Vorkosigan Saga: Difference between revisions

[[File:cordeliashonor_5768.jpg|frame|One of the very few non-[[Contemptible Cover|Contemptible Covers]] in the series.]]

 

 

 

However, there is a lot more humor in the series than that thumbnail description would lead you to believe, and it also examines a lot of timeless social, political and economic issues. Bujold has also written a few non-Miles-centered novels set in the same universe, some of which serve to establish the wider [[Verse]] and some of which feature minor or recurring characters from the primary storyline.

 

'''Warning: Tropes and subpages may contain unmarked spoilers'''.

 

* [[Absent Aliens]] (and [[Transhuman Aliens]]): There are plenty of odd creatures, but they all are variants of Humans created via genetic engineering. The most prominent of these are the quaddies, built to work in zero-gravity environments, who have an extra set of arms in the place of legs. Cetaganda, which is the most consistent "enemy" of Barrayar, is an [[The Empire|empire]] with bio-technological transhumanism as its basic philosophy and ultimate goal.

* [[Absent-Minded Professor]]: Enrique Borgos. Fortunately, he falls in love with a Koudelka, who are all hyper-competent.

* [[Accidental Hero]]: Cordelia reluctantly takes public credit for killing Admiral Vorrutyer during the Escobar War. She takes the blame to protect her rescuer from charges of mutiny, but is quick to point out the real hero when it comes time to assign the ''credit''. She does it again with the execution of the usurper "Emperor" Vordarian, though Bothari probably wouldn't get into trouble for that one.

** Elli Quinn, Lieutenant then Commander then ''Admiral''.

** Cordelia Vorkosign (nee Naismith), Captain of the Betan Astronomical Survey

** Aral goads Prince Serg into leading the Escobar invasion in person, ensuring the success of Ezar's [[Gambit Pileup]].

** {{spoiler|Byerly}} actively [[Batman Gambit|encourages Richars's stupidity]].

* [[Alcohol Is Poison]]: While pregnant with Miles, Cordelia passes on a glass of champagne, noting that she's forgoing "all metabolic poisons".

* [[Alliterative Family]]: Miles comments on the alliteration of Duv and Delia (D&D) when they become a couple.

** Miles's cover job is as an Imperial Courier, justifying frequent and extended absences. ''Memory'' also reveals that the Imperial Security Headquarters building's janitors are all 10-year veterans, although that is more or less par for the course for [[Properly Paranoid|ImpSec]] HQ employees.

** On Barrayar, the title of "Count" is short for ac'''count'''ant, although even the people who repeat this rumor [[Urban Legend|are unsure if it is actually true]], or just something made up long after the title came to exist.

* [[Almighty Mom]]: Cordelia, of course.

* [[Anguished Declaration of Love]]: The second time around (the letter, not the dinner party) Miles gets it right. Though technically the third time around for Miles; his first was to Elena Bothari.

* [[Anti-Villain]]: In the book ''Komarr'', {{spoiler|the terrorists are mild-mannered academics who misguidedly think they are taking a non-violent path to political independence. They do not care that millions will die from the loss of access to Galactic technology - or rather they have convinced themselves that the consequences will not be that bad since Barrayar has the scientific knowledge and industrialisation to recreate the technology now.}}

** Miles' first official ImpSec cover identity was as a freelance arms dealer.

** House Fell's primary income stream is from the interstellar arms trade.

** The series has very loose roots in Lois's history in [[Star Trek]] fanfic; you can see bits of the Klingon Empire in Barrayar, and the Federation in Beta Colony.

* [[Ascended Fanboy]]: Ky Tung, Captain of the Dendarri Free Mercenary Fleet, turns out to be a complete Aral Vorkosigan Fanboy.

* [[At the Opera Tonight]]: In ''Diplomatic Immunity'', Miles and Ekaterin go to the Minchenko Ballet. They enjoy the show, but the main purpose was to be seen.

** Komarr has had an automated traffic control system installed for decades - and the debate on how to revise the system to deal with the fact that the system is seriously stressed by the amount of intra-dome traffic that goes through on a typical day has been going on for years.

