Captain Vorpatril's Alliance

It's hardly the best of the Vorkosigan saga books, but it does have it's charm. Unfortunately it also is quite uneven, and the brisk pacing drops considerably during the second half of the book. Which is odd, as this should be just the time when it should pick up. The book is a screwball comedy in the science fiction setting of the Vorkosigan saga. Ivan Vorpatril, cousin to the series' main star Miles Vorkosigan and often recurring side character, is on a work trip to the planet of Komarr. There an agent from Imperial Security he knows recruits him as a bodyguard for a girl who might be in danger. After a complicated few days, with local authorities, interstellar criminals, and his boss on his back, he and his charges are backed into a corner and he comes up with a rather gallant but foolish proposal: marriage. Weirdly enough it works. But now he has a wife who is a target of a Jacksonian crime syndicate, and worse: his family and friends are utterly delighted he got married.

This books has a lot going for it, unfortunately it also is very, very uneven. There are some brillant scenes in there, like the whole chapter about his birthday which considering it's sheer fanservice (it's basically just a retelling of events that happened in the novel Barrayar) is chillingly effective. But it's not the only instance of fanservice, and after a while one has to wonder if there are any people in that universe that are not somehow intimately connected to the Vorkosigan clan. Because yes, a slight hint every once in a while is ok, but constant reminders about previous books are getting on my nerves. One of the worst things about it is that it peaks about halfway through, and then slows down. And it shouldn't be like that, because the events become almost farcical, but nothing really seems to be happening, stuff just drags on. It's not a big problem, the book is brief and entertaining enough, but it's noticeable.