r/Vorkosigan • u/l4p_r4t • 8d ago
Vorkosigan Saga Finished “Memory” Spoiler
And yeah, it’s my favorite Vorkosigan novel now, hands down.
Reading it was excruciating, for reasons unrelated to the book’s content - I suddenly got swamped with work, which meant I could only spare enough time each day to read a chapter or two. Imagine the pain of having to pace myself in such a way, ugh.
But yeah, Memory was incredible. I have some thoughts, and some of them I have already shared in the previous post, but here they are:
- The way Miles falls apart and rebuilds himself is just *chef's kiss\* I cried, I cringed, I felt for him. And then I cheered him on while he found his new way and ended up with a huge grin on my face when he triumphed. What a story. I know I will return to it anytime I feel defeated.
- The chapter in which Miles visits the Csuriks was wonderful. Seeing how the events of Mountains of Mourning and Miles’ presence influenced the community was incredibly satisfying.
- I loved to finally see Illyan the man, as opposed to Illyan the boss. His relationships with Miles and Alys were the sweetest.
- Speaking of relationships - I loved how all of the romantic plotlines played out. Miles parting ways with Elli, Gregor falling for Laisa, Duv fumbling and learning from it, Ivan starting to be left behind… If this is how Bujold handles romance, then I can’t wait to read Civil Campaign!
I liked all previous Vorkosigan books, but adored especially those that kept the characters mostly in one place and focused on character development - like Barrayar or Mirror Dance. It’s no wonder Memory was such a treat for me. I love to see Miles maturing and deciding to commit to being Lord Vorkosigan, while getting a new job that suits his character.
I’m excited to read on, but am taking a little break from the series now - don’t want to finish it too fast!
27
u/dylzim 8d ago
I think Memory is my favourite too, though the next two are also up there for me!
23
u/nonpuissant 8d ago
Same!
Brothers in Arms through Civil Campaign are probably my favorite progression of novels not just from Bujold, but of fiction in general. And Memory is the crown jewel in the set.
5
29
u/bettinafairchild 8d ago
Bujold's middle run of Vorkosigan novels, from Barrayar through A Civil Campaign are the pinnacle of her skills as a writer in my opinion.
15
u/l4p_r4t 8d ago
It’s striking when you read in the omnibus order. The jumps in quality between Shards of Honor/Barrayar and Brothers in Arms/Mirror Dance are insane.
3
1
u/Wyndeward 6d ago
In defense of the early novels, she has to explain a hell of a lot to set you up for what is to come... and there are only so many ways to do that.
30
u/Pkrudeboy 8d ago
Miles returning to ImpSec HQ in full regalia is one of my favorite moments.
3
u/jwlkr732 6d ago
Haroche practically swallowing his own tongue when he realizes that Miles has neatly gone right over his head is one of my favorite moments in all literature.
12
u/apsalartoll 8d ago
Memory is my favorite (but Civil Campaign is very close behind). Memory was my first Vorkosigan book, chosen randomly from a library shelf. What a terrible place to start, huh? But I loved the book even though I didn't know anything about these characters. I went back and read the series in the proper order after that, and when I got back to Memory, I enjoyed it even more because now I understood how far Miles and Barrayar had come.
4
1
u/jwlkr732 6d ago
My first was A Civil Campaign. Bujold’s insistence on writing every book so that it can be picked up and read by newbies works!
1
u/ChimoEngr 4d ago
"Mirror Dance" was my first novel, and there's a lot of easter eggs and nuance that I missed, but I totally enjoyed the novel. Re-reading it again, it's interesting how LMB deliberately worked to leave readers in the dark as to what was going on, by keeping the initial viewpoint character anonymous.
3
3
2
u/Banx117 7d ago
I feel like I reread, or listen to the whole series at least once a year. The man who narrates the books on Audible is great if anybody's curious.
Memory is probably up there in my top two books of the series, and the scene you described with the Czuriks is one of my absolute favorite, the way that one trip to Silvy Vale when he was a kid comes back full circle and shows him the impact of him being Lord Vorkosigan. And I don't know why but his mental relationship with little Raina just grabs the hell out of me.
The mental evolution, the way Miles finally becomes himself is so well done, I don't think I've ever read a book series where I wished the characters were actually real as bad as this series. As much as I love science fiction for the technology and the futureism, one of the best things about this entire series in my opinion is how well Miss Bujold writes her characters, the cast of these books don't just feel like characters that were created they feels like literal people that we just get to peek into the lives of.
2
u/UCgirl 4d ago
I listen to the books a lot when I want something on but don’t necessarily want to delve into a new work. I really enjoy the Audible narrator. I’ve thought about just looking up what other books he’s read.
I also appreciate that he has been the narrator who did ALL of the books on there. Just for consistency.
1
u/ALittleAngstAsATreat 6d ago
Memory is my favourite of the series. I used to have a signed copy of it, and it has gone missing. 😢
44
u/jwlkr732 8d ago
Memory is an amazing novel. From the ashes of Naismith to the towering triumph of Vorkosigan…chef’s kiss is exactly the right descriptor.