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Memory
Thing I have just learned from the internet: Simon Illyan was named for Illya Kuryakin.
This makes me happy on so, so many levels. So many levels.
Anyway! I have finally finished Memory, again. Y'all might have guessed I'm on a bit of a Vorkosigan kick, but really, if it weren't for this book in particular, they'd just be a series I quite like, rather than one I handflap about.
I mean, Memory. How much do I love it This is only the second time I've read it, but that's because the first time, I picked it up to read the first chapter before bed and looked up blearily from the last page to the sunrise. I love this book so much. [Note - the real spoilers in this are behind the cuts - out of them there's nothing you wouldn't get from the back cover.]
I love how it's, first and foremost, a character piece. I love how the blurbs and the awful covers try and make out it's Dead Excitin', but the plot of the book, such as it is, doesn't kick until around page 200. Instead, it's Miles taking apart his whole life, inch by inch, moment by moment, and trying to make something new of it. And somehow it's not depressing, although a little saddening: it manages to include all sorts of delicious human drama, small things that the big space opera novels didn't have time for. There's Duv Galeni and his new romance; Gregor, who's startled his entire family by suddenly acquiring a new interest in life (oh, Gregor! His depression, and how it's dealt with in the books, are something else I love - but there's a whole post in that); and Miles's hilarious discovery that food and clothes and transport are not things that just happen by osmosis. And for the first time, you get to see Miles, Ivan and Gregor interacting as adults, and I love that: I love how these three, who have had novels about them when they were aged five and one, and later when twenty and sixteen, are now, finally adults, except so recognisably themselves. I really do agree that there's an art to writing a series: not a trilogy in however many parts, but a series, so each novel makes sense but is somehow richer for all the others.
(Speaking of the covers, they really are a classic example of the contemptible covers trope - the Vorkosigan books were sitting on Shim's shelves for years before I ever picked one up, and that's entirely because of the horrible, inappropriate Baen covers and blurbs. That said I don't know why I thought Shim would have a taste for space opera of the buxom & manly sort, but I suppose we didn't know each other so well back then.)
And there's the way this whole novel is, in a way, a set-up for A Civil Campaign - and that may be the one that's dedicated to "Jane, Charlotte, Georgette and Dorothy", but you can see echoes of them here. There's this lovely bit from Sayers about Lord Peter Wimsey:
And so Miles, for the first time in his life, calls the Vorkosigan family accountant and asks him things. Tsipsis answers questions about household expenses, about stocks, shares and entailments, and then, light dawning, asks, "My lord, do you need money?"
Because Miles, bless him, has never questioned the fact that his family have a townhouse and a summer place and a staff of dozens and a wine cellar, that his parents are Viceroy and Vicereine of a colony world and that his foster-brother is the Emperor. Miles is a Vor aristocrat and that's just how life is, for him. There are lots of echoes of Wimsey, especially in the later books where Miles is more in the way of playing detective. Pym, certainly, has a lot in him owed to Bunter.
Then, the actual plot, which is itself driven mostly by character. It's about Illyan, of all people, and I love that too. It's so unexpected, and it ends up making so much sense.
So. Simon Illyan is a walking, talking plot device. He first appears in Shards of Honor, way back when, in that horrifying scene with Cordelia and Vorrutyer which I would have to seriously trigger-warn if I wanted to discuss in any detail, so perhaps I just won't. That's when he first appears - so naturally, your attention is on other things. And then he crops up here and there in the books following, mostly to dispense exposition, unremarkably. Almost literally, he's a human computer.
And then twenty years pass, both in-universe and since the series was first published - and the author takes a step back, and actually thinks, what would it really mean to be that person, to bear that responsibility, that memory? And she takes this mostly minor character from years before and deconstructs him - and lIlyan's breakdown is so well-rendered, so horrible and carefully drawn. And, I don't necessarily think Bujold is a very good writer - like JK Rowling, she's a very good storyteller and writes decent, unremarkable prose - but she's good at the sucker punch. There's this bit, when Miles and Ivan have finally got in to see Illyan:
"I would rather," stated Ivan quietly, "charge a laser-cannon site naked than be in here by myself."
And then he does it. He does it. I really think this whole scene is completely horrifying: Illyan, tied to the bed, is waking up every five minutes, terrified; so they explain to him where he is and what's happening patiently over and over and over again, and they can't get his consent to make it stop because he is, quite literally, losing his mind.
And, and, the character development all intertwines. It's so easy to read Miles and Ivan as spoiled aristocrats - and the narrative has such fun with that, with lots of reference to the typical Vor response to solving problems being to drown oneself in red wine - and then they stand this vigil with Ilyan because they have to, because no one else can. Miles thinks: maybe if Ilyan didn't look so much like an animal, they wouldn't treat him like one - and I love that. I love how Miles redeems himself for his mistakes by being very angry that Illyan's dignity is being taken away from him. Because it's a small thing, and it's bigger than anything he's ever done.
And that it can be this serious-business book, and also have bits like this:
So much love. In conclusion: I have given up apologising for my tastes. I love this book and think everyone else should.
