Before I start my review I want to point out that, till this book, I thought that Ms. Bujold can do no wrong, so to speak (just check my other reviews of her books). I don't just like her writing style: I'm in LOVE with her technique. So this being said, for the last three days I've struggled to read this novel (I'm only 66% through) and, at this point, I'm almost ready to put it away and move to the next one, in hope of something more.So what went wrong and what went well? (And I'm sorry, but this is going to be longer than my usual reviews.)1) There is a definite improvement in Ekaterin's character compared to Komarr, probably the only good thing I have to say about this novel other than the beautiful writing. Please don't take me wrong: I take my hat off to Ms. Bujold for attempting a rare deed in the SF and Fantasy genre: to show that mothers are true heroines whom most people take for granted. Unfortunately for that good intention, Ekaterin turned out dry, while the the "chemistry" (or the lack of) between her and Miles made me yawn. A Civil Campaign brings up a more interesting Ekaterin, though from what I read so far, I still cannot call this a romance: yes, we are told over and over how highly Miles thinks of Ekaterin, but there is no magnetism between them and, as a reader, I simply couldn't care less if they end up together or not.2) If most of the previous books were occasionally funny, yet always built on a foundation of solid characters, solid plot, and heavy "messages" (without tuning the novels into a soapbox), this book is, for lack of a better word, juvenile (and I mean this with no disrespect to anyone who liked it). Granted, witless Ivan is still hilarious, but what happened the rest of the cast? We are supposed to deal with characters between 20 and 30+ years-old, yet with very little exceptions they demonstrate the maturity of a 12 years-old! I'm going to mention only one of Mark's lines - "Last word: I win."3) Probably even more important than the previous note is the fact that there are serious inconsistencies between the assumptions of this story and the previous books. Do you remember in Komarr when Miles and Uncle Vorthys have no problem whatsoever in sharing every single detail of their governmental secret investigation with clearance-free Aunt Vorthys, with clearance-free Ekaterin, and not only clearance-free, but terrorist-friendly Tien? Or do you remember when Uncle Vorthys tells to clearance-free Ekaterin the story of the breakout from the Cetagandan prisoner of war camp, which if publicly revealed would have been considered an act of war toward Cetaganda? Because if you remember, you must understand why it bothered me to no end that all of the sudden in A Civil Campaign ImpSec can't release the details of the terrorist act from Komarr to the Council of Counts. Let me say this again: civilian Aunt Vorthys is in the need-to-know pool for that investigation (along with civilian Cordelia and civilian Ekaterin), but not the government of the country?! How did this problem even pass the beta readers?4) I mentioned before the fact that, in my reading experience, Ms. Bujold does a spectacular job in not turning her books in a soapbox. Tolerance, responsibility, equality of the sexes, honor, and so on are always promoted, most often discretely if not downright surreptitiously. Regrettably A Civil Campaign deviates from that norm by delivering repeatedly explicit lectures on one topic only: promoting women's emancipation is always a great purpose, but here this is somehow distorted into equating it with the sexual exploration. Not that I have anything against sexual discovery; but shouldn't one's personal emancipation (and I talk about both men and women) be more about about education and discovering one's identity and limits than just sex? 5) Last Cordelia develops a serious case of parental favoritism (and questionable judgement), which in fact started in Mirror Dance: Mark can do no evil, while Miles always misbehaves (even when, in my opinion, he doesn't). Do you remember her little speech from Mirror Dance down these lines: my dear Mark, don't worry that because of you, your brother was killed - after all nobody asked him to take that suicide mission to save your sorry butt... (of course I would have killed him if he didn't save you). Well, in A Civil Campaign it gets worse! Cordelia tells Miles that it was wrong to offer the woman he loved her heart's desire (to design and create a native garden) because he did it to trap her. I would be the first one to say that it was wrong to do so if he found her her work mediocre or if he didn't care about it at all. But in Komarr he calls her work "lovely," a "serenity," "beautiful," and he declares that she has an "artist's eye" for designing gardens. So why, oh why would it be wrong to ask her to create for him something that he obviously thinks the world of? (And no, he doesn't know her well enough to ask her to work for free for him! That would be utterly disrespectful.)You see, I consider myself a moderate feminist, although probably the scholastic term for my beliefs is equality feminism or liberal feminism (the kind that promotes equality between men and women in all domains). This being said, not only that I don't find anything insulting with Miles's "strategy," I actually think it's what I would have done if I were in his shoes. Yet, here comes mother Cordelia, who slaps him for stealing Ekaterin's victory from her. How can that be, when in the previous book he thought that she is entitled to that victory? I know that this review is three paragraphs too long, but this novel fell so short of my (granted, very high) expectations. :(
