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kirstenrose22's review against another edition
5.0
This went all the places I wanted it to go - very satisfying. Miles is still so very Miles.
mbpartlow's review against another edition
4.0
I love the Vorkosigan books, and this one is very good. It's just not my favorite.
The reason is that I've come to rely on the balance of Miles with Other People on one hand, and Miles with his family/familiar friends on the other. This time there were only letters and communiques with his wife, kids, parents. I don't expect every book to be set on Barryar, but this was a little too much of Miles all on his own for me.
And, hey, I missed Ivan.
Still a really good book, excellent writing, a good mystery. The whole Cryo scenario is totally intriguing. The plot took turns I didn't expect.
How long will we have to wait for the next one?
The reason is that I've come to rely on the balance of Miles with Other People on one hand, and Miles with his family/familiar friends on the other. This time there were only letters and communiques with his wife, kids, parents. I don't expect every book to be set on Barryar, but this was a little too much of Miles all on his own for me.
And, hey, I missed Ivan.
Still a really good book, excellent writing, a good mystery. The whole Cryo scenario is totally intriguing. The plot took turns I didn't expect.
How long will we have to wait for the next one?
mysana's review against another edition
4.5
Grappling with death and grief with a corporate and family mystery.
timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
A good read, but not a great one. Possibly the weakest of the Miles books.
Great line near the end, speaking of Miles: "You have to have noticed he's a hyperactive lunatic."
The whole cryonics plot is a tad far-fetched. The bad guys seemed a bit tepid; I suppose that's a change from other authors' pure-evil baddies.
The characters aren't much, but there are quite a few sections where the interactions work well.
There's a twist at the end that opens the door for future books and some development of Miles' character. For a while there I thought he was on his way to pipe and slippers and cardigan, and I even feared that he might adopt Jin and Mina (it could yet happen, you read it here first!).
A not-very-good Miles book is still a pretty darned good book.
Great line near the end, speaking of Miles: "You have to have noticed he's a hyperactive lunatic."
The whole cryonics plot is a tad far-fetched. The bad guys seemed a bit tepid; I suppose that's a change from other authors' pure-evil baddies.
The characters aren't much, but there are quite a few sections where the interactions work well.
There's a twist at the end that opens the door for future books and some development of Miles' character. For a while there I thought he was on his way to pipe and slippers and cardigan, and I even feared that he might adopt Jin and Mina (it could yet happen, you read it here first!).
A not-very-good Miles book is still a pretty darned good book.
guppyur's review against another edition
3.0
Much like all the other Vorkosigan books, which is to say fun sci-fi pulp. Bujold is, as always, great at throwing out an insane amount of chaos upfront and managing to wrap it all up by the end. Didn't care for the beginning so much; it felt sloppily done as-is, and I'd have preferred to see the events leading up to it rather than beginning in medias res. It matters little for the remainder of the book, which was satisfying.
Minor annoyance: a lot of authors seem to feel obliged to implement faux-Japan at some point in their careers and this is Bujold's turn. Fortunately it's limited to modes of address (-san, -sama, -sensei) and doesn't attempt to mimic Japanese culture and so the annoyance remains minor, although one wonders why the author bothers as it has no bearing whatsoever on anything else including the planet's culture.
Minor annoyance: a lot of authors seem to feel obliged to implement faux-Japan at some point in their careers and this is Bujold's turn. Fortunately it's limited to modes of address (-san, -sama, -sensei) and doesn't attempt to mimic Japanese culture and so the annoyance remains minor, although one wonders why the author bothers as it has no bearing whatsoever on anything else including the planet's culture.
piazelda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
f18's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
katieinca's review against another edition
3.0
Miles and Roic on a weird planet where everyone is frozen for later theoretical revival, and it's a big weird corrupt industry. Theoretically you could use this as a jumping off point for Thinking Thoughts about death-as-a-natural-ending and equal access to medical care and things, but I was busy being muddled about the mystery plot involving contracts and voting shares. Meanwhile, I will remember the book for the delightful invention of the talking genetically engineered sphinx cat (four months later I'm still periodically saying "Foes! Foes!"). It mostly rambles along feeling like just about any Mies book, then there's a random feeling convenient appearance of Mark and Kareen, and then BOOM let's get horribly sad in the last 10 pages.
kzimm2024's review against another edition
5.0
Another solid story. I keep waiting for a story to disappoint me but I am still waiting! Some are better than others in this series, of course, but nothing below a 4 for me. Apparently the final book, Red Queen, would be one of those from all the reviews I have read.
Cryoburn- a story about a planet obsessed with freezing themselves instead of accepting a natural death and obviously this leads to corruption and greed (corporations, sheesh.)
Miles is sent to investigate since something about the expansion to Komarr seems "off" and boy, does he step into it all (just like he always does). Jin was a delightful character and the story moved along quickly after a disorienting beginning. Miles was having a drug reaction and hallucinating angels.
Fun continues as Roic tries to find the "little maniac" since they are separated in a botched kidnapping and to think, they kidnap the wrong body to revive! Great story.
The sphinx was a hilarious addition to Jin's creatures. Mina, Lisa and the Consulate, they all seem sweet together.
I am sorry to see this series ending!
Loved this quote--
“The world is made by the people who show up for the job,” Miles agreed.
Cryoburn- a story about a planet obsessed with freezing themselves instead of accepting a natural death and obviously this leads to corruption and greed (corporations, sheesh.)
Miles is sent to investigate since something about the expansion to Komarr seems "off" and boy, does he step into it all (just like he always does). Jin was a delightful character and the story moved along quickly after a disorienting beginning. Miles was having a drug reaction and hallucinating angels.
Fun continues as Roic tries to find the "little maniac" since they are separated in a botched kidnapping and to think, they kidnap the wrong body to revive! Great story.
The sphinx was a hilarious addition to Jin's creatures. Mina, Lisa and the Consulate, they all seem sweet together.
I am sorry to see this series ending!
Loved this quote--
“The world is made by the people who show up for the job,” Miles agreed.