Vorkosigan Readthrough: Mountains of Mourning

[extrapenguin]

• "Well, old man," he whispered, then shouted: "ARE YOU SATISFIED YET?" is a pretty good summation of Miles' life


• And so Admiral Aral's life took General Piotr's like an overpowering hand of cards, and where did that leave Ensign Miles? Holding two deuces and the joker. He must surely either concede or start bluffing like crazy…, too


• There were 50 000 Firsters. I wonder how good a diverse population that would make? Is that enough that most of the birth defects are due to radiation, rather than from bad recessives showing up due to inbreeding?


• How long was the Time of Isolation, anyway?


• What's an "aura detector" that Miles referred to – some sort of infrared recording thing?

Next up, The Vor Game, on the 7th of August (Sunday), with a reminder on the preceding Wednesday.

Comments

[cahn]

Gosh, I hadn't read this story in years -- it's really amazing, and deserves all its awards. (I may be a bit bitter, as I'm also in the process of reading this year's Hugo nominees, and… no. Even Bujold's work in this category this year (Penric) can't measure up to this.)

It's just really, really well-written; I feel like in very few words it manages to sketch out quite a lot about Miles, his Issues, whole tons of Barrayar worldbuilding — and as well work in plot and harrowing emotion AND issues.

I had to laugh at the scene where the idea of cavalry and the horse as a romantic symbol of the Vor is introduced — and then we find out Miles' horse is named "Fat Ninny." Great humor beat, there.

Somehow I had completely forgotten that Pym was Bothari's replacement, probably because the two are so very different. When Miles wondered whether anyone missed Bothari except him, I might have said aloud, "No, Miles. None of us miss Bothari."

Interesting that Miles feels Aral already knows the answer (and it's very possible he's able to figure it out just from talking to Harra), and expects Miles to be able to figure it out. What if Miles had handled it wrongly?

It's the first time I've read the story since having kids, and there were some things that pinged me that wouldn't have before. I cringed sympathetically when Miles (authorially) points out that it's a seven-day walk that Harra's done, weeks after having her first baby. (OUCH.) And that he notices Harra's breasts are milk-full — although honestly I suspect that's out of character for a young man and only child to notice. (I also hoped she didn't get mastitis!) Miles reads Harra's account of Lem as an unsympathetic lout, but of course as the story goes on we find that's not so — but on this reading I also cringed sympathetically for Lem; it seems like a very natural (if not the best) reaction to a small infant who cries all the time.

The scene with Ma Mattulich always makes me tear up in its emotional brutality. It's interesting — Bujold manages to make me feel awfully sorry for Ma Mattulich, while completely horrified by her. Also in the category of "reactions since having kids," I just can't even imagine bearing FOUR dead babies, the first two dying on their own and being forced to kill the second two. By your mom. AUGH. I imagine that would warp just about anyone.

[tree_and_leaf]

What if Miles had handled it wrongly?


Well, there's got to be a first time. I agree that Aral may well have guessed what's going on, so he may well think it's a combination of a relatively easy case (in terms of figuring out the facts) with one that's difficult and heart-rending and will make Miles take the problems and realities of the District seriously.