This and the preceding two - "The Mountains of Mourning" and The Warrior's Apprentice were, I believe, originally published individually and later packaged as Young Miles - which wouldn't say much to someone who had never encountered Miles Vorkosigan, but I felt that for my purposes here, it was reasonable to treat them individually although they came as a package (this time) and each follows hard on the heels of the previous piece. This one, The Vor Game, did win a Hugo on its own.
So - to try to keep Miles out of trouble after he creates a private mercenary force, he is granted an Imperial waiver to the physical challenges for entrance to the academy and we pick up three years later as he and is hapless cousin Ivan Vorpatril are waiting for their initial orders. Ivan is assigned to the diplomatic staff in the capitol - Miles, not so much ---
Miles is sent as weather officer to a small post on an island close to the Barrayaran equivalent of the Arctic Circle. There he encounters a vicious and vindictive commander whom he manages to offend in their first meeting. Through the events on Kyril Island, we learn far more about Miles's character and his understanding of his responsibilities as a member of the Vor class.
He survives, barely, and is reassigned to the tender mercies of Simon Illyan, the secretive commander of Imperial Security, ImpSec.
On his first undercover (sort of) mission, he stumbles upon someone gone awol - none other than his old childhood playmate, Gregor - now emperor - and everything turns into a rescue mission. The complications are endless and war and civil dissolution are averted - but with endless confusion and excitement. The Dendarii Mercenaries are recovered from their usurper and achieve a place in the scheme of all things Barrayaran.
One must concede that a single identity is insufficient for a character like Miles.
No comments:
Post a Comment