Cryoburn

This is the final Miles-centric book for the series. One of the best parts of this book is that we get so much of Armsman Roic's wry point of view of the shenanigans.

To me, this one is weakened by trying to hearken back to the mode of adventure investigation Miles. Diplomatic Immunity works for me because it's sandwiched between two romantic comedies, involves Ekaterin, ties together a number of elements, and crucially ends with a "we really can't keep doing this anymore" moment for Bel and Miles. So, it's a little weird that he does, in fact, keep doing this. This book is set on a new Japan-esque planet that we have not heard of previously and involves mostly new characters; it largely feels like a one-off than a series capstone.

I think there are a lot of good components to this book that don't all gel together. The shadow at the end of the book is that Miles' father Aral Vorkosigan dies, not altogether unexpectedly. And so, this book focuses on a planet where people freeze themselves before death, so that they might be revived later if needed. Unfortunately, I feel like the mystery is more of an conspiracy cover-up investigation of corporations and voting; the (possibly) more interesting cultural feelings around postponing death feel largely unexplored. There's certainly some parallels around children and the absence of their parent, but this wasn't enough to make this book thematically resonate as strongly as it should have.

The ending moment is quite good though, containing fanfic-esque five views of Aral's death, written as drabbles. This is the highlight of the book for me, but is weakened by how thematically disconnected it feels from the rest.

I discovered the Vorkosigan saga this year, and finished up with the (then) last book in June, and have been anxiously awaiting this one. I'm so impressed at the way Bujold manages to write successive books in the same universe without having them explode out into enormous tomes. She often puts some technology at the center of a book. In this case, it's cryogenics. Miles is sent to to a planet where cryogenics is big business, to investigate whether something shady is going on in an investment back home from one of the big firms. Bujold hurtles you through fast paced adventure, with the usual well-mixed-in humor, while spinning out some likely effects on society, business and politics from putting people into suspended animation for long periods of time.[return][return]I do like the way Armsman Roic is developing. The humor is wonderful, as always. I did have to read some of the funny bits aloud, which is always annoying to others, but can't be helped. I can't say why without spoiling, but the ending is beautifully written.[return][return]I haven't re-read it, yet.

This final Miles story in the Vorkosigan saga is a different style from the others in that Miles is seen almost entirely through other people's eyes; mainly Jin (an 11 year old child) and Armsman Roic. The story is interesting and the world it's set on allows for some interesting speculation on some of the problems that would be encountered when cryofreezing becomes a popular option to avoid death. And the general plot is Imperial Auditor Lord Vorkosigan arrives on the planet to find out what's fishy about the cryoindustry's plans to expand into the planet Komarr, uncovers all sorts of underhanded activity, and generally causes a one-man upheaval everywhere he goes.

I'm not sure if it's because so much is seen through the eyes of Jin and Roic, who perforce have simpler points of view than Miles, but this plot doesn't have the energy of the earlier books where Miles is constantly improvising and reacting to one disaster after another. He always seems to be in control, so the action ends up feeling less exciting than in his early escapades which are told from his own perspective. It's not a bad book but not the strongest in the series and certainly not one I'd recommend newcomers start with. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could but I rounded up to 4 because the very ending is such an important part of the Vorkosigan story arc. I wish the book had just been longer and more detailed though and included more about that ending as part of the full novel.