Vorkosigan Saga/YMMV: Difference between revisions

** Prince Serg was considered Ges' ally and equal in awfulness by those in the know, and was bad enough that his father Emperor Ezar was willing to sacrifice thousands of his own troops and the honour of his best people in an [[Offing the Offspring]] [[Batman Gambit]] rather than let Serg take the throne. His widow tries to kiss Cordelia's hand in gratitude for her having killed Ges, and later remarks of a suitor that she's had him checked out and he treats his courtesans normally, a point she clearly considers in his favour.

** Baron Ryoval. Possibly the worst in the series, and given the [[Complete Monster]] company he keeps in the Vorkosigan saga, [[Torture Technician|that]] [[Body Horror|is really]] [[Up to Eleven|saying something.]]

** Commander Cavilo is Miles as a [[Complete Monster]]. Miles' friends [[Genre Savvy|take great delight]] in telling Miles this.

** Mark's foster-"father" Galen is [[Abusive Parents|another real prize-winner]].

* [[Crazy Awesome]]:

** Miles at his most manic and inspired arguably slips into this. Perhaps the defining example is the moment where he resolved a hostage situation ''[[Shoot the Hostage|by threatening to shoot the hostage himself]]''. With a ''plasma cannon''.

** There's his verbal sparring with Cavilo earlier as well:

* [[Ensemble Darkhorse]]: Both "That Idiot" Ivan Vorpatril and Mark Vorkosigan have become intriguing characters due to [[Hidden Depths]], and it doesn't hurt that both love to deflate Miles' ego, and know ''exactly'' what buttons to push - Mark even more so since he ''is'' Miles. Other popular bit players are Emperor Ezar and Emperor Fletchir Giaja, each of whom only appear in one book (''Barrayar'' and ''Cetaganda'' respectively.) Both leave striking impressions of rulers who are cunning and a hint of what Gregor might become when he grows older. Miles is in awe of Fletchir's wisdom, deeming him a [[Worthy Opponent]].

* [[High Octane Nightmare Fuel]] / [[Nausea Fuel]]: In ''Diplomatic Immunity'', {{spoiler|Ker Dubauer's}} lovely selection of Cetagandan bioweapons will leave you ''begging'' for a [[Mercy Kill]] before you {{spoiler|literally boil into a steaming puddle of melted entrails. Oh, and they leave the brain intact so you're conscious up till the last minute.}}

* [[Squick]]:

** Butter bugs before Ekaterin's cosmetic improvements.

** Cetagandan ''Kitten Trees.'' For the love of all that's holy, '''do not pick one before they're RIPE.'''

** The [[Body Horror|once-human things]] in Baron Ryoval's research/torture labs.

** Ekaterin acquits herself pretty well toward the end of ''Diplomatic Immunity'' while {{spoiler|Miles is incapacitated}}. It's also made clear in the series that there's more than one kind of badassery, and once out from under Tien and in Miles' orbit Ekaterin starts displaying hers, from proposing to Miles in front of the entire Council of Counts to fox Richars Vorrutyer in ''Civil Campaign'' to {{spoiler|working behind the scenes on both a personal and diplomatic level to make contacting the Cetagandans about the rogue ba easier}} in ''Diplomatic Immunity''. She's also super-classy towards Miles' various paramours and would-be paramours, even having his old flame Taura stand as second during her wedding.

 

{{reflist}}