** After the third vehicular near-miss of the week, Pym asks Miles when Vorbarr Sultana would be getting its municipal traffic control system installed. Miles responds that priority was being given to the automated air traffic control in light of increased [[Flying Car|lightflyer]] fatalities.

* [[Badass Bookworm]]: Duv Galeni. Doctorate in Modern History and Political Science, seems to like being a desk jockey, able to render two armed Cetagandans -- one a Covert Action Team leader -- unconscious with his bare hands. Granted, he had had about a week of frustration built up at the time.

* [[Badass Creed]]: While the line itself is spoken by a Komarran, Duv Galeni, he's summing up what he finds admirable about the best of the Vor:

* [[Badass Grandpa]]:

** Ky Tung

* [[Battle Couple]]: Several, but Aral & Cordelia are the most prominent example.

* [[Beastess]]: The eight-foot, fanged and clawed Taura nearly ''defines'' this trope.

** Sergeant Bothari has, according to Aral, no sense of self. He becomes whatever anyone thinks he is. Bothari is Cordelia's self-proclaimed "dog" because Cordelia is the only person who sees him as a hero - and therefore, he ''is'' a hero around her. "He clings to you because you create him a greater man than he ever dreamed of being."

** Miles Naismith Vorkosigan finds himself becoming Admiral Naismith (his fictional identity) more and more, and Lord Vorkosigan, his actual identity, less and less. This is helped by the fact that the reason he created and maintained his fictional identity was to have an outlet for the drives and urges his true identity is not permitted to indulge in. However, ''Memory'' happens and Miles finds his alter ego destroyed -- and he realizes that after everything else has been stripped away, he is still a Dendarii hillman in his bones. Miles successfully adjusts by finally allowing his true identity to fulfill the impulses his alter ego had been satisfying, though his mother claims she thought he would flee Barrayar and "choose the little admiral."

* [[Beleaguered Assistant]]:

** Ivan often finds himself cast in this role to Miles.

'''Ivan''': He wanted a donkey to carry his luggage, and the first ass he thought of was me. }}

** After Gregor gets engaged, Ivan gets seconded to act as his ''mother's'' assistant in the wedding planning.

* [[Beleaguered Bureaucrat]]:

** Duv Galeni was the ImpSec rep stationed on (relatively) quiet Earth when the Dendarri Free Mercenary Fleet arrives in orbit, shattering his plans to perform his duties quietly as one of the first Komarrans in Barrayaran Imperial service.

** Averted with Vorob'yev on Eta Ceta IV, stationed in the heart of the Cetagandan Empire. Part of the reason is that Miles is able to remain sub rosa for most of the story, but even when Lord Miles Vorkosigan causes some minor trouble, Vorob'yev is mostly unfazed.

** Consul Vorlynkin in ''Cryoburn''. Understandable, given the situation - the rather quiet consulate of far-off Kibou-Daini suddenly gets '''Miles freaking Vorkosigan''' dumped in their laps. [[Hilarity Ensues|Have fun, guys!]]

* [[Beta Couple]]: ''A Civil Campaign'' featured the intertwining romances of no less than '''five''' couples in addition to the primary story: Mark and Kareen, Duv and Delia, Gregor and Laisa, Olivia and Dono and Martya and Enrique. After all, this is a comedy of biology and manners.

* [[Beware the Superman]]: The Cetagandan Empire does not exactly make the best neighbours...

* [[Big Beautiful Woman]]: Laisa. Those around Emperor Gregor theorize he is attracted to maternal figures due to the early loss of his mother.

* [[The Big Guy]]: Armsman Roic is big by Barrayaran standards, and that is ''big''.

* [[Bi the Way]]:

** Aral Vorkosigan, although all his sexual escapades (With either gender) occurred in the backstory since he met his wife in the first chapter of the first novel. She herself simply describes him as "monogamous," but when pressed explains that he is attracted to either gender, but leans towards soldiers, and that meeting her (a Captain in the Betan Survey, and later in what passed for Beta's military) presented a solution to this dilemma.

** The noble prefix "Vor" means "thief" in Russian, which is one of the four major languages of Barrayar. Bujold was initially unaware of it, but was notified by a Russian fan, and has since incorporated it into a couple of pretty clever linguistic jokes in-series.

