Vorkosigan Saga: "Brothers in Arms"
Chapter 1
-So this book apparently takes place seven years after the last one? So I do feel like I've missed a lot. And I think I did miss some novellas or short stories or whatever.
-So Miles is living his double life as Admiral Naismith and Lt. Vorkosigan. And this chapter's encounter with the commander of the embassy seems to highlight to potential awkwardness of that double life. It does seem like if he's been doing this for seven years he would have a smoother method of reported and getting paid. Of course, I know he didn't expect to be on Earth.
-Speaking of which, hey, it's Earth! I don't remember hearing about Earth as a still-existing place where people live before. I just assumed that Earth had been destroyed or something, like in Firefly, Cowboy Bebop, or BSG. So, that's interesting. I hope we get to see Earth a bit.
-Lt. Quinn came onto Miles and he turned her down and now he's lusting after her and its awkward. I have to confess I was spoiled that she became his love interest while looking at the book order on the Wikipedia page. So eventually they will at least date, I guess. (I also know that at some point Miles gets married, but it could be someone totally different, I have no idea.)
Chapters 2-4
-I'm kinda not thrilled at Miles being back under the control of the Barrayarran military because I don't know, I guess I have problems with authority and just want him to tell them to fuck off all the time.
-So it's funny that at the first opportunity, he runs away to be Admiral Naismith again
-I find the romance stuff pretty adorable because, well Miles is just too cute
-But the living cat fur that purrs and snuggles but is just a skin CREEPS ME THE FUCK OUT. I don't know if its because I find the whole thing inherently icky or because I have issues with bioengineered animals in general due to a Connie Willis short story I once read. (You REALLY don't want to know what those pets were engineered for.)
-I pretty much agree with Miles that he's a genius for coming up with the clone story. It will probably come back to bite him in the ass, but I still think it's a great cover.
-The lack of real response from central command and lack of money makes me very worried.
Chapters 5-6
-Let's see, Miles nearly gets run over by a floating truck, whatever the hell that is, and he suspects his commanding officer at the embassy of stealing his money
-And eventually he proposes marriage to Elli and then sleeps with her after she turns him down. It did seem like he was gearing up to propose to her, which seems awfully sudden, but I guess makes sense from his "Lord Vorkosigan" point of view. But I'm glad she turned him down, and for the right reasons. No sane woman WOULD go live on Barrayar. Cordelia doesn't count.
-But it's weird because I'm not sure Miles is in love with Elli? He's obviously in lust with her, and she seems to be in love with him, but he's still hung up on Elena?
-And Captain Galeni is missing, so maybe he did steal the money, although I kinda doubt it? Oh who knows.
Chapter 7
-Holy Shit, there IS a clone out there, and he just swapped places with Miles. WTF???
-Yeah, that's all I got. I was going to go to bed after that chapter, but now I'm fucking awake.
Chapters 8-9
-I'm really, really enjoying the stuff in the cell with Galeni, and Miles' super-hyper fast-penta interrogation, and all the philosophical and political discussion. It's really difficult for me to stop reading to write anything. Cause in Chapter Ten THE EVIL CLONE IS HERE AND I WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. Oh, and I totally don't think the clone is evil, and I think he's going to turn on Galen at some point.
Chapter 10
-The scene of Miles and his clone is a thing of beauty. I love that Miles intends to lead the clone astray with lies but ends up speaking truth to him and trying to show him how his life could be different. Although I wish he had brought up that the man who trained him and molded him is clearly insane and so he should question what he's been told about the world.
-I didn't mention it before but it's funny how much more believable this clone is than the cloning in Blackout. They have been working on him for 16-18 years and they only accelerated his growth by six years and he doesn't have Miles' memories, he's just been conditioned to act like him. Not to mention the technology is totally believable in this world. This isn't a slam of Mira Grant, because I realize WHY she did what she did, but it still doesn't make scientific sense.
Chapter 11-12
-YAY Elli saves the day!
-And then everything is really complicated because there isn't really a good solution for ending the situation, but Miles seems unwilling to accept anything less than a perfect solution, which I guess is what makes him so awesome. Most of us would settle for a compromise, but he won't.
