Bujold, Lois McMaster
MILES ERRANT (an omnibus of "The Borders of Infinity" from the book BORDERS
OF INFINITY; BROTHERS IN ARMS, and MIRROR DANCE)
Lois McMaster Bujold
BAEN Publications 2002
Pb 741 pages
ISBN#
0-7434-3558-3
This is my favorite selection from the Vorkosigan Saga (well, this in conjunction with its chronological sequel MEMORY). Together these four stories encompass the best of "Admiral" Miles Naismith, the manic/depressive deformed Vor lord spy from the barbaric world of Barrayara. This little genius is in high-speed forward motion all the way, and when he isn't saving lives he's getting into more trouble than his infamous Prime Minister father can bear. I adore Ms. Bujold's stories--her expert prose, characterization, and plotting--but Lieutenant Lord Miles Naismith Vogkosigan is the desert tray of her work: a definite "I can't put this book down" character to read!
"The Borders of Infinity": Miles is on a one-man-show secret mission to rescue a colonel from a POW camp deep in Cetagandan space. Miles finds the Colonel near death and hundreds of prisoners who would rather kill Miles than share their meager rations with him. The Dendarii Free Mercenaries to the rescue! But it's Miles's genius that saves lives. [This is a poignant story, enriched with the filth of reality.]
BROTHERS IN ARMS: Miles has a brother? How come no one ever told him? Uh, no one bothered to tell his parents either. This hilarious and deadly tale of revenge and surprise began years before Miles was born. Apparently Barrayara's neighbor Komarr had been in revolt at one pint and Miles's father, though innocent, was blamed for a mass-murder of revolutionaries. One of those revolutionaries did not die but went into hiding. He secretly stole a tissue sample from Miles when he was a child and took the sample to Jackson's Whole where he had a clone made. The poor clone even had to endure having his bones broken over and over again so his appearance would be a match for Count Vorkosigan's deformed son. Then this insane revolutionary--with an eye for the Barrayaran throne, which Miles is second in line for--went on to torture and teach this puppet clone of his how to act like Lord Miles. What the Komarran revolutionary and his trophy clone do not know is that Lieutenant Lord Vorkosigan spends most of his time disguised as Admiral Naismith of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries. His fleet in need of repairs and not yet paid for their last mission, Miles and his Dendarii limp into Earth station for repairs. Everything goes wrong. Suddenly Miles must juggle his two personas on the same planet without getting caught. So, he comes up with this brilliant idea that Admiral Naismith is a clone of Lord Vorkosigan. That scheme works well until Miles is kidnapped and his as yet unknown real clone takes his place. If you thought Miles was hyper before, you should see him now when his enemy gives him the truth-serum fast-penta! Whooee! Then things go from wrong to worse as the Cetagandans join the party.
From the text: "His mouth opened, closed, opened again. 'I keep hearing my mother's voice, in my head. That's where I picked up that perfect Betan accent, y'know, that I use for Admiral Naismith. I can hear her now.' ... 'And what does she say?' Galeni's brows twitched in amusement. ... 'Miles--she says--what have you done with your baby brother?!' ... 'Your clone is hardly that!' choked Galeni. ... 'On the contrary, by Betan law my clone is exactly that.' ... 'Madness.' Galeni paused. 'Your mother could not possibly expect you to look out for this creature.' ... 'Oh, yes she could.' Miles sighed glumly." And...: "On a quick jog around the office Miles's eye was caught by a slight movement in the shadows under a console. He bent down to face two women in blue Tidal Authority tech coveralls cowering beneath. One squeaked and covered her eyes; the second hugged her and glared defiantly at Miles. Miles tried a friendly smile. 'Ah...hello.' ... 'Who are you people?' said the second woman in rising tone. ... 'Oh, I'm not with them. They're, um...hired killers.' A just description, after all. 'Don't worry, they're not after you. Have you called the police yet?' ... She shook her head mutely. ... 'I suggest you do so immediately. Ah--have you seen me before?' ... She nodded. ... 'Which way did I go?' ... She cringed back, clearly terrorized at being cornered by a psychotic. Miles spread his hands in silent apology, and made for the door. 'Call the police!' he called back over his shoulder. The faint beep of comconsole keys being pressed drifted down the corridor after him."
MIRROR DANCE: Oh, this one's sooo good I don't want to give it away. Let's just say that Miles and his brother Mark each face his own worst nightmare on the planet Jackson's Whole. There's a lot of action, blood, and chaos . . . and that's just the beginning! If you want the best sample of the Vorkosigan Saga without reading all fourteen volumes, then the "must read" section should be BROTHERS IN ARMS--> MIRROR DANCE--> and MEMORY. [And if you like those, go back and read YOUNG MILES or continue on to the mystery/comedy/romance selections of KOMARR plus A CIVIL CAMPAIGN.]
From MIRROR DANCE: "Mark could always tell, instantly, when someone he met
thought they were facing 'Naismith.' They all had that same stupid
hyper-alert glow in their faces. They weren't all worshipful; he'd met some of
Naismith's enemies once, but worshipful or homicidal, they reacted. As if they
suddenly switched on, and became ten times more alive than ever before. How the
hell did he do it? Make people light up like that? Granted, Naismith was a
goddamn hyperactive, but how did he make it so freaking contagious?"
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