** There are a few French words sprinkled here and there. For example, the Vorkosigan-run town near the lake shore is called ''Vorkosigan Surleau'' ("on the water"), the ruling caste of the Cetagandans are called ''haut'' ("high") and their servants are called ''ba'' (''bas'' = "low"). ''Magnifique!'' Bujold even sneaks in a [[Stealth Pun]] with a joke about ''Vorkosigan Sousleau''.

** The name Lord Dono rings a bell for Japanese-speakers, since ''-dono'' is an [[Japanese Honorifics|honorific]] of great respect that is used to literally mean "lord."

* [[Bishonen]]/[[Bifauxnen]]: Bel Thorne is described as quite good-looking, in an androgynous sort of way. [[Justified Trope|Understandable]], since it is a hermaphrodite.

* [[Blind Jump]]: The first jump through a newly discovered wormhole is always blind - you have no idea where your ship is going to come out, and it could be close enough to a star to instantly vaporize your ship, or something similarly hazardous. Doing this used to be Cordelia Naismith's job.

* [[Bling of War]]: The red-and-blue parade uniform of Barrayar, with two swords, boot-tassels, high collar and commonly described as gaudy. The normal service uniform is a more practical green.

* [[Bluffing the Murderer]]: The climax of ''Memory''. No one died, however. Well, Miles Naismith, [[That Man Is Dead|in a way.]]

* [[Body Double]]:

** While Miles and Gregor were off in the Hegen Hub during ''The Vor Game'', ImpSec had to scramble a bit to find a suitable person to play Emperor and vacation at Vorkosigan Surleau (The volunteer officer was informed of an assassination plot and jumped at the chance.) After the War of the Hegen Hub, a story about a secret diplomatic mission was crafted to explain Gregor's absence.

* [[Body Horror]]:

** Star Creche bioweaponry

** The non-lethal but disgusting Sergyaran worm-plague, which infests your skin with crawling subdermal parasites and leaves puckered, swirling scars.

** In ''Falling Free'': {{spoiler|Bannerji lets the Quaddies get away because, as they have been classified as "post-fetal experimental tissue cultures," killing them would be hazardous waste disposal and he has not filled out the paperwork for that.}}

** In ''The Warrior's Apprentice'', Elena assaults a Betan while Miles is elsewhere. From her perspective she is perfectly justified <ref>it's strongly implied he makes a sexual pass, by Barrayaran standards an insult to her and her family's honor</ref>; from his he is entitled to justice, dammit! The complaining Betan is diverted to the Barrayaran Embassy, where he will spend several hours filling in forms that have to be shipped back to Barrayar (on paper, to ensure they take as long as possible in the loop) where they will inevitably be returned to the origin for minor errors in execution, several times. From the Betan perspective, things are getting done; from the Barrayaran, the whole thing can be kept in limbo indefinitely until the complainant's head cools.

** ''A Civil Campaign'': {{spoiler|The two Escobar cops sent to arrest Enrique, Mark's scientist (and bail-jumper), mention how much trouble they had to go to to get to him. It took them a month, and twenty-five different pieces of paperwork. They would have gone after Mark, too, since he paid Enrique's bail, but he has Diplomatic Immunity and the second the two cops mentioned who they were after "every Barrayaran clerk, secretary, embassy officer and bureaucrat" they met essentially shut down. It took the guard at the gate forty minutes to get through their pieces of red tape. Individually. And they had to go through a great amount of effort to ''not'' alert Enrique....and it was all for naught since Miles points out they need another document that they can only get from him. He may have been legally wrong; he's not sure, and was bluffing.}}

** ''Memory'': Once Miles realizes that {{spoiler|General Haroche is trying to bribe him, he quickly puts together all the pieces of Illyan's chip sabotage and solves the case in less than 27 hours<ref>The Barrayaran day is 26.7 hours long.</ref>.}}

** [[Deconstructed]] in ''A Civil Campaign'', when Miles notes that bribing of Council votes is standard practice.

** Miles uses trolling for bribes in his arsenal of investigative techniques in ''Cryoburn'', both gaining valuable information from his targets ''and'' testing the loyalty of his staff. He succeeds in both areas; his targets reveal their plan when they try to bribe him, and his staff proves their loyalty when they try to report him to the Emperor for accepting a bribe.

