Harman Patil (Editor)

The Vor Game

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Cover artist
  
Tom Kidd

Language
  
English

Publisher
  
Baen Books

Author
  
Lois McMaster Bujold

Followed by
  
Cetaganda

Genre
  
Science Fiction

4.3/5
Goodreads

Audio read by
  
Grover Gardner

Country
  
United States

Series
  
Vorkosigan Saga

Originally published
  
September 1990

Preceded by
  
The Mountains of Mourning

Page count
  
345

The Vor Game t0gstaticcomimagesqtbnANd9GcQHK7AjjIXLwJh4dX

Similar
  
Works by Lois McMaster Bujold, Vorkosigan Saga books, Hugo Award for Best Novel winners

Bfrh lois mcmaster bujold on the vor game


The Vor Game is a science fiction novel by Lois McMaster Bujold, first published in September 1990. It won the 1991 Hugo Award for Best Novel. The Vor Game is a part of the Vorkosigan Saga, and is the sixth full-length novel in publication order. It was included in the 1997 omnibus Young Miles.

Contents

Starting the vorkosigan saga by lois mcmaster bujold booktubesff


Plot summary

Miles Vorkosigan graduates from the Academy, but is upset to learn he is being sent to replace the weather officer at the Empire's winter infantry training base on remote Kyril Island. He is somewhat mollified by the placement officer's explanation that the posting is to see if he can handle the discipline and military routine. If he can, he will be reassigned to a more desirable posting. However, he cannot help but get into trouble.

Miles refuses to obey what he deems a criminal order by the base commander, who has him arrested for mutiny, and as he is high Vor, technically treason. He is quickly returned to the capital and sequestered in the bowels of Imperial Security (ImpSec) by Simon Illyan, who, along with his father, conclude that Miles had behaved correctly, but has also gained notoriety for his insubordinate action and cannot expect to serve in any branch of the Imperial Service with the exception of ImpSec, to which he is then transferred.

Miles, sent to help evaluate the Hegen Hub (and conveniently out of the way), is framed for murder and arrested. While in custody, he is startled to find Emperor Gregor, who tells him that he ran away from the embassy on Komarr and joined a merchant ship's crew as a technician, but was then left behind at Consortium Station by the unscrupulous ship owner and jailed for vagrancy. Miles attempts to extricate Gregor, but is soon up to his neck in a mysterious plot involving an amoral femme fatale, his homicidal former Kyril Island commanding officer, and Hub power politics. Miles encounters his Dendarii mercenary friends and, after once again outmaneuvering their leader, Admiral Oser, resumes command under his Admiral Naismith persona. He is able to rescue Gregor from the femme fatale (an extremely devious, short mercenary leader herself) and get the mutually suspicious Hegen Hub planets to present a united defense to repel a surprise attack by a Cetagandan invasion fleet, with timely help from Barrayaran reinforcements co-commanded by his father and Emperor Gregor.

Gregor and ImpSec decide to put the Dendarii on permanent secret retainer for covert missions, with Miles officially installed as liaison.

"The Weatherman"

The first several chapters of The Vor Game (chapter 1 through part of chapter 6) were originally published in a slightly different form as a novella entitled "The Weatherman" in the February 1990 issue of Analog magazine. The story covers Miles's assignment to Kyril Island through his arrest and the beginning of his detention at ImpSec.

Awards

The Vor Game won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1991. It also received a nomination for a Locus Award that same year.

References

The Vor Game Wikipedia