titusfortner's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a collection of two novels and a novella.
Cetaganda is my favorite, and worth 5 stars for that alone. Miles trying to figure out a mystery while learning about a completely alien culture reminds me of Asimov's robot novels (which are amongst my favorites of his). Thoroughly enjoyable.
Ethan of Athos is an interesting tale in the Vorkosigan universe, but without Miles as the protagonist. I'll admit to missing that character. The story is engaging with an interesting perspective on social options as a result of a revolutionary technology.
Labyrinth is my least favorite of the three. Perhaps the novella was too short to provide enough plot for me. Either way I felt that the focus of the book was a little skewed toward parts of the plot that I found uninteresting.
Cetaganda is my favorite, and worth 5 stars for that alone. Miles trying to figure out a mystery while learning about a completely alien culture reminds me of Asimov's robot novels (which are amongst my favorites of his). Thoroughly enjoyable.
Ethan of Athos is an interesting tale in the Vorkosigan universe, but without Miles as the protagonist. I'll admit to missing that character. The story is engaging with an interesting perspective on social options as a result of a revolutionary technology.
Labyrinth is my least favorite of the three. Perhaps the novella was too short to provide enough plot for me. Either way I felt that the focus of the book was a little skewed toward parts of the plot that I found uninteresting.
clairetrellahill's review against another edition
3.0
This omnibus was fine but contained all of the stuff I am meh on in scifi and none of the stuff I am drawn to…..so 2.5 stars.
jandi's review against another edition
4.0
This omnibus editions contains two novels and one novella.
"Cetaganda" walks us through Miles taking on a diplomatic mission/detective case while attending the funeral of the Empress of (barely veiled) hostile Cetaganda. We are treated to Miles' dashes of brilliance, along with a shiny decadent planet with bizarre power structures.
"Ethan of Athos" is unusual in that it does not have Miles as a protagonist. Instead, the protagonist is a doctor from Athos, a planet that took the technological innovation of uterine replicators a bit too far, creating an all male population with a serious cooties complex. Ethan's naivete is a little grating at first, but the story does pick up once Elli Quinn shows up, specially when she does things emulating what Miles would do. "Ethan of Athos" is fascinating from the sociology point of view, but it does lack Miles' brilliance that sends me to laughigng fits.
"Labyrinth" involves some unsavory transactions in crime overrun planet Jackson's Whole. Even though there are covert missions and action galore, the pace is a bit more sedate - it feels like "The Tombs of Atuan" when our two main characters meet.
"Cetaganda" walks us through Miles taking on a diplomatic mission/detective case while attending the funeral of the Empress of (barely veiled) hostile Cetaganda. We are treated to Miles' dashes of brilliance, along with a shiny decadent planet with bizarre power structures.
"Ethan of Athos" is unusual in that it does not have Miles as a protagonist. Instead, the protagonist is a doctor from Athos, a planet that took the technological innovation of uterine replicators a bit too far, creating an all male population with a serious cooties complex. Ethan's naivete is a little grating at first, but the story does pick up once Elli Quinn shows up, specially when she does things emulating what Miles would do. "Ethan of Athos" is fascinating from the sociology point of view, but it does lack Miles' brilliance that sends me to laughigng fits.
"Labyrinth" involves some unsavory transactions in crime overrun planet Jackson's Whole. Even though there are covert missions and action galore, the pace is a bit more sedate - it feels like "The Tombs of Atuan" when our two main characters meet.
lisagoe's review against another edition
5.0
This omnibus contains 3 novels: Cetaganda, Ethan of Athos, and Labyrinth. First, let us say that these are some of the best books I've ever read. Bujold creates stories that are action packed but affecting and I'm a little worried about how I'll manage once I work my way through the series. These three stories are linked by gender concerns: Cetaganda is a planet where the dynastic dna of the ruling class is managed like a bonsai tree, clipped and pruned into a work of art. Ethan of Athos is about a man who is charged with solving the reproductive challenges faced by an all male planet. Labyrinth is about what makes us human focusing on sex, monstrosity and compassion. All three stories packed an emotional punch for different reasons.
The power politics in Cetaganda were fascinating, although the main character's need to prove himself in conventional ways is more extreme here. The mystery mirrored the unfolding of the society where the story is set.
Ethos of Athens starts with a lot of default stereotypes: the character comes from an all male planet, where women are reviled, so doesn't know how to deal with women when he first meets them. People's reactions to finding out he's from Athos are often homophobic, but that develops nuance as the story progresses as well. At its heart, it's the story of a guy who's always tried to do the right thing finally coming into his own.
Labyrinth is harder to describe without giving away the plot. It's set on a world where the limits of genetic manipulation are defined by the reach of your purse. There are some interesting political machinations and a metaphorical Minotaur. It hits hard and unexpectedly and it was this story more than the other two even that made me want to read a feminist critique of Bujold's work.
My sense is that, like the character of Miles' mother, Bujold survived by carving out space for herself in a very patriarchal, male dominated world. Her publisher, Baen, considers itself a bastion of traditional sci-fi, even, so that level of the politics interests me too. All speculation aside though, there's a lot in here to unpack as well as fantastic storytelling. Cannot recommend highly enough.
The power politics in Cetaganda were fascinating, although the main character's need to prove himself in conventional ways is more extreme here. The mystery mirrored the unfolding of the society where the story is set.
Ethos of Athens starts with a lot of default stereotypes: the character comes from an all male planet, where women are reviled, so doesn't know how to deal with women when he first meets them. People's reactions to finding out he's from Athos are often homophobic, but that develops nuance as the story progresses as well. At its heart, it's the story of a guy who's always tried to do the right thing finally coming into his own.
