Synopsis: Miles Vorkosigan goes on a diplomatic mission to the Cetagandan Empire. Within minutes of arriving, he gets swept up in a silent coup d' etat that if it succeeds, blame will be placed on the Barrayaran government.
This was a fun story. The Cetagandans are a people who focus on improvement of the race by genetic engineering. They have a two-caste system: the Haut, who are artists--the cream of engineering--and the Ghem, the military. In addition, there are the Ba, a servitor race--think genetic eunuchs. It's an interesting societal construct mainly because one would think the Ghem would lead because they have all the guns, but the leaders of Cetaganda are the Haut.
The plot of the book deals with the Star Creche which is the gene bank for the entire civilization. I had a little problem with an eight-star empire relying on a single gene bank. Talk about all eggs, one basket.
Haut women are so beautiful they spend the majority of their time encased in opaque indestructible bubbles. When Miles first sees a Haut woman's face, he is effectively ensorcelled by it. That seemed a bit much to me, but that might be because Haut women are impossibly beautiful. what that really means is that you can't even imagine how beautiful unless you see one. So in my mind, Miles is mush-brained over the most perfect female I can imagine, and that doesn't really seem in character.
Overall, it's an enjoyable book. It brings the intrigue of politics into a locked-room murder into a spy thriller. Besides the points above, the only disappointment is that the Dendarii don't show up.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Book Review: Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer
Synopsis: Artemis Fowl and Holly Short work together again to rescue the Demons of Hybras and keep them from trying to kill all the humans.
I wasn't so hot on this story. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either. Each Artemis Fowl book adds more characters. The problem with that is that there's only so much time in a story. The more characters there are, the less time they get on screen. Colfer does it pretty well, but I felt a few of the characters were somewhat redundant.
It has an interesting ending that relies on time paradoxes, and Colfer does a good job handling them. Makes me wonder about the next book since it's apparently about a time paradox. I wonder if it's dealing with fallout from this one or a new paradox.
I wasn't so hot on this story. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either. Each Artemis Fowl book adds more characters. The problem with that is that there's only so much time in a story. The more characters there are, the less time they get on screen. Colfer does it pretty well, but I felt a few of the characters were somewhat redundant.
It has an interesting ending that relies on time paradoxes, and Colfer does a good job handling them. Makes me wonder about the next book since it's apparently about a time paradox. I wonder if it's dealing with fallout from this one or a new paradox.
Book Review: The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
Synopsis: Three years after The Warrior's Apprentice, Miles Vorkosigan graduates from the academy and gets his first assignment. That goes bad, and Miles ends up struggling to save the Emperor and averting interstellar war.
Talking about Lois McMaster Bujold with a friend, his biggest criticism was the coincidences that go into making her plots work. This book is the one he was thinking about. There are quite a few coincidences running around this book. It's not too bad when you consider economy of characters and efficient plotting, but it can make the story feel contrived at times.
That said, the story is rather fun to read. Miles is a consummate protagonist. While things constantly happen to him to destroy his life, he struggles to keep afloat and alive. And inevitably everything he does just makes things worse. Just as it should be.
Talking about Lois McMaster Bujold with a friend, his biggest criticism was the coincidences that go into making her plots work. This book is the one he was thinking about. There are quite a few coincidences running around this book. It's not too bad when you consider economy of characters and efficient plotting, but it can make the story feel contrived at times.
That said, the story is rather fun to read. Miles is a consummate protagonist. While things constantly happen to him to destroy his life, he struggles to keep afloat and alive. And inevitably everything he does just makes things worse. Just as it should be.
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