Various musing on things Vorkosiverse

[nineveh_uk]

I've just finished reading Lois McMaster Bujold's Memory, which I liked a lot - much more than Brothers in Arms and (the Miles bits of) Mirror Dance. I think I have a low tolerance for Admiral Naismith, but quite a high tolerance for things being stupid on Barrayar. Speaking of which, what law applies on Sergyar? Since lots of Komarrans are described as emigrating there, I have to assume that strict Barrayaran legal codes don't apply, because otherwise I can't see any Komarran women doing it. Are there parallel laws depending on where one comes from? In which case what happens to the children? And why isn't there a Barrayaran bougeoisie? The population appears to be divided into contented vassals and would-be masters. Come to that, can anyone who isn't Vor actually own property? Perhaps the bourgeoisie all moved to Sergyar and are biding their time until declaring themselves a dominion rather than a colony. And if humans have been terraforming Komarr for three centuries, why isn't Barryar found sooner? Surely you'd have popped through to check whether something rather more attractively habitable was on the other side? And why has no-one apparently ever managed to smuggle a copy of Das Kapital onto Barrayar since the end of the Time of Isolation, since it evidently isn't available in the bookshops? Why haven't Cetagandan agents done it? Ah well, it all makes sense from a distance.

Oh and (minor spoiler for Memory) given that Illyan and Gregor are both generally characterised as intelligent men, with reasonably astute insights into other people, and that they have both know Miles for a long time, why do they think for a millisecond that he wouldn't be an absolute disaster as Head of ImpSec?

Finally, is there a map of the Nexus anywhere online?

Comments

[bibliofilen]

There is a bourgeoisie on Barrayar - there is just a glass ceiling for anyone who isn't Vor. You'll see more of it in A Civil Campaign I think. I personally believe that Barrayaran law applies to Sergyar but interpreted by the person ruling in the Emperors name and since that person would be chosen by the Vorkosigans the law would be interpreted pretty liberally.

I think you need to know exactly where a wormhole is and at what grade to enter to be able to find it. Otherwise all you see is space.

There's a map here:
http://www.dendarii.com/frames/

My best guess is that Illyan and Gregor possibly thought that it was youth rather than character.

[nineveh_uk]

I've read ACC - I went from the Cordelia's Honor pair to Komarr, and am now nearly finished filling in the middle ;-) But I don't think we meet anyone in it who isn't Vor (if minor Vor) who isn't either in the military, or in some way a personal servant of someone who is Vor. Now that I think of it, I vaguely remember an industrialist (just the one?) being mentioned somewhere - but I can't remember the surname. But generally the owners of the means of production appear to be either galactic oligarchs or Vor.

Thanks for the link - I can't think how I've managed to miss that site!