Vorkosigan Readthrough: Barrayar

[extrapenguin]

This is slightly ahead of schedule, since apparently my weekend shall be consumed by the Barrayar-approved activity of "boffering", that is, "playing medieval warfare with pieces of drainage pipe coated with foam plastic". In any case, here are my notes on Barrayar:

• Hmm, no regents for 120 years?


• There's a very nice description of the Residence near the beginning!


• Aral, you really should've briefed Cordelia before sending her to meet with Kareen. Or given her a Barrayar Translator.


• Kareen only wears half-mourning (grey) in private. Scandalous, or expected?


• What's going on in Darkoi with Count Vorlakial? Do we ever get an answer?


• Kou is 6'4. Barrayarans: tall. Very tall. That's like 193cm in real units. Though since he's a grocer's son, I guess he got adequate nutrition while growing up?


• "Appeal to Irrelevant Authorities at Headquarters" oh, Cordelia


• Bujold: very good with foreshadowing – Vordarian's family tree, Bothari the midwife, A+


• Alys has two sisters.


• Cordelia's Rules of Barrayaran Sexual Behavior :DDD


• Hm, Piotr enjoys explaining Barrayar to Cordelia. An interesting, if tragically brief, moment in canon.


• Gergor's birthday seems to be in the autumn. Ezar's was earlier in the year.


• Cordelia's conversation with Vordarian: very confusing for both of them. Yet another example of Cordelia operating from a completely different reference system.


• Barrayaran therapy: not all that good, it seems.


• The Caravanserai is part of Vorbarr Sultana, but guarded by Count Vorbohn's guard? What's going on here?


• There are a surprising amount of incidents summarizable as "Kou noooo".


• "Post-partum fatigue" oh dear. :D


• Aral and Piotr's arguments are very gut-punching. Piotr, please get your head out of your ass.


• Drou: A+ pulling of Kou's strings during the start of their rescue mission.


• Dorca's great-uncle kept over 300 horses in the old old imperial stables.


• The amount of gut-punch lines seems to have increased notably: ghost of his most notable failure at his banquet of victory


• Vordarian's head! On the table!


• Captain Illyan: certified grade-A puppy.


• Cordelia has a lot of troubles adjusting to the Barrayaran attitude, it seems.

Next book (The Warrior's Apprentice) will be later, I fear, since I'll be going abroad for a while. I can't promise anything, but somewhere in the vicinity of the 6th of July.

Comments

[spiralsheep]

Ezar was in his 40s when he got made Emperor, and didn't have any prior children. That's odd, I think.

I agree it's odd, but perhaps he was afraid they'd be targets for assassination? Gregor has similar fears and also delays "doing his duty" to father an heir.

[extrapenguin]

True, though Ezar IIRC wasn't all that close to the campstool before Piotr plonked him there, so less risk of assassination. Except from Cetagandans.

(Do we have textev for how related Ezar is to Dorca etc?)

[spiralsheep]

Having an heir would presumably have increased Ezar's perceived suitability for the succession. Lurking in the background until the other candidates have mostly destroyed each other has resulted in more than one unlikely historical ruler. Also, making a marital alliance with whoever else survives and assumes power, instead of having to defend a pre-existing extended family of in-laws, could be advantageous. Perhaps there were multiple strategic reasons for him to wait.

There's a family tree on the wiki but I can't verify it:

http://vorkosigan.wikia.com/wiki/Vorbarra

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/vorkosigan/images/6/6d/Vorbarra.gif/revision/latest?cb=20081227101225

[extrapenguin]

I always figured out that Ezar was way, way distant from the succession, and was basically made Emperor due to him being Piotr's Pet Vorbarra. Like, 3rd cousin to Yuri? I also never really saw Ezar as having any imperial ambitions pre-Yuri's Massacre, since that would be too risky.

Frankly, he's exactly the kind of offshoot Vorbarra I'd have expected to have 6 daughters that he'd then marry off to Counts' Heirs so as to have a power block formed from his grandsons.

The family tree's otherwise okay, though Ezar's placement is just a question mark. One of their explanations is plain wrong, though: Miles and Gregor are cousins due to the fact that they share Dorca the Just as an ancestor (great-great grandfather via Prince Xav and great-grandfather via Yuri's full sister, respectively), so Ezar does not need to be particularly related to Dorca.

(I also don't think Miles was stating anything in chapter 18 of Shards of Honor. I do recall seeing that somewhere, though, so likely it's just misattributed.)

(I would very much like for LMB to give us a set of names for some of those people – Aral's wife and siblings, Dorca's wives and kids, a number of maiden names for women, Gregor's spawn...)