My Goodreads review: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance

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Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A warning up front: if you are new to Lois McMaster Bujold's Vor universe, this is not the best place to start! Although the author has obviously made every attempt to provide a stand-alone reading experience, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of character references and in-jokes a new reader will be missing. Please, just find a copy of Shards of Honor and enjoy the whole wonderful voyage from the start.

For Bujold fans, however, this is a lighthearted and fascinating look at her universe through very different eyes: those of Miles' cousin Ivan Vorpatril. Set somewhere between the events of Diplomatic Immunity and Cryoburn, it follows a thirty-five-year-old Ivan through a romantic adventure he must deal with all on his own, without cousin Miles to bail him out or push things along. To his -- and possibly the reader's -- astonishment, he proves more than equal to the challenge.

I'm not going to give a plot summary, due to way too many possibilities for spoilers. Suffice it to say that Bujold has given her long-time readers a real treat this time, and a welcome contrast to the grimmer events of Cryoburn.

One tip: when I preordered my signed copy of this book, I also ordered a copy of The Vorkosigan Companion. Though I haven't read this book completely through yet, I found the novel summaries & concordance particularly useful when my memory of past events failed me (more than once).



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