No action hero, throwing a punch would break every bone in his hand. Miles is a wonderful protagonist: witty, clever, cocky, insecure, unflappable, empathetic, insubordinate, and loyal. Needless to say, the fabrication has intriguing unintended consequences. How much of Miles is Admiral Naismith? How much is Lieutenant Vokosigan? How much is Miles? Early in the novel Miles is forced to ad-lib a clever cover story: Admiral Naismith is Lieutenant Vorkosigan's clone, created by the Cetagandans to cause trouble for their Barrayaran rivals. As the novel progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult for Miles to keep his two incompatible identities secret and separate. Beneath those problems Miles' lugs his perennial baggage: at age 24 he's only 4' 9' with an over-sized head and brittle bones, which (he believes) leads many of his fellow Barrayarans to figure that his military career is due to nepotism because his father is the Prime Minister of the Barrayaran Empire, or that he should have been killed at birth as a mutant. Fourth, Miles must decide how far to take his relationship with the beautiful Dendarii Comander Elli Quinn, his right-hand woman and bodyguard.

Third, in his true identity as Lieutenant Miles Vorkosigan of the Barrayaran military, Miles must report to Captain Galeni of the Barrayaran Embassy, which has a mole who might be Galeni. Second, the money owed the Dendarii by the Barrayaran Empire for that contract hasn't been paid, leaving the mercenary company on the edge of bankruptcy. First, the Dendarii may still be being pursued by assassins sent by the Cetagandan Empire to exact revenge on Admiral Naismith for the covert action the Dendarii recently conducted against Cetaganda. Miles' first visit to earth is immediately plagued by a host of prickly problems. In the beginning of Brother in Arms (1989), the fourth novel in Lois McMaster Bujold's popular science fiction series about Miles Vorkosigan, Miles and the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet he heads under the fake identity of Admiral Naismith have limped into orbit around earth to repair their ships and restore health to their personnel.

Suspenseful and Funny Character-Driven Space Opera

Brothers in arms bujold