Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold

[samvara]

You definitely need to have read other books in the series, have a fondness for the Vorkisigans in general and Miles in particular. Miles investigates a finance scheme involving trading cryogenically frozen people on a planet deeply interested in death and aging. A failed kidnapping attempt sees him stumbling, hallucinating into the run-away heir (and his menagerie) of the force-frozen leader of a cryo reform movement. Shenanigans ensue!

Miles was most amusing while hallucinating, Roic seems to have grown up a lot and Ekaterin is off screen looking after what appears to be a vast army of Vorkosigan children. The final drabbles outlining the passing of Aral Vorkosigan were heartwrenching and I’m glad I had some warning. I’d love to know how Aral handled being a grandparent.

I missed the strong women of previous novels, I like having people around who I might want to be.

Comments

[sara]

I liked Roic, I was sad at the end, most of it I wasn't all that interested by. I would have liked less frozen bodies caper (I'm in the dead people business, and sorry, in a world where that many people were in the dead people business, there would have been a LOT more low and vulgar humor about dead people) and more than drabbles at the end of the story to explore how people were coping with Aral's death.

[samvara]

Yeah, I wanted more 'family' and less focus on a world I didn't connect with.

[ariaflame]

I enjoyed the book, the end had punch, and I think a lot of the themes of the book, (aging, death and the putting off thereof etc.) contributed a lot to that punch in the end.

OK Ekaterin is offscreen, but while I do like her as a character I can't think of a good reason for her to be in this book as a primary character. After all, she's got the kids, her landscaping business and pretty much acting as de facto Countess Vorkosigan. To have her drop all that just to trail after Miles wouldn't sit well with me.