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Contact us hereAuthor: Lois McMaster Bujold
Publisher: Baen
Year: 1997
ISBN: 067187845X
Description: 480 pages; 18 cm.
Another in the series of Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold.
I have yet to read one of her books that I haven't loved. Memory, while not my favorite Miles Vorkosigan story, certainly has all the elements that makes the series thoroughly enjoyable to read. Memory, however, is a book of changes. As the blurb in the Vorkosigan chronology says of this particular adventure, "Miles hits 30. Thirty hits back".
I think it's the very fact that this is a story of changes that puts a dampener on my feelings towards it. Not that the changes weren't justifiable and necessary -- it just means that certain characters and certain elements to Miles' ongoing adventures will be gone. While the possibility still exists that some of these people will return in the future, the likelihood is small. And that leaves me somewhat sad.
I can't tell you what those changes are, without giving away key elements of the story. Those readers who haven't yet experienced others in the Vorkosigan saga won't understand what my fuss is all about, but those of you who have read about Miles since The Warrior's Apprentice, will undoubtedly comiserate with me with the endings that take place in the first few chapters of the book. However, having said that (and moped enough), the new elements introduced into Miles' life certainly are interesting, and the scenarios that will derive from them promise a vast number of new, and different, Vorkosigan sagas.
How much can I say without spoiling it for you? Hmmmm. Miles and the Dendarii Mercenaries have freed a Barrayaran ImpSec officer from hijackers, and have recovered the ship, the plunder and the criminals, having managed to turn a decent profit this time around. Unfortunately, not everything has gone perfectly -- due to an inexplicable after-effect of Miles' recent regeneration from the dead. Miles decides to gloss over this fact in his report to ImpSec's boss, Simon Illyan. Illyan calls Miles on the carpet for filing falsified reports, and, coupled with his newfound "disability", discharges him from ImpSec. Things seem to be going from bad to worse for Miles until Illyan suddenly becomes ill and incoherent. Something has happened to him, and his second-in-command, General Haroche, won't let Miles back into ImpSec to find out exactly what's going on. But, with the Emperor's help, Miles gains access to HQ, and discovers a plot to frame him for Illyan's condition. Did Miles seek revenge on the man who booted him out of the only job he knew? Or is there a conspiracy running rampant in ImpSec?
Score: 86 out of 100. I hate changes, but I know that they had to come to Miles. Bujold handles them wonderfully, staking a new area for Miles to seek adventure, justice, and perhaps - even himself. An excellent read.
