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mburnamfink 's review for:
The Warrior's Apprentice
by Lois McMaster Bujold
There are two good reasons why I didn't get around to these books sooner: First, I didn't know where to start, and second, I confused them with the much less fun Seafort Saga.
Miles Vorkosigan is heir to an epic military-political tradition on the half-feudal half-interstellar planet Barrayar. His problem is that an assassination attempt on his mother left him with brittle bones in a culture that hates weakness and deformity. After failing out of Military Academy by breaking both his legs on the obstacle course, a very depressed Miles goes to visit his mother on libertine Beta Colony, and inadvertently walks his way into command of a broken down freighter, an interstellar arms deal, and a private war with a fleet of interstellar mercenaries.
This book has some of the usual milSF tropes: psuedo-Prussian/Tsarist empires, hotshot protagonists with lovable flaws, escalating challenges. Bujold, unlike a lot of people working in this field, is actually a competent novelist and makes it work. Miles earns his victories and his pain. Even if it sometimes seems like he has a direct line to God (or the author), Miles himself is very clear on the combination of deception, energy, and actual insight that gets him through boarding actions, fleet battles, and some rather desperate political maneuvering. Great fun, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series!
****
Re-read: I first read this book in August of 2014. I reread it because after reading The Vor Game in my Hugo read through, I had such a good time that I had to go back and read this book to. It's a fine introduction to the world and to Miles. Returning to this book, I think I saw with more clarity Miles' crushing "great man" syndrome. Still amazing, still five stars, but if there's anything that's different I didn't like the supporting cast as much. They seemed to exist as obstacles for Miles to conquer, and object lessons in failure, rather than people in their own right. Of course, this might just fit in with the profoundly self-centered young Miles. I remember being 19 too.
Miles Vorkosigan is heir to an epic military-political tradition on the half-feudal half-interstellar planet Barrayar. His problem is that an assassination attempt on his mother left him with brittle bones in a culture that hates weakness and deformity. After failing out of Military Academy by breaking both his legs on the obstacle course, a very depressed Miles goes to visit his mother on libertine Beta Colony, and inadvertently walks his way into command of a broken down freighter, an interstellar arms deal, and a private war with a fleet of interstellar mercenaries.
This book has some of the usual milSF tropes: psuedo-Prussian/Tsarist empires, hotshot protagonists with lovable flaws, escalating challenges. Bujold, unlike a lot of people working in this field, is actually a competent novelist and makes it work. Miles earns his victories and his pain. Even if it sometimes seems like he has a direct line to God (or the author), Miles himself is very clear on the combination of deception, energy, and actual insight that gets him through boarding actions, fleet battles, and some rather desperate political maneuvering. Great fun, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series!
****
Re-read: I first read this book in August of 2014. I reread it because after reading The Vor Game in my Hugo read through, I had such a good time that I had to go back and read this book to. It's a fine introduction to the world and to Miles. Returning to this book, I think I saw with more clarity Miles' crushing "great man" syndrome. Still amazing, still five stars, but if there's anything that's different I didn't like the supporting cast as much. They seemed to exist as obstacles for Miles to conquer, and object lessons in failure, rather than people in their own right. Of course, this might just fit in with the profoundly self-centered young Miles. I remember being 19 too.