Miles Vorkosigan has a mixed bag. On one hand, he’s the Barrayaran heir to a title. He has parents who care about him and have given him a first-class education. When he travels off-world to Beta Colony, he gets sweet diplomatic immunity and a tough bodyguard. Then again, the bodyguard is there in case someone tries to kill him. That’s the other hand. Exposure to a toxin in the womb has left Miles with weakened, underdeveloped bones that are prone to breaking. His diminutive stature doesn’t work in his favour on Barrayar, where people are rather reactionary about that sort of thing. It also washes him out of getting into the military academy, leaving Miles to consider how else he should spend the rest of his life.The actual plot behind The Warrior’s Apprentice sneaks up on you. At first his trip to Beta Colony seems like a diversion, something to help establish character and setting before we proceed to the real task of finding out what Miles will do in lieu of becoming an officer. It’s not until you’re neck-deep in Miles’ increasingly complex scheme to pose as a merchant/smuggler/mercenary that you realize this is the novel, and it’s wonderful.Lois McMaster Bujold is great at fusing elements from different cultures and time periods to create unique yet familiar societies. One of the difficulties in writing other cultures is the “uncanny valley” problem. Different cultures have different traditions, yes, but some human behaviour recurs across cultures. Most societies have swindlers and schemers, heroes and helpers, people who know how to make money, and people who are excessively indolent, motivated, knowledgeable, or creative. It takes a good deal of thoughtfulness and effort to portray such variations within the parameters one creates, or adopts, from one’s synthetic or existing cultural template.Bujold does this multiple times, from Barrayar to Beta Colony to Tau Ceti and beyond. She juxtaposes the reactionary culture of Barrayar with the progressive, collectivist tendencies of Beta Colony. Miles, of course, being a literal mixing of these two cultures, is an interesting test bed for their confluence: he is a Barrayaran noble, but he has some very Betan ideas about how people (especially women) might be allowed to behave.I suppose we could call The Warrior’s Apprentice a bildungsroman. I don’t know if that’s the most interesting way to look at it. Miles is definitely the central character and protagonist, but he’s just so bemused by everything that happens. He dives into something that looks like it will be a minor diversion, only for it to develop into an interstellar incident that results in charges of treason…. This is amusing, and it’s worth noting how Miles grows. (Some things about him never change though—he retains that habit of small acts that are supposed to be diversions coming back to bite him.)Still, Miles is only as good as the people who work with him. And that’s where the most enjoyment with this book lies: the supporting cast. From the terse Sergeant Bothari to his daughter, Elena, and all the people they meet on this adventure, the supporting characters react to Miles’ larger-than-life wit and confidence with a charming mixture of compliance and incredulity. Miles displays a talent for leadership that will serve him well. But he also shows how much he relies on other people. Without Jesek’s technical skill or Mayhew’s piloting prowess or Elena’s fierce commitment and perseverance, Miles would not succeed. So while it’s true that Miles Vorkosigan is himself and interesting and appealing character, it’s really the community he creates around himself that is the star of The Warrior’s Apprentice.Despite Miles admittedly interfering in another society’s civil war, this book doesn’t have quite the same far-reaching scope as Barrayar or Shards of Honour does. If that’s the criteria you’re using, you might well rank this book among the “lesser” books of the Vorkosigan saga. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. That’s sometimes what happens with skilled authors of series this sprawling. I’m discovering that when it comes to Bujold, even a lesser book results in an afternoon or two well spent.My reviews of the Vorkosigan saga:← Barrayar | The Mountains of Mourning →
so i was engaging in a favorite pastime on friday night, namely verbal one-upmanship slash sadistically using the power of my oh so mighty intellect to tease my poor innocent friends, when the very drunk birthday boy said "You know you are going to get smacked if you keep on talking like that." i couldn't help myself: i reached up and gave him a very light & friendly tap on the cheek with the palm of my hand while dropping another dazzling bon mot. sadly, in the middle of my witticism, birthday boy enacted a decidedly non-verbal response and proceeded to smack the shit out of me. later, as i walked drunkenly home, ear still ringing from the horrific attack, it occurred to me that this would never happen to one of my recent heroes, Miles Naismith Vorkosigan of the the space opera lite The Warrior's