Customer Reviews

Mirror Dance

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I won't repeat what has been said already by so many readers, except to say that I agree with them : Lois McMaster Bujold has been giving us consistently outstanding novels one after the other, an amazing fact, considering that most writers cannot sustain intensity or readers interest for what has become a simple usual trilogy. Of these wonderful books, Mirror Dance is the best of all, well written, well paced, solid, intelligent, profound, fascinating, funny, moving, and so much more.
I cannot say enough good about this one to do it justice. Lucky is the reader who will read it for the first time. What a treat!

. . . and I've read 'em all. :)

"Mirror Dance" is a great book. It's intensely psychological, a fast moving space opera drama that gets everything right -- everything.

The story is as follows. Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, galactic mercenery and reluctant Vor lord, had tried in "Brothers in Arms" to give his clone brother Mark a start in life. But Mark couldn't get free of Miles, no matter how he tried; this was because of psychological damage and because of intense psychosocial programming by renegade terrorists (who had ordered Mark cloned to make him substitute for Miles). Before Miles showed up, Mark had no identity -- his whole purpose was to take over Miles' life. But Miles changed that. Somewhat.

The start of "Mirror Dance" has Mark back; he has found out about some clones about to be killed in clone brain transplants. He's extremely sensitive to this, and wants to stop it. However, because of his damage, he doesn't believe that anyone will help him -- not Miles, not his family (who he doesn't realize would care), not anyone.

So, he steals one of Miles' mercenary ships, and goes hunting. He frees most of the clones, but ends up killing Miles (who goes down to rescue Mark -- again).

The first time I read this (all in the first hundred pages, so this isn't a spoiler), I threw the book across the room. I didn't care for Mark, and I wanted Miles to live.

However, in the next three hundred pages, I came to care desperately for Mark. He meets Cordelia, his mother -- a formidable ex-ship's captain. And he meets Aral, his father -- a formidable Prime Minister, ex-ship's captain, and Admiral of Barrayar.

His father has a health crisis, while everyone tries to find Miles. Death is not irrevocable in the far future; Miles might be able to be brought back. And Mark feels extremely responsible for Miles' death; if Miles hadn't gone after him, he'd be alive (even if Mark himself would be dead).

I don't want to go into the rest, but trust me, you'll want to read it. Because Mark's journey of identity is compelling, believable, honest, heart-wrenching, and sad. Tremendously sad.

After all is said and done, Mark not only became likable -- he became my favorite Bujold character. That's because he's so complex, and he wants to do the right thing -- even though he doesn't always know what it is, nor how to achieve it.

There's a bit of Mark in all of us.

In addition, Mark's struggles with his weight and with depression hit close to home as well. Despite crushing despair and a nearly overwhelming amount of self-hatred, Mark perseveres.

And eventually, Mark wins. He even gets the girl.

This is my favorite Bujold book for many reasons; the language is crisp, the characterizations are right on the money, the science is believable, the logic and the plot make sense, and the psychology of it all is understandable.

This book should give hope to anyone who's gifted but in a bad situation; in my opinion, it also should be required reading for people struggling with depression, multiple personalities, and schizophrenia, because Bujold did her homework and got the issues _right_.

This is one of my all time favorite books, and I believe it is destined to go down as a classic of the s/f genre.

Five stars plus, highly recommended.

Barb Caffrey

This is probably the best book in the whole Miles Vorkosigan series. Interestingly, most of the book is written not from Miles' perspective, but from Mark's. Whereas Bujold merely introduced Mark in the previous book, "Brothers in Arms," in this book she fleshes him out (both literally and figuratively). This book also sets the stage for what's coming up in the next book, "Memory." So, whatever you do, don't miss this book. Not only is it essential, but it's also great.

Never having been a fan of Sci-Fi novels, I was persuaded to read the first novels in the Vorkosigan Series, by someone who claimed they are not hard-core Sci-Fi, but Space Opera novels.

How true.

Bujold writes about her characters first and foremost and plotline a close second. Mirror Dance had me reading non-stop from the very beginning. Usually, I am not one for sitting down to read all day, but I just had to with this novel, for the character development and plot arcs were just amazing and so unbelievably intriguing.

This was the first book I've read, which caught me re-reading the end of a chapter, over and over and over again, for fear of going on to the next page. Why was I afraid? I didn't want those soul-shattering, heart-breaking words to be true...the plot turns in this novel are so crucial to the series and so amazingly unexpected, I am left feeling dazed and have nowhere else to go, but to read on.

Fantastic work on Bujold's part here. No other author compares, especially given the intricate plot and all the wonderfully crafted characters' development throughout this novel and the whole series. If you want to read a story filled with action, space combat missions, honor, human error, the fiercest type of love there is, AND be taken on a self-discovery journey with the characters, it doesn't get any better than this.

This is Lois McMaster Bujold's best book to date. I recommend reading The Warrior's Apprentice (omni Young Miles) and/or Brothers in Arms (omni Miles Errant) before preceding to this book, but it's not impossible to start here, and this does surpass both.

There is a lot I could say about this book, but I'd just be wasting your precious time. Give it a shot, and try to read at least a hundred pages before giving up.

I'm not the type of person to go out and make absolute statements. This book deserves one. Not often am I completely taken in by a book for more than a few chapters, this one had me hooked from about page four and didn't let go. Very, very rarely do books get much of an overt reaction from, this one did. The appalling range of emotional reactions Lois is able to elicit from the reader are well represented in any of her books, in this one she makes you run the gauntlet, at least twice. If you have yet to read this book plan not to be doing anything for at least a few hours longer than it takes to read the book, it will leave you feeling spent.

