Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (16) (Vorkosigan Saga)

Ivan was always presented as the dumb, pretty one in the Miles Vorkosigan stories, so I was fascinated by the idea of his character being able to sustain a Barrayar novel (and a thick one too) and had to have it for my collection.

Yes, I'm a fan of the Barrayar saga, and was saddened when Miles' story finally came to an obvious end. So read accordingly.

This story takes place about four years or so before the events in Cryoburn, the "last" Miles novel I spoke of, and concerns the upset caused on Komarr when a passle of trouble lands in Ivan's lap in the shape of a girl tuned to press all his buttons and her striking blue companion. There follows a series of believable events involving the unsavory and dissolute rake Byerly Vorrutyer that land Ivan in a quandary somewhat of his own making, resulting in his return to Barrayar with a new (albeit temporary) wife.

The rest is perhaps a little formulaic and maybe a bit predictable in the "everyone yells at Ivan" scenes, but the rest of the novel is so well plotted and so well written that I found myself aching when Ivan realizes that he isn't quite ready to let his "wife" leave him but sees the signs he has grown skilled at reading that she is working an exit strategy. You see, I found myself liking Ivan in this novel.

Things get complicated by various plot twists I won't spoil except to say that the in-laws are problematical on every level.

The temptation to write Ivan's point of view a-la CJ Cherryh "Resune" was, I am glad to say, not a factor, and Ivan is shown to be a strong and skilled individual without the crippling ennui-baggage the lead azi characters of "Resune" worked with. He isn't as smart as Miles by a long chalk, and is unskilled at the complex business of reading political situations from people's actions in a given context, but he has his own inner strengths and they are shown to good effect here, including a scene where he impresses Illyan (retired ImpSec commander and now companion to Ivan's mother) with his deductive capabilities.

The fact of his proximity to the Barrayaran throne is also gone into a little more deeply than in the Miles books, with a small digression into how that complicates Ivan's life and has perhaps dictated why he is the person he is.

One might complain that the central plot here matches that of A Civil Affair with different characters, but that is pretty much the template for romance stories.

I liked this one a lot. I should four-star it because of the various weaknesses I mentioned, and the fact that occassionally I wince at the fact that all the stories I'm reading from this saga are about privileged uber-upper class millionaires, but it was so damned enjoyable that I'm looking forward to the re-read and what the heck, five stars for making me be like that.

If you haven't yet read a "Miles" book, for my money by far the best of them all is "Cetaganda", though I should say I've never hated a Miles book and they are all of a very high standard.

I found this to be a very surprising book. Ivan has been around longer than Miles and he has always been a bit player. Comic relief even. I am sure we have all mouthed the phrase "Ivan you idiot."

So I walked into this not expecting to find a hero. And I was correct. Ivan is not a classic hero, he is just a guy trying to get along. What I appreciated was his sense of duty. This book sheds a light on how Ivan looks at the world. I always thought he followed Miles out of loyalty. It seems I was only partially correct. He has a devotion to duty that I can really appreciate. I think he also understands more than he knows. He see's crisis and finds the simplest plan that guarantees success. He leaves the falling chips to be cleaned up by others.

In short I really enjoyed this book and I hope we see another. I should add that I laughed for ten minutes at the end of the book when Ivan's mother is quoted as saying "I knew he couldn't be an idiot." LMAO Now that's a Mother. :)

Update~~ I have re-read this 4 times now the last two back to back over Christmas. Something I have not done with any other work from Lois McMaster Bujold. I have enjoyed it every time and found there were parts I missed the first time and some parts I was able to savor .
This is a really good effort and I hope she continues with Ivan's story.

I'm a recent arrival to the Vor-world. This was the first book I read; then, drawn in rapidly went through another half-dozen Vor novels. But, I keep coming back to Ivan Vorpatril. Probably because of the "every-man" quality to Ivan. A decent guy, just a regular working stiff, who wants to put in a good eight hour day and then go home and kick back. No pretensions about fame or celebrity. Unlike, his high power, larger than life cousins, Miles and Gregor. Unfortunately, Ivan is the walking example of no good deed goes unpunished, here with the memorable refrain, "Ivan, you idiot."

So, in a comedy of errors almost akin to ancient Roman comedic drama, Ivan gets his girl after having to navigate past his wife's my-big-fat-greek-wedding family. As well as his own extended family.

You walk away from this novel with a good feeling that a nice guy, by being nice, who actually wins the day.

Ivan Vorpatril is one of Barrayar's most eligible bachelors and notorious rakes, but now in his mid-thirties he is finding his life of chasing women and partying is no longer as satisfying as it once was. On assignment to Komarr, his path crosses of that of two fugitives from a coup on Jackson's Whole and his attempts to help only make things worse...and change his life forever.

The most interesting thing about the Vorkosigan Saga has been Lois McMaster Bujold's willingness to experiment, switch protagonists and POVs and generally not sit still and bash out a load of action-adventure novels. Her willingness to put the series on hold for years at a time until she has a good idea for a new book has also helped it retain a high level of quality.

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is one of the lighter novels in the series. It is a romantic farce with an underlying adventure story and also dwells on the notion of ageing, growing up and maturing, a theme of Bujold's that she returns to repeatedly in the later books in the series. Using Ivan, Miles's womanising cousin with no interest in settling down, to explore this theme is extremely effective. It would have been easy to have done a "growing and learning" story in which Ivan suddenly mans up and accepts responsibility, but this would not have been true to the character. Instead Bujold develops Ivan's character (and, we realise, how she's been developing it subtly in the background all along) naturally and much more convincingly, by having him fall for a woman who seems to be right up his street (superficial and pretty) but whose hidden depths and complex background make her a lot more interesting.

These elements of growth and change are accompanied by some quite uproariously hilarious scenes, some nice catching-up moments with old characters who we haven't seen for a while (most notably Simon Illyan) and some more musings on the changing nature of Barryaran society, which are all handled quite well.

On the downside, the novel is a bit too long (over 500 pages) to support a slight premise and the lack of some well-motivated villains (we never even meet the bad guys who set the whole story in motion) and there are a few too many scenes of Tej's family scheming or Ivan feeling overwhelmed. A bit more of a serious editing pass to streamline the book would not have gone amiss.

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (****) is not one of the best books in the series and could be a bit better paced, but it remains well-written with a refreshing focus on the characters and how they have evolved over the years, with some nice SF flourishes and very funny moments.

An adventure in the Vorkosigan Saga that doesn't involve Miles himself. His cousin Ivan Vorpatril gets involved with a runaway daughter of a Jackson's Whole crime family, and the only way he can think of to protect her, and her blue-skinned companion, is to marry her. This gets him involved in her family's crooked schemes as he does his best to keep them all out of trouble. I enjoyed the comedy, the thrill ride of the trouble they got into and (mostly) out of, and especially the epilogue which resolves the remaining loose ends through a series of letters sent by friends and relatives.

Incredible story and writing! I have not read a sci-fi like this in a long time. I’m hooked for sure can’t wait to read more.

It's by Lois McMaster Bujold. Therefore, it is excellent, and you will not regret reading it. Also, it's a Vor book. Read. Read.

a

Ivan finally gets involved up to his chin.

A great story for the sort of straight man in the duo. Nice to know that he acted the way he did for a reason and that he could just be like his cousin Miles when it mattered.