This was such fun. This is the 12th book in the Vorkosigan Saga, and though I think it probably could stand alone, I think it's even more enjoyable if you read the prior books, starting at least with the omnibus work Young Miles. I think a lot of the enjoyment in the doings of familiar characters and of the political intrigues might be lost--or of lesser interest--if you haven't followed the books. The series is usually described as space opera, but definitely blends genres--often dropping a mystery into the plot. That the main focus of this book is romance is revealed by the dedication: "For Jane, Charlotte, Georgette, and Dorothy—long may they rule." I could easily fill in the blanks: Jane Austen. Charlotte Bronte, Georgette Heyer, and Dorothy Sayers. There is a gaggle of sisters, parallel sibling romances, failed proposals, second chances, trying to become a couple without losing yourself, witty banter, comedy of manners and lords and a royal wedding. But a conventional, romance-aisle love story? Decidedly not. Although amusingly you couldn't tell from the cover. The hero of the Vorkosigan Saga you see is Miles Vorkosigan. Because of an attack on his mother while she was pregnant Miles was born with several physical defects. He's short (four foot nine inches) crouch-backed, big-headed and brittle boned and scarred from many medical procedures. It's part of his charm that he not only overcomes his disabilities but... um overachieves. He makes Captain Kirk look like a slacker. But what do we have on the cover? A handsome man taller than the blonde woman he's dancing with. (And Miles' romantic interest in this has "dark hair.") Hilariously wrong. But that's a lot of what I love in the series and novel in a nutshell. That it defies expectations. (I can't see a Heyer Regency including a Lord who has undergone a sex change.) The book even has my favorite Bujold quote: "Reputation is what other people know about you; honor is what you know about yourself." And did I mention fun? If Mirror Dance was the darkest in the series thus far, this is definitely the lightest. I guffawed at the "Butter Bug" incident--hell, the Butter Bug chapter! And I laugh out loud at a book even more rarely than I cry--and I'm not easy. In fact, this is the first time I can remember a Bujold book making me giggle madly like that. More than once at that. And that is one of the reasons why this book earned five stars. My favorite Vorkosigan book thus far.
What do You think about A Civil Campaign (2000)?
Originally posted at FanLit: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...I was afraid I wasn’t going to like A Civil Campaign as well as the previous VORKOSIGAN novels because, according to the description, the plot takes place all on the planet Barrayar and it deals mostly with relationship issues for several of the characters. Most of the various editions of the book sport covers with couples dancing or getting married. So, yeah, I thought it was a romance novel.Well, A Civil Campaign is a romance novel, but because it involves the romances of Miles Vorkosigan, his clone brother Mark, and his tomcatting cousin Ivan Vorpatril, it is, thankfully, a lot more than that. Along with the romance, Bujold weaves in a few funny subplots that both entertain and advance the plot of the VORKOSIGAN series on the non-romantic fronts, too.Miles’ goal in this book is to convince the widow Ekaterin Vorsoisson to marry him. (We met her in Komarr.) Ekaterin’s first marriage was painful and she is not inclined to repeat the experience. That’s just one problem. The other is that Ekaterin is beautiful and a Vor. Since beautiful single Vor women are rare on patriarchal Barrayar (the previous generation genetically selected for boys), they are in high demand. Miles has to court Ekaterin without scaring her away while he attempts to fend off all other suitors and while he tries to maintain his dignity as an Imperial Auditor. Other romances are going on, too. Gregor’s wedding is being planned by Ivan’s mother. Mark is courting one of the Koudelka girls (her father is not pleased!) and Ivan has suddenly realized that while he has been happily carousing for years, all the best girls were getting snatched up.Meanwhile, since Aral Vorkosigan is off planet, Miles