Shannon C.’s review of Memory (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Science fiction released by Baen 1 Oct 96

Lois McMaster Bujold has made her way onto my list of favorite authors of all time. I have yet to read a book she’s written that I haven’t loved, and I tend to space her books apart so that I won’t run out. Such has been the case with her Miles Vorkosigan series, which has been highly recommended to me by lots of people, and which I in turn highly recommend. Recently, I felt the need for a Miles fix, and I’m so glad I got one, as this book was no exception.

Miles Vorkosigan is a remarkable man. An attempted assassination that failed resulted in his mother being poisoned, which in turn resulted in Miles being born dwarfish, with brittle bones. This isn’t a good thing on Barrayar, his home planet, where deformed children were generally euthanized at birth. So Miles has had a lot to work through, and he’s done so quite remarkably, becoming one of the most trusted members of Barrayar’s Imperial Security agency, and commanding a fleet of space mercenaries that unofficially does things to benefit the empire.

However, all of that is taken away from him when the seizures that have been the result of miles’ stay in a cryochamber during Mirror Dance end up endangering someone’s life on a rescue mission. He is discharged from his Imperial Security duties, and finds himself at loose ends, unsure what he should do with himself. Then trouble arrives right on Barrayar, and Miles has to step up once again to figure out what’s going on.

It’s probably obvious that I love Miles to distraction. As someone with a disability myself, watching Miles overcome all of his is inspirational. Miles wants so much out of life, and watching him try to figure out why this is and what he gets to do about it now that he’s getting too old to go gallivanting around the galaxy is wonderful. Plus, there are moments of sly humor, as he struggles to figure out what to do with the fact that he’s a bachelor on his own in his parents’ house for the first time. This is a quieter story than some of the other Miles books, which allows time for the reader to breathe and reflect, and I like that.

The other characters are great, too. It was nice to get more of a glimpse at Simon Ilyan, the head of Imp-Sec, and Miles’s Aunt Alys was delightful. We even get to watch Barrayar’s Emperor Gregor have his own shot at romance, which causes its own kind of chaos. And I’m eager to read the next book in the series, in which we actually get to meet Miles’ future Lady Vorkosigan.

As I said, the plot is a bit less frenetic than the previous installments of the series. It’s more of a conventional mystery, but it’s the best kind because I couldn’t figure it out ahead of time. If I have any quibbles with this plot, it would be that things do seem to drop into Miles’s lap a lot more frequently than I think is altogether realistic. But Miles goes through a lot of bad things so a few minor coincidences don’t detract all that much.

Fans of character-driven science fiction really owe it to themselves to find this series and read it. Start with Shards of Honor and Barrayar and then meet Miles in The Warrior’s Apprentice. I think you could pick this book up and figure out what was going on, but for a deeper insight into the characters, starting at the beginning is helpful.

Grade: A-

Summary:

Dying is easy. Coming back to life is hard. At least that’s what Miles Vorkosigan thinks and he should know, having done both once already. That was when he last visited the planet of Jackson’s Whole, while rescuing his brother. Thanks to quick thinking on the part of his staff, and incredible artistry on the part of the specialist who revived him, his first death won’t be his last. But his next one might be, a realization he finds profoundly unsettling. Even after he returns to military duty, his late death seems to be having a greater effect than he’s willing to admit. Unfortunately, his weakness reveals itself to the world at large at just the wrong time and in just the wrong way, and Miles is summoned home to face Barrayaran security chief Simon Illyan. But when things begin to go subtly wrong in Imperial Security itself, “Who shall guard the guardians?” becomes a more-than-rhetorical question with a potentially lethal answer. Things look bad, but they are far worse than Miles imagines, as he discovers his worst nightmares about Simon Illyan don’t compare to Illyan’s worst nightmares–or are they memories?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series, in reading order (where possible, the latest mass market paperback release is linked):