Science fiction book reviews Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigan CryoburnLois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga CryoburnCryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold

Cryoburn is the long-awaited new novel in Lois McMaster Bujold’s excellent VORKOSIGAN SAGA, following 2002’s Diplomatic Immunity. If you’re not familiar with this series yet and are in the mood for some intelligent, character-driven and consistently entertaining SF, drop everything now and go find the first few books. Almost all of them are conveniently available in affordable omnibus editions from Baen. You can start with the Cordelia’s Honor omnibus if you want to read the series according to internal chronological order, or Young Miles if you want to start where Miles Vorkosigan, the series’ unforgettable hero, really gets into gear.

In Cryoburn, Miles is on Kidou-daini (a brand new planet in the series, as far as I know) to investigate a possible scam involving cryogenically frozen people. As the novel starts off, he has just narrowly escaped becoming a hostage during an attack at a cryonics conference and is wandering around in a drugged haze, because he happens to be allergic to the drug used by his would-be kidnappers. By the time the (very amusing) hallucinations wear off, he finds himself in an underground cryonics clinic, taken under the wing of a young boy who has recently run away from home. Eventually, Miles finds his way back to the local Barrayaran consulate, and begins to unravel a mystery that leads much, much farther than anyone originally suspected…

Cryoburn shows Miles in his Imperial Auditor role, investigating a mystery in the name of Emperor Gregor, but as he isn’t actually on Barrayar, his powers are more limited than they would be on his home planet. Still, in typical Miles fashion he quickly pulls the local consular staff along in his wake as he investigates and solves the mystery through legal, quasi-legal and, well, uniquely Milesian methods. As always, there’s lots of action, a good amount of humor, and Bujold’s consistently excellent dialogues. It’s hard to be bored, reading a Miles Vorkosigan novel.

By now, a narrative infused with Miles’ manic energy will be more or less expected by long-time readers, but as a special treat, Cryoburn alternates viewpoints from Miles to Jin, the boy he meets at the cryonics clinic, and (best of all) Miles’ Armsman, Roic. Roic is a sturdy, calm fellow who sounds as if he is used to his master’s antics by now. It really can’t be a coincidence that his name rhymes with ‘stoic’. Seeing Miles through Roic’s eyes is the best part of this novel.

In a nutshell, Cryoburn is a good installment in a great series. I doubt that many long-time fans of the VORKOSIGAN SAGA would consider this one of the best entries in the series, but expecting that would put the bar almost impossibly high. The plot also doesn’t really advance the overall story arc of the series much, and instead reads as if it could be one of five or ten other missions Miles completed in the same year. However, the end of the novel, which is unconnected to the mission, suddenly and painfully yanks you back into the main continuity of the series, and will have you clamoring for the next book. Since it’s been almost 10 years since the last Miles book, hopefully this will motivate some new readers to get into the VORKOSIGAN SAGA, which is easily one of the best SF series of the last few decades.

The Vorkosigan Saga — (1986- ) Omnibus and audio versions are available. The Vorkosigan Saga is a series of science fiction novels and short stories set in a common fictional universe. Works in the series have received numerous awards and nominations, including five Hugo award wins including one for Best Series. The point of view characters include women (Cordelia in Shards of Honor and Barrayar; Ekaterin in Komarr, A Civil Campaign, and The Flowers of Vashnoi), a gay man (Ethan of Athos), a pair of brothers, one of whom is physically handicapped and the other a clone (Miles and Mark Vorkosigan), and their cousin (Ivan Vorpatril), together with some minor characters (e.g., Miles’ bodyguard Roic and the runaway lad Jin). The various forms of society and government Bujold presents often reflect contemporary politics. In many novels, there is a contrast between the technology-rich egalitarian Beta Colony (or more generally, galactic society) and the heroic, militaristic, hierarchical society of Barrayar, where personal relationships must ensure societal continuity. Miles Vorkosigan, the protagonist of most of the series, is the son of a Betan mother and a Barrayaran aristocrat. Below we present the author’s preferred reading order which is in order of plot chronology, not publication.

Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigan Falling Free, The Borders of Infinity, Brothers in ArmsShards of Honor Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold The Warrior's Apprentice 30th Anniversary Edition (Vorkosigan Saga) Paperback – Deluxe Edition, May 3, 2016 by Lois McMaster Bujold (Author) The Vor Game (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold Science fiction book reviews Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigan The Vor Game, Mirror Dance, Cetaganda, Memory, Komarr, A Civil CampaignLois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan Saga 1. Shards of Honor 2. Barrayar 3. The Warrior's Apprentice 4. Ethan of AthosBorders of Infinity (Vorkosigan Saga) Paperback – January 3, 2017 by Lois McMaster Bujold (Author) Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigan Falling Free, The Borders of Infinity, Brothers in ArmsScience fiction book reviews Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigan The Vor Game, Mirror Dance, Cetaganda, Memory, Komarr, A Civil Campaignfantasy book reviews science fiction book reviews Science fiction book reviews Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigan The Vor Game, Mirror Dance, Cetaganda, Memory, Komarr, A Civil CampaignScience fiction book reviews Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigan The Vor Game, Mirror Dance, Cetaganda, Memory, Komarr, A Civil CampaignScience fiction book reviews Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigan The Vor Game, Mirror Dance, Cetaganda, Memory, Komarr, A Civil Campaignfantasy book reviews science fiction book reviews (fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviews Science fiction book reviews Lois McMaster Bujold Miles Vorkosigan The Vor Game, Mirror Dance, Cetaganda, Memory, Komarr, A Civil Campaign, Cryoburnscience fiction, fantasy, horror, YA, and comic book and audiobook reviews) The Flowers of Vashnoi: Vorkosigan Saga Kindle Edition by Lois McMaster Bujold  (Author)

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  • Stefan Raets

    STEFAN RAETS (on FanLit's staff August 2009 — February 2012) reads and reviews science fiction and fantasy whenever he isn’t distracted by less important things like eating and sleeping.

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