jethrien

Title: Cryoburn
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Science fiction verging on space opera (book 13ish of Vorkosigan saga)
Thingummies: 3.5

Synopsis: Miles gets kidnapped while investigating a possible pyramid scheme involving cryostasis. This predictably goes poorly for everyone else.

Thoughts: At this point in the Vorkosigan saga, the joyful chaos of early installments has aged into something a little more predictable. But visiting old friends is still enjoyable, and while it's obvious how things will end, watching Miles plow through obstacles with crazed verve continues to be entertaining.

There's no longer quite so much personal tension--Miles has accomplished too much and gained too many goals. (Which is probably why it looks like the series is shifting away from him.) And it's not quite believable that anything serious will happen to him in a book he headlines (although Bujold has made it clear she's willing to kill off major characters, which I suspect puts Miles at risk in other people's books). So there is little room here for Miles to get himself into real trouble. The plot bounces along anyway, with some new and engaging characters to supplement some old guest stars.

The climax, I thought, was somewhat, well, anti-climactic. There's enough of a denouement that, when the teasers for two additional books were added to the end, I fully believed the climax was still coming when it had, in fact, passed. Miles never confronts the real malefactors directly--it's all explained by lawyers and newsreports. There's some action, but not enough to really feel satisfying. I can see why Bujold wanted to put so much energy into the denouement, which is used to change quite a lot. But it felt a bit as though she shortchanged the story that was being told, instead of the one that was being set up.

This is no book to start on--it's not as strong as many of the others, and might not make a lot of sense, anyway. But for people looking for a Vorkosigan fix, it will still bring a smile.