This week, the Vorkosigan reread embarks upon Brothers in Arms, a book that I remember as being a madcap screwball comedy. Brothers puts Miles in the unusual position of having to switch back and forth between his roles on short notice, while also dodging the Cetagandans who are out to assassinate him in his persona as Admiral Naismith. This is one of the places where the differences between reading order and writing order are very obvious – after Cetaganda, the Cetagandans really should be capable of spotting Lieutenant Lord Miles Vorkosigan in the wild. But of course, Cetaganda was years away, unless they know some of the things that Miles is about to learn. Brothers also introduces two characters who will go on to play enormous roles in the rest of the series – Mark and Galeni.
This reread has an index, which you can consult if you feel like exploring previous books and chapters. Spoilers are welcome in the comments if they are relevant to the discussion at hand. Comments that question the value and dignity of individuals, or that deny anyone’s right to exist, are emphatically NOT welcome. Please take note.
The book’s first two chapters take us back to the end of “Borders of Infinity.” The Dendarii fled Dagoola IV with the Marilacan POWs who would form the nucleus of the Marilacan resistance. The Cetagandans pursued, calling for Naismith’s head. Barrayar’s role in the prison break is known only to a very small number of people, as it came very close to constituting an act of war. The Dendarii need safe harbor to repair equipment, get medical treatment for their wounded, and collect their pay. Accompanied by Elli as his bodyguard, Miles checks in at the Barrayaran embassy in London. The embassy wasn’t expecting him, and they can’t write him a check for eighteen million marks to cover the Dendarii’s payroll and expenses, so they add him to the embassy staff and wait for further orders.
We knew that Elli was infatuated with Miles from Ethan of Athos, where her feelings were so obvious that even Ethan noticed. Miles’s feelings about Elli have not been explored as thoroughly. In “Borders of Infinity,” Miles fell for a Marilacan prisoner. In “Labyrinth” he hooked up with Taura. In the Borders frame story, Elli is waiting for Miles at Vorkosigan Surleau, but that happened after Brothers in Arms. As this book opens, Miles is deeply smitten and is questioning his commitment to his professional boundaries.
My favorite cover for Brothers in Arms is the Alan Gutierrez version.
Gutierrez puts Elli front and center, looking audacious and confident. It’s clear that whatever is going on in this book, she and Miles are in it together, and it’s going to be a darn good time. Their body language speaks mostly of their longstanding friendship, while also hinting towards their growing romance. Gutierrez does a better job with Elli here than he did with Elena on the cover of The Warrior’s Apprentice, and I love that painting too. I’m not even going to complain about Miles and Elli’s uniforms being the wrong color. They look great in black leather, which, although I’m almost positive this wasn’t the artist’s intention, reminds me of the cat blanket they will buy in chapter three.
Other artists tended to de-emphasize Elli and the romantic elements of the story. The NESFA press edition is mostly blue, which is usually my thing, and it focuses on a pivotal moment near the London sea wall. Some of the major players in the more dramatic, completely unromantic, moments are arrayed like the cardinal points of a compass. Elli is peripheral to the action, back to the viewer, rappelling ungracefully down the wall. I feel vaguely offended on behalf of Elli’s rappelling skills.
The Kindle edition offers up more of its trademark glorious abstraction, using silhouettes to create a mystery about who the titular brothers are – is the line of soldiers Dendarii or Barrayaran? But I’ve read the book, so I know that this is a red herring and this image isn’t grabbing me anymore.
For the Croatian edition, Esad Ribic went with spaceships.
Elli is a little bit in the background of the first couple chapters of the book as well, as Miles settles into life at the embassy. Ivan is on hand to offer cousinly mentoring on embassy life, and company for two-a-day workouts at the gym. Galeni, Miles’s current CO, is a terse, professional presence. Miles is sympathetic to the problems he would encounter if Miles let the Cetagandans kill him on Galeni’s watch, but has bitten back a crucial question, “Whose son are you?” Miles’s tendency to see his keen investigative instincts as bad manners is going to present a lifelong struggle.
