Jelle De Loecker
The book was OK, but nowhere near as fun as the others in the series. While Athos was actually an interesting setting, I didn't get into the stories that took place on Kline station.
And since I already gave Cetaganda (the book before this one) only 3 stars, I'll have to lower this score even more.
Reading the Vorkosigan saga in the chronological order, this was the first book completely set in a single, and totally new, location: Cetaganda. There was no Elena, Cordelia, Aral or even Dendarii. Just Miles and Ivan and a big mess they needed to clean up.
Miles was lovely as always, and I really enjoyed having Ivan around so much. While it was an interesting read, it felt a bit more like a procedural drama than the usual high jinx I've gotten used to.
I initially skipped the novella's while reading the chronological order, but now I see that was a mistake. Especially with this one. Important stuff happen in this story that heavily influences all the following books.
I'm kind of sad this is the last book with Cordelia as the main character. I love watching her find her way through Barrayaran society.
I really loved Cordelia as a main character, and wasn't too sure if I could love Miles the same way. But yes, I could.
It's been a long time since I read a Star Trek book that I actually enjoyed, and I definitely enjoyed this one. In fact: I couldn't put it down.
One storyline I liked less was Troi's pregnancy issues. And the amount of new characters (if you haven't read the spinoff books) was daunting.
But still: I'm looking forward to the conclusion!