Back at home (well, at least his hometown), Miles is recruited into Imperial Security - the infamous ImpSec - and sent off on a mission involving Admiral Naismith. Unfortunately, things go wrong, and soon he's wrapped up in an Imperial problem, flying by the seat of his pants and breaking rules and orders with practiced elan. (Well, after all, this is a familiar position for him.)

The Vor Game is one of my favorite of the Vorkosigan series; it is, really, the last book of Miles' youth. It is an award-winner, and deservingly so; the characters continue to develop, which is quite the challenge in the fourth book of a series, and the plot is fun. Bujold writes SF with a light hand, and interjects a great deal of humor. It's rare to find an SF writer who knows how to make us laugh.

Read the Warrior's Apprentice, at minimum, before you read this - but read it.

the vor game is the second major tale in the miles vorkosigan series following the warrior's apprentice and the short story mountains of mourning.

again, we have a really funny miles novel. after graduating from the academy, he is sent to kyril island (cold hell on barrayar!) as a weatheman for the military base. again he gets into trouble (this is afterall, miles *grin*) and then we slip into the more substantial part of the book where he begins his impsec career and saves the day (and the emperor) with the dendarii. yes, miles is reunited with the dendarii in this book!

great book, wicked humour, smart plot, engaging chracters. do try the vorkosigan series if you have never before. start with shards of honour (about miles' parents) or jump right in with miles in the warrior's aprpentice or young miles(a collection encompassing the vor game). get it!

This book was written relatively early in Bujold's career, and it is far from being her best book. I have only read this one once. I view it as dark comedy, as I really cannot take the amazing coinsidences which occur in this book too seriously.

The immediate sequel to this book, Mirror Dance, is astounding, so I'm glad this book was written.

This just isn't one of Bujold's masterpieces.

'Brothers In Arms' most important contribution to the Vorkosigan adventures, besides the continuation of Miles upsidedown life, is the introduction of his clone brother, Mark. You really should read it before reading 'Mirror Dance' or 'A Civil Campaign', so you'll better understand who Mark is and why he was created.

The reviewer below described Miles as a terrier on Ritalin - I found him to be only human - full of faults, failings, and weaknesses - in a very humorous way. But, if you're like the reviewer from Tau Ceti, heavily into science fiction, and don't like humor, intrigue, mysteries, romance, or just plain life to interfer with your science, then you won't like this series, let alone this book...

One of the best things about Bujold's work is that the characters are as realistic as the plots are insane. BROTHERS IN ARMS is case in point. This book is really about the characters: Miles Vorkosigan, the hero of the series; his alter ego, Admiral Naismith; and Mark, a character introduced in this book. Miles is faced for the first time with some hard questions of identity, questions that don't really get resolved until MEMORY, the most recent book in the series. This book is also about family; Miles and Ivan, Miles and Mark, and Duv Galeni and Ser Galen all have to come to terms with what it means to be related to each other, what it means to be a family. All these characters resonate with emotional truth and are, at times, almost painfully realistic. These characters have souls.

The characters also have problems, and it is their problems which drive the plot. Well, in the beginning, anyway. The plot soon takes on a life of its own. The plot of this book, like its main character, gets by on forward momentum. It rushes, breathless and headlong, from the start to the finish, developing the most incredible twists in its path along the way. The pace is frenetic; the story never stops to rest. It carries you along, helpless, in its wake, and it is one wild ride. I read this novel cover to cover for the fun of finding out what could possibly happen next and for the enjoyment of Bujold's subtle (and not-so-subtle!) humor.

BROTHERS IN ARMS works on several levels. It is both a fun piece of escapism and a work of deep insight, as is all of Bujold's writing. I highly recommend it.

Best: Traitor - a witty modified mystery that keeps the reader smiling while thinking and wondering. 2nd Best: A Few Good Men - good character building on a humorous premise. 3rd Best: Lizard - a spirited adventure with a balanced view of females. ... 3rd Worst: Fugitives - glorifies rottenness; if a man acted like that he would be a villian. I guess the point is that a woman can be rotten. 2nd Worst: Notes During a Time of Civil War - starts with a serious analogy then flies off on an irrelevant tangent. Worst: Flambeaux - Simultaneously horrific and nonsensical; horrendous.

I don't know if the other reviewer doesn't like the concept of women in combat, is misogynistic, or just doesn't know women and the world very well. Or maybe s/he doesn't read much sf or much else either.

That s/he would call Margaret Ball's "Notes During a Time of Civil War" one of the worst when it struck me like Atwood's _Handmaid's Tale:_ Both are like a hard blow to the solar plexus. Perhaps many men and some women don't get that fear. "Flambeaux" is a beautiful, tragic, lovely story about the ties that unite and destroy us. It's also the best story about women combatants in this anthology. I used it in a lesson plan to teach about war fought by outsiders.

This in my opinion is an excellent anthology of war fiction. Please read it: you'll be glad you did.

I really like it! I mean I had fun with this story. Even with its problems I enjoyed reading it, several times as a matter of fact. I enjoyed the interaction of the characters, the budding romance, the mixture of religion and magic.

Dispassionately looking at this book it really doesn't rate anything above a 3, but if I were rating on my enjoyment alone it would easily be a 4 or maybe even a 5. This seems to be written with a younger audience in mind and should be classified as young adult or juvenile fiction. No sex, little violence and a quick read. If you like fantasy, especially young adult type of fantasy I think you will like this.

Highly recommended.