Next week – the impecunious Dendarii set fire to a liquor store! And Miles meets with his accountant.
Ellen Cheeseman-Meyer teaches history and reads a lot.
Miles has been playing the field hasn’t he? The boy is very susceptible.
@1, Miles is just so damn susceptible. He’s the interstellar version of Nick Charles, chasing long brunettes with wicked jaws.
(Who would the interstellar Nora Charles be in this series anyway? Ekaterin doesn’t have the superpower that makes people explain themselves over cocktails. Maybe Tej takes the generational handoff from Alys.)
Miles seems to like redheads too. And tall, they gotta be tall.
This was my gateway drug to the Vorkosiverse!!!
Lacking the context of the earlier books, I don’t know how I managed to make sense of it all.
This was my second favorite book in the whole Saga, my first being A Civil Campaign. Bujold does comedy so well. I loved the Earth-based setting. Its funny, because at least for me, I recognize my world reflected in the Barrayarans far more than in this future-earth. There is also a ton of screentime for Ivan, and we don’t get to see Ivan interact with Naismith very often.
Since we are discussing covers, my favorite cover from all the Vorkosigan books comes from Miles Errant, one of the Baen collections which collects “Borders of Infinity,” Brothers in Arms and Mirror Dance. The cover is by the incomparable Stephen Hickman, and has Miles, Elli and Taura gathered around a computer display.
I don’t know how to put pictures in a comment, but here’s a link showing the cover:
https://www.amazon.com/Miles-Errant-Vorkosigan-Adventures/dp/0743435583
@6 That is a pretty sweet cover.
Miles’ visit to the cyro-revivalist is in the opening, right? Or is that later? Regardless, it seems like a pretty clear bit of foreshadowing about Miles’ own death and resurrection.
I think about the cat blanket in this book often, and longingly.
this is again missing on the re-read main page list. (like last weeks was)
@9 – Should be fixed now, thanks for the heads-up!
This was my first Vorkosiverse book, picked up more or less at random from the paperback rack at my local library when I was a teen, and remains one of my favorites. Thinking back on reading it, I was confused by a main character who obviously had a lot of backstory to be recapped, but appreciated that Lois managed to slip it in by making the recap a necessity to the plot so the reader could see how badly it’s going to complicate Galeni’s life.
I’m rather glad I started here. I think if I’d begun with The Warrior’s Apprentice, which I consider one of Lois’ weaker books, I would have stopped there and never known what I’d missed.
I’ve got the collections (from a very accommodating friend / lit enabler) so as usual, I’ve never seen the individual covers before. But I like the London one, even if it is a major spoiler.
is elli wearing a watch?
I think if that cover were done today she wouldnt be.
@13 – Miles often wears a watch. It’s usually also a tracing and communication device
Regardless of Cetaganda it was absurd to send Miles to the reception. If the cetas had a picture of Admiral Naismith ghem-lieutenant Tabor would have studied it, recently.
@15 – OH, I agree. And to be fair, I think Miles does too. At least he will by the end of the reception when he urgently needs to deal with Naismith’s responsibilities. And certainly by the beginning of the next reception. Receptions are bad news. I can’t think of a time when a reception went well for Miles’s. Maybe that one where he had the nose plugs at hand. Dinner parties are also not Miles’s forte. It’s hard to be a merc in polite society
Miles is not famous for his social skills. Invite him at your own risk.
@2, So who’s Asta? Ivan?
Ivan is justly embarrassed when Elli quotes his unkind remarks about her during her faceless period. However I note when they encounter each other again he is all casual, ‘Hi Elli,’ I theorize that at some point he found time to apologize sincerely for his comments.
“I want you to know how sorry I am, Commander Quinn, for those remarks. You weren’t meant to hear but I had no business saying such things about an honorably wounded soldier. Truth is, you scared me half to death. I couldn’t help thinking how it could someday be me.”
Because I do think there was an element of whistling past the graveyard in his so-called humor.