My apologies in advance — I could not figure out how to talk about A Civil Campaign without also talking about events of earlier Vorkosiverse books. Some of the information below may be considered spoilers.

Several years ago, in a thread on the old AAR boards, Carla Kelly mentioned that she’d considered writing a historical set in medieval Spain; sadly, the idea was shot down as unsaleable. I commented that I loved the idea of a medieval Spanish-set romance, and in response someone (maybe Maili or Shinjinee) suggested that I check out Bujold’s The Curse of Chalion, a fantasy novel set in a country very much like medieval Spain. I read it and fell in love with Bujold’s writing and her characters. Cazaril. Oh, Cazaril.

Wanting to read more Bujold, I dipped my toes into her Vorkosiverse. The first book I found? A Civil Campaign.

One cunning plan too many . . . ?

It’s spring in Vorbarr Sultana, and a young person’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love . . . money . . . bio-genetics . . . love . . . lack of money . . . incompatible planetary sexual mores . . . love . . . District succession scandals . . . the Emperor’s wedding . . . and, of course, love . . .

Lord Miles Vorkosigan, youngest Imperial auditor to be appointed by the Emperor since the Time of Isolation, has a problem all his new power can’t solve: unrequited love for the beautiful Vor widow Ekaterin Vorsoisson. Ekaterin is violently allergic to marriage as a result of her first exposure. But as Miles learned from his late career in galactic covert ops, if a frontal assault won’t do, go to subterfuge. He has a cunning plan . . .

Lord Mark Vorkosigan has a problem: his love for the sunny Kareen, daughter of the Commodore Koudelka, has just become unrequited again. But if all his new money can’t solve their dilemma, perhaps a judicious blending of science and entrepreneurial scheming might. He has a cunning plan . . .

Lord Ivan Vorpatril has a problem: unrequited love in general. True with the men on Barrayar outnumbering the women five to four, his odds aren’t good. But Ivan has never thought the odds applied to him. He too has a cunning plan . . .

If no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy, just imagine what all Miles’s closest friends and relatives can do to his romantic strategy!

A Civil Campaign isn’t exactly a Regency novel, although it is very much in the style of one. In fact, Bujold dedicates the book to Jane, Charlotte, Georgette, and Dorothy. [Presumably Austen, Bronte, Heyer and Sayers?]. It works better than any other “space Regency” that I’ve tried because it doesn’t attempt to import wholesale the rules of the Regency as established by Heyer and other trad Regency writers. Instead, Bujold uses the conventions sparingly, adapted to fit the culture. Set in the 26th century, Barrayar is a newish empire on the political stage; cut off from other worlds by the closing of a wormhole, for centuries its colonizers survived in a Time of Isolation, rather like the Middle Ages, and they are now still trying to reconcile their culture with that of the galatics. Thus, many of the social and political tensions of 18th century England (republicanism vs. monarchy; role of science and technology in society; changing roles of women and men vis a vis their traditional roles) fit into this future world. Ruled by an emperor in conjunction with a Council of Counts, the “Vor” are the “ton” of the society, with ethnicities that seem to concentrate in French, Russian, and Greek. Komarr, part of the empire, is a science experiment, really, in which the inhabitants live in domes on an otherwise under-oxygenated planet; after acting as conduit for a brutal invasion of Barrayar by the Cetagandans, Barrayar turned around and seized Komarr. The occupation is still uneasy, though it is smoothed a bit in ACC when Emperor Gregor marries a Komarran woman, a love match. Sergyar is a newly discovered planet, another part of the Barrayaran empire. Escobar seems to have been a sort of Spanish settled world, while Beta is a melting pot; both are more scientifically advanced, and they seem to be governed via democracy rather than a monarchy.

Miles Vorkosigan is a fascinating character. Grandson of a kingmaker and historic fighter against the Cetagandans; son of the youngest Admiral ever who went on to conquer Komarr and then act as Regent for 15 years and then Viceroy of Sergyar; son also of a Betan Expedition Captain, heroine of the Escobaran Invasion (by Barrayar), Miles has huge, huge shoes to fill. One of his musings, rather wistful but which speaks to the weight of his family’s history upon him, is his wish that his father be listed once in some future dusty text book as being primarily famous for being the father of Miles Vorkosigan, rather than Miles always being referred to as the son of the Great Man. Born with brittle bones because of poisoning in utero, Miles is visibly physically different in a culture that does not tolerate physical differences or disability. Miles spent years in military service, officially as a courier, but really acting as the leader of a band of mercenaries working on behalf of the empire. His alter-ego was Admiral Naismith, who lived a life of amazing adventure. Alas, Naismith and Vorkosigan could not live together (rather like Harry Potter and Voldemort, one of them had to die in order for the other to live fully). The earlier books of the series include Miles’s struggles to accept who he is in the context of the planet he both loves and hates.

In the context of ACC, that struggle is over. Miles has settled into himself. And now, he’s trying to court a lady with marriage in mind. Though he’s had romantic entanglements in the past, they haven’t ended well – the women all leave him the better for his involvement in their lives, but in the end, he’s still left behind. With Ekaterin, though, Miles is engaged in a stealth courtship, concealed from the object of his affections even, as he tries to inveigle his way into her life without arousing her suspicions or making her feel threatened by his presence in her life. What will Ekaterin do when confronted with the fact that Miles’s friendship isn’t as benign or selfless as she’d thought? Well, it involves some screaming and then running off into the night, sadly. But they are brought back together by external circumstances – a political enemy of the Vorkosigans fans scurrilous rumors about the way Ekaterin’s husband died (during a Top Secret Eyes Only hush-hush investigation of treason) and Miles’s role in his death as lead investigator.

Mark Vorkosigan is called Miles’s brother, but is in fact his clone. Physically imperfect in ways very similar to his progenitor-brother, Mark has struggled with psychological damage inflicted by the terrorists who cloned him and conditioned him to be an assassin. Having reached a healthy place with the help of a great deal of therapy, Mark is ready to court his ladylove, Kareen. Unfortunately, his physical and psychological history does not make him a prime candidate for her hand in the mind of her father.

And then there is Ivan. Ivan the Idiot, as he is fondly and not-so-fondly called through-out the series. Henpecked by his mother, close to the throne and allergic to power, Ivan really just wants to coast along and avoid attention. Which is hard to do as Miles’s side kick.

Between Miles, Mark and Ivan, there are political machinations in which to engage (or quash, as the case may be), businesses to build, and resistant parents to overcome. All while preparing for the nuptials of Emperor Gregor and his Komarran bride, Laisa.

To be perfectly honest, the first time I read ACC, I missed a lot of what was going on. I’d never read much SFF and my experience of “space operas” was zero. There were references that I could only guess at, and backstories that, upon a reread after I’d finished the series, gave the characters’ interaction an incredible depth. But the story stayed with me, demanding that I learn about the world and then re-read. And oh, the letter from Miles to Ekaterin. An abject apology, it isn’t exactly a traditional love letter, but it compares to Wentworth’s letter to Anne as a romantic epistle within a novel.

Lovers of traditional Regency novels who would like to dip a toe into the ocean of science fiction would find ACC to be an excellent introduction. Romance readers looking for a non-traditional hero would be pleased by Miles Vorkosigan. Any reader who appreciates tightly written plots that also include the analysis of series issues would appreciate Bujold’s writing.

This entry was posted by JMC on Monday, December 15th, 2008 at 6:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.