Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's Cetaganda.

The Short of It

Plot: Miles Vorkosigan and his cousin Ivan end up in over their heads when the Empress dies unexpectedly during a diplomatic mission to Cetaganda.

Page Count: 302

Award: Part of Vorkosigan Saga

Worth a read: Yes
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Pass
Technobabble: Moderate
Review: It goes without saying that characters are fun, writing is solid, and pacing is good. This volume brings much more depth to Cetaganda, one of the other civilizations in the Vorkosigan Universe. Mystery elements work well here, but require a lot of info dumps, as Miles is also ignorant of the finer workings of Cetaganda. Cetagandan society is also built upon some more thought provoking concepts, making it more conducive to further discussion than Barrayar. 

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free!

In its form this is one of the less adventurous Vorkosigan books. It's a similar setup to many other Miles stories at this point: he is sent somewhere innocuous to stay out of trouble and is promptly drawn into a tangled web of deception and intrigue. Miles avoiding trouble and then finding it is basically the cement that holds together half of this series. There is a reason that this is a staple: it works well. We readers have not yet seen Cetaganda? Then Miles better get his buns there right quick, whatever the reason may be.

This book is much more about Cetaganda than it is about Miles. This is one of the issues with having the same protagonist over so many books: it gets difficult to give him compelling arcs in each one. Either he needs to regress each time or work his way up to near-godhood. The first solution - resetting a character - is the go-to for video games. Ambushed while naked? Looks like you don't have your weapons and armor anymore, Ezio. The second option - powering up a character - is what is usually done in books. The Dresden Files do this quite well, giving Harry Dresden progressively more impressive abilities but doing the same for his enemies. 

Weakness is an inextricable part of the character of Miles. His character growth is learning to accept this, but once he does so, he still cannot suddenly become the merciless God King - he still needs to be weak. At this point in the series, despite his occasional frustrations with his size - which feel like they are there to remind the reader, more than anything else - Miles has this pretty well sorted. How, then, should his arc be expanded and improved? The approach taken here is basically that he is left as is, and a whole new cast of characters are introduced. These characters work in their own context, but it is noticeable that for the most part we've ditched those with which we were acquainted already. One noticeable exception is Ivan, Miles's cousin, who is a goofy but enjoyable presence - and continues to be important later on.

Cetagandan society is depicted as totally different than that of Barrayar or Beta. It's an interesting change and feels like a much more "thought-through" civilization. After all, the first descriptions of Barrayar and Beta are basically "macho warlike" and "advanced technocratic" respectively, without much more to it. Of course these are expanded upon in later books - but here it feels like much more precise work was put into the internal workings of Cetaganda. The one thing that falls a bit flat here is that we are (once again) dealing with an internal conspiracy - which leaves it feeling more akin to Barrayar.

Pacing and plotting are good for the most part. The core issue is that this is a book built around unknown-unknowns: not only does Miles not know the specifics of what is going on, he is also ignorant of Cetagandan politics. This means that there is a lot of floundering around and stumbling into results. Admittedly this also means more tense scenes of sneaking or plotting, so it functions as a storytelling approach.

Another Vorkosigan worth reading, as it also introduces concepts vital for a number of other books.

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The Long of It

Spoilers Ahead!

Cetaganda's societal goal is the creation of a post-human through genetic manipulation. Cool! A whole society of genetic manipulation, well, that sounds like an opportunity for some solid adventuring and some ethical arguments. This feels like the more extreme version of what Beta embraces, with their rejection of human pregnancy in favor of incubators and extensive genetic testing ahead of time. The way in which Cetaganda is structured feels, for the first time in the Vorkosigan Saga, almost more fantasy than SF. The class hierarchies with specific made up names, the women so beautiful that it is almost painful to see them... but all justified by science. It's a neat way to straddle that dividing line.

While this is a step forward in broader universe building, Cetaganda comes across as a bit flat. That is to say, the entire planet comes across as effectively one locale - without internal variation. It's a shame - Barrayar is successfully presented as a heterogenous planet with varied climate zones, but that level of world-building does not come through here. 

It's a fun read, but it would be nice to just go around three weeks in the Vorkosigan Universe without a conspiracy. Is everyone conspiring these days? Can I conspire with someone? No one ever wants me to join their conspiracies.

Let's conspire, Stranger!

And don't forget to read a book!