This is a story that exists within the context of a much larger series and world. It's the second half of the story begun in Shards of Honor, which brings together Cordelia, a Betan scientist and captain, and Aral Vorkosigan, a captain and noble of Barrayar. Barrayar is a world which had been separate from the rest of the intergalactic society until recently, and it is very war-focused and obsessed with bloodlines and physical abilities and all that. Cordelia and Aral fell in love and got married and Cordelia got pregnant, and on top of all of that, Aral is named regent for the 6 year old grandson of the dying emperor, Gregor.
Barrayar itself focuses on their marriage a bit but mostly on how they can survive in the political situation they're in, and there are attempts on Aral's life and on Gregor's and fights between Cordelia and her father-in-law. Things come to a head in two separate incidents: one in which Cordelia and Aral are poisoned, and while they receive the antidote in time, it affects the health of her baby. So she arranges for essentially a c-section in which the baby is then put into a classic sci-fi incubator and treated, but it's very uncertain if the baby will survive, and even if he does, he will likely be deformed or weak which has made her father-in-law disown him already. And then Gregor is attacked and there's a palace coup and they need to hide the child emperor until they can save the day.
These books are prequels, and they do feel like it in many ways. I haven't read the rest of the series, but I know that the protagonist is Miles Vorkosigan, so I know the baby has to survive one way or another. There's a lack of suspense at points as a result, and a feeling that the story is showing various aspects of the society for reasons I don't understand yet but will later. But the main ambivalence I feel about the story is I don't know how to feel about the culture and characters in general! There is a lot of very odd sexual politics--characters who are supposed to be people we like in some ways have very bizarre sexual desires and practices, and while Cordelia herself is also experiencing a sense of outrage over a variety of things, it's just an odd world to be a part of right now. I don't need my characters to all be completely good, but there's a level of moral relativism in this book that I'm not sure how to handle. And again, while there's plenty in the book that's high stakes, that's lessened by the fact that I knew at least one thing that had to happen, and from that I could extrapolate quite a bit more. I don't know! I can't tell if this just isn't exactly my style of speculative fiction, which is possible, or if there's something more that didn't sit quite right with me.
Grade: B
Barrayar itself focuses on their marriage a bit but mostly on how they can survive in the political situation they're in, and there are attempts on Aral's life and on Gregor's and fights between Cordelia and her father-in-law. Things come to a head in two separate incidents: one in which Cordelia and Aral are poisoned, and while they receive the antidote in time, it affects the health of her baby. So she arranges for essentially a c-section in which the baby is then put into a classic sci-fi incubator and treated, but it's very uncertain if the baby will survive, and even if he does, he will likely be deformed or weak which has made her father-in-law disown him already. And then Gregor is attacked and there's a palace coup and they need to hide the child emperor until they can save the day.
These books are prequels, and they do feel like it in many ways. I haven't read the rest of the series, but I know that the protagonist is Miles Vorkosigan, so I know the baby has to survive one way or another. There's a lack of suspense at points as a result, and a feeling that the story is showing various aspects of the society for reasons I don't understand yet but will later. But the main ambivalence I feel about the story is I don't know how to feel about the culture and characters in general! There is a lot of very odd sexual politics--characters who are supposed to be people we like in some ways have very bizarre sexual desires and practices, and while Cordelia herself is also experiencing a sense of outrage over a variety of things, it's just an odd world to be a part of right now. I don't need my characters to all be completely good, but there's a level of moral relativism in this book that I'm not sure how to handle. And again, while there's plenty in the book that's high stakes, that's lessened by the fact that I knew at least one thing that had to happen, and from that I could extrapolate quite a bit more. I don't know! I can't tell if this just isn't exactly my style of speculative fiction, which is possible, or if there's something more that didn't sit quite right with me.
Grade: B
No comments:
Post a Comment