ois McMaster Bujold, as probably everyone knows, is an award-winning science-fiction writer, noted especially for her series of books about Miles Vorkosigan. He is sometimes a Vor Lord of Barrayar, sometimes with great struggle (due to his physical handicaps) an officer in the Barrayar military, and sometimes, and most delightfully, Dendarii Mercenary Admiral Naismith. In all his roles, he uses his quick wits and his clever way with words to solve problems and troubles. And Bujold loves to torment Miles. She uses the basic plot of "things go wrong" and then adds "more things go wrong" and then, finally, "even more things go wrong." Just as things cannot get worse, Miles manages to untangle the webs around him.
Borders of Infinity, a collection of three novellas, must be read (in this case listened to) before Brothers in Arms, as the events and timeline in Brothers directly follows and follows up on the last novella in Borders. But let's start at the beginning: In the first adventure, "The Mountains of Mourning," a Hugo and Nebula winner, Lord Miles acts as detective and judge in a back-country murder case on Barrayar which involves infanticide, birth defects and being different in one's society. In "Labyrinth," Miles travels to Jackson's Whole on a covert mission as Admiral Naismith. In the third novella, "The Borders of Infinity," Miles is in a Cetagandan prison camp. But things are not what they seem. (Are they ever?) Miles is there to rescue one man, but that assignment is quickly too small for him.
In the other book on tape, Brothers in Arms, thanks to the prison camp adventure the Cetagandans (who are Barrayar's biggest enemy) are after Admiral Naismith, and they really want him dead. The Dendarii Mercenaries are battered and beat up and they need medical attention, supplies and R&R. They also need their payment. Funds are running low. The closest place to try to solve all these problems turns out to be Earth. A lovely place, if crowded, Earth is not used to mercenaries, and in fact, is hardly a hotbed of galaxy politics. This doesn't stop Miles from finding even more trouble. Pretty soon he has to alternate between being Lord Vorkosigan and Admiral Naismith, protect his new and unhappy boss, who is from Komarr (a once enemy of Barrayar, now a colony), cope with the unexpected appearance of his Cousin Ivan and try not to get killed.
An excellent read—or rather, listen
In the first novella, the whodunit works on many levels, not the least of which is how Miles' physical handicaps both enable and limit him and how he must cope. This is a theme throughout the series, but the conflict is front and center (and very moving) in "Mourning." And I truly enjoy "The Borders of Infinity." It is one of those classic puzzles—how can a person who has nothing, not even clothes, escape from an inescapable prison? Oh, and take everyone else out with him? The three novellas also show Miles gaining experience and confidence.
Which is definitely a good point about the whole series. Miles is not just an action hero. He thinks, he broods, he mourns, he laughs, he lusts, he is nimble and quick and awkward and ugly. He is a very complex, believable character. Although the plots are clever and complex, this is character-driven fiction of the highest level. In the plots here, and of the series in general, all the trouble and all the solutions seem to happen naturally; everything seems to flow together. There is also a great deal of humor. And unlike so much military science fiction, there is a genuine grief over death, and a true sense of the horror of war. And a true sense of the reality of soldiering: paying the mercenary troops is important. Feeding them is important. It is not all glory and derring-do by any means. And yet, in the end, Miles and his partners generally do end up saving the universe, or at least Barrayar.
One drawback is that the whole series makes the most sense if you start at the very beginning, before Miles is even born, which would be with Shards of Honor. The payoff for starting at the beginning is seeing Miles grow up and having many books both before and after these two to enjoy, and these books are available on tape as well. The pace of these books on tape, the inflections, and so on were so good that at times I saw the story unfold in my mind, just like reading. It is always clever, fast-paced, amusing and well written. It is also science-fiction world-building at its very highest level.
