I used to complain about the strong positive correlation between a woman's attractiveness and her preference for the worst sort of jerk. After marrying a beautiful woman myself I decided I had better shut up before I proved my own theory.


Marriage was a lottery, and you drew your lot in late adolescence or early adulthood at a point of maximum idiocy and confusion.

Ekaterin Vorsoisson has endured ten years of Etienne, her domineering deadbeat husband and his get-rich-quick scheming. After bouncing around for years he seems to have finally settled in as a minor official on the Barrayaran-conquered world of Komarr. He is even promising to save enough money to have himself and their son treated for the embarrassing genetic defect that the family keeps secret.

But an accident (or sabotage?) of political significance brings Ekaterin's uncle Vorthys, an Imperial Auditor, to Komarr to investigate. He and his sidekick, a dwarfish young new Auditor named Miles Vorkosigan, intrude on the Vorsoissons' hospitality for the duration of the case. Unlike most Barrayarans, Ekaterin has no trouble seeing past Miles's disfigurement and finds herself being drawn out of the shell her marriage has imposed by the little man's wit and irresistible stubbornness. As Miles treads the pins and needles of the Vorsoisson household, he begins to suspect that the root of the political crisis is to be found right under Etienne's nose. Not unlike the beautiful, talented, intelligent wife that Etienne takes for granted.


It was seldom he found himself in company who made him feel this stupid.

The hero of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga, Miles Vorkosigan, may face certain personal challenges. But through genius and bulldoggedness he has ridden roughshod over every obstacle. It's not often he finds himself at a loss. So I particularly enjoyed his frustration at falling in love with a married woman. This is the first time he has suffered unrequited love since his attempt on Elena Bothari in Warrior's Apprentice (one of his defining moments for me), and I relished both his awkwardness and his conflicted attraction and sense of propriety.

Bujold complicates things by giving Miles exactly what he might have wished for, in a way that deprives him of any enjoyment. And when he rushes to redeem himself by saving the day he finds his help isn't necessary, thank you very much.

As a protagonist Miles has been floundering since Brothers in Arms. By that point he was quite simply played out. Mirror Dance skirted the problem by focusing on Mark. Memory tackled it by forcing Miles through an introspective crucible and reinventing him as an Imperial Auditor. Notwithstanding, and despite all my fondness for the character, I fear he can never again hold sway over a novel's storyline like he once did. In Komarr this problem is remedied by telling half the story from Ekaterin's perspective. Lucky for us.

Ekaterin is a brilliant character. She is a subtle sort of heroine, beginning as a victim. She is withdrawn so far into herself there's nothing for us to grab onto. But each glimpse we get, each crack forced open by Miles's awkward overtures or Etienne's blind provocations, is made a treasure. She is a beautiful personality, hidden and trapped. She finally emerges bold and strong, though not without lingering anxiety.

There are some missteps. When catastrophe strikes, Ekaterin's emotions seem to lack some of the complexity of regret or sorrow. Worse, she makes little allowance for her son, who must weather all shocks and still be on time for school. In fact, little Nikolai is a weakness in the story, feeling rather flat amongst the well-characterized adults.

For all that, the domesticated horror of Ekaterin's relationship with Etienne is as painfully powerful as any of the exotica typically inflicted on protagonists in Vorkosigan novels. Komarr is very intimate that way.

At the same time it's one of the more humorous Vorkosigan books, mostly due to Miles's inhibited infatuation. And while the political crisis serves mostly as context for these character issues, it works much better than the plot in Memory did.

By the end you may not have read much by way of action, suspense, or even science fiction. For Komarr that stuff is all cosmetic. It's the characters that make it worth reading.


– Panguitch


See my Vorkosigan Saga Concordance for an overview of the series, suggested reading orders, and reviews of the other books: http://www.epinions.com/content_4838039684




Recommended: Yes