#mirror dance

Okay I see what you all were talking about when you said wait till you get to Mirror Dance. Omg.

Lord Mark Vorkosigan. What an icon. Mark who was built as a weapon while in captivity and becomes a tool on his very own initiative only needs four to seven people to care about him as a human before he remakes his entire self and becomes a goddamn hero. Mark figures out how to do Internal Family Systems therapy on himself while being tortured horribly for five days. Hobbies include personal finance, scheming, and responding "round is a shape" when Aral and Miles say to get in shape. By the end he's setting up to the the Mycroft to Miles' Sherlock.

Mark suffers so much abuse and makes So Many Bad Decisions with So Many Consequences and only to end up literally writhing on the floor in the Unprecedented Agony of Being Perceived and Loved. (This is the part that broke me… I saw it coming and was like: Oh noooo, this part is gonna break me. And then it did, and it was perfect.)

Also, the entire, pervasive, complete and total Cordelia-ness of this novel whether or not she's in the room or even on the planet. She gives Mark the assignment of figuring out how to be Mark and there we goooo. And even after Miles has died and gone amnesiac, there's Cordelia's voice: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH YOUR BABY BROTHER?? This is the thing that gets the memory cascade going! It's Cordelia. And she's got Elena too: "But mostly because someday Countess Vorkosigan will ask me what I did for her son... Mark... she'll mean you." It's Cordelia All The Way Down and I am HERE for it.

I am also really... happy for Cordelia that Mark is here. Because Mark has Cordelia's number in a way that I'm not sure either Aral or Miles does, as deeply as they do know her and adore her. Until Mark, maybe Gregor is the only other person who can even begin to read her the way she reads everybody else (and Mark clocks that too!) and Gregor is way too busy being emperor to give Cordelia the runaround she deserves.

nnonono no place id rather be! :3

Shards of Honor: S tier. “X of Y” is such a trope for spec fic titles and this one is still one of the best ever. Nothing deserves S tier more so than a trope done to perfection.

Barrayar: B tier. Name of planet book is set on.

The Warrior’s Apprentice: B tier. The best book names you have a revelation half way through as to why the book is called what it is called; this book leaves you wondering why it’s called that after you finish. Is Bothari the Warrior? Aral? Tung? No one quite fits the role. Leave out the ‘s and it makes more sense.

The Mountains of Mourning: C tier. One of my favorite books but a mediocre title. “X of Y” but with none of the panache, metaphor, and style as Shards of Honor. There are mountains, and people there are mourning. Okay.

The Vor Game: D tier. Nonsense title to anyone not in the know, unless they’re super online in which case they will absolutely assume it’s really fucked up smut.

Ethan of Athos: B tier. Name of main character of book.

Cetaganda: B tier. Name of planet book is set on.

Labyrinth: A tier. Abstract, but compelling. Not a mysterious book title but evokes the correct vibe.

The Borders of Infinity: A tier. Another good “X of Y”, only a hint worse than Shards of Honor. Doesn’t quite land the stylistic flair.

Brothers in Arms: S tier. The double meaning! Is it about Miles and Mark? Or perhaps Miles and Galeni? Or perhaps Mark and Galeni! Multiple plays on words, and multiple moments when, while reading, the title feels deeper and cleverer.

Mirror Dance: S tier. A great combination of words, worked into the narrative as a Barrayaran dance, but also describing miles and mark dancing around the galaxy, mirroring each other until they finally, finally meet.

Memory: B tier. There’s a lot of remembering and not remembering in this book. But it feels like there was more room for creativity here.

Komarr: B tier. Name of planet book is set on.

A Civil Campaign: C tier. Descriptive, in a way that doesn’t end up being that interesting.

Winterfair Gifts: A tier. At first you think the gifts are all Miles’ and Ekaterin’s, but Roic and Taura each get one too.

Diplomatic Immunity: C tier. Miles sure has it in this book.

Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance: C tier. I guess this is two senses of the word? But not in a way that’s very interesting.

The Flowers of Vashnoi: A tier. A better double meaning, but nothing extraordinary.

Cryoburn: D tier. Sorry, I just think this sounds like a James Patterson novel.