Miles, Mutants and Microbes

A nice grouping of books concerning quaddie-space, the quaddie race, and what life in space might be like, in the future. If you haven't read any of the Vorkosigan saga, this would be a good introduction!

Bujold has created some wonderful characters; quaddies are fascinating, and you have to think about how you'd adapt to them--and living in zero G. Falling Free is a wonderful introduction to quaddies. Is it possible to rescue all of them?! Just visiting Jackson's Whole makes you think--carefully--about bio-engineering. In Labyrinth, Miles has to rescue a teenaged girl--the only survivor of her bio-engineered group, and her metabolism runs hot! Diplomatic Immunity concerns really sophisticated bio-engineering and the complex culture of the Cetagandans, disappearing bodies, with suspense and danger from parasites, a crazed ba, and colliding cultures. This is a great combo of stories; I enjoyed rereading them all together.

While not, perhaps, the very best of Bujold's work, the woman could write telephone books and make them enjoyable! The stories of the quaddies fit well together, and the first entry, "Falling Free", has been sometimes obscure and difficult to find, so presenting it as a prelude to the others is ideal. What really stands out is that "Falling Free" was one of Bujold's first stories, long before she had worked out the roadmap for the Vorkosigan Saga, and probably before she ever anticipated there would be such a thing. Her ability to integrate early works with later ones, to weave hints and offhand comments into core events is nothing short of remarkable.

Some of the other reviewers apparently neglected to read the book description ("Two complete novels and a short novel in one large volume"!), and gave the work a poor review on the basis of their own negligence because it wasn't new material. No, it is *not* new material, but this is not a new thing for the Vorkosigan series. This title is, in fact, the fifth Vorkosigan Universe omnibus (after Vorkosigan's Game; Young Miles; Miles, Mystery and Mayhem; and Miles Errant-- Miles in Love comes after this one). It packs all the Quaddie stories in one neat little volume: the Nebula Award-winning Falling Free, which is set 300 years P.M. (pre-Miles) and provides some fascinating background on how the universe that Miles knows came to be that way; the short story "Labyrinth," which is Miles' first contact with a living, breathing Quaddie; and the novel Diplomatic Immunity, which brings Miles and his new wife back to Quaddiespace, where it all began. These stories include some of the best and most sensitive writing in the whole series, in my opinion, and I love the omnibus format. Not only does it save me a bit of shelf space (that is, if I can bear to toss my original copies), but it puts things together thematically-- we get the *whole* Quaddie story in one volume now, and it's much easier to see the connections between the beginning and ending novels. I adore Bujold's Miles books, and I wish she'd write more of them, too, but meanwhile, I'm happy to have the omnibus editions.

"Falling Free". Engineer Leo Graf is sent to Cay Habitat, where bio-engineering led to "Quaddie" children having four arms and no legs to perform in a zero gravity environment. His job is to train these Quaddies in welding in space. However, new technology and a bottom line mentality leave the Quaddies expendable unless Leo intervenes. "Labyrinth". Over two centuries after Leo's mission, Miles Vorkosigan goes undercover as Dendarii Mercenary Admiral Naismith to escort a genetic research scientist defecting from his current employer on the lawless planet Jackson's Whole. However, instead of completing his secret mission successfully, his pick up refuses to leave without taking his experimental samples with him. However, to obtain them Miles must kill an eight-foot tall bio-engineered killing machine that has the other "species" buried inside his calf. The new corporate owner of the giant learns of Miles' quest leaving the outsider needing help that he receives from enigmatic Bel Thorne and Quaddie musician Nicol. "Diplomatic Immunity". Imperial auditor Miles Vorkosigan and his wife Ekaterin enjoy their belated intergalactic honeymoon until the ship's Tau Cetan captain informs them that a Barrayaran Imperial Courier has an official sealed data disc for him. Emperor Gregor Vorbarra wants Miles to investigate a murder involving an impoundment of a Komarran trader ship on Graf Station in remote "Quaddiespace". These well written reprints of three Quaddie tales provide readers with exciting cautionary science fiction thrillers in which Lois McMaster Bujold warns her audience to insure science does not cross an ethical line with bioengineering throwaway people. Exciting especially the Miles' saga, Quaddie fans will enjoy this omnibus edition. Harriet Klausner