Mirror Dance (Vorkosigan Saga, #8) in Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy

Jul 24, 2013 Jim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3series, 1audio, 2fiction, scifi

It's a tough call on this book. It started out slow, got kind of crappy, then finished fantastically. Excellently read again.

The first third had a lot of back story in it. If a person hadn't read any of the series, they would appreciate it. BUT, it's a series. Skip books at your own risk & let those of us who have read it read the new story.

The middle got into Mark's head until it was just boring. He had a horrible life & a lot to figure out.
Got it.
Got it.
Got it.
Got it.
(Bored yet? I was.)

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Apr 24, 2017 Robin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017

Mirror Dance is the 10th book in the internal chronological order of the Vorkosigan Saga. It was the well-deserved winner of the Hugo in 1995.

Mark, Miles' clone brother, who we met in Brothers in Arms has decided to disguise himself as Miles so that he can rescue House Bharaputra's clone creche on Jackson's Whole. He clumsily commandeers Bel Thorne's ship for the raid, gives her a little info on Jackson's Hole geography and leaves the rest to her, hiding away in his room on the ship until they Mirror Dance is the 10th book in the internal chronological order of the Vorkosigan Saga. It was the well-deserved winner of the Hugo in 1995.

Mark, Miles' clone brother, who we met in Brothers in Arms has decided to disguise himself as Miles so that he can rescue House Bharaputra's clone creche on Jackson's Whole. He clumsily commandeers Bel Thorne's ship for the raid, gives her a little info on Jackson's Hole geography and leaves the rest to her, hiding away in his room on the ship until they arrive. Of course, the mission is not a success as Mark has neither the knowledge or the experience to deal with Jackson's Whole, and Miles, three days behind, attempts to salvage his crew, his brother, and the clones. Things seem to be going well until Miles is killed. Fortunately, there is already a cryo chamber near, and Quinn takes out the body being rescued so that she can save Miles. In the frenzy to get off planet, the cryo chamber is left behind, and the Dendarii with Quinn commanding must do everything in their power to get Miles back.

The story alternates between Mark's viewpoint and Miles' viewpoint. Of course, Miles isn't dead but is out of commission for much of the book, so it is up to Mark to clean up his mess. This book is probably darker than most of the books in the series, but there are some light parts as well. Miles is brilliant as always, and we learn a lot about Mark and his motivations. By the end of the book, I found myself liking Mark more than I had at the beginning and hoping that he would find a way to redeem himself.

Bujold is an amazing author. The Vorkosigan Saga is action-packed, but also full of good characterization. She puts you inside the mind of the main character/characters and you can follow their motivation. Terrible things happen to the protagonists, but they always manage to think their way through to salvage the situation. I hadn't read any of these books until last year - I don't know why I waited, and I'm very sorry I did. I'm also sorry that I can see the end coming all too soon, as I am now over half-way through.

Bujold says that she writes each novel as a standalone, but frankly, one would miss so much of the story by not reading these books in the internal chronological order.
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Jun 21, 2014 Shhhh... Books rated it really liked it

Shelves: scifi, adult

So I really didn't enjoy the first section of this book. Given that Miles got exploded and then popsickled -- and Mark who I had less than friendly feelings toward after the last book was the one left to run the show ... I was not happy.

And then Mark got dragged home to Barrayar and the countess came into the picture and I love her so much and those scenes were utter glee. Mark's shock at being understood and dare I say accepted were kinda heart shaking. I went from resenting every page to losin ...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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Aug 20, 2008 Jim rated it liked it

Shelves: scifi, 3series, 2fiction, 1paper

I read this in paper format too long ago to review, but later listened to it as an audio book. That review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
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