-And his superior arrives and takes everything over, except the Dendarii are still hunting for the clone and Galeni's dad. I have no idea how this is going to resolve itself.
Chapters 13-14
-I'm really doing badly at making notes. There's too much happening.
-Miles continues to try to figure out a way to get out of this and also try to save his clone/brother. I love when he muses that if everyone but him thinks the clone should die, then maybe....everyone but him is wrong. So, SO Miles.
-So conveniently Galen gets in touch and tells Miles to come meet him and the clone, or Ivan will die. Thankfully, because Miles is not a stupid hero, he calls to verify that Ivan has gone missing, arranges patrols of backup, arms himself with multiple weapons, and brings Galeni along. And also arranges 1/2 a million marks in bribe money that they can't get if he's dead. Seriously, I think THIS is what is so refreshing about this series: it is really, really smart and people don't fall victim to cliches. Miles is a genius hero who ACTUALLY acts like a genius. Which doesn't make him perfect, because he can still be blind about things, and make bad calls, but he doesn't make them out of STUPIDITY.
-So anyway, tense standoff with the bad guys. And Miles manages to talk the clone into not following Galen's orders, which the clone (Ok, fine, we'll call him Mark) acts on by murdering Galen and then running away.
-There's chasing, and shenanigans with lift tubes, and at least two armies trying to kill someone who looks like Miles. Mark eventually leads Miles to Ivan, who is saved, and then they're essentially trapped between the Barrayarans and the Cetagandians, who are both trying to kill one of them.
Chapters 15-16
-MORE ACTION! - So Miles, Ivan and Mark hide from the Barrayarans, Cetagandians, and Earth police in a big vat or something, while the aforementioned groups all take each other out. And then they sneak out.
-And eventually let Mark go on his way with a bunch of money, because ? they can't think of anything else to do with him? Miles wants him to get a better life? He really hopes he'll eventually be a brother for him?
-And Miles is saved getting in trouble by new orders for the Dendarii, and he and his mercenaries ship out to the next thing.
I'm guessing Mark is going to show up again at some point. Well that was definitely a fun book. I'm a fan of Surprise!Clones.
And now I'm caught up to where I currently am in the series. Whew.
-So this book apparently takes place seven years after the last one? So I do feel like I've missed a lot. And I think I did miss some novellas or short stories or whatever.
-So Miles is living his double life as Admiral Naismith and Lt. Vorkosigan. And this chapter's encounter with the commander of the embassy seems to highlight to potential awkwardness of that double life. It does seem like if he's been doing this for seven years he would have a smoother method of reported and getting paid. Of course, I know he didn't expect to be on Earth.
-Speaking of which, hey, it's Earth! I don't remember hearing about Earth as a still-existing place where people live before. I just assumed that Earth had been destroyed or something, like in Firefly, Cowboy Bebop, or BSG. So, that's interesting. I hope we get to see Earth a bit.
-Lt. Quinn came onto Miles and he turned her down and now he's lusting after her and its awkward. I have to confess I was spoiled that she became his love interest while looking at the book order on the Wikipedia page. So eventually they will at least date, I guess. (I also know that at some point Miles gets married, but it could be someone totally different, I have no idea.)
Chapters 2-4
-I'm kinda not thrilled at Miles being back under the control of the Barrayarran military because I don't know, I guess I have problems with authority and just want him to tell them to fuck off all the time.
-So it's funny that at the first opportunity, he runs away to be Admiral Naismith again
-I find the romance stuff pretty adorable because, well Miles is just too cute
-But the living cat fur that purrs and snuggles but is just a skin CREEPS ME THE FUCK OUT. I don't know if its because I find the whole thing inherently icky or because I have issues with bioengineered animals in general due to a Connie Willis short story I once read. (You REALLY don't want to know what those pets were engineered for.)
-I pretty much agree with Miles that he's a genius for coming up with the clone story. It will probably come back to bite him in the ass, but I still think it's a great cover.
-The lack of real response from central command and lack of money makes me very worried.