is left with his father’s political duties and the counsel has to deal with a couple of inheritance disputes. One of them involves the problem of patriarchy and the other involves racism. Lois McMaster Bujold has a way of commenting on these issues using humor instead of a hammer — it’s both effective and entertaining.Along with the all the romance and politics, Bujold serves up a hilarious storyline in which Mark, who now considers himself an entrepreneur, teams up with a brilliant but socially inept scientist to genetically engineer insects that vomit up a cheap and nutritious creamy substance that they hope to market to the universe. They set up a lab in Vorkosigan house and get the lovely Koudelka girls to be their lab assistants. This slapstick storyline is a little over the top, but I thought it worked well as a contrast to the politics and romance. Bujold weaves all of these plots together for a synergistic effect that’s quite pleasing.There are some niggling little problems with A Civil Campaign, at least for me. One was that I couldn’t muster up the attraction for Ekaterin that Miles seems to feel. I am not sure why he loves her — she’s kind of dull. Also, her reaction to the discovery that Miles was trying to sneakily court her was unreasonable, and his reaction to her reaction was even more unreasonable. This has to do with my second complaint which is that Miles and Mark are both in their thirties but act like they’re eighteen. Miles is an Imperial Auditor, in fact — a very distinguished position in the empire. I forgave their immaturity in previous novels because it seemed like the messes they got themselves into weren’t really their faults. In this novel, though, they don’t have such a good excuse… On the other hand, this juvenile behavior, which culminates in this case in a disastrous dinner party, is exactly what makes the plot so entertaining, isn’t it?I’m listening to Grover Gardner narrate the audio version of the VORKOSIGAN saga. He’s awesome.
—Kat Hooper
A beauty and the beast story, only insofar as physical appearance, not the magical, gothic, or blackmailing bits. The hero, Lord Miles Vorkosigan, is often referred to as a dwarf (albeit 4.9) and a mutant, the mutie lord. Riddled with scars, he's got a big head on a short neck, and just a slight hunch, despite corrective surgery. However, he's brilliant, charming, sardonic, compassionate, and funny. A deadly enemy, a loyal friend. He gets his girl -- a beauty -- on character, not looks, despite some missteps. Likewise for his twin-like cloned brother Mark. First read Komarr, to learn how Miles meets and falls in love with the wary widow Eketarin, who helps him foil a terrorist attack (my review). Better yet, read the whole series, starting with Shards of Honor.I loved A Civil Campaign, so named because Miles is strategizing to win a cool beauty, rather than campaigning across the galaxy in battle, as seen in prior books. Nope. This one is romance -- a sparkling, frothy, funny love story after the tradition of Georgette Heyer and Jane Austin. No intergalactic adventures, but plenty of politicking and sociocultural issues -- gender bias, sex change, inheritance laws, and gene pools. Alternatively serious, philosophical, and chuckle-worthy. I laughed out loud several times. The butter bugs! The marriage negotiator (holy baba) and that one particular couch (reference to Barayar, book 2). LOL! There is one small-scale attack scene, too, for those who gotta have their adrenaline fix. For more on the three books that collectively tell the story of how Miles meets, courts, and marries Eketarin, see my review of Miles in Love, a digital collection of Komarr, A Civil Campaign, and Winterfair Gifts.Cover Art: I read this in the Miles in Love kindle collection, not via Blackstone Audio. However, I like the Blackstone cover illustration. I don't like the original cover art published by Baen Books, because Miles is not supposed to be depicted as taller than Eketarin, and she should have brown hair with amber highlights. (One comment suggests the Baen cover shows Gregor and Laisa).__________ My reviews of this series (*favorites): Shards of Honor review*Barrayar review*The Warrior's Apprentice reviewThe Vor Game reviewCetaganda reviewThe Mountains of Mourning reviewLabyrinth review*Borders of Infinity reviewBrothers in Arms reviewMirror Dance review*Memory review*Miles in Love: Komarr, A Civil Campaign, Winterfair Gifts review*Komarr reviewDiplomatic Immunity reviewCaptain Vorpatril's Alliance reviewCryoburn review
—Kathleen
Bujold's acknowledgement thanks Jane (Austen), Charlotte (Bronte), Dorothy (Sayers), and Georgette (Heyer). I've not yet read A Civil Contract, Heyer's contribution to the book's DNA, but A Civil Campaign was much improved in consideration to those literary forebears, and I'm glad to have pointed you in that direction. Though I'm not quite as interested in Peter as ancestor to Miles as I am in Harriet as ancestor to Ekaterin.
—Ferret
