Kibou-daini is a planet obsessed with cheating death. Barrayaran Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan can hardly disapprove—he’s been cheating death his whole life, on the theory that turnabout is fair play. But when a Kibou-daini cryocorp—an immortal company whose job it is to shepherd its all-too-mortal frozen patrons into an unknown future—attempts to expand its franchise into the Barrayaran Empire, Emperor Gregor dispatches his top troubleshooter Miles to check it out.
On Kibou-daini, Miles discovers generational conflict over money and resources is heating up, even as refugees displaced in time skew the meaning of generation past repair. Here he finds a young boy with a passion for pets and a dangerous secret, a Snow White trapped in an icy coffin who burns to re-write her own tale, and a mysterious crone who is the very embodiment of the warning Don’t mess with the secretary. Bribery, corruption, conspiracy, kidnapping—something is rotten on Kibou-daini, and it isn’t due to power outages in the Cryocombs. And Miles is in the middle—of trouble!
“Fresh, intriguing, and, as always with Lois McMaster Bujold, superb.” —Robert Jordan
“It is such a delight to read something by such a good writer, who now seems to be writing at the height of her powers. . . . I really have seldom enjoyed a book so much . . . I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.” —Diana Wynne Jones
“Living breathing characters who inhabit unusual yet believable worlds.” —Jean Auel
“Bujold successfully mixes quirky humor with just enough action, a dab of feminist social commentary and her usual superb character development . . . enormously satisfying.” —Publishers Weekly
“One of sf’s outstanding talents . . . an outstanding series.” —Booklist
“Excellently done . . . Bujold has always excelled at creating forceful characters and she does it here again.” —Denver Post
“. . . an intelligent, well-crafted and thoroughly satisfying blend of adventure, sociopolitical commentary, scientific experiments, and occasional perils . . . with that extra spicing of romance. . . .” —Locus
About the Author
Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the most honored writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy and has won five Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards, including a Nebula Award for Falling Free, included in Miles, Mutants and Microbes. She immediately attracted attention with her first novel, Shards of Honor, which began her popular Vorkosigan series, and quickly followed it up with The Warrior’s Apprentice, which introduced young Miles Vorkosigan, one of the most popular characters ever in science fiction. Her two recent fantasy series for Harper-Collins have been top sellers, from which Paladin of Souls took home her latest Hugo Award. The mother of two, Ms. Bujold lives in Minneapolis, MN.
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Product ReviewCryoburn starts off seeming almost pedestrian compared with the heights of the past few novels in the series. The mystery and adventure are still there, but the mayhem is far less chaotic and almost un-Miles-ish. And the humor and romance of "The Courtship of Miles V." sequence is almost completely missing. I think the biggest problem is that Miles is emotionally detached from this case, which leaves the reader detached as well. A plot line told from a point of view other than Miles would have helped immensely. There are individual scenes that use a different POV, but they still end up leaving the reader detached from the characters.
But in the end it turns out this whole novel is a ploy to lull you for the kicker of an ending. No spoilers here, but the ending hits a whole slew of emotional buttons that were left untouched through the rest of the novel. It seems as though the subdued tone of the novel is due to Ms. Bujold's anticipation of the ending, whether intended as foreshadowing or due to her own emotions leaking into the tone of the writing.
All in all, this isn't one of the classics of the Vorkosigan saga, but it's worth your money nonetheless. Just don't expect another "Civil Campaign".Posted on
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Product ReviewAnother tour de force for Bujold. May she live forever and write 4 of these a year! These characters are real people, but people you can admire and wish to emulate. Never a moralistic bent, but you get the idea. Duty, responsibility, truth, honor, justice: palatable and fascinating. Absolutely believable. This whole series, each of which can stand alone, is in the "can't put down" category.
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Product ReviewThere are times you want to shout out a spoiler to all the people waiting in line for what you've experienced. "Soylent Green is people!" or "It's a cookbook!" This is one of those times.
But I won't. If you're a Vorkosigan fan, you want and need to read this book. If you've never read any Vorkosigan stories, you'll still love it. Read the sample chapters and get hooked like the rest of us.Posted on
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Product ReviewI adore the Miles Vorkosigan series and have been hanging out the last few months waiting for it to come out. It was worth the wait!!!! While i missed having Ekaterina around, i am glad we got to see more of Armsen Roic (especially after rereading Winterfair Gifts) Miles is back in action! This is a more calmer and settled Miles than we have seen before, secure in himself and the family he has created and has learnt to include others in his adventures, not try to tackle the world himself. A great read, for the majority of the book i was thinking "This is a nice story to catch up on Miles - a comfortable read to finish the series" and then you get to end and i was like "But, but..... she cant do that!! I didnt see that coming at all" Now i am dying to read the next one (There had better be a next one!!!) For everyone who loves Miles this is a guarenteed must read. If you are just entering this series, the book is easy enough to follow, however you will miss some of the emotional impact that colour the events in this book. All in all another favourite for my re-read list.
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