Thursday, August 9, 2018

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga)




Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is essentially a spin-off novel in Lois McMaster Bujold's "Vorkosigan Saga" - rather than following any of the series' most famous family - such as Cordelia, Miles, or Mark Vorkosigan - it's a story following entirely the series' most prominent secondary character: Captain Ivan Vorpatril.  After a first appearance where Ivan is basically unrecognizable, Ivan has usually served as the foil to the main hero of the series, acting as the straight man to Miles Vorkosigan's manic plotting, who keeps getting roped into - hilariously - the Vorkosigan family's schemes.*  As Ivan and Miles once discussed earlier in the series:

“Miles: Do you think of yourself as an innocent bystander?” 
“God knows I try to be,” sighed Ivan"  

But this book is all about Ivan, not any Vorkosigan, and his life and wants.  And he's just as great - not to mention hilarious - as a main protagonist as he is as a supporting character, being able to carry this book with ease.  Bujold has always been great at creating wonderful characters and wonderful dialogue, and this book again has them in spades, with both the returning secondary characters and the new ones being wonderful and often hilarious compliments to the story.  I wouldn't call this book one of the best books in the series, mind you, but it's definitely among the better ones, and this is a series that sets a pretty high standard.

Note:  This book is a stand-alone, and CAN be read by a newcomer to the series.  It might not be where I'd start the series, but it should work pretty well if someone wants to do so and I think newcomers will enjoy this book quite a lot.  Veterans of the series however will enjoy quite a bit of references as characters and ideas do return from prior adventures, though getting these references are not in any way necessary to enjoy the story.

--------------------------------------------Plot Summary-------------------------------------------------
Ivan Vorpatril is getting on okay in life.  Aide-de-Camp of the Admiral in charge of Ops for the Barrayaran Military Service, which is a position that is eminently respectable without being too notable, with a boss who appreciates his service but doesn't suggest he apply for more - Ivan has nearly everything he could want in life - well, except for a wife.  Still, life is generally good.  And when he and the Admiral travel to Komarr a short business trip, Ivan figures he'll get to enjoy the neighboring planet's night-life....assuming the shorter planetary day/night cycle gives him time.

And then the last person Ivan could have wanted to see shows up on his doorstep - an old associate who Ivan happens to know is actually Imperial Security (ImpSec) and asks Ivan to do him a favor.  Obviously Ivan has misgivings about getting involved in ImpSec business, but that favor involves picking up a girl and protecting her, something right up his alley.  What could possibly go wrong?

The answer: a lot.  And Ivan and that girl - a young woman on the run named Tej - may find themselves quickly over their heads - not to mention in a relationship with each other neither could have ever seen coming.
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Ivan Vorpatril has always been a supporting character in the Vorkosigan Saga, with his biggest role coming in A Civil Campaign, the romantic comedy of the series (where he had a point of view).  Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is also kind of a Romantic Comedy - with a greater emphasis on the comedy than the romance as compared to ACC.  And Ivan makes it work incredibly well, as he's such a different main character from Miles (and unlike in ACC, his role doesn't center around anyone but himself this time) which makes him a fresh new face to follow, even if he's far from a brand new character.

Still Ivan is absolutely great.  Even without Miles, his straight man attitude as he earnestly attempts to get through the crazy situations he finds himself into here is more frequently than not hilarious but at the same time incredibly relate-able.  For those new to the series, Ivan is a guy who is highly intelligent but who has, since he was a child, tried absolutely to avoid standing out in any way, and to appear like a lazy bum to anyone who doesn't look too closely....because if Ivan stands out too much, his position in line for the throne could make him appeal to potential conspirators for the Barrayaran throne.  But Ivan constantly - usually due to his cousin, but not here in this book - finds himself in crazy situations which conflict with this goal, requiring him to use his intelligence to try and help get out of them - and in this book, that results in absolute gold.

It helps that the other point of view character - Tej - is a fantastic compliment to Ivan - an underachiever compared to her absolutely nutso family from Jackson's Whole (so she's been brought up to believe you do not give anything away for free and to value the importance of the "Deal") who starts the book on the run and then later finds herself trying to figure out what to do with herself and who she is....and what she really wants from Ivan.  Her dialogue with her half-sister Rish is more often than not hilarious in itself, and she's incredibly relateable as the story puts her further and further out of her depth, even when she should be more in her depth.

The book's plot is kind of hit or miss - like Memory, the book is essentially in two halves - the first half which is mainly a pure Rom Com of a sort without a plot direction of any sorts and then a second half which in part becomes a heist comedy in addition.  The first half of that second half gets a little tedious - Bujold manages to make it still entertaining through the great characters and dialogue, but I couldn't help but wait for things to obviously come to a head.  Still the conclusion of that second half picks up momentum again, and the final romantic moment between Tej and Ivan - while very different from Miles and Ekaterin's in A Civil Campaign - is totally great and made me go awwwwwwww.

Recommended, even for newcomers to the series.  If you want to read other books first, the most referenced books here are Cetaganda (which is also kind of stand alone) and A Civil Campaign (and maybe Mirror Dance for an explanation of Jackson's Whole).  Still it's not necessary- this book is pretty great on its own as a romantic comedy.
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