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This is a comedy of terrors...A rich Komarran merchant fleet has been impounded at Graf Station, in distant Quaddiespace, after a bloody incident on the station docks involving a security officer from the convoy's Barrayaran military escort. Lord Miles Vorkosigan of Barrayar and his wife, Lady Ekaterin, have other things on their minds, such as getting home in time to attend the long-awaited births of their first children. But when duty calls in the voice of Barrayar's Emperor Gregor, Miles, Gregor's youngest Imperial Auditor (a special high-level troubleshooter) has no choice but to answer. Waiting on Graf Station are diplomatic snarls, tangled loyalties, old friends, new enemies, racial tensions, lies and deceptions, mysterious disappearances, and a lethal secret with wider consequences than even Miles anticipates: a race with time for life against death in horrifying new forms. The downside of being a troubleshooter comes when trouble starts shooting back.
Fans won't find this surprising in the least, but Miles Vorkosigan--the plucky, short-statured hero of Lois McMaster Bujold's beloved series--is uniquely incapable of having an uneventful honeymoon. Between a racially fueled diplomatic dispute, the appearance of a hermaphroditic old flame, and a bizarre Cetagandan genetic conspiracy, Miles just can't seem to get a minute of peace with his new wife, the lovely and resourceful Ekaterin (whom Miles courted in A Civil Campaign).
Miles had hoped to give "hands-on op games" a rest once and for all, but when the Emperor urgently calls on him to resolve a "legal entanglement" in Quaddiespace, diplomacy alone might prove inadequate. (Quaddies, you'll remember, are the no-legged, four-armed free-fallers introduced in Falling Free.) Our newly minted Imperial Auditor almost immediately forgets all about "Baby's First Cell Division" (after the assignment comes in, Ekaterin quickly observes "You know, you keep claiming your job is boring, Miles, but your eyes have gone all bright"), but even Miles feels the heat after his diplomatic attempts devolve into a series of flattering assassination attempts.
Vorkosigan (and family now!) is as winning as ever, with Bujold offering up her usual fun mix of space-opera action and droll social commentary in a character-centered plot. And here's a bonus for Milesophiles and Vorkosiga novices alike: a book-by-book timeline detailing what trouble Miles got into and when. --Paul Hughes
It's Lonely At The TopReviewed by Lao T. Sue, 2010-02-26
As other reviewers have noted, earlier works in this series dealt with Miles' difficulties fitting into the conservative Barrayaran society. But now Miles has triumphed -- he is an Imperial Auditor, with the Emperer's full support and considerable power. How will he adjust to that? This is what the author is dealing with in this book. Miles couldn't stay forever at the bottom of the pyramid -- he's just too competent for that. So now he has to deal with being at the top -- and Bujold has done a great job of showing us how he succeeds -- just barely -- at it. If you've read the other books and enjoyed them, you'll really enjoy this one -- angst gets boring after a while, doesn't it?
Not a typical Bujold novelReviewed by David A. Maas, 2009-06-02
I've been a major fan of Lois McMaster Bujold for quite some time,
and I was mildly horrified by Diplomatic Immunity - characters that
typically would have been rich, complex, and interesting came
through as extremely two dimensional. In fact, the main reason I
checked this amazon page is that I figured that it may have,
somehow, been written by someone else.
When I first read the Warrior's Apprentince I was captivated by
many things, among them were the complexity of the cultures the
author creates, the occasionally fallible nature of the hero, and
the 3 dimensional, very lifelike antagonists; all of these
qualities were somehow missing in this book.
I still hold out hope that I, somehow, received a counterfit copy.
Overall it was OK, but it was not what I was expecting.
Diplomatic ImmunityReviewed by S.J. Loudy, 2009-02-02
I recommend this audio book highly - I like the voice of the reader, especially how he personalizes the diffenent characters. I am a great fan of all the vorkosigan adventures by Lois McMaster Bujold!
Back With A VengenceReviewed by Travis Starnes, 2008-05-21
Bujold is back in form with this book. This character has always
been great, and Vorkosigan series is one of the better on the
market, but the last few books lost some of the shine that Bujold's
storytelling normally has. Finally Bujold has hit another
winner.
This is book is back to solo Miles, without the distractions of
other characters splitting the primary plot-line. Miles is, as
always, a top notch character. Interesting to watch, flawed enough
to believe, you can't help but root for him. The addition of
Katerina is welcomed, and she manages to bolster the story without
pulling it from Miles, which is always the interesting point. It is
also nice to see some supporting cast from previous books
back.
The story itself is a solid mystery worthy of the early Vorkosigan
mysteries. While Miles does have authority this time, he still
feels like the underdog and coming from behind, which has always
worked for this series.
This is a quality book, and a must get for fans of the series.
Read them all!!!Reviewed by Herve Bronnimann, 2008-02-09
This is the latest (hopefully not last) of the Mike Vorkosigan
series by McMaster Bujold. I just LOVE this author. She makes me
lough aloud (I think in the civil campaign), makes me dream of
rebellions, galactic intrigues, faraway world (Cordelia's honor -
the famous scene when she "goes shopping to the palace"), elates me
(the ceremony at end of Cetaganda). Those are great moments. The
whole (not a single one left out) series of Miles Vorkosigan novels
is superb. Bar none. This being said, the present book is the first
adventure with Miles and Ekaterin together as a married couple, and
while Ekaterin isn't in the center of the story she's part of it
somehow, and it adds a new dimension to the Miles character. It
really helps to have read some of the Vorkosigan books (esp.
Cetaganda, Labyrinth for the character of Nicole, and some of the
Miles Errant for the character of Elli Quinn), as well as Falling
Free (for the world of the quaddies), although I wonder how much of
those you must read to enjoy this one. I think Cetaganda at least
is a must, though. And unless you're interested in Vorkosigan
character, this book won't be especially fun (unlike some other in
the series which I could recommend even to someone who hasn't read
the series).
This book is, as usual, well crafted, with challenges for our hero,
old time friends, new bad people, a mystery to unravel and the
potential to wreak havoc in the whole galaxy (foiled of course by
the doings of our hero and his lovely wife). It's a great pleasure
to read. I can only recommend, and I'm sure I don't even need to
for all those who have read Miles novels and want to read
more.
Lastly, if you're trying to decide in which order to read the
books, Wikipedia has a nice organization of the Vorkisigan series
(search for Vorkosigan Saga). This book is the last of the series,
and should properly be read last, regardless of what order you
choose to read the other ones.
