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CryoBurn (2010)

by Lois McMaster Bujold(Favorite Author)

4 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1439133948 (ISBN13: 9781439133941)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Baen

series

Vorkosigan Saga (Publication)

review 1: This is the kind of story I have come to expect from this series. A heartwarming mystery with real characters and a thought provoking theme or two. Miles continues his work as an imperial auditor dealing with a mystery surrounding cryogenics technology, an area he is uniquely qualified to investigate. His trial leads him into the lives of some very interesting people. As always Miles, never fails to leave a lasting impression, wherever he goes. Death and technology partner up in this story as our future fellow humans strive to extent our natural life. When our technology finally fails we have advanced cryogenics to fight off the once inevitable curse of death until something better comes along. As it turns out this is a very lucrative industry. Something seems a little... more off with some of the business dealings and an auditor is called on to investigate. The rest as they say, is history.I'm a little disappointed we didn't get to see much Miles the Family Man. There was plenty to keep us busy and I'm sure his family would have just as soon stayed home for this one anyway.
review 2: another reviewer said the book was like vising and old friend - and I agree...Setting: planet Kibou-daini – Cyrocorp conference; cyrocombs (maze of many floors below ground); Barraryan embassy; abandoned cyro building & offices – taken over by displaced; Komarr – target of WhiteChrys’s growth market/political takeover; Theme: what is White Crisp’s real agenda on Komarr – (Alysc who sees a discrepancy between the profit sheet they present to the elderly women’s club and the diplomat’s club); how to protect Barraryar, how to help the people he meets on Kibou-daini; a child’s viewpoint of the world;Characters:Miles, Lord Auditor: now has 5 children (Nikolai, 5 year old twins, 3 year old son, 1 year old daughter); investigating cyrocorp that is opening up in Komarr, with some inconsistencies by going to their conference – and getting kidnapped; Armsman Roic: Miles’ only guard with him on this trip; has a deeper understanding/exasperation/ tolerance/anticipation of Miles’ ways; Dr. Raven Durona: Escobaran Cyrosurgeon via Jackson’s Whole; asked to come to conference to offer an independent opinion; quickly pressed into much more varied service;Jin Sato: almost 12 years old; father died when small; 18 months earlier mother frozen due to mental incompetency; stayed with overcrowded house of aunt, and when aunt said his creatures (chickens, family cat, spiders, rats, turtle, etc) had to go, he packed them up and ran away – ending up in an abandoned cyro building of squatters; Much of the story is from his point of view – seeing the peculiarities of adults – wanting to protect his menagerie, making friends with his sister; Nefertiti: genetic Sphinx; Roic picks him up at Egyptian cyro office, and gifts him to Jin;Mina & Lisa Sato: Jin’s little sister & mother; mother is a leader of cryonics reform movement; at rally, 18 months earlier, planned to share that cyro liquid used 50 years earlier was defective, and there were 30 years worth of dead bodies (that others thought only frozen) – which would affect the voting power of the cyrocorps, and refunds of money to someone – so they were shut up, arrested, and frozen (two died); Suze – Susan Susuki: secretary to the former head of the cyro building; she keeps things going, serving those without; the community room – help yourself, add to it when you can, clean up after yourself; Tanaka / Tenberry: med tech/ custodian – cyro container keeper; work with Suze to offer freezing to the disenfranchised; find roles in mark’s buyout;Yani: frozen 75 years earlier, unfrozen (as in contract), but still no cure for old age; has no place to go, and too many like him to make him valuable to the society;Stephan Vorlynkin: head of Barrayaran embassy on Kibou-daini; up until Miles, his job mostly to aid Barrayaran visitors; has exwife and child he barely knows, as wife refused to travel with him; bonds with the children; a bit overwhelmed by Miles, but when Miles describes his role not as negotiator but one who protects Gregor and the empire, authorized to take whatever necessary steps, he shifts perspective; before Miles trusts him with the whole truth, he witnesses Miles apparently taking a bribe – and when they return to the embassy, he reports him to ImpSec – thus gaining Miles’ trust;Lieutenant Johanness: works with Vorlynkin, following his cue;Ekaterin / Taurie / Nikolai / Lizzie / twins: Miles’ children; we get one vidcast from them… smiles…Ron Wing: WhiteChyrs executive; the executives have a plan… their planet pretty cyro exhausted – so expanding to Komarr – with its unique way of passing on voting shares – the execs building a plant there, collecting patients and votes, freezing each other (one left each cycle to watch over investment), and at some point in the future, they’ll have control of voting shares… hmmmm; using bribes, and lies, and whatever to lay their path;Mark and Kareen Koudelka: come in at the end, called in by Dr Raven… sees the abandoned cyro cases in Suze’s building as a place to find subjects for their life extending methodology (Mark still looking for way to have alternative to jackson’s Whole clone/plant brain of old guy in young guy technology); they seem happySummary:Miles drugged/kidnapped but had his unusual reaction, became manic, and wandered the cyrocombs maze… eventually making his way up top – still having altered perception, seeing a human sized butter bug and a another insect (Jin and Yani)… Jin returns for him (they pegged him as a bum/druggie), and takes him onto the roof with his creatures – giving him water (showing an interesting set up for peeing and washing it away)… and Miles learns what didn’t learn from conference – the down side a society based on cyrofreezing – the politics, the poor, what you do with the revivied, etc.And Miles pulls the threads, until he figures out White Chrys’ interest in Komarr, defrosts Jin’s mother (for information – for the children); reveals to Kibou-dainians that a significant part of their frozen are in fact dead – which shifts the voting;And on Miles return trip, before parting ways with Mark, the station master approaches them in full uniform, requesting an audience with Count Miles – his father has died… and Bujold ends the story in 100 words, with the thoughts of 5 main characters – heart breaking…Memorable Scenes: less

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