Falling Free

Continuing to stumble my way through Bujold's Vorkosigan saga, this book has none of the characters or locations - but I assure you, it will be related (eventually) :)

Very engineering focused, this book frequently falls back to reveal problem, figure and then reveal solution. Behind the scenes is a revolution, so in both threads it is comparable to The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, one of my favorites. This is very well done, but not as good.

The focus is very much on engineer Leo Graf, and perhaps it falls down a little for that. I really wanted to hear more of the Quaddies' side - a thousand of them, but only slightly more than a handful have any lines. The opposition is beyond inept, and irritating besides. Legal aspects could have been interesting, but they were ignored. Anti-mutant feelings (the sci-fi authors straw man for racism and/or sexism) are mentioned, but mostly avoided.

It sounds like I have more complaints than compliments, but the balance is strong. This is a good engineering novel, and I liked it quite a bit. What's next in the series - will I get that book of short stories I mentioned earlier? Not sure - will see what next year brings.