''Komarr'' is a 1998
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novel by
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold ( ; born November 2, 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She is an acclaimed writer, having won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record (not counting his Retro Hugos). Her no ...
. It is a part of the
Vorkosigan Saga
The Vorkosigan Saga is a series of science fiction novels and short stories set in a common fictional universe by American author Lois McMaster Bujold.Lillian Stewart Carl and John Helfers, ''The Vorkosigan Companion'', Baen Books 2008, The first ...
, and is the twelfth full-length novel in publication order. It was included in the 2008 omnibus ''Miles in Love''. It won the
Minnesota Book Award
The Minnesota Book Awards are presented annually for books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans. The award, originally established in 1988, is organized by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library.
History
...
(1999).
Plot summary
In his new role as Imperial Auditor,
Miles Vorkosigan
Miles Naismith Vorkosigan is a protagonist of a series of science fiction novels and short stories, known as the Vorkosigan Saga, written by American author Lois McMaster Bujold.
Personality
Traits
Miles is both brilliant (especially in militar ...
finds himself on Komarr, a planet where his father has an unfortunate reputation, being blamed for a massacre of government officials who had surrendered to him during the planet's conquest. He is there, along with Professor Vorthys, an older, more experienced Auditor and engineer, to investigate whether the destruction of a solar power satellite vital to the ongoing
terraforming
Terraforming or terraformation ("Earth-shaping") is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying the atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology of a planet, moon, or other body to be similar to the environment of Earth to make ...
of the planet was an accident or sabotage.
Miles uncovers an extremely dangerous Komarran conspiracy, one which threatens the entire Barrayaran Empire, and is attracted to Vorthys's niece,
Ekaterin Vorsoisson, the unhappy wife of an Etienne "Tien" Vorsoisson, an engineer at one of the terraforming facilities. Tien suffers from a degenerative genetic condition, which would stigmatize him with other Barrayarans, and has tried to raise money for secret treatment by gambling on the Komarran financial markets. Heavily in debt, he has been bribed to ignore certain irregularities, which he believes are just a swindle, but are actually part of a plot against Barrayar.
Tien Vorsoisson and Miles stumble upon the conspirators and are captured. They are left shackled and exposed to the Komarran atmosphere with only their breathing masks to sustain them, but Tien neglected to recharge his mask's air supply and suffocates to death. Ekaterin finds her husband dead and Miles injured from his efforts to come to Tien's aid. She had been about to leave the marriage, having discovered Tien's gambling losses, but received a mysterious call to pick up Miles and Tien at the remote facility.
Miles and Vorthys recruit a renowned Komarran physicist to reconstruct what the plotters have built, based on their purchases. They figure out the cabal intend to isolate Barrayar by closing its only wormhole, but the Komarran expert believes that the device will not work as hoped, but will return a gravity pulse that will destroy de device aimed at it. A test of the device caused the destruction of the satellite.
Ekaterin travel to an orbiting station to meet Vorthys's wife, the "Professora", Ekaterin's favorite relative. The pair accidentally encounter one of the conspirators who have gone to the station to launch their plot. They are taken prisoner. By the time Miles arrives, Barrayaran Security has the plotters under siege, but Ekaterin and the Professora are hostages. After persuading the Komarrans to surrender, Miles is surprised and utterly delighted to discover that Ekaterin has a previously hidden talent for causing mayhem and has already dealt the plot a fatal blow.
In the coda, Miles bids farewell to Ekaterin before returning to Barrayar to report to Emperor Gregor. Their relationship develops further in the next novel, ''
A Civil Campaign
''A Civil Campaign: A Comedy of Biology and Manners'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Lois McMaster Bujold, first published in September 1999. It is a part of the Vorkosigan Saga, and is the thirteenth full-length novel in publicati ...
''.
In a departure from the style of previous Vorkosigan books, the point of view is split between Miles and Ekaterin, offering an outside view on Miles.
[Silvia Kelso (199]
Loud Achievements: Lois McMaster Bujold's Science Fiction
/ref>
Reception
''Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' called it "a fast-moving story that combines just the right amount of action and wit", and considered the portrayal of Ekaterin as "a good woman stuck in a loveless marriage" to be "both believable and intensely painful".[Komarr]
reviewed at ''Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
''; published June 1, 1998; retrieved, June 2, 2021
At Tor.com
''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction.
From 20 ...
, Jo Walton
Jo Walton (born 1964) is a Welsh and Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel ''Among Others'', which won the Hugo Award, Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and ''Tooth and Claw (novel), Tooth ...
stated that ''Komarr'' is "a perfect mystery, with all the clues in plain sight (...) but cleverly misdirected", and commended Bujold's portrayal of "plausible villains who think of themselves as heroes". At the SF Site
SF may refer to:
Locations
* San Francisco, California, United States
* Sidi Fredj, Algeria
* South Florida, an urban region in the United States
* Suomi Finland, former vehicular country code for Finland
In arts and entertainment Genre ...
, Nicki Gerlach praised the depiction of an abusive relationship, noting in particular that Ekaterin's reasons for remaining with Tien ("other than inertia") are "not only believable, but also contribute to eroverall characterization and likability."[Gerlach, Nicki (2011]
''Komarr: Lois McMaster Bujold''
''The SF Site'', accessed January 24, 2013
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Komarr
1998 American novels
1998 science fiction novels
American science fiction novels
Novels about terrorism
Novels by Lois McMaster Bujold
Vorkosigan Saga