Reading: The Mountains of Mourning

[white_hart]

If the Miles Vorkosigan of The Warrior's Apprentice is Francis Crawford of Lymond In Space, in the novella The Mountains of Mourning he's basically Lord Peter Wimsey In An Isolated Rural District On An Alien Planet*, as he's sent as his father's representative to investigate an alleged case of infanticide in a small village in a remote corner of Vorkosigan District.

For a short book, this packs a lot in. As well as a competent whodunnit plot, the story explores the backstory of Barrayaran culture and social attitudes, particularly attitudes to disability, and more universal themes of generational differences in social attitudes. It's the sort of science fiction that doesn't really feel like science fiction; with the exception of the interrogation drug fast-penta there's no futuristic techology and it's hard to believe it's set in the far future instead of, say, the 1930s. It's an interesting and thoughtful read, and I liked it a lot (though I was a bit taken aback at "Ma" apparently being a formal honorific for older women, but maybe that's just Barrayar).

*The presence of a minor character called Pym, on a planet where most names appear to be Russian or Slavic in origin, did nothing whatsoever to dispel the Wimsey associations my brain kept making, either.

Comments

[nineveh_uk]

I assume that the "Ma" of Barrayar is along the lines of "Mother" in folk tales, which The Mountains of Mourning feels like a bit, but also given additional ironic weight by the "older woman's role as protector of the genome". Mother and Father, Auntie and Uncle all get used as terms of respect to people who aren't in that role at the time on earth, so Ma didn't shake me for Barrayar.

[white_hart]

I found it very old-fashioned as an honorific, but I suppose, given Barrayar's general social backwardness, it's probably not really surprising.

[sollers]

I never felt social backwardness, more cultural difference, but then I come from a culture where "mam" is both the affectionate term used for ones mother and the word used to refer to the Virgin Mary.