Komarr (A Miles Vorkosigan adventure) [Paperback]

I hadn't read any Bujold (or SF) before but this was highly recommended and so I gave it a go - and really enjoyed it. The 'space' element was less scary than I expected and I really liked the sense of a whole real universe going on in the background complete with histories, wars and conflicts that the author didn't feel it necessary to spend endless pages explaining. Miles is a great character and I liked the fact that this wasn't a conventional romance with Ekaterin getting to know and like him without falling in love immediately. I am now intrigued to know all the back history but also want to know what happens next...so which do I read first?

Now a proper Imperial Auditor, Miles is sent to Komarr to investigate the destruction of the solletta array designed to warm up cold Komarr.
A lot of the book is written from the point of view of Ekaterin Vorsoisson both before and after the death of her husband which gives it an unusual air. As Miles comes to terms with his appointment as an Imperial Auditor and the powers appertaining thereto, he makes a number of blunders that have serious consequences. Komarr, the book, marks a change of pace from the earlier books, changing the focus of action from fleet sized action to a more personal level of interaction (though not necessarily less intense!).

I was lucky enough to be able to buy the paperback version of Komarr in Australia just before Xmas (what a present for me). I read it and have read it again. Lois has done it again. I recommend this book to anyone who has watched Miles mature and grow in his world. Miles is growing into his power as an Imperial Auditor. He starts slowly at first, after all he is the son of the Butcher of Komarr, the youngest auditor ever and has only had his power for a short period of time, but by the end he is starting to become Miles Vorkosigan, Imperial Auditor. This is the book that is the transition from Lt Vorkosigan/Admiral Naismith to Lord Miles Vorkosigan - Imperial Auditor. I have just re-read the 42 reviews and have to say that many readers who have not liked the new woman in Miles life, saying she is weak or not strong willed have not picked up on the Vor character. Miles is a Vor, something that influences every decision he has made. Admiral Naismith only lived because Miles handed him over to Simon Illyan. A Vor cannot have a private army. Miles becoming an Imperial Auditor was because of his Vor heritage. He has to find out what happened to Simon and then he cannot take the bribe offered to him because he is Vor. None of the women in Miles life are Vor, except for his first love, Elena, who left Barraya. His mother is a Betan, Rian was a Cetaganden, Elli was a mercenary and could not even stomach the thought of being Lady Vorkosigan, Rowan and Taura were Jacksonian. Lois has allowed us into the mind and thoughts of a Vor woman. Ekaterin is a true Vor woman. She did not take her son to a doctor asap because she has been brought up to believe her loyalty is to her husband, then to her emperor. A Vor woman cannot be tried for treason because of that belief. Ekaterin believed her husband would take the treatment and do the right thing by her son. She married him in good faith and loyally stood by him. She only gave up on him when she realised he had disobeyed a direct order from an Imperial Auditor (the Emperor's Voice) and then found out his financial woes. She could not even betray him then. Ekaterin is a very strong Vor woman who can also see what is wrong in the Vor culture. She also could see Miles for what he is, not what he looks like. When Miles confesses what he would have done she answers "I'm Vor". Ekaterin is going to be a very interesting character to watch.