Reading: Komarr (265/365)

[white_hart]

The eleventh book in the Vorkosigan series, Komarr sees Miles, now an Imperial Auditor, sent with a colleague to investigate an accident to the terraforming equipment on the Barrayaran colony of Komarr. While investigating, he meets Ekaterin Vorsoisson, niece of his fellow-Auditor and unhappily married to a senior Barryaran administrator on Komarr, and the novel is roughly equal parts investigation and comedy of manners, as Miles and Ekaterin develop a friendship, and maybe more.

After Memory, I was expecting another serious and thought-provoking book, which I think is why it's taken me so long to carry on with the series, during a time when I'm really not sure I have the wherewithal to cope with serious and thought-provoking, but in fact I found myself wrong-footed again, as Komarr is fun, and as light-hearted as any book with a non-zero body count can be. I liked Ekaterin a great deal, and the alternating points of view between her and Miles help to prevent Miles's ego ever becoming overwhelming. I look forward to seeing more of her as I carry on with the series.

Comments

[oracne]

I really enjoy the realistic aspects of their romance!

[white_hart]

Yes, it feels very real so far!

[nineveh_uk]

I didn't realise you hadn't read all the Vorkosigan books. I really love Komarr, and now you've reminded me, might read it next.

[white_hart]

I didn't manage to come across Bujold in my teenage SF-reading years, so ended up not encountering her until LJ days. And then I bounced off Shards of Honour the first time I tried it and only read it properly in 2016, after which I started working my way through the rest!

[hilarita]

I have a lot of time for Ekaterin.

[white_hart]

She is wonderful!

[jinty]

I think you should really enjoy the upcoming ones, which are often surprisingly funny. Basically from this point onwards the series is much more Georgette Heyer / Peter Wimsey romance era stuff than Srs Space Opera.

My best tip for a surprisingly funny read is "Lord Vorpatril's Alliance", when you come to it.

[white_hart]

I definitely thought I detected a hint of Wimsey in Miles's banter in this one! I quite enjoyed the space opera, too, especially the ones where Miles gets a bit Francis Crawford of Lymond in Space. (The Warrior's Apprentice is good for that.)

[jinty]

Mile's exuberance and inventiveness in the space opera bits is impressive and fun but a bit wearing to read - I enjoyed reading them but don't particularly fancy re-reading them, whereas I've already re-read a bunch of the later ones despite only reading the series for the first time v recently.

[x_los]

I nearly picked up Civil Campaign for a pound in the charity shop yesterday, but friends were like, ANYTHING but that as a first Bujould, so I remain unenlightened.

[white_hart]

I think that's next on my list, and I agree with your friends that by this point you really need to know the backstory. (I think it would be like my first attempt to read Sayers, in my teens, when the only one the local library appeared to have was Busman's Honeymoon.)