#for the record here I’m not being flippant in either description these books are just Like That.

[regallibellbright]

So I’m rereading Borders of Infinity now for fic research, this is totally what I’m calling it, I am not just giving a random fictional character an enjoyment of a Vorkosigan book because I like it, I can justify this thematically, ANYWAY.

I am hoping to appreciate Labyrinth more on this reread than I did awkwardly reading the short stories in chronological order rather than all at once before Brothers in Arms the first time, which served the latter two and the books I was reading in between pretty poorly but especially Labyrinth. I love Taura, I look forward to Taura, and of course both “get imprisoned by a Jacksonian crimelord, fall in love with the genetically-enhanced wolf girl he keeps in the basement, and then severely damage his business while you escape with her” and “get sent to a POW camp to find one hero to rally an army against the Cetagandan Empire around, find the old plan won’t work, start a cult and use your own charisma to organize the prisoners so that you can stage a flawless, ordered prison break liberating the ENTIRE CAMP to serve as an army, and do all this after being thrown in there stark naked” are among the most Miles Vorkosigan things the man has ever committed.

But.

But.

I don’t think anything will ever manage to displace The Mountains of Mourning and its comparative calm as my absolute favorite of the three. It’s grounded, it’s sad, the closure is just perfect in what Miles can’t do for justice here and what he can, and the times Miles addresses Raina are just lovely prose. It reminds you exactly why he’s always off on these harebrained schemes with something to prove, and the placement of it in the framing story shows he uses it to remind HIMSELF that as well. I love it. I love it even more on reread knowing its callback in Memory and the way he makes a lasting difference there, and the way Silvy Vale and the Csuriks leave an impact on him. It’s just so good.