** Nearly all young Ghem Lord aristocracy fall under this category, due to misapplication of their inherent intellect. Miles finds this disturbing.

* [[Bring Them Around]]

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Miles. He may be nuts, but he is ''very'' good at covert ops.

* [[Busman's Holiday]] (with a side order of [[Weirdness Magnet]]): Even when he does not intend to, Miles tends to run into situations of intrigue and mayhem wherever he goes. He goes on a trip to Beta and ends up {{spoiler|accidentally taking over a mercenary space fleet}}. He is assigned to a do-nothing post at an arctic outpost in the middle of nowhere and ends up {{spoiler|putting his life and career on the line to take down a psychotic disciplinarian}}. He travels to Cetaganda on a diplomatic mission and ends up {{spoiler|saving the Cetagandan empire from treason (and saving Barrayar from being caught up in another war while he is at it)}}. Miles's ''entire early life'' is one long series of Busman's Holidays.

* [[The Butcher]]: Aral gets called "The Butcher of Komarr" after one of his subordinates commits the slaughter he ''specifically'' did not want to have happen. Since Aral is a political pragmatist even he admits, later in life, that he used the weight of that undeserved reputation to lean on those who would be awed by it. He states that since he paid the price for having that reputation, he had the right to use it in that manner.

* [[But He Sounds Handsome]]: After Admiral Naismith becomes well-known enough that people start noticing the similarities between him and Miles Vorkosigan, Miles "admits" that Admiral Naismith is a rogue clone, which gives him an opportunity to talk at some length about how cunning and charismatic Admiral Naismith is.

** Yuri and Xav. Both ways: Yuri tried, but Xav ''succeeded''.

** The monstrous Baron Ryoval and his moderately less evil brother, Baron Fell.

** Mark and Miles, at least to start with.

* [[The Caligula]]:

** Mad Emperor Yuri.

** Prince Serg (if Ezar had given him the chance).

* [[Can't Hold His Liquor]]: Due to his small stature and unusual metabolism, a couple of drinks tends to put Miles to sleep.

** Commander/Captain Cordelia Naismith: Aral's "Dear Captain", [[Action Girl]] and [[Guile Hero]]. Then she resigns her commission and finds herself in [[Mama Bear]] territory...

** Captain [[The Spymaster|Simon Illyan]], even though by the end of his career in ImpSec he is drawing Vice Admiral's pay (He refused to take an official rank greater than his predecessor, who saw no reason to claim higher rank because everyone knew how powerful he was without it), is one of a very few people that can even partially keep Miles in check. By reputation, his predecessor, Captain Negri, was even more badass.

** Captain Elena Bothari-Jessek

** Captain Bel Thorne

* [[Catch Phrase]]:

** Gregor (and Cordelia, from whom he inherited it): "Let's see what happens."

** Ivan: "It's not my fault."

** Miles: "Forward momentum"

* [[The Cavalry]]: How Gregor and Aral arrive with the Hegan Alliance Navy, led by the brand new Barrayaran fleet flagship, ''Prince Serg,'' to prevent a Cetagandan invasion.

* [[Central Theme]]:

** When Aral thinks he might be dying in ''Mirror Dance'', he [[Famous Last Words|urgently]] tells Mark, "All true wealth is biological." This notion shows up everywhere in the series--whether it be family love, a politically-motivated quest for posterity, the constant ambivalence over the value of altered or unfamiliar lifeforms, the prison camp, {{spoiler|Miles'}} death and resuscitation, the Cetagandan desire to refine human genetics, the Betan focus on quality-of-life, the Jacksonian clones, the villains' near-universal obsession with torture and dismemberment, and on and on and on... Human bodies, and whether or not they matter, and why or why not, are the explicit focus of nearly everything that happens in the series.

* [[The Chains of Commanding]]: Poor Gregor.

