Title: CryoburnAuthor: Lois McMaster Bujold
Series: Miles Vorkosigan
Genre: Science fiction
Published: 2010
Recommendation: A fun and touching adventure with Miles & co. taking on the world.
Rating: 7.5/10
Summary: Miles and Roic are attending a conference on cryo-revival in Kibou-daini. The conference is disrupted by armed protesters who kidnap some of the attendees. Miles escapes the attack but gets lost in the city's catacombs as a result. Eventually he is helped by a street boy whose mother is the key to the mysteries of CryoCorps politics.
Reactions: Having read all Miles Vorkosigan novels in one summer many years ago, I didn't remember much beyond the basic premises of the books and my sheer enjoyment of the novels back then. I eagerly picked up the latest book in the series.
There are several other recurring characters in the book besides Miles. There's his Armsman Roic, clone brother Mark, and Lisa Koudelka. However, most of the book is spent with Miles investigating CryoCorps and getting away with rather crazy plans. The plot is not too intricate, but it's well-paced and entertaining throughout.
Cryoburn barely requires having read previous books in the series, except for a few references to the past and for a better understanding of relationships between characters. I think some of the earlier books were better, but one could certainly jump into the series at this point if so desired. I would recommend starting with Shards of Honor though.
The book is not particularly deep, but it's a fun one. I enjoyed the mayhem around Miles as well as the younger characters of the novel. My book also came with a CD containing an e-book version, which came particularly handy as I started reading the paper copy but switched to the e-book version when I left for my vacation. It seems very generous to release the ebook version for free (the note on the CD states that the book can be shared) and I would be very excited to see more authors doing this.
I've been staring at this book cover in bookstores for the past several weeks, longing to pick it up. The fact that it is part of a series has dissuaded me. However:
ReplyDelete"Cryoburn barely requires having read previous books in the series, except for a few references to the past and for a better understanding of relationships between characters. I think some of the earlier books were better, but one could certainly jump into the series at this point if so desired. I would recommend starting with Shards of Honor though."
With that comment you answered the questions I was thinking about asking you when I saw you reviewed this, so I may just grab a copy now while there are hardbacks to be had and sale coupons coming out the wazoo and will look at snagging Shards of Honor to start with.
Actually, this book comes with a CD containing this and earlier books in an electronic format. If you are not averse to reading on a computer/portable device, then just buying this book may be enough to read the rest.
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting. I had thought the CD only contained this book itself. I noticed they did something similar with the latest David Weber book in the Honor series. Quite clever, if you ask me.
ReplyDelete