Apprentice.ah, Miles. what a great creation he is! clever and sharp-tongued, vaguely ambitious, shorter than most, the opposite of a physical threat, kind and even-tempered, clear-eyed in his self-assessments, a little bit self-sacrificing but not in an eye-rolling way, queasy at the thought of causing others harm, full of both self-doubt and ego, always the girl's trusted best friend rather than the object of her passion, the wittiest man in the room and he knows it but he is going to try to keep that to himself so that you don't get upset and take it out on him in surprise smack-attacks. and he talks and he talks and he talks. i love Miles. his character is usually the supporting character, the hero's best friend, the brother who dies, an amusing cameo. it's a great thing for me to know that there is a whole series practically devoted to this lil' guy. he's endearing i suppose, but i personally don't see him as "endearing" because i don't see him as a cute character type. he feels very real to me. part of that may be due to reading all about his parents in the prior books - i know where Miles comes from, i understand the context, i get how his background informs his present. part of that may be due to how much i empathize with him and his various personal travails.the novel itself is about Miles leaving his home planet of warlike Barrayar and inadvertedly creating a mercenary army. oops! for me the plot is really secondary to just sitting back and enjoying Miles. the writing is fine, nothing special but certainly nothing problematic either. Bujold veers towards the bland. style is not the selling point in her skill set - readers come to her for the surprisingly grounded and rich characterization. and so The Warrior's Apprentice may have space battles, mercenaries, revolutionaries, mechanized war-suits, etc, but that's almost besides the point. Miles is the point.Miles - and Bothari. the latter character - a former brainwashed rapist and sadistic torturer who now acts as Miles' bodyguard - is the other big selling point of the novel. Bujold does not downplay his past or excuse it - although in some ways it can be excused (i would say that brainwashing excuses many things) - nor does she overplay his redemption. she gets the character right, she doesn't leave out the ugly or disturbing parts, and yet she still allows the character grace and dignity within his tragic arc. Bujold definitely knows how to write characters that the reader can feel. i felt Bothari, i felt Miles, i felt Elena and Ivan and i am looking forward to feeling the rest of the characters that will be introduced to me in this saga.
What do You think about The Warrior's Apprentice (2015)?
Fantasy Review Barn “Your forward momentum is going to lead all your followers over a cliff someday.” “One the way down, you’ll convince ‘em all they can fly.” “Lead on, my lord. I’m flapping as hard as I can.”So this is the famed Miles Vorkosigan everyone has been going on about, staring in his first solo effort The Warrior’s Apprentice, henceforth to be known as A Series of Improbable Events. Talk about a snowball effect, escalation after escalation, climaxing into yet another escalation. After the two Cordelia books I will admit the pace caught me by surprise. I had no idea what to expect from this one, but a man just trying to keep up with the ever increasing house of cards he built worked just fine.Physically unable to complete his military training (brittle bones make the physical challenge at academy a bit too much), Miles takes a vacation to Betan to see his Grandmother along with his shadowing bodyguard (familiar face Bothari) and the bodyguards daughter. But rather than getting to his grandmother the aforementioned escalations start up; finding a job for a veteran leads to commanding an army that assumes he is something more than he seems.So here I am, often the man who is bothered with little pieces don’t add up, finding myself jumping in with both feet, riding with eyes wide open, and mixing metaphors like a kid in a candy shop. If bits and pieces of Miles crazy story didn’t add up, oh damn well. Because I would be shocked by anyone not caught up in his incredible ride, rooting for a man who may be less underdog than he originally shows. Sure I had trouble buying some of the coincidences, but when they lead to something this fun I can ignore them completely.So when Miles helps talk a man down from a metaphorical ledge? I am excited.And when he suckers a man into selling a ship with a patch of nuked earth? Fist pumping in the air.And oh Jesus don’t think I wasn’t giving a minor cheer every..single..time that new recruits showed up to join his crazy unexpected mercenary group.Bujold has proven to me that she can swing emotions with the best of them. There is no shortage of laughs here, less in a cheap joke style but with plenty of wit coming from both characters and situations. But she can make a reader challenge their own preconceptions of a situation over and over; in this case the continued story of Bothari, now with his daughter Elina in tow. I still can’t decide if Bothari’s actions make up for his past, or if Lord Vorkosigan did the correct thing in helping to hid Elina’s background. And throughout I wonder if I should even be rooting for Miles in this crazy endeavor; at what point is the cost too high for this game he is playing? (Though once it moved from game to pure necessity it was easier to decide).Add in all the things that I have already seen Bujold do so well, especially making every character feel so damn real, and I am in love. I am THIS CLOSE to just reviewing Pratchett and Bujold in an alternating pattern until I am out of books. It is just too much fun.4 Stars
