Reader’s Diary

Lois McMaster Bujold

This is a compilation of two novels, “The Warrior’s Apprentice” and “The Vor Game” and a novella, “The Mountains of Mourning”. The collection introduces Miles Vorkosigan, a young man whose body is malformed and fragile, but whose brains and talent (along with some luck) make him admiral of a fleet of space-going mercenaries. It’s good space opera with interesting characters and a well-developed backstory. In fact, there are times when the backstory is more interesting than the plot, which can be frustrating for the reader but gives Bujold’s creation a unusual degree of depth.

S. M. Stirling

This is a fine alternate history that explores what might have happened if a returning WW II vet had discovered a path to a parallel universe in which North America had never been discovered by Europeans. Stirling answers the “what if” with a story about a society run by an oligarchy, a society that’s wonderful if you’re a member of one of the ruling families, fine if you’re one of their retainers, but barely tolerable if you’re an Indian.

The plot revolves around the discovery of the new New World by a wildlife agent on the trail of poachers - there’s something about a warehouse of ivory, a captive condor, and a live dodo bird, that makes him suspect that he has stumbled onto something unusual. Naturally the wildlife agent ends up in alternate California where he becomes involved in fighting Mayans who have been armed by a Mafia-like family and trained by the descendents of Nazis. Stirling weaves all this an more into a very readable tale.

Bing West

A Marine Corps captain, Tyler Cosgrove, is captured while on patrol in Kosovo and his unit - all reservists - ignore orders to rescue him. It sounds like a stereotypical thriller, but several things separate this book from the pack. Cosgrove’s mother is dying and his capture prevents him from going to her deathbed; this adds a human dimension that’s often missing from the genre. The unit is a reserve unit and West uses this as a reasonable justification for the soldier’s diverse motivations and unconventional actions. The fact that the search and rescue is published on the Web adds to the political complications of the situation. Most importantly, the author is a Marine combat veteran, which adds an aura of realism despite the somewhat contrived situation.