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This is the first book in the Vorkosigan Saga. Everyone (sample size: two) told me I needed to read Barrayar next, which is a direct sequel, but it might be a while before it comes in through interlibrary loan so I'm writing this up now before I forget.
The premise: Cordelia Naismith is on a scientific expedition on behalf of Beta Colony, exploring an allegedly uncolonized planet. Except oops, troops from the weird aristocracy of Barrayar are there, and they attack Cordelia's explorers, killing one, badly wounding another, and causing most of the crew to evacuate. Cordelia is left behind, and is captured by the notorious Aral Vorkosigan. In order to save the life of her wounded comrade, she surrenders and cooperates, and she and Aral prepare for a short little two hundred-kilometer walk to get food and supplies.
You can sort of see where it's going. There are tropes falling into place. People are speculating:
Except then things swerve, and suddenly we get a sense of what Aral's POV on the whole situation is, and like...things escalate quickly. Events that you might expect near the climax occur around the 1/3 mark, or offscreen. Cordelia gets dragged into the Barrayaran conflict, which consists of a great deal of infighting beyond the whole "let's capture this uninhabited planet and use it as a base to seize some wormhole hubs" stratagems. There are plots within plots. The Barrayarans are militaristic and aristocratic to a fault; in comparison, things on Beta Colony seem much more like "democracy, science, women's rights, peace, yay, we like this." But it's not a utopia--the threats Cordelia faces there are less dramatic, but in some ways more relatable and therefore scary to people from a culture like mine.
Later on, we get a glimpse of Betan technology that has obviated some important forms of sexual dimorphism, and this says a lot about their culture's approach to warfare and life in general. Like, yeah, on average, men are going to be bigger and taller than women, and that makes a difference if you are fighting with sticks and stones--but a lot less so with space disruptors and stunners.
Things that reminded me of other books/movies:
-Vorkosigan is infamous for the aftermath of a battle he fought on the planet of Komarr, which was supposed to be a splendid little in-and-out operation and, of course, blew up in people's faces. The "this is such a perfect textbook situation that it will be in...the military textbooks" reminded me a bit of "A Desolation Called Peace," with Eight Antidote studying history.
-Like Terra Ignota, people in the future reference Marquis de Sade; unlike Terra Ignota, this is not a good thing.
-Aral is manipulated by the Emperor to do unpleasant things; he accepts, not for glory or fear, but because he believes that the Emperor will just do it anyway and he can limit the damage better than anyone else. Galen Erso vibes.
There's a running joke about the Betan president, whose nickname is "Steady Freddy," and everyone is like "...I didn't even vote for him." Seems pretty funny for 1986 (although I guess "Tricky Dick" was a thing before then).
Bingo: First in a Series, Epilogues, Romance (as a main plot), Space Opera.
The premise: Cordelia Naismith is on a scientific expedition on behalf of Beta Colony, exploring an allegedly uncolonized planet. Except oops, troops from the weird aristocracy of Barrayar are there, and they attack Cordelia's explorers, killing one, badly wounding another, and causing most of the crew to evacuate. Cordelia is left behind, and is captured by the notorious Aral Vorkosigan. In order to save the life of her wounded comrade, she surrenders and cooperates, and she and Aral prepare for a short little two hundred-kilometer walk to get food and supplies.
You can sort of see where it's going. There are tropes falling into place. People are speculating:
Youth, it appeared, was full of illusions as to how much sexual energy two people might have to spare while hiking forty or so kilometers a day, concussed, stunned, diseased, on poor food and little sleep, alternating caring for a wounded man with avoiding becoming dinner for every carnivore within range—and with a coup to plan for at the end. Old folks, too, of thirty-three and forty-plus.
Except then things swerve, and suddenly we get a sense of what Aral's POV on the whole situation is, and like...things escalate quickly. Events that you might expect near the climax occur around the 1/3 mark, or offscreen. Cordelia gets dragged into the Barrayaran conflict, which consists of a great deal of infighting beyond the whole "let's capture this uninhabited planet and use it as a base to seize some wormhole hubs" stratagems. There are plots within plots. The Barrayarans are militaristic and aristocratic to a fault; in comparison, things on Beta Colony seem much more like "democracy, science, women's rights, peace, yay, we like this." But it's not a utopia--the threats Cordelia faces there are less dramatic, but in some ways more relatable and therefore scary to people from a culture like mine.
Later on, we get a glimpse of Betan technology that has obviated some important forms of sexual dimorphism, and this says a lot about their culture's approach to warfare and life in general. Like, yeah, on average, men are going to be bigger and taller than women, and that makes a difference if you are fighting with sticks and stones--but a lot less so with space disruptors and stunners.
“Women shouldn’t be in combat,” said Vorkosigan, grimly glum.
“Neither should men, in my opinion.”
This ties into the recurring motif of "hey, do you want to kill your buddy/everyone on this ship so they/we can die with honor and won't have to suffer?!?!" "...don't be ridiculous we're not going to do that" "okay, just putting the option out there!" Which is a fascinating trope when it's done well; here, it's more about the culture clash between Cordelia and the exaggerated extremes of Barrayar at its worst. And like, #notallBarrayarans are monsters who inflict fates worse than death on people! But #notallBarrayarans are Aral, either.
Things that reminded me of other books/movies:
-Vorkosigan is infamous for the aftermath of a battle he fought on the planet of Komarr, which was supposed to be a splendid little in-and-out operation and, of course, blew up in people's faces. The "this is such a perfect textbook situation that it will be in...the military textbooks" reminded me a bit of "A Desolation Called Peace," with Eight Antidote studying history.
-Like Terra Ignota, people in the future reference Marquis de Sade; unlike Terra Ignota, this is not a good thing.
-Aral is manipulated by the Emperor to do unpleasant things; he accepts, not for glory or fear, but because he believes that the Emperor will just do it anyway and he can limit the damage better than anyone else. Galen Erso vibes.
There's a running joke about the Betan president, whose nickname is "Steady Freddy," and everyone is like "...I didn't even vote for him." Seems pretty funny for 1986 (although I guess "Tricky Dick" was a thing before then).
Aral is canon bi, but he has terrible taste in men. (His first wife was not a winner either, but Barrayar generally has a tradition of arranged marriage so you can't blame him entirely for that relationship.)
Cordelia's approach to religion--the honesty that even trusting in God doesn't mean things will always, or often, work out well--was powerful without being heavy-handed, IMO. This sums it up:“We’re both looking for the same thing. We call it by different names, and look in different places. I believe he calls it honor. I guess I’d call it the grace of God. We both come up empty, mostly.”
But they persevere in looking for honor, separately and together, and the reward is worth the journey.Bingo: First in a Series, Epilogues, Romance (as a main plot), Space Opera.