* [[Changeling Fantasy]]: Cruelly subverted in ''The Warriors' Apprentice'' in Elena Bothari's quest to find her mother's identity.

* [[Character Tics]]: Miles tends to jerk his chin up defensively under stress; more so when younger and more self-conscious about his height. Miles also inherited the habit of putting his fingers together when being stern and incisive from his father, Aral. Mark shares all of Miles' tics, having been conditioned from a young age to impersonate him.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]:

** Early in ''Diplomatic Immunity'', Miles muses on his fear that someday, {{spoiler|while he is on assignment a hundred wormhole jumps from home, some grim-faced courier will catch up to him and begin by addressing him as ''Count Vorkosigan, sir?''}} Several books later, just that happens at the end of ''Cryoburn''.

* [[Chest of Medals]]:

** Aral has a jar full of various medals stuffed in his desk drawer.

* [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]]: Cavilo, ''and how''.

* [[Cincinnatus]]: Aral Vorkosigan. Emperor Ezar knows that Aral is both disgusted and frightened by Barrayaran politics, but is also supremely well versed in it so he is able to cope with it -- and is honorable enough to give Gregor the throne when he turns 20.

* [[Claustrophobia]]: After spending several hours locked in a pumping chamber in the Thames Tidal Barrier -- the barrier is meant to prevent the raised sea levels from flooding London -- Ivan considers taking up Claustrophobia as a hobby.

* [[Come to Gawk]]: The official punishment for Vors who commit treason, until they starve to death.

** In ''The Mountains of Mourning'', a woman tries to bribe an ImpSec guard to let her in to see the Count with all the money she has on her - a mark and twenty pence. Miles orders the guard to let her through for free after learning she is trying to present a petition she has the legal right to make.

** The inverted version occurs in ''Labyrinth''. A refugee from Jackson's Whole hands Miles and Bel Thorne her entire life's savings in cash, hoping it will be enough to engage them as mercenaries to get her off the planet. Bel tells her the price is wrong, then peels one single dollar off the stack and tells her this is more like it as [[Pronoun Trouble|it]] returns the rest.

* [[The Commies Made Me Do It]]: In ''The Vor Game'', at least one of Cavilo's men is only following her because of his wife and family being held prisoner.

* [[Compelling Voice]]: Cordelia uses this towards the end of ''A Civil Campaign''.

Her parents sank as though folded. }}

* [[Conditioned to Accept Horror]]: In ''Mirror Dance'', the young clone of Lily Durona knows and agrees with the notion of being killed to give "my lady" a full body transplant.

** [[Baen Books]] strikes again. For sheer, "I don't want to be seen reading this" shame, nothing can beat the cover of ''[http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/bestselling-sci-fi-fantasy-2006/2346-1.jpg A Civil Campaign]''. The picture cannot capture the sparkly horror of the real thing. That's not even counting the bizarrely-shaped guards. Plus, the bugs are either not nearly ugly enough, or not nearly pretty enough, depending on which they are supposed to be. We'll clear up this question: The couple pictured are supposed to be Gregor and Laisa. Laisa's the one wearing the prom dress from circa 1985.

** The runner-up is probably ''[http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/24-CryoburnCD/CryoburnCD/images/Miles-Errant-cover.jpg Miles Errant]''. Sitting in an ergonomic nightmare of a ship's bridge are a sour-faced garden gnome with a Wolverine haircut, a department store mannequin with a terrible case of helmet hair, and a werewolf with lipstick. These... ''creatures''... are supposed to be Mark, Bel Thorne (who is a hermaphrodite) and Taura.

** [http://www.dendarii.co.uk/Covers/German/twa_de.jpg This German cover], on the other hand, is actually rather good as an uncharitable take on Miles' personality, but it's still creepy.

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Halfway through ''Cetaganda'', there is a brief moment in which Ghem-Colonel Millisor calls in with a status report for the hunt he is on in ''Ethan of Athos''.

* [[Cool Chair]]:

** Averted for the Barrayaran Emperor during the Emperor's Birthday ceremonies. When receiving the traditional birthday "gifts" (bags of gold coins symbolizing annual tax payments) from the various Counts, the Emperor sits on a standard military issue folding camp stool. The chairs in his private offices are considerably more luxurious and comfortable.