—Nathan
Another quick easy read – though I read it slowly over lunch breaks. This time we are introduced to Miles as he comes into adulthood. He has a lot going against him physically. Brittle bones, curved spine, short – yet still somehow manages to make it to a final test to usher him into a proper Vor military career. Unfortunately for him it’s a very physical test. Unfortunately, strength of will, brilliant tactical and strategic ability, and courage aplenty just can’t overcome physics at times.But that doesn’t stop Miles trying. It doesn’t stop Miles going on a adventure in space that will see him commanding men and ships and coordinating space battles – even if it is by accident. Accident is probably too harsh – I think Miles makes his own luck by sheer determination to not give up.This is technically scifi and space opera – but its lite on both. Adventure in space is how I would class it if pushed. The book’s strength, like the two in the series I read before it, is characters. This story is driven by the characters, especially Miles Naismith/Vorkosigan – but also the likes of Bothari, the security officer on the brink of insanity. By Elena, and by Ivan Vorpatril. I love these characters and it’s for them that I will be continuing on in the series. Though not for all of them – one dies and oh how I felt it. I was also pleased to meet Miles Betan grandmother – fantastic side character. See, I’m already treating these guys as family – and that’s the brilliance of Lois McMaster Bujold. Miles earns the loyalty of those under his command, and he’s earned my loyalty as a reader.4 stars.
—David Sven
*sigh* I really wanted to like this book, but... (That disappointed baby is effing adorable though, so I guess this review won't be ALL bad.)Well, it wouldn't be ALL bad anyway. I wanted to like this so much. I liked the idea of this book much more than I liked the actuality of it, actually. I feel like I've been disappointed with almost everything I've read lately, and I was really hoping for this to just wow me, for it to make me want to put everything else on hold and read the series and just fall into this universe. I really liked the world-building, and the concept of biomech-enhanced jump pilots was really cool. I liked the idea of an accidental mercenary kid who's ballsy and smart. This story had a lot of potential, but just fell short for me on too many levels. I just felt like it was repetitive and unrealistic and... vanilla. OK, so the main character, Miles, has a handicap. That's a plus for me because I like realistic characters who have to legitimately struggle to make it. But then he doesn't. At all. He's rich, his family is practically universally known and respected, he's bi-cultural, he has a lethal bodyguard who is more than willing and more than capable of protecting Miles from any and all danger, be it small armies or stubbed toes, unless ordered otherwise, and pretty much every success just falls in his lap. He stands on the shoulders of those around him, getting by on their ability and sometimes just blind luck, when his position as Vor isn't handy, and shit just falls into line. It's just... boring. Boring to read about someone who only has to say "I'll think of something!" and then he does. Over and over... all these little episodic crises that never really felt serious or thrilling at all, because two paragraphs later Magic Miles has somehow won the fight, saved the day or whatever else was needed for victory. And did it all with this Mt. Everest-esque moral high ground. (And speaking of the action scenes, ugh, they were just terrible. I felt like I never really knew WHAT was going on, but a bunch of stuff was happening, and then bam, it's all over. Tally up another one for Miles.)I wanted to know more about Bothari, but I feel like he was given really short shrift, both in character, and in how his situation was handled. I was so curious about him, and I really wanted to know who he was and what his history was and what he wanted and hoped for, etc... Maybe this is addressed in later (or earlier) books, but, well... the whole thing just felt like a cop out. An accusation and then that's it? I just wanted more. More substance. More struggle, more realism. More. I wanted to really like this, and it sucks that I didn't, because a friend recommended it to me, and I respect her opinions. Oh well. Can't win 'em all. =\
—Becky