(Releatedly, I'm reading a fic at the moment by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
philomytha, Aral Vorkosigan's Dog - and a couple of my friends have recced it recently but I just want to add my little bit of a voice, it's really good. It has a central dynamic that I totally love, in fiction, that so often comes up under this name. Sam Vimes describes himself as "Vetinari's terrier" and Simon Illyan describes himself as "Aral Vorkosigan's dog" - and it's not romantic, but it tracks like romantic love, a person defined by another through loyalty and submission, but there's willingness there, and trust, and oh, so interesting. In Illyan's case, it has a disturbing flipside: in Memory, when he sends for Miles, standing in place of Aral, to ask for help killing himself. It's very well-done.)
Also, Illya Kuryakin! Why did no one ever tell me.
This makes me happy on so, so many levels. So many levels.
Anyway! I have finally finished Memory, again. Y'all might have guessed I'm on a bit of a Vorkosigan kick, but really, if it weren't for this book in particular, they'd just be a series I quite like, rather than one I handflap about.
I mean, Memory. How much do I love it This is only the second time I've read it, but that's because the first time, I picked it up to read the first chapter before bed and looked up blearily from the last page to the sunrise. I love this book so much. [Note - the real spoilers in this are behind the cuts - out of them there's nothing you wouldn't get from the back cover.]
I love how it's, first and foremost, a character piece. I love how the blurbs and the awful covers try and make out it's Dead Excitin', but the plot of the book, such as it is, doesn't kick until around page 200. Instead, it's Miles taking apart his whole life, inch by inch, moment by moment, and trying to make something new of it. And somehow it's not depressing, although a little saddening: it manages to include all sorts of delicious human drama, small things that the big space opera novels didn't have time for. There's Duv Galeni and his new romance; Gregor, who's startled his entire family by suddenly acquiring a new interest in life (oh, Gregor! His depression, and how it's dealt with in the books, are something else I love - but there's a whole post in that); and Miles's hilarious discovery that food and clothes and transport are not things that just happen by osmosis. And for the first time, you get to see Miles, Ivan and Gregor interacting as adults, and I love that: I love how these three, who have had novels about them when they were aged five and one, and later when twenty and sixteen, are now, finally adults, except so recognisably themselves. I really do agree that there's an art to writing a series: not a trilogy in however many parts, but a series, so each novel makes sense but is somehow richer for all the others.
(Speaking of the covers, they really are a classic example of the contemptible covers trope - the Vorkosigan books were sitting on Shim's shelves for years before I ever picked one up, and that's entirely because of the horrible, inappropriate Baen covers and blurbs. That said I don't know why I thought Shim would have a taste for space opera of the buxom & manly sort, but I suppose we didn't know each other so well back then.)
And there's the way this whole novel is, in a way, a set-up for A Civil Campaign - and that may be the one that's dedicated to "Jane, Charlotte, Georgette and Dorothy", but you can see echoes of them here. There's this lovely bit from Sayers about Lord Peter Wimsey:
Lord Peter's large income... I deliberately gave him... After all it cost me nothing and at the time I was particularly hard up and it gave me pleasure to spend his fortune for him. When I was dissatisfied with my single unfurnished room I took a luxurious flat for him in Piccadilly. When my cheap rug got a hole in it, I ordered him an Aubusson carpet. When I had no money to pay my bus fare I presented him with a Daimler double-six, upholstered in a style of sober magnificence, and when I felt dull I let him drive it. I can heartily recommend this inexpensive way of furnishing to all who are discontented with their incomes. It relieves the mind and does no harm to anybody.
And so Miles, for the first time in his life, calls the Vorkosigan family accountant and asks him things. Tsipsis answers questions about household expenses, about stocks, shares and entailments, and then, light dawning, asks, "My lord, do you need money?"
Because Miles, bless him, has never questioned the fact that his family have a townhouse and a summer place and a staff of dozens and a wine cellar, that his parents are Viceroy and Vicereine of a colony world and that his foster-brother is the Emperor. Miles is a Vor aristocrat and that's just how life is, for him. There are lots of echoes of Wimsey, especially in the later books where Miles is more in the way of playing detective. Pym, certainly, has a lot in him owed to Bunter.
Then, the actual plot, which is itself driven mostly by character. It's about Illyan, of all people, and I love that too. It's so unexpected, and it ends up making so much sense.
So. Simon Illyan is a walking, talking plot device. He first appears in Shards of Honor, way back when, in that horrifying scene with Cordelia and Vorrutyer which I would have to seriously trigger-warn if I wanted to discuss in any detail, so perhaps I just won't. That's when he first appears - so naturally, your attention is on other things. And then he crops up here and there in the books following, mostly to dispense exposition, unremarkably. Almost literally, he's a human computer.
And then twenty years pass, both in-universe and since the series was first published - and the author takes a step back, and actually thinks, what would it really mean to be that person, to bear that responsibility, that memory? And she takes this mostly minor character from years before and deconstructs him - and lIlyan's breakdown is so well-rendered, so horrible and carefully drawn. And, I don't necessarily think Bujold is a very good writer - like JK Rowling, she's a very good storyteller and writes decent, unremarkable prose - but she's good at the sucker punch. There's this bit, when Miles and Ivan have finally got in to see Illyan:
"I would rather," stated Ivan quietly, "charge a laser-cannon site naked than be in here by myself."