The Spirit Ring is based in a quasi-medieval Italy with an interesting tangle of political and religious maneuvering among the duchies. I didn't like Fiametta at first because she is a spoiled brat, but she grew on me. I really enjoyed most of the secondary characters and Bujold's descriptions are, as always, superb. Bujold has a nice, smooth writing style and the plot was evenly paced, if a little predictable. This is a great book to give to young adults or first time readers of fantasy because there is little magic contained therein. A light, frothy, fun read!

Although -Cetaganda- is a 'Miles and Ivan fall into a cesspool and come up with diamonds' adventure [& really, what more need i say?] that features Miles as Lt. Miles Vorkosigan, -Ethan- and "Labyrinth" involved Miles' *other* persona: Admiral Miles Vorkosigan of the Dendarii Mercenaries.

-Ethan- is the story of Dr. Ethan Urquhart who comes from Ethos, a "Men Only!" planet, in his quest for viable eggs [the Uterine Replicator makes things *so* tidy!]. Finding himself in a frightening world where *shudder* WOMEN are not only present but exuberantly so, Ethan inadventantly teams up with Elli Quinn, Adm. Vorkosigan's second-in-command. With the cry of "Thank you, magnificent sneaky dwarf!" Elli foils several plots, dragging the bemused Ethan along to a marvelously pleasing conclusion.

"Labyrinth", another Adm. Vorkosigan adventurer, finds Miles and the Dendarii Mercenaries camped in orbit of Jackson's Whole, a sleazy place where the Dendarii are reluctant mercenaries indeed. When Miles finds himself in a jam, he ends up rescuing a fairy-tale Beauty disguised as a very definite Beast ... and helps several others, including Dendarii, in the mix.

Taken together, -Miles, Mystery, & Mayhem- ties together three early tales of the oddest Vorkosigan [and no, i'm *not* forgetting Mark; he's not *there*, yet!].

_Cetaganda_ is the story of Miles and his cousin Ivan (who is the opposite of Miles - tall, yet dull-minded and despises adventures) on their trip to Cetaganda for a funeral. Of course, Miles being Miles finds himself in the center of a huge plot, which he feels he must unravel (alone, of course).

_Ethan of Athos_ is the story of Ethan of the planet Athos, an all-male planet that is akin to a monastery. Reproduction is through uterine replicators. When ovarian cultures run out, Ethan, a doctor, is sent into the wide sinful galaxy to find more. Although all he wants to do is avoid women (who spew sin), get the cultures, and get home, he winds up in espionage with a woman (what else?) as his partner.

"Labyrinth" is the tale of Miles', as Admiral Naismith, trip to Jackson's Whole to help give refuge to a dr. In the meantime, he gets mixed up in a plot of battling Houses, must save a tissue sample for the refugee, and finds himself trapped with a lascivious werewolf girl!

Overall, it's Bujold at her best, yet again! The centering theme of the three tales is the different consequences of one technology and how humanity can define itself as a result. Bujold adds humor, philosophy, and theology to make the book full of adventure and introspection. The characters are all believable, even when they get in over their heads. The writing is enjoyable, although some of the scenes required me to re-read them to fully follow what was going on.

The perfect read for those who love sci-fi, adventure, or something just plain kick arse. Even if you haven't read the other two compilations of Bujold in the Vorkosigan saga (_Cordelia's Honor_ and _Young Miles_) this book will stand alone. Bujold does a fantastic job at making the books independent on their own but also part of a larger fabric.

So, if you're a longtime Bujold fan, you are indeed out of luck.

Unless, of course, you're--oh, I don't know--*holiday shopping.*

This is a great gift for that person you keep meaning to hook on Bujold, but who can never seem to find the time to sit down with _Shards of Honor_. It's also great for that person you *tried* to turn on to Bujold but was left relatively cold by _Shards_. Many people who read Bujold and can't really get into _Shards_, _Barrayar_, or their compilation, _Cordelia's Honor_, wind up as great fans of *Miles* and his associates and exploits.

Cetaganda and "Labyrinth" recount two of Miles Naismith Vorkosigan's early galactic adventures. Go ahead. Don't smile when you read about Miles, a dwarfish "four-foot-mumble" being trapped with a horny teenaged werewolf. I dare you. And his inappropriate if not off color limericks at a high Cetagandan funeral are not to be missed. And this is *besides* being great mystery/adventures.

Ethan of Athos the story of an obstetrician on an all-male planet. No, that's not a typo. The gender and culture clash that ensues when he's "rescued" by Dendarii Mercenary Elli Quinn provide action, entertainment, and detailed, intricate characterization. Any more and that would be telling.

So, pick it up for that tough to shop for SF fan. When they come for air in a couple of days, they'll thank you.

My disappointment with the latter part of the novel stems from my feeling of just plain tiring of the characters. I would still recommend it to most science-fiction readers, but not as strongly as CETAGANDA.

The protagonists in this novel are Elli Quinn (later featured rather extensively in Miles books) and the eponymous Ethan (Urquhart). They're fun, they're smart, they're what you'd expect from a Bujold character - even though they aren't Vorkosigans.

The story is fast-moving and fascinating, and it falls into that elusive subgenre, mystery science fiction - so hard to write and write well that there's hardly any out there. But Ethan of Athos follows all the rules of the subgenre, and so reveals a lot about the Vorkosigan universe its inner workings.

If you've enjoyed Bujold's other novels, and you can cope with the concept of a Miles-less book, this one is for you. (And, look - she doesn't write fast enough to occupy even the slowest reader full-time. So think of this as a welcome interlude between Miles books.) And if you enjoy good characters in good SF, or especially mystery SF, this one is definitely for you.