book post!

[sophia_sol]

Brothers in Arms, by Lois McMaster Bujold

Another good book! This one I hadn't read before, so it was full of me doing things like being all "AWW HI GALENI NICE TO MEET YOU PROPERLY" and "OH THAT'S WHERE IVAN'S CLAUSTROPHOBIA'S FROM" and so forth. It's nice to have all of Galeni's history properly, not just what I'd picked up from fanfic! And I really like him. He's great.

Also of course this book is the introduction to Mark! Miles' reaction to him is a fascinating combination of Barrayaran and Betan: Betan in that he recognizes his clone as being family, and Barrayaran in that this immediately translates to Miles being willing to go to alarming lengths for him, because family loyalty. Good times. Poor Mark is so confused. (As is everyone else!)

But this book, like any book about Miles, is SO STRESSFUL auuuugh. Miles is just so very Miles - and it's a small mercy that he's at least very aware of his own issues. The first part of a Miles book - the part where he's digging himself into trouble - is the worst. After everything awful that can go wrong has gone wrong it's better because watching him work his way back out of trouble is great. BUT THE FIRST PART IS HARD.

(Relatedly, after finishing this book I started reading Memory for the first time but had to slam it shut not very many pages in because MILES NO. NO DON'T DO IT MILES. NO. NOOOOOOO.)

(This was a problem because it was partway through my lunch break at work and I didn't have anything else to occupy myself for the last 20 minutes. So I just sat and brooded over Miles's inescapable Milesness and failed to convince myself to pick Memory back up. I WANT TO READ IT, I DO, but I don't know if I can make myself!)

Comments

[sineala]

Aww, Memory is my absolute favorite, though. Will it help to know that it gets better?

[sophia_sol]

I wish that would help, but ALAS. I have heard from multiple places that Memory is arguably the best book in the series! So I really want to read it! BUT UGH MY BRAIN DOES NOT WANT TO COOPERATE.

Could you tell me the WAY in which it gets better? That might help?

[sineala]

I'm trying to think of a way to answer this that does not completely spoil what does happen, and I am failing. Maybe someone else can come up with it?

[sophia_sol]

No, no, I REALLY DON'T MIND SPOILERS, spoil away! Spoilers HELP!

[sineala]

Uh... he does the thing you don't want him to do (if I correctly understand where you're at), and it goes pretty badly at first re: consequences, and he mopes around being completely depressed, but then gets better because his friends come help him (there are a couple really nice scenes) and then eventually it turns out he can have a happy and fulfilling life being Miles Vorkosigan that is just as fulfilling as being Miles Naismith, albeit in slightly different ways. But he still gets to use his brain and be awesome.

(Also, Illyan, uh, well, yeah. Things happen. Depending on how much you like Illyan, there might be some tears shed. He undergoes a similar journey. I cry every time.)

[sophia_sol]

Thank you! Could you give me a few more details on how the reveal scene goes down where Miles finds out that Illyan knows he lied? And does that reveal happen pretty soon or will I need to squirm in tortured anticipation of it for a large portion of the book?

I WISH I DIDN'T FIND BOOKS SO STRESSFUL.

(I LIKE ILLYAN A LOT. I will make sure I have tissues!)

[sineala]

It happens pretty soon (ch 6) -- I just grabbed the ebook and am skimming the scene for you. Basically he gets called into Illyan's office and he thinks he's there to get his next Dendarii mission but it turns out Illyan knows and is basically all "so you lied to me and you're not medically fit and you have to resign and take this medical discharge and hand in your eyes." Miles tries to protest, ends up having a seizure in Illyan's office, and resigns and leaves. He has to walk out in view of a couple of ImpSec officers, though. Including Galeni.

He actually doesn't spend that long moping about because Ivan and Galeni come to Vorkosigan House and dump him in an ice bath and then try to cheer him up, which is nice of them. And then he's like, okay, maybe I can try being Miles Vorkosigan instead of Naismith for a change.

Most of the actual plot revolves around things that happen to Illyan. Sad things! But he is okay in the end too, and maybe happier. Like Miles is!

[ETA: Also Galeni is pretty heavily in the plot, in case you are also prone to worrying about him.]

Oh, and if you haven't read "The Mountains of Mourning" (the story where Miles investigates an infanticide) you will probably want to have read that before Chapter 10 or so because he goes back to see the people from that story.

(If you're squicked by people doing things that might get them into social trouble as well, the Vorkosigan novel you might have difficulty with is A Civil Campaign, which hits my embarrassment squick so hard I have to skip several scenes every time. That one is a comedy of manners where key scenes hinge upon Miles (unsuccessfully) trying to keep his romantic intentions secret and the reveal is supposed to be funny and I can't read it and Mark also has a subplot that is supposed to be funny and I can't read that either.)

[sophia_sol]

THANK YOU SO MUCH, you're the best!

[sineala]

Yay! If there's anything else you need to know about it, I will try to tell you. It's not a book about holding OH NO MILES IS GOING TO BE FOUND OUT over your head, it's a book about how he puts his life back together afterwards.

Also I ended up rereading the entire rest of the book last night, so clearly I should be thanking you for the excuse. :)