So I read this book back in CBR7 with the full intention of blasting through the series . . . and then proceeded to not do that. So of course I had to re-read before actually continuing.
This is still three and a half stars, but I’m bumping it up this go-round. I’m very glad I re-read this, because I knew I had forgotten most of what happened here, except for the general arc of Cordelia and Aral Vorkosigan, but I didn’t realize HOW much I’d forgotten. It was basically like reading it for the first time. I also did the audio, which was a little strange and clearly an older audio recording, but still enjoyable. I’ll probably do the rest of the books by audio as well (unsure of order, probably chronological not publication order), so Barrayar is up next*.
*I have since read it and loved it! Though I will not be reviewing. I have Warrior’s Apprentice out from the library right now and will be starting it soon.
This book tells the story of how two people from very different cultures (in space!) find each other and fall in love, to eventually birth the main character of the series, Miles. This nicely sets up how the culture of Barrayar is viewed by other people in the galaxy, and specifically how Cordelia’s upbringing and cultural ideals clash with Aral’s, through the lens of a survival story slash spy thriller slash space battle type story. It’s a lot for one little book, a problem I had the first time and still had this time.
I did also still find myself having to seek outside sources for clarification on plot points or things that seem to have been implied by the author a little too subtly. Not sure if this is just LMB’s style in general, or if it’s more influenced by the sff conventions of the time. This is certainly a much shorter book than would probably be published today.
Excited to finally see what the rest of this series has to offer!
[3.5 stars]