And then he does it. He does it. I really think this whole scene is completely horrifying: Illyan, tied to the bed, is waking up every five minutes, terrified; so they explain to him where he is and what's happening patiently over and over and over again, and they can't get his consent to make it stop because he is, quite literally, losing his mind.
And, and, the character development all intertwines. It's so easy to read Miles and Ivan as spoiled aristocrats - and the narrative has such fun with that, with lots of reference to the typical Vor response to solving problems being to drown oneself in red wine - and then they stand this vigil with Ilyan because they have to, because no one else can. Miles thinks: maybe if Ilyan didn't look so much like an animal, they wouldn't treat him like one - and I love that. I love how Miles redeems himself for his mistakes by being very angry that Illyan's dignity is being taken away from him. Because it's a small thing, and it's bigger than anything he's ever done.
And that it can be this serious-business book, and also have bits like this:
Miles groaned, and ran his hands through his hair, waved Ivan to silence, tried and failed to remember the brilliant way he'd been going to finish that paragraph, gave up, and shut down his comconsole. "You don't need to bellow."
"I am not bellowing," said Ivan. "I'm being firm."
"Could you please be firm at a lower volume?"
"No! Simon Illyan is sleeping with my mother, and it's your fault!"
"I... don't think it is, somehow."
"It's happening in your house, anyway. You've got some kind of responsibility for the consequences."
"What consequences?"
"I don't know what consequences! I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do about it. Should I start calling Illyan Da, or challenge him to a duel?"
So much love. In conclusion: I have given up apologising for my tastes. I love this book and think everyone else should.
(Releatedly, I'm reading a fic at the moment by
Also, Illya Kuryakin! Why did no one ever tell me.
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Memory and Mirror Dance are the books that made me into a hardcore Vorkosigan fan (though Shards of Honor is always going to have a special place in my heart, because Cordelia is the BAMFiest BAMF to ever BAMF). I love pretty much everything about Memory (ESPECIALLY IVAN).
I think my favorite funny scene from that book is when Miles and Simon go fishing. With explosives.
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I think my favorite funny scene from that book is when Miles and Simon go fishing. With explosives.
omg, yes! And they return with all these ARMFULS OF FISH and they're so pleased with themselves because they Have Fished.
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Y'all might have guessed I'm on a bit of a Vorkosigan kick, but really, if it weren't for this book in particular, they'd just be a series I quite like, rather than one I handflap about.
To go "OMG ME TOO!"
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This seems like a good place to ask: does your recent Vorkosigan verse story contains spoilers for 'Cryoburn'? I have only just started the book, so I'm being very avoidant of fic at the moment unless I'm sure it's safe.
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Ah! "Walking Away From Omelas" does have Cryoburn spoilers (despite being written before, don't even ask), and "Lilies of the Field" doesn't at all, it's nominally set during Komarr.
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Also, Ivan, and Gregor, and Alys, and Simon, and Duv. I would read novels about all of them.
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Maybe I would read a whole novel about Ma Kosti. How did she learn to cook so well? And I love how ends up as one of Mark's shareholders in ACC!
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Thanks for the rec! As may be obvious, Illyan did *not* escape my notice when I first read Shards. Probably this is because I read the series out of order and fell in love with him for his scene with Ekaterin in ACC, so when he showed up here I was all 'wow! cute!young!innocent!Illyan.' And yeah, the whole devoted-submissive-loyalty thing is just my favourite thing ever, and yes, the way it tracks romantic love but isn't makes me very happy. Not that I can't ship Aral/Illyan with great enthusiasm as well...
I never thought about the whole 'Miles figures out where food and transport come from' thing before, but now you put it that way - yes, a thousand times! The thing I love is the way the book is about redemption, and how to fix your really bad mistakes, and the way the inner symmetry works - Miles screws up by lying to Illyan, and now he can redeem himself by saving Illyan and telling the truth - just makes me really happy. Also 'you just go on', which is a message I often remind myself of. So yes. Memory. *happy flaily hands*
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(And I love that bit in ACC too! I really do - because it's nice to see him post-chip as this fundamentally kind and caring man, in some ways just the same as he was thirty years earlier.)
Also. ILLYA. Illyan as Illya makes SO MUCH about his younger self make sense to me. Oh my god I have so many Thoughts on this.
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I have to watch some Man from UNCLE just to see Illya, I think! I know him through fannish osmosis, but I've never seen him in action. But a young Illyan... yes please.
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Oh, Illya! He's this adorable and immensely acerbic blond Russian spy and he's also sort of puppyish while being determinedly hard as nails. It makes me so happy that Bujold is as much a fic writer as the rest of us.
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You are far from needing to apologize for anything. I am still enjoying the Weepies.
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Especially given the connection to Bothari - "I am my lady's dog, to lie at her feet" or whatever the actual quote is.
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This makes me happy to learn too! Thank you for sharing :)
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