Captain Ivan Vorpatril is happy with his relatively uneventful bachelor's life of a staff officer to a Barrayaran admiral. Ivan, cousin to Imperial troubleshooter Miles Vorkosigan, is not far down the hereditary list for the emperorship. Thankfully, new heirs have directed that headache elsewhere, leaving Ivan to enjoy his life on Komarr, far from the Byzantine court politics of his home system. But when an old friend in Barrayaran intelligence asks Ivan to protect an attractive young woman who may be on the hit list of a criminal syndicate, Ivan's chivalrous nature takes over. It seems danger and adventures have once more found Captain Vorpatril.
Tej Arqua and her half-sister and servant Rish are fleeing the violent overthrow of their clan on free-for-all planet Jackson's Whole. Now it seems Tej may possess a hidden secret of which even she may not be aware. It's a secret that could corrupt the heart of a highly regarded Barayarran family and provide the final advantage for the thugs who seek to overthrow Tej's homeworld.
But none of Tej's formidable adversaries have counted on Ivan Vorpatril. For behind Ivan's façade of wry and self effacing humor lies a true and cunning protector who will never leave a distressed lady in the lurch—up to and including making the ultimate sacrifice to keep her from harm: the treasured and hardwon freedom from his own fate as a scion of Barrayar.
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Product ReviewThe beginning reminds me of the cloak and dagger elements of "Ethan of Athos", and as the story moves from Komarr to Barrayar takes on more of the flavor of "A Civil Campaign". Overall a greta read and I found myself giggling madly at some of Ivan's internal comments.
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Product ReviewIvan you idiot! I remember laughing so hard when Ivan got hit with that line. And it wasn't always fair.
Well Ivan is in the thick of it now. Galactic espionage, hit men, and damsels in distress. Reads as good as some of the earlier books. He is no Miles but that is just fine. About time he got his own book.Posted on
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Product ReviewI think I actually like Ivan as a character better than Miles. Miles is very over the top and hard to identify with unless you happen to be a crippled genius. Ivan is just a big oaf with a goofy grin that isn't SELF driven to his full potential. It's great to see events make him dig a bit deeper and realize some of that potential. I'd love to see more Ivan centric books.
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Product ReviewOne if the best of her books lately!
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Product ReviewMs. Bujold delivers another great addition to the Barrayar series. This book is more in vein of A Civil Campaign than Cryoburn but I'm not complaining!
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Product ReviewAfter I re-read this for the 5th time I'll tell you if I liked Civil Campaign more than this. It's a contender. I bought it at 11pm last night, give or take, and 6 hours later I was reading the epilogue. Mmm, very good book.
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Product ReviewSet before Cryoburn, this shows Ivan Xav Vorpatril at his best. He turns out to have hidden depths - which his mother, already knew. Jackson's Whole, the deal, genegineered people, death, plots, all can be found in this book. Cameos from Ekaterin, The Gregor, Simon Illyan and Coz Miles, enliven a great read.
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Product ReviewMUCH, better than the last two. full of great lines and memorable quotes. I read it all in one go and was sad when it was done only vecasue it was over and I didn't have any more to read. Nujold takes year to finish these books and I hate her for that but this was of the highest quality and I will have ahrd time waiting for the next one.
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