Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold
Hello, Stranger.
Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's Brothers in Arms.
The Short of It
Plot: Hiding out on Earth seems like a good way to avoid the Cetagandans, but Miles ends up embroiled in more politics.
Page Count: 338
Award: Part of Vorkosigan Saga
Worth a read: Integral to the Vorkosigan SagaPrimary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Pass
Technobabble: Mild.
Review: Not the best Vorkosigan book but one of the most important. World building is less interesting here than in many other volumes but in exchange plot is more engaging. Ivan's increased importance is a welcome addition. Miles's struggles to balance both parts of his life create some of the best scenes in the book. Nice to see characters scarred by past events to make the world feel real and give it some continuity.
The Medium of It
Spoiler Free!
Short 'n' snappy here.
This one is solid. A more involved and nuanced plot keeps the reader going. The pros of this one are the same as many other Vorkosigan books: characters are fun, the world is neat, motivations are compelling. The main downside of this one is how Earth itself is shown. Which is to say, it's not that exciting. The changes that Earth has undergone are less thrilling or thought provoking than those planets already introduced at other points in the series. Earth ends up being just another place, as opposed to a radical revision of the source of humanity. This is arguably better than making it a war-torn hell-scape for the sake of doing something with it, but it feels a bit lackluster.
The increased use of Ivan is a huge boon. He brings a warmth and liveliness to scenes that many other characters lack, and is an excellent foil for Miles.
Also, one of the more fun and frenetic finales. A fantastically fun, frenetic free-for-(f)all, pherhaps. Look, I just don't have that much to say about this one.
Don't start a Vorkosigan read here, that would be crazy. But if you're keepin' on through, here's a link!
The Long of It
Spoilers Ahead!
I don't like Mark. I don't like how he's used, I find him irritating, and most later stories involving him bug me. I also don't like titles that give the whole game away. Brothers in Arms? Clones. Mirror Dance? Clones.
The best character here is Galeni. A lot of great world building comes from his presence. He reminds us of the reputation of Aral Vorkosigan, and why people might hate Miles. He represents a program intended to create cohesion among the Barrayarans, and shows how local identity clashes with the empire. And he works by being different than his father, who is still anti-Barrayar. Galeni just wants to belong and achieve, despite his background.
Back to Mark.
Clones, clones, clones. After seeing all of the genetic manipulation powers of Jackson's Whole in Labyrinth it makes sense that cloning comes next. This is just an underwhelming way to use a clone. One of the few things that I love about him: how he was made to hate Miles. That each time Miles was injured, Mark had to be as well. That Miles has the genetics to be much bigger, so Mark had to be hobbled. It's a good way of keeping them linked. But he's just such an irritating character.
I guess we're keeping it short today, Stranger.
And don't forget to read a book!
I did, in fact, start reading the Vorkosigan Saga with this book. What can I say, I picked it up on a whim while browsing in a brick-and-mortar bookstore, something that is a lot harder to do today. It actually worked very well as a hook for me because it was clear there were stories that came before this event, and would be stories that came after, but this book stood alone. So I got introduced to the characters and the world but also got a satisfying conclusion to the particular story being told in this one novel. I miss the days when each novel in a series had to have a conclusion instead of just "To Be Continued!"
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like Mark. I see him and Miles as contrasting examples of the power of parenting. Miles was a child with both disabilities and gifts who was expertly parented (for the most part. We won't talk about Grandpa Pierre) and went on to do great things, though often at appalling personal cost. Mark had the potential to be a perfectly normal, very bright guy, but his parent was insane and abusive to the extreme and he ended up physically and psychologically crippled. I see it as one of Bujold's overarching themes: genetics aren't as important to how people turn out as much as the people around them are. Surrounded by mostly good people, grow up good (even if not perfect and still dogged by a strong personal sense of inadequacy.) Surrounded by bad people, grow up bad (though not necessarily irredeemably so, if you're willing to work at undoing the damage done to you.) Even the Cetagandans haven't succeeded in fundamentally changing humanity on a genetic level, despite a ton of trying.
A few things to comment on here!
ReplyDelete1) I can respect starting here but I would still not recommend it, probably. Though if it came with that sweet burst of endorphins from finding a gem at a used book store, maybe I'd be on board. That's how I read the Dark Tower books - I would only get them at used book stores, one at a time. Only one I failed on was the fifth book... I bit the bullet and bought it new. These days I live in a country where the primary language is not English, so the used book situation is very different...
2) Totally agree on the satisfying conclusions. I might not always love the big conspiracies in the Vorkosigan books, but it is great that each book has a third act climax that really is the end of that story. The overlap is in characters and consequences, not in a single story being dragged out.
3) Mark is a good foil, but I still don't know that I like him as a character - and I find the books with him to be a bit less imaginative. A lot of the beats with Mark feel like pretty standard clone hijinks - excepting the Butter Beetle (de)Bacle - which is a pretty trope-heavy subgenre. I also feel that a major theme was already nature vs. nurture - arguably the whole of Miles's story fits into that - so this finer point on it does not add as much.
All that said, I read all of the books and would recommend them, so maybe I'm moaning about things that did not even bother me that much. And it's good to hear that this lands well for others!