Will suggested I read the books in this series in order so that I don’t
spoil them by knowing too much ahead of time and I would agree that is
the way to go. You have to have all the background so that you can
FINALLY get to the best book in the series and actually get all the jokes
Bujold throws at you in such short a time. And while you are at it, you
might want to brush up on Jane Austen and Bronte and the others she lists
in her dedication because they all show up in the book one way or the
other. So do Hamlet and Rumpole but you donÂ’t really need to know them
as well.

The plot is fairly simple. Miles falls in love and, being Miles, sets
about courting with the same tactics he used to take over planets and
conduct covert ops for ImpSec. Unfortunately, he forgets to include his
lady love in on the mission plan. Also unfortunately, his brother, Lord
Mark, has been undergoing therapy on Beta colony for his, um, “issues”
and met up with the brainy, chesty daughter of Miles’ mother’s former
female bodyguard. And Lord Mark comes home with a scheme to make money on
Barrayar using genetically altered bugs that make something like tofu in
their guts, setting up shop in the basement of Vorkosignan House. Oh yes,
and Emperor Gregor is getting married and the entire city of Vorbarra
Sultana is preparing for the social and political event of the season,
including poor Ivan who is assigned to run errands for his mother, Lady
Alys, who is in charge of the entire wedding and tired of her son running
after anything in skirts and not settling down to provide her with
grandchildren. And that’s the simple version of the plot. I left out all
the sub plots, including the sex change operation of Lady Donna to get
herself a Vor Countship and dear Pym, playing straight man in the whole
mess.

If you are a Miles fan and haven’t read this one, buzz thru the books
before so you can read this one. Go back and reread the others later for
themselves. It’s worth it just to read the scene where Miles throws a
dinner party. Honest!