But when a Kibou-daini cryocorp—an immortal company whose job it is to shepherd its all-too-mortal frozen patrons into an unknown future—attempts to expand its franchise into the Barrayaran Empire, Emperor Gregor dispatches his top troubleshooter Miles to check it out. On Kibou-daini, Miles discovers generational conflict over money and resources is heating up, even as refugees displaced in time skew the meaning of generation past repair. Here he finds a young boy with a passion for pets and a dangerous secret, a Snow White trapped in an icy coffin who burns to re-write her own tale, and a mysterious crone who is the very embodiment of the warning Don’t mess with the secretary. Bribery, corruption, conspiracy, kidnapping—something is rotten on Kibou-daini, and it isn’t due to power outages in the Cryocombs. And Miles is in the middle—of trouble! “Fresh, intriguing, and, as always with Lois McMaster Bujold, superb.” —Robert Jordan “It is such a delight to read something by such a good writer, who now seems to be writing at the height of her powers. . . . I really have seldom enjoyed a book so much . . . I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” —Diana Wynne Jones “Living breathing characters who inhabit unusual yet believable worlds.” —Jean Auel “Bujold successfully mixes quirky humor with just enough action, a dab of feminist social commentary and her usual superb character development . . . enormously satisfying.” —Publishers Weekly “One of sf’s outstanding talents . . . an outstanding series.” —Booklist “Excellently done . . . Bujold has always excelled at creating forceful characters and she does it here again.” —Denver Post “. . . an intelligent, well-crafted and thoroughly satisfying blend of adventure, sociopolitical commentary, scientific experiments, and occasional perils . . . with that extra spicing of romance. . . .” —Locus
Reviews with the most likes.
Not quite up there with A Civil Campaign or Memory, but a fun read with a good dollop of competence porn that Bujold is so good at providing. The child's POV is well-done and adds a certain entertainment value as well.
Starts strange then quickly turns into a typical Miles book. I had chills at the end. Can't wait to see what happens next.
Miles visits the planet of Kibou-daini, on assignment from Gregor. In doing so, he gets involved in shady businesses using murder and cryogenic freezing for their own profit and political gain.
This was a very fun read, and very much in the same vein as the other post-Memory novels (with the notable exception of A Civil Campaign).
I love the character development that occurs in this book. And there's some beautiful symmetry between this book and The Warrior's Apprentice.
Series
7 primary booksVorkosigan Omnibus is a 7-book series with 7 primary works first released in 1986 with contributions by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Series
16 primary books23 released booksVorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) is a 24-book series with 17 primary works first released in 1986 with contributions by Lois McMaster Bujold and Bujold.
Series
16 primary books23 released booksVorkosigan Saga (Chronological) is a 24-book series with 17 primary works first released in 1986 with contributions by Lois McMaster Bujold and Bujold.