If you're already a Miles Vorkosigan fan, I suspect that wild horses could not keep you from this new LMB novel. It takes up a few months after the events of MIRROR DANCE. As a side effect of spending most of MIRROR DANCE dead, Miles is still having seizures. The novel starts shortly after a rescue mission where Miles has a seizure while in a combat suit and he cuts the legs off the man he had been sent to rescue.

Things quickly go from bad to worse when Miles lies on his reports to Simon Illyan, chief of security, and Miles' boss/mentor/foster uncle. Illyan orders him back home to Barrayar and throws him out of the service. In the next few chapters, Miles drifts through familiar territory for fans of the series trying to find himself. LMB reveals that Miles has been throwing himself into the cover personality of Admiral Naismith so much so he's lost track of Lord Vorkosigan, who he now must be.

Just as you start to wonder if Miles will drift aimlessly through the rest of the book, Illyan falls victim to sabotage to his bio memory chip. At this point, the novel becomes a murder mystery. While it is entertaining to watch Miles' two personalities merge back into one, the mystery itself is frustrating. LMB uses all her stock characters, thus the only news ones (thus possible bad guys) are the new head of security, Emperor Gregor's new love interest, and Miles wet-behind-the-ears driver, Martin. Even the slowest reader should be able to figure out the "killer" within a few pages, and LONG before Miles stumbles onto the truth.

It's a not-to-be-missed read for the fans of the series, but not a good starting point for someone that hasn't read the previous Miles Vorkosigan books.

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