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Contact us hereAuthor: Lois McMaster Bujold
Publisher: Baen Publishing
Year: 1998
ISBN: 0671878778
Description: 311 pages; 25 cm.
Miles' homeworld, Barrayar, has been the battleground of several interstellar wars -- the last of which nearly destroyed its civilization. There is only one wormhole near Barrayar, and it leads to the planet Komarr. It was from Komarr that the hated Cetagandans had launched their attack decades ago. The Cetagandans left Barrayar devastated. After the planet recovered from the war, it went through the wormhole to try and prevent another such attack from ever reaching their planet. They realized that they could never be secure if they didn't control both ends of the wormhole, and in order to enact some measure of retribution, Barrayar forcibly annexed Komarr into the Empire. In the process, a large number of Komarran civilians who had surrendered were murdered. The supposed criminal behind the slaughter was Miles' father.
Over the intervening years, Barrayar has made efforts to integrate Komarr and its citizens into the Barrayaran society and economy. Komarr is a world that is in the process of being terraformed. Covered by a cold, poisonous atmosphere, Komarr is a multitude of domed cities. Part of the terraforming project involved a large solar mirror array, used to help promote the growth of plants that would consume the poisons and release the gases required to make the planet warmer and the air breathable.
The solar array has been crippled by what appears to be a freak collision with an ore-freighter. Worried that appearances may be deceiving, Emperor Gregor sends Miles along with another Lord Auditor to determine the cause and to set things aright. However, things are not as they seem. A missing persons report and finding a body at the accident scene that shouldn't have been there are just the first signs that the accident was more than just that. The background material on the terraforming project seems to be as expected, but certain things raise questions in Miles' mind. How did a possible financial finagle in the Project's accounts have anything to do with the collision? Evidence that something far more dangerous than just cooking books is about to take place. Something that could end up destroying the Empire. Miles' problem quickly changes from "Who is behind this?" to "How can I stop them in time?"
Score: 94 out of 100. Yet another winner from Ms. Bujold. Miles has begun to grow into his new role as Lord Auditor, and it has begun to grow on me too. And Miles looks as though he's about ready to settle down and start a family. A must read. And if you haven't read the other Vorkosigan novels -- hurry. I've yet to read one that I didn't like.
