MILES ERRANT (Paperback)

In "Borders of Infinity," Miles winds up as a POW in a Cetaganda camp. in _Brothers in Arms_ he goes to Earth and discovers he has a clone who is part of a conspiracy against Barrayar. In _Mirror Dance_, the clone returns to assume Miles' identity Admiral Naismith, gets himself in huge trouble, and Miles faces his own mortality as a result.

Bujold's writing gets better and better as her books go on, and since her first works are still fabulous you can imagine how great these later works are! Each book is independent enough to stand alone, but still part of a greater web which all the books make up. Even if you've never read a Bujold book, you will still develop an attachment to her various characters in book 10 as you would have in book 1. She's a literary genius.

One of the stronger points about the Vorkosigan saga is that the characters grow. _Mirror Dance_ takes place 10 years after we first saw Miles in his own book, and he has changed in some ways and remained the same in others. He has lived, learned, suffered, and gained. Throughout it all, some aspects of his personality have remained. _Mirror Dance_ also allows his clone Mark to grow and change. He realizes he has his own destiny just as Miles does. Each of the characters are unique and realistic, very deep in their personalities.

Another strength of Bujold's writing is that although it's not from Miles' point of view (it's written in 3rd person), you are just as unsure of what's happening to others as Miles is. Just as Miles can't see what his mother is doing, the reader can't either. So both Miles and the reader wait in suspense to find out the results of some plans, messages, etc. The history of Barrayar and the various planets are also given in snippets throughout the saga. Just as if you were visiting Barrayar from another planet and just beginning to delve into its histories. At first I was frustrated by this style because I wanted to know everything that was happening with all teh characters, and all that had happened with all the planets. Eventually I realized it is better the way Bujold gives you a snippet here or there. Not only does itkeep you coming back for more, it also makes the stories more suspenseful and enjoyable.

All around, a great book. A great starting place in the Vorkosigan saga, or just as a continuation of the books you've already come to love by Bujold. For us poorer folk, it's also wonderful to just pay the price of one book instead of 3!

The three works are "The Borders of Infinity," a novella about Miles' rescue mission to a POW camp; _Brothers in Arms_, a novel that takes place four months later on Earth, where Miles first meets his "evil twin" brother/clone; and _Mirror Dance_, another novel where Miles' brother/clone returns to cause havoc for him by acting on his earlier intent to destroy the clone labs (where he was created and saw dozens of clone-children destroyed) on Jackson's Whole.

I came across the Vorkosigan saga in a somewhat nonlinear order, reading whatever I found with a lot of backing and filling. It is really a pleasure to read these works again, in a way that lets all those asides to previous adventures have the proper resonance instead of experiencing a series of throw-away dialogue. If you already own the books there is no point in buying it, but if you don't, do buy this. Despite having read all of these books in the last 2 years I am really enjoying the rereading. Bujold is such a great writer that her works can be read many times with just as much pleasure.