Mirror Dance (Vorkosigan Saga, #8) in Beyond Reality

Mar 30, 2014 mark monday rated it really liked it

Shelves: scifi-modern, x-vorkosigan-saga

when appreciating characterization, Space Opera - much like its cousin Epic Fantasy - is often more about surface appeal rather than depth. for the most part, that's okay by me. I can enjoy the expansive world-building and intriguing concepts, the science and adventure, without realistic or meaningful characterization. as long as the characters are fun, I'm not going to overthink it. I'll look for rich, resonant characterization elsewhere.

Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga is very nearly the opposite of a when appreciating characterization, Space Opera - much like its cousin Epic Fantasy - is often more about surface appeal rather than depth. for the most part, that's okay by me. I can enjoy the expansive world-building and intriguing concepts, the science and adventure, without realistic or meaningful characterization. as long as the characters are fun, I'm not going to overthink it. I'll look for rich, resonant characterization elsewhere.

Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga is very nearly the opposite of all that. there is quite a bit of world-building & intriguing concepts & science-magic & awesome adventure... but it is not expansive in the way of most space operas. Bujold's sagas are not dense tomes filled with microscopic detail; the elements mentioned are present but are more subtle, streamlined, carefully parsed out in thoughtful ways. and most importantly, depth of characterization is the key ingredient in this series. the tension and excitement and appeal come directly from these books' exceedingly well-developed characters. it is pretty wonderful.

so this one is about Miles and his clone-twin Mark; it features a botched rescue and what family is about and ways that trauma impacts us and how we escape from that trauma. it does a superb job at showing the intrinsic differences and similarities between Miles & Mark and it does an equally excellent job at rehabilitating the reader's understanding of who Mark actually is and how he is able to be heroic, despite the basically pathetic traits he's exuded so far. it has a fantastic action sequence in the beginning of the book, a nicely quiet and relaxed sojourn on the planet Barrayar in the middle, and a surprisingly disturbing torture-and-escape sequence near the end. for me, the novel's stakes felt so high not because of the importance or pathos of the mission (the rescue of slave children would be a generalized way to describe it) - but because the stakes for these utterly three-dimensional characters are so high. I was anxious about how all of this played out because I lived in these two characters during my time in Mirror Dance. it is the darkest and richest of the Vorkosigan novels that I've read so far. I loved it! ...more

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Sep 02, 2008 Stephen rated it really liked it

Shelves: sf-space-opera, award-nominee-hugo, audiobook, award-winner-locus, award-nominee-locus, award-winner-hugo, multiple-award-nominee, ebooks, multiple-award-winners

4.0 stars. Another well-written, well-polotted and interesting story involving one of the best characters ever created, Miles Vorkosigan.

Winner: Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1995)
Winner: Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1995)

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Dec 10, 2009 Kerry rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sf, reread, 10-out-of-10, ebooks, 2010

I've been rather under the weather lately. I've done too much physically and my CFS has come along and thwacked me around the head to remind me it's still there. As a result, my brain isn't running on full steam either. So I don't have this post quite planned out in my head and I don't know how coherent I'm going to be. However, I know that the longer I put it off, the more and more likely it becomes that I won't write anything at all. So here we go. I'll start typing and we'll see what happens. ...more

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Dec 01, 2013 Banner rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

It is only natural, it seems, when rating a particular book in a series that you compare it to the other books. In doing so, for me this is the best written book so far (I'm reading them in chronological order). This started off as a seemingly typical plot and I was enjoying the addition of The Lady and The Count. Then pow! We take off in a direction that is unlike anything I've seen in the series so far. It's hard to describe, but it is a place where one truly sees oneself and what they really ...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: sf

I'm glad Mark got some time in the spotlight here. His introduction in the previous book had felt a little forced to me at times, and Miles' insistence (view spoiler) ...more

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Jan 12, 2008 Jeffrey rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

The first time I read this book I did not like it that much. While Miles Vorkosigan is a great character, this novel, which focuses on his cloned brother Mark, did not interest me, and the slide into seriousness was also not my cup of tea.

I have since read the novel a couple of times, and it has grown on me. My expectations of another Miles novel may have been too steep to meet.

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Nov 27, 2010 Jen rated it it was amazing

Even better the second time.

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Jul 27, 2007 Wealhtheow rated it really liked it

Shelves: queer-characters, sci-fi

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Feb 23, 2008 Lisa rated it liked it

Shelves: mine

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Jun 02, 2008 Matt rated it really liked it

Shelves: literature, science-fiction

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Jun 08, 2008 Samantha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi

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Jul 01, 2008 JuliAnna rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction

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Aug 26, 2008 Bill added it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

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Nov 30, 2008 Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, favorites, whereisit-br

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Jan 01, 2009 Sandi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scifi-fantasy-horror-althistory, read-1990-1999

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Jun 14, 2009 Shanshad Whelan rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, series, space-opera

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Aug 23, 2009 Scott rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, 2009

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Oct 11, 2009 Laure marked it as to-read

Shelves: science-fiction-fantasy, novels-novellas, hugo-winners

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Oct 20, 2009 Shellie (Layers of Thought) marked it as to-read

Shelves: spec-fic-science-fiction, award-winners

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Nov 02, 2009 Jenny T rated it it was amazing

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Dec 05, 2009 Angela Randall marked it as to-read

Shelves: award-winner, 1990-1999, 20th-century, a-great-list-of-top-books-to-read, friends-recommend, we-own, bruce-recommends, fiction, fantasy, hugo-award

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