Chapters 5-6
-Let's see, Miles nearly gets run over by a floating truck, whatever the hell that is, and he suspects his commanding officer at the embassy of stealing his money
-And eventually he proposes marriage to Elli and then sleeps with her after she turns him down. It did seem like he was gearing up to propose to her, which seems awfully sudden, but I guess makes sense from his "Lord Vorkosigan" point of view. But I'm glad she turned him down, and for the right reasons. No sane woman WOULD go live on Barrayar. Cordelia doesn't count.
-But it's weird because I'm not sure Miles is in love with Elli? He's obviously in lust with her, and she seems to be in love with him, but he's still hung up on Elena?
-And Captain Galeni is missing, so maybe he did steal the money, although I kinda doubt it? Oh who knows.
Chapter 7
-Holy Shit, there IS a clone out there, and he just swapped places with Miles. WTF???
-Yeah, that's all I got. I was going to go to bed after that chapter, but now I'm fucking awake.
Chapters 8-9
-I'm really, really enjoying the stuff in the cell with Galeni, and Miles' super-hyper fast-penta interrogation, and all the philosophical and political discussion. It's really difficult for me to stop reading to write anything. Cause in Chapter Ten THE EVIL CLONE IS HERE AND I WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS. Oh, and I totally don't think the clone is evil, and I think he's going to turn on Galen at some point.
Chapter 10
-The scene of Miles and his clone is a thing of beauty. I love that Miles intends to lead the clone astray with lies but ends up speaking truth to him and trying to show him how his life could be different. Although I wish he had brought up that the man who trained him and molded him is clearly insane and so he should question what he's been told about the world.
-I didn't mention it before but it's funny how much more believable this clone is than the cloning in Blackout. They have been working on him for 16-18 years and they only accelerated his growth by six years and he doesn't have Miles' memories, he's just been conditioned to act like him. Not to mention the technology is totally believable in this world. This isn't a slam of Mira Grant, because I realize WHY she did what she did, but it still doesn't make scientific sense.
Chapter 11-12
-YAY Elli saves the day!
-And then everything is really complicated because there isn't really a good solution for ending the situation, but Miles seems unwilling to accept anything less than a perfect solution, which I guess is what makes him so awesome. Most of us would settle for a compromise, but he won't.
-And his superior arrives and takes everything over, except the Dendarii are still hunting for the clone and Galeni's dad. I have no idea how this is going to resolve itself.
Chapters 13-14
-I'm really doing badly at making notes. There's too much happening.
-Miles continues to try to figure out a way to get out of this and also try to save his clone/brother. I love when he muses that if everyone but him thinks the clone should die, then maybe....everyone but him is wrong. So, SO Miles.
-So conveniently Galen gets in touch and tells Miles to come meet him and the clone, or Ivan will die. Thankfully, because Miles is not a stupid hero, he calls to verify that Ivan has gone missing, arranges patrols of backup, arms himself with multiple weapons, and brings Galeni along. And also arranges 1/2 a million marks in bribe money that they can't get if he's dead. Seriously, I think THIS is what is so refreshing about this series: it is really, really smart and people don't fall victim to cliches. Miles is a genius hero who ACTUALLY acts like a genius. Which doesn't make him perfect, because he can still be blind about things, and make bad calls, but he doesn't make them out of STUPIDITY.
-So anyway, tense standoff with the bad guys. And Miles manages to talk the clone into not following Galen's orders, which the clone (Ok, fine, we'll call him Mark) acts on by murdering Galen and then running away.
-There's chasing, and shenanigans with lift tubes, and at least two armies trying to kill someone who looks like Miles. Mark eventually leads Miles to Ivan, who is saved, and then they're essentially trapped between the Barrayarans and the Cetagandians, who are both trying to kill one of them.
Chapters 15-16
-MORE ACTION! - So Miles, Ivan and Mark hide from the Barrayarans, Cetagandians, and Earth police in a big vat or something, while the aforementioned groups all take each other out. And then they sneak out.
-And eventually let Mark go on his way with a bunch of money, because ? they can't think of anything else to do with him? Miles wants him to get a better life? He really hopes he'll eventually be a brother for him?
-And Miles is saved getting in trouble by new orders for the Dendarii, and he and his mercenaries ship out to the next thing.
I'm guessing Mark is going to show up again at some point. Well that was definitely a fun book. I'm a fan of Surprise!Clones.
And now I'm caught up to where I currently am in the series. Whew.