There's not much to say about this novel other than how horribly predictable the main plot line is throughout the entire story. Synopsis: The Prince and the Mercenary. Together, they can get into a lot of trouble. Trouble only the combined forces of the Free Dendarii Mercenaries can get them out of. At least, that's what they're hoping... In this latest adventure with the galaxy's craftiest mercenary leader Miles, starts out by so shaking up the High Command on his homeplanet of Barrayar that he is sent to the other side of the galaxy--where who should he run into but his old pals the Free Dendarii Mercenaries. And a good thing too, because it turns out that Miles' childhood chum, that's Emperor Gregor to you, has been the victim of foul pay and only Miles--with a little Dendarii muscle--can save him. This is very important to Miles; because if Gregor dies, the only person who could become the new emperor is Miles himself--and that he regards as a fate worse than death.
And with the synopsis on the back of the fifth printing done, and now reading it, it sounds like either Lois McMaster Bujold or the publishing company just loves to insult the readers and fans. I mean, reading that, it sounds like someone's talking down to the fans and readers like they're no more than children. It's just this sort of thing that makes me want to stop reading the series. Books that have this are usually written by authors and quite a few do this--Troy Denning, Chirstie Golden, Drew Karpyshyn--and it just irritates me beyond reason.
The novel opens with Miles, having graduated Barrayan Military Academy, receiving orders to be assigned to the back-end of Barrayar: a nightmarish place called Kyril Island because Mjr. Cecil knows Miles loves to treat his superiors like cattle. If Miles can follow orders for the next six months, he'll be given a post on the Prince Serg--the newest, fastest, deadliest Barrayan spaceship, and yes, that does mean it'll rape any and all battlefields. Miles fails while at Kyril Island, performing "mutiny" according to Cmdr. Metzov. Imperial Security arrives and takes Miles away. After interrogating him and finding out about ImpSec's security/firewall weakness, Count Aral Vorkosigan and ImpSec chief Simon Illyan remove Metzov from rank and power when he attempted to have new recruits kill technicians--referred to as greekies. Illyan and Aral quietly exile Miles to ImpSec as an intel agent. During a visit to ImpSec HQ, Miles pleads with Emperor Gregor for Gregor to get married and have kids because Miles' would rather run away from Barrayar than rule it should Gregor die. Gregor appears slightly interested in the running away aspect. Eventually, Illyan assigns Miles to Captain Ungari with the hope that Miles can find out what the Oseran Mercenaries--formerly the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet--is up to without reactivating Miles' persona of Admiral Naismith.
Needless to say, Miles runs in with them, which Ky Tung thinks means that a revolution is coming to the fleet and which Admiral Oser thinks is a curse. Ungari flees on a secret assignment, trusting in optimism that Miles would follow orders and go back to Barrayar; Ungari is looking for Emperor Gregor, who has disappeared mysteriously. Miles gets arrested and finds Gregor under the guise of a technician. It turns out that Gregor took Miles' words of running away a bit too seriously. After getting caught by the pirate leader Cavilo and former Barrayan Commander Metzov, Miles believes Gregor is falling in love with Cavilo (something that is apparently obvious that it is not at all going on, but maybe that was me) and eventually leaves Gregor behind to retake the Oseran Mercenaries and "remove" them from Vervain since Cavilo has a deal with Cetaganda to help the Cetagandan Empire invade Vervain. Miles' succeeds and during a battle with Cavilo's men and the Cetagandan Imperial Navy over the planet Vervain, Oser and Metzov end up dead and Cavilo escapes, threatening to exact revenge on Miles. Gregor takes over the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, as well as the Prince Serg led by Admiral Aral Vorkosigan, and defeats the Cetagandans--they retreat back to the Cetagandan Empire. Vervain heralds Gregor as a hero while the Cetagandan Emperor executes the survivors of the navy battle for an unauthorized battle/invasion. Miles will be kept on as a liaison officer to the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet and is promoted to ImpSec lieutenant.
Needless to say, the main plot of the novel is predictable in every way since the synopsis on the back gives most of it away, but the subplots are worth it. I won't tell you what they are, but trust me, the subplots are worth reading. Just remember to pay attention to every last word Bujold writes as she always drags some minor detail that every sane person overlooks and brings it back kicking and screaming later on in the novel.
And with the synopsis on the back of the fifth printing done, and now reading it, it sounds like either Lois McMaster Bujold or the publishing company just loves to insult the readers and fans. I mean, reading that, it sounds like someone's talking down to the fans and readers like they're no more than children. It's just this sort of thing that makes me want to stop reading the series. Books that have this are usually written by authors and quite a few do this--Troy Denning, Chirstie Golden, Drew Karpyshyn--and it just irritates me beyond reason.
The novel opens with Miles, having graduated Barrayan Military Academy, receiving orders to be assigned to the back-end of Barrayar: a nightmarish place called Kyril Island because Mjr. Cecil knows Miles loves to treat his superiors like cattle. If Miles can follow orders for the next six months, he'll be given a post on the Prince Serg--the newest, fastest, deadliest Barrayan spaceship, and yes, that does mean it'll rape any and all battlefields. Miles fails while at Kyril Island, performing "mutiny" according to Cmdr. Metzov. Imperial Security arrives and takes Miles away. After interrogating him and finding out about ImpSec's security/firewall weakness, Count Aral Vorkosigan and ImpSec chief Simon Illyan remove Metzov from rank and power when he attempted to have new recruits kill technicians--referred to as greekies. Illyan and Aral quietly exile Miles to ImpSec as an intel agent. During a visit to ImpSec HQ, Miles pleads with Emperor Gregor for Gregor to get married and have kids because Miles' would rather run away from Barrayar than rule it should Gregor die. Gregor appears slightly interested in the running away aspect. Eventually, Illyan assigns Miles to Captain Ungari with the hope that Miles can find out what the Oseran Mercenaries--formerly the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet--is up to without reactivating Miles' persona of Admiral Naismith.
Needless to say, Miles runs in with them, which Ky Tung thinks means that a revolution is coming to the fleet and which Admiral Oser thinks is a curse. Ungari flees on a secret assignment, trusting in optimism that Miles would follow orders and go back to Barrayar; Ungari is looking for Emperor Gregor, who has disappeared mysteriously. Miles gets arrested and finds Gregor under the guise of a technician. It turns out that Gregor took Miles' words of running away a bit too seriously. After getting caught by the pirate leader Cavilo and former Barrayan Commander Metzov, Miles believes Gregor is falling in love with Cavilo (something that is apparently obvious that it is not at all going on, but maybe that was me) and eventually leaves Gregor behind to retake the Oseran Mercenaries and "remove" them from Vervain since Cavilo has a deal with Cetaganda to help the Cetagandan Empire invade Vervain. Miles' succeeds and during a battle with Cavilo's men and the Cetagandan Imperial Navy over the planet Vervain, Oser and Metzov end up dead and Cavilo escapes, threatening to exact revenge on Miles. Gregor takes over the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, as well as the Prince Serg led by Admiral Aral Vorkosigan, and defeats the Cetagandans--they retreat back to the Cetagandan Empire. Vervain heralds Gregor as a hero while the Cetagandan Emperor executes the survivors of the navy battle for an unauthorized battle/invasion. Miles will be kept on as a liaison officer to the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet and is promoted to ImpSec lieutenant.
Needless to say, the main plot of the novel is predictable in every way since the synopsis on the back gives most of it away, but the subplots are worth it. I won't tell you what they are, but trust me, the subplots are worth reading. Just remember to pay attention to every last word Bujold writes as she always drags some minor detail that every sane person overlooks and brings it back kicking and screaming later on in the novel.