Labyrinth is harder to describe without giving away the plot. It's set on a world where the limits of genetic manipulation are defined by the reach of your purse. There are some interesting political machinations and a metaphorical Minotaur. It hits hard and unexpectedly and it was this story more than the other two even that made me want to read a feminist critique of Bujold's work.
My sense is that, like the character of Miles' mother, Bujold survived by carving out space for herself in a very patriarchal, male dominated world. Her publisher, Baen, considers itself a bastion of traditional sci-fi, even, so that level of the politics interests me too. All speculation aside though, there's a lot in here to unpack as well as fantastic storytelling. Cannot recommend highly enough.
sonofthunder's review
3.0
Well, I could almost count this as 3 books, as it's comprised of 2 novels (Ethan of Athos & Cetaganda) and one novella (Labyrinth), but it's all contained in this handy omnibus and so is in actuality bound all together and so one book it is. I enjoyed this read, although not all parts equally so. Bujold is a master of her craft and I'd forgotten how fresh and wonderful her writing is. I do love me a good sci-fi novel but so many can be a bit heartless and dark and grim at times. Bujold enlivens her stories with personality and her characters are ever so real. There's a warmth and joy here that isn't often present in sci-fi (or...in any books, for that matter!). Yes, there are spaceships and plots and fancy technologies and all that...but there are also relationships and genuine human concerns swirling throughout these books. And that grounds these books a bit. Of course, Bujold's plots are relentlessly forward moving, driven (usually) by the dynamo that is Miles Vorkosigan. Miles is a joy (and sometimes exhausting!) to read about and these stories (more so than some of the previous ones) highlighted his disabilities and how they affect him...while also not lessening him in any way. Now - I've barely touched on the actual stories in these books, so briefly...I simply loved Cetaganda, a glimpse into a quite alien mindset. The previously faceless villains, the Cetagandans are much expanded on and humanized and I really enjoyed the peek into their world! A aristocracy that controls and manipulates the human genome. Fascinating, indeed. And Miles was something to behold in this one. Oh Miles, you just can't help yourself, can you? But he was magnificent nonetheless and I loved this story in all its overwrought glory. Ethan of Athos, slightly less so. Partially because of the absence of Miles (very keenly felt!) and partially just due to the nature of the story itself. Bujold does a wonderful job of imagining all the implications of the technology she creates, and so as a consequence of the reality of the uterine replicator, she posits a world of only men (women - no longer required!). Fascinating indeed, but also disturbing seeing a whole society who hates and fears women and consequently utterly isolates themselves from women. Ethan was just a bit of a bland protagonist, which also detracted from my interest in the tale. But still an enjoyable read. It was great seeing Elli Quinn again and she was definitely the best character in the story! The last story, the novella Labyrinth was a quick read and honestly over a bit sooner than I would have liked. Would have enjoyed more of Miles and the Dendarii's adventures on Jackson's Whole. But this story was beautiful primarily for setting up expectations...then shattering them utterly. I shall say no more for fears of spoiling. Now, let me end this far too long of a review.
wildflowerz76's review
5.0
Cetaganda - 11/27/11 - A- - This was a great story overall, but I found myself more than once getting confused on all the different characters. There were a TON of them, as well as so many complicated rules for the Ceta peoples. Other than that, though, I liked it a lot.
Ethan of Athos - 11/29/11 - B+ - On a whole, this story was good. The one thing I found to be preposterous was that the person they were looking for that took the Athos stuff was RIGHT THERE when it all went down? The situation with Athos did made me think about the author's intentions. Is she saying that homosexuality is a learned thing? I mean, ALL the men on Athos are presumably gay. Or is she saying that people (or just men?) are all bisexual and since other men are the only available option? And how did Athos start in the first place? Did a big group of learned gay men decide on it? Anyway, I guess since it makes you think, it's a success, yes?
"Labyrith" - 11/29/11 - A- - This was an interesting story that did well after Ethan of Athos. The cat-woman/Miles stuff was a bit odd, but sweet just the same.
Ethan of Athos - 11/29/11 - B+ - On a whole, this story was good. The one thing I found to be preposterous was that the person they were looking for that took the Athos stuff was RIGHT THERE when it all went down? The situation with Athos did made me think about the author's intentions. Is she saying that homosexuality is a learned thing? I mean, ALL the men on Athos are presumably gay. Or is she saying that people (or just men?) are all bisexual and since other men are the only available option? And how did Athos start in the first place? Did a big group of learned gay men decide on it? Anyway, I guess since it makes you think, it's a success, yes?
"Labyrith" - 11/29/11 - A- - This was an interesting story that did well after Ethan of Athos. The cat-woman/Miles stuff was a bit odd, but sweet just the same.
jerefi's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the first story immensely, but the following to were just OK for me, not bad…just not as engaging to me as all the others in previous volumes thus far. Still well written just perhaps not my cup of tea.
tuftymctavish's review
3.0
I think I liked Labyrinth the best in this collection, despite it being the shortest at half the length of the other 2 stories. This is mainly because it's an action-based story, with less of the political fluff of Cetaganda, and it directly involves Miles, unlike Ethan of Athos. That being said, the Athos story integrated with Labyrinth and earlier stories nicely, so I rate that in second place in this collection. The fluff and pomp of ceremony in Cetaganda not being to my taste places it third overall.
tasadion's review against another edition
3.0
The first two novellas were a bit weak, without the frantic action and fun if the previous work. Ethan of Athos had some interesting ideas, but was struggling to deliver. The final novella, Labyrinth proved the weakness of the first two by being much stronger and more focused.