SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Diplomatic Immunity (Vorkosigan Saga) by Lois McMaster Bujold https://t.co/s20MSty3En Short Review: 7 out of 10 (1/3)— garik16 (@garik16) June 25, 2018
Short Review (cont): Diplomatic Immunity features the Vorkosigan Saga returning to its SF mystery/adventure genre, as Miles runs down a mystery missing crewman on a space station only to run into a deadly foe. As usual, great dialogue and humor, but not a stand out entry (2/3)— garik16 (@garik16) June 25, 2018
Diplomatic Immunity is the second book in the Vorkosigan Saga to feature the adventures of Miles Vorkosigan as an Imperial Auditor - basically as a sci-fi detective of sorts. It's also kind of a weird book in terms of setting - whereas the first such book (Komarr) did not make many references to past episodes in the series and was very beginner friendly, Diplomatic Immunity makes references to events all over the Saga, and sometimes feels more like an adventure from Miles' earlier days. Similarly, it also shifts the narrative entirely to Miles' point of view, after two books in a row of splitting the point of view between at least Miles and Ekaterin - Ekaterin is still present, but spends large portions of time off screen, instead.
This is not to say Diplomatic Immunity is bad in any way - as always the book has some incredibly witty dialogue, fun twists and turns, some great characters, and fun action - or that it can't be read without reading all of the previous books. That said, a lot of the fun of Diplomatic Immunity comes from characters and plot points from prior books returning for the first time in a while, and a reader who has just started the series either here or say with Komarr, might find this to be a bit more average than the prior two books in the series. In any event, I'd say it's around an average book for the series, so it's still fun for veteran readers, if not as good (by a bit) as the three preceding books in the series.
Miles and Ekaterin Vorkosigan are returning from their Galactic honeymoon when Miles gets a message from Emperor Gregor with a mission for Miles in his capacity as an Imperial Auditor: in the far reaches of the galaxy, at a space station called "Graf Station", a conflict has arisen between a Barrayaran Security force for a merchant fleet and the locals, resulting in the impoundment of Barrayaran forces. Miles is to go to the station and free the Barrayaran assets at as little a cost as possible.
But things are not nearly as simple as they seem on the surface - for one, Graf Station is part of a system belonging to the Quaddies, a bioengineered race meant for zero-G who have four arms and no legs, and for whom Barrayarans seem little more than brutes. For another, Miles quickly discovers that the incident includes the mysterious disappearance of a Barrayaran security agent....of whom liters of blood were found on the Station. Something more is going on here than a simple conflict caused by ignorant prejudice, and it could be something with grave consequences.
Fortunately, Miles is not without allies here - for making his home now on the Station, and serving secretly as an ImpSec agent is his old mercenary captain friend Bel Thorne. But the two of them, along with Ekaterin and Miles' trusty Armsman Roic, may find themselves at a loss if they're not absolutely careful....
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As I mentioned above the jump, Diplomatic Immunity , brings back plot threads and characters from a lot of prior works in the series. On a most basic level, the book returns to the setting of Falling Free, although since it takes place 200 years later, you won't miss much by not having read that book. On a deeper level, this book features the return of Bel Thorne from the earlier books involving the Dendarii Mercenaries (beginning with The Warrior's Apprentice) as well as Nicol from the novella Labyrinth (included in the anthology Borders of Infinity). Furthermore, concepts and plot points from the otherwise stand-alone book Cetaganda come majorly into play here as well. All of these earlier references are done naturally mind you - these aren't easter eggs, they're central parts of the story - but will mean nothing to readers who haven't read the prior works in question.
This could be a problem with newer readers because the mystery plotline here is less interesting than that of Komarr, with the book itself spending its last segment as more of an action book than a mystery (like the old Dendarii books again). This is not to say the mystery is bad - it kept me guessing for sure, and was never boring, but at the same time, It never really brought me to an "A-Ha!" moment like that of Komarr when everything fell into place. The series has set a high standard to live up to, and this book doesn't quite live up to it, even if it's probably above average for the typical book of this genre.
This is of course because the book retains the series' trademark pension for fantastic dialogue and Miles - along with Bel, Ekaterin and Roic - remains an amazingly fun character who I rarely get tired of reading. Miles is a lot less frenetic at times than he used to be, but he certainly taps into his old Naismith side here, which is a fun throwback to earlier books and still shows how far he's come. And the other characters remain interesting, even the new ones with bit parts here, as they interact with the main cast (the Barrayaran ensign who's fallen in love with a Quaddie and now can't stand his prejudiced planet for instance).
Still, this points out another reason this book seems disappointing - this is the first book in a while that devotes itself entirely to Miles' point of view, even though prior POV character Ekaterin is also involved in this adventure....and spends a good portion of the ending apparently doing some major things offscreen, which happen while Miles is not available. I can't help but be disappointed to have those events be told to us instead of shown, especially after having seen into Ekaterin's head for two straight books now - and Ekaterin getting probably the best line in the book doesn't help matters.
In short, Diplomatic Immunity is a solid addition to the Vorkosigan Saga, but merely that, and doesn't meet the level of more recent books. Ah well, now that I've read it, that leaves two books left for me to finish the series.
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