Captain Vorpatril's Alliance

mass market paperback, 608 pages

Published Aug. 26, 2014 by Baen.

ISBN:: 978-1-4767-3698-3

No rating (1 review)

Captain Ivan Vorpatril sometimes thinks that if not for his family, he might have no troubles at all. But he has the dubious fortune of the hyperactive Miles Vorkosigan as a cousin, which has too often led to his getting dragged into one of Miles’ schemes, with risk to life and limb—and military career—that Ivan doesn’t consider entirely fair. Much practice has made Ivan more adept at fending off his mother’s less-than-subtle reminders that he should be getting married and continuing the Vorpatril lineage.

Fortunately, his current duty is on the planet Komarr as staff officer to Admiral Desplains, far from both his cousin and his mother back on their homeworld of Barrayar. It’s an easy assignment and nobody is shooting at him. What could go wrong?

Plenty, it turns out, when Byerly Vorrutyer, an undercover agent for Imperial Security, shows up on his doorstep and asks him to make …

Captain Ivan Vorpatril sometimes thinks that if not for his family, he might have no troubles at all. But he has the dubious fortune of the hyperactive Miles Vorkosigan as a cousin, which has too often led to his getting dragged into one of Miles’ schemes, with risk to life and limb—and military career—that Ivan doesn’t consider entirely fair. Much practice has made Ivan more adept at fending off his mother’s less-than-subtle reminders that he should be getting married and continuing the Vorpatril lineage.

Fortunately, his current duty is on the planet Komarr as staff officer to Admiral Desplains, far from both his cousin and his mother back on their homeworld of Barrayar. It’s an easy assignment and nobody is shooting at him. What could go wrong?

Plenty, it turns out, when Byerly Vorrutyer, an undercover agent for Imperial Security, shows up on his doorstep and asks him to make the acquaintance of a young woman, recently arrived on Komarr, who seems to be in danger. That Byerly is characteristically vague about the nature of the danger, not to mention the lady’s name, should have been Ivan’s first clue, but Ivan is no more able to turn aside from aiding a damsel in distress than he could resist trying to rescue a kitten from a tree.

It is but a short step down the road of good intentions to the tangle of Ivan’s life, in trouble with the Komarran authorities, with his superiors, and with the lethal figures hunting the mysterious but lovely Tej and her exotic blue companion Rish—a tangle to test the lengths to which Ivan will go as an inspired protector.

But though his predicament is complicated, at least Ivan doesn’t have to worry about hassle from family. Or so he believes.

2 editions

kyonshi reviewed Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga, #13)

Review of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (Vorkosigan Saga 15) by Lois McMaster Bujold

No rating

It's hardly the best of the Vorkosigan saga books, but it does have it's charm. Unfortunately it also is quite uneven, and the brisk pacing drops considerably during the second half of the book. Which is odd, as this should be just the time when it should pick up. The book is a screwball comedy in the science fiction setting of the Vorkosigan saga. Ivan Vorpatril, cousin to the series' main star Miles Vorkosigan and often recurring side character, is on a work trip to the planet of Komarr. There an agent from Imperial Security he knows recruits him as a bodyguard for a girl who might be in danger. After a complicated few days, with local authorities, interstellar criminals, and his boss on his back, he and his charges are backed into a corner and he comes up with a rather gallant but foolish proposal: marriage. Weirdly enough it …

It's hardly the best of the Vorkosigan saga books, but it does have it's charm. Unfortunately it also is quite uneven, and the brisk pacing drops considerably during the second half of the book. Which is odd, as this should be just the time when it should pick up. The book is a screwball comedy in the science fiction setting of the Vorkosigan saga. Ivan Vorpatril, cousin to the series' main star Miles Vorkosigan and often recurring side character, is on a work trip to the planet of Komarr. There an agent from Imperial Security he knows recruits him as a bodyguard for a girl who might be in danger. After a complicated few days, with local authorities, interstellar criminals, and his boss on his back, he and his charges are backed into a corner and he comes up with a rather gallant but foolish proposal: marriage. Weirdly enough it works. But now he has a wife who is a target of a Jacksonian crime syndicate, and worse: his family and friends are utterly delighted he got married.

This books has a lot going for it, unfortunately it also is very, very uneven. There are some brillant scenes in there, like the whole chapter about his birthday which considering it's sheer fanservice (it's basically just a retelling of events that happened in the novel Barrayar) is chillingly effective. But it's not the only instance of fanservice, and after a while one has to wonder if there are any people in that universe that are not somehow intimately connected to the Vorkosigan clan. Because yes, a slight hint every once in a while is ok, but constant reminders about previous books are getting on my nerves. One of the worst things about it is that it peaks about halfway through, and then slows down. And it shouldn't be like that, because the events become almost farcical, but nothing really seems to be happening, stuff just drags on. It's not a big problem, the book is brief and entertaining enough, but it's noticeable.