All of Lois Bujold's books about Miles are exciting and enormous fun, but this one is the very best. If you want action and adventure, there's more in the first 100 pages than usually found in a whole 500-pager. If you want themes, there's death & life and the creation of personal identity. If you want real characters, then the exploration of love, honor, and psychosis is totally gripping and goes far beyond what one usually expects in SF. The series probably makes the most sense if read in the order written, but you could also just plunge in here for a wild ride. It's grittier and less laugh-out-loud amusing than some of her more recent ones, but no one should miss it.

I put off writing this review for two years because Mirror Dance is just that caliber of excellence that I was afraid to even try to do it justice. I wish I could get away with simply gushing and raving. This masterpiece, however, deserves much more than a "This book rocks! Run, don't walk!" and the other usual cliche's.

Once again, instead of a play-by-play plot synopsis I will direct the reader's attention to the true merits of Mirror Dance (not that the plot is lacking in any way, trust me!). First, this is a poignant look into the minds and souls of two men who happen to be genetically identitical, but whose lives have taken jarringly disparate paths. Many have wondered before if Bujold has a degree in Psychology or some other such head-shrinking, she does such a superb and realistic job of getting inside characters' heads. But far from a tour of Psych and Neuroses 101, Mirror Dance participates; we are speared with their hopes and heartaches, dragged into their whirlwind view of the action around them. The moment of truth came for me when I realized that I could actually empathize with a man who was raised by terrorists to become a sociopath, and his painful struggle to rise above his upbringing to be psychologically reborn as a human.

Next, Bujold accomplishes here a rare coup: this is a carefully thought out universe, with laws, advanced technologies, cultures, wars, and moral dilemmas aplenty -- but without overwhelming attention to the logistics and alienness of this future. We can exist with the characters here on their comfortable level of existence and marvel and puzzle just as reaslistically as they without distraction from things that would not appear out of ordinary to them; after all, do we spend time describing mundane things in our minds such as the microwave (which for instance would have seemed fantastic in a novel written 100 years ago, about us here and now)? As Bujold put it in a commentary somewhere else, the technology is always present, just not intrusive.

But best of all, this is space opera at it's pinnacle. Good v. Evil, action, moral dilemmas, all that and Bujold's signature intelligence and wit. Here come the cliche's I just couldn't avoid: roller coaster ride of emotions, makes you laugh and cry, new paradigm for excellence, something for everyone, etc.

What can I say, my words really are inadequate!

I must admitthat I have always been a right to choose supporter, however this book gave me an appreciation, although not a conversion, to the concepts put forward by the Right to Life movement. Clones are grown for brain transplants, and creepy as it sounds, the entire idea seems to within the realm of possibily. Not only was I enraptured by the theme, but also by the characters.

"Mirror Dance" is a novel that works well on its on merits, can be seen as the second half of a story first started in "Brothers in Arms", or as the first half of yet another story, to be concluded in "Memory".

But however you slice it, "Mirror Dance" is a terrific read. "Brothers in Arms" first introduced us to Miles Vorkosigan's clone brother, Mark. But it is "Mirror Dance" which finally has Mark come into his own as a character and as a member of the Vorkosigan universe.

For the uninitiated, Lois McMaster Bujold has created the Vorkosigan Saga, one of the best written science fiction series yet created. It is more space opera than hardcore science fiction, but Ms. Bujold has a keen awareness of any number of ethical questions which will no doubt face humanity in the coming centuries. Besides, she's one hell of a writer, a true master of wordcraftsmanship.

The Vorkosigan Saga follows the adventures of Miles Vorkosigan, starting with the early stories of how Miles' mother and father met. Miles is only 4'9" tall, and was born with brittle bones, the reult of a poison gas attack on his parents while his mother was pregnant with him. Miles is the heir to one of the 60 Counts on his home planet of Barrayar, a planet which places great pride on military (and therefore physical) skill. Circumstances resulted in a 17 year-old Miles creating a mercenary unit, the Dendarii Mercenaries, of which Miles assumed command, in the persona of Admiral Naismith.

In the world of Barrayar, Miles is Lieutenant Vorkosigan, heir to Count Vorkosigan, future ruler of one of 60 Districts on Barrayar, foster brother to the Emperor himself; but also a mere galactic courier for Imperial Security (ImpSec). Out in the galaxy, Miles has the persona of Admiral Naismith, commander of over 5,000 people and a fleet of warships.

Mark, introduced in "Brothers in Arms" is a clone, who doesn't quite know who he is, save for a burning hatred of the clone breeders on Jackson's Whole, a planet where everything has its price. Mark had been created by terrorists to replace Miles and assassinate Miles' father, the Prime Minister of Barrayar. Now Mark is stuck with trying to find his way in a universe where his purpose for existence no longer exists. Clones are breed to be replacements for the aging wealthy; when the clone is "ripe", just undergo the risks of a brain transfer, and a rich and powerful person starts over in a young, perfect body. Too bad if you're the clone though, as your brain gets tossed out with the trash.

Mark undertakes a daring scheme to rescue some of these victims, and disaster strikes. Recovering from a sudden loss, Mark is faced with finding out who he truly is, and finding his own way in life, not merely as a duplicate of Miles.

This book is highly reccomended. Ms. Bujold is a terrific writer and she is at the top of her game in this novel.