I’m still a bit under the weather, so I decided to re-read another Bujold book. This time around, I chose one that I’ve only read once before, and I’m not quite sure why — I remembered nothing about the book… except perhaps something about Sergeant Bothari? And… some bad vibes?
There’s enough plot and action in this book to fill a modern space opera trilogy of six hundred page books. And I’m not one to complain about that; quite the contrary, but it got to be a bit much, even for me.
But my main problem with this book is indeed the Bothari thing — it’s like Bujold didn’t quite have the confidence yet to just write a really entertaining book, but felt the need to add some more serious stuff, and it really doesn’t suit her style. It’s not just the Bothari stuff, though — Bujold has Miles Learn A Serious Lesson again and again, and it’s just a lot.
I mean, I didn’t dislike the book. It’s not bad. But if I were to list the Vorkosigan books in order of how enjoyable they are, it’d be toward the bottom of the list. Not at the bottom, because there you’d find Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, I guess.
I don’t know. I have a vague feeling like I’m in a minority here… Let’s see what Goodreads says.
It’s rated the same, 4.27, as the Hugo Award winner The Vor Game, which I think is a million times better. And over Cetaganda! That’s just weird. But under Mirror Dance, Komarr, and of course, A Civil Campaign, which has the highest rating, as it should.
So it’s top four? Well, OK, the entertaining bits in this book are really, really entertaining — perhaps some of the most entertaining sequences in the entire Vorkosigan saga. It just doesn’t quite work as a whole for me.
The Warrior’s Apprentice (1986) by Lois McMaster Bujold (buy used, 4.27 on Goodreads)