** In ''Cetaganda'', we see that the Cetagandan emperor gets a much, much fancier version than Gregor does.

* [[Cool Horse]]: Subverted with Fat Ninny. Granted, Ninny was actually quite a good horse; the name stuck from some youthful misbehavior.

* [[Cool Starship]]: Oddly averted. The ships are implied to be ''very'' cool (the mere mention of Barrayar's new flagship, the ''Prince Serg'', has Miles practically salivating), but they are barely described in the narration. It is the people who ride in them that count, after all.

"Exactly, my lord." }}

* [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]]: Bruce Van Atta, the only character in ''Falling Free'' actually willing to kill a thousand genetically engineered children.

* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: IVAN. He can be perfectly competent if he chooses to be (probably best demonstrated at the climax of ''A Civil Campaign'') and is fiercely loyal, but finds it... safer (both for himself and his family and friends), as a potential heir to the throne, if everyone thinks he's an idiot who poses no threat and who no one would ever ''want'' to come to power.

* [[Culture Clash]]: When Miles visits a Quaddie space as Lord Auditor, he has to explain that "Emperor's Voice" does not really mean that Barrayarans think that the Emperor is talking out of Mile's mouth, but that it is simply the Barrayaran term for "plenipotentiary". Apparently the Barrayaran reputation for primitiveness spread even to Quaddie territory.

* [[Cure Your Gays]]: Hilarious subversion in ''Ethan of Athos''. Gay Ethan wants to ask Elli Quinn for a very personal favor after several shared adventures. She says she has heard it all, and tells him to go on. {{spoiler|He wants her to donate an ovary to his planet, and that he wants to use it for his future sons.}} She is considerably nonplussed, a rarity for her.

* [[Cute Monster Girl]]: Taura, though ''strikingly beautiful'' is probably more accurate.

* [[Cyborg Helmsman]]: Implants are Required by jump pilots. Anyone with the proper training can handle in-system sublight flight, but a jump pilot's neural implants can streamline control of a suitably equipped ship's systems.

** Among the non-Vor, memorial names also show up (e.g. Kareen Koudelka)

** In ''Cryoburn'', we see {{spoiler|Taura Vorkosigan}}.

** Mark is a wizard at it since he is Miles with no social restraints. In ''A Civil Campaign'', he takes a precise shot that leaves Miles' flabbergasted.

''Last word: I win.'' Grinning, he exited. }}

** Simon Illyan is also one of the best.

'''Miles:''' I'll bet. He does acerb better than anyone I know... }}

** Byerly Vorrutyer can give any of them a run for the money.

'''Byerly:''' Well, that leaves one more for ''one'' of us; unless you are suggesting something delightfully ''outré.'' }}

** In ''Cryoburn'', Consul Vorlynkin has his moments:

'''[[Beleaguered Bureaucrat|Vorlynkin:]]''' Then I really wish you'd ''buy'' some. }}

Ivan's stomach lurched in surprise. He had seen Miles come the Lord Auditor a couple of times now, but never before at ''him''. The freezing gray eyes suddenly had all the expression of a pair of gun barrels. Ivan opened his mouth, then closed it, more carefully. What the ''hell'' was going on here? And how did someone so short manage to project that much menace? Years of practice, Ivan supposed. ''And conditioning.'' }}

* [[Death Is Cheap]]: Partially averted. In-universe, cryo-revial ''can'' be performed to save prematurely deceased people, but several factors are involved. Their blood has to be replaced with cryonic fluid, the injuries have to leave their head intact, they have to be frozen ''immediately'', and even if done properly, there is a chance they can lose some or all of their memory and mental faculty; in one case, some poor guy ended up with constant seizures that cost him his career. A botched prep can render someone a vegetable, if they're even recoverable at all.

* [[Decapitation Presentation]]: Cordelia rolls {{spoiler|Vordarian}}'s head out of a shopping bag after her "shopping trip" in ''Barrayar''.

* [[Defenestrate and Berate]]: Inverted when, after Ekaterin coolly informs Tien that she is leaving him, his responding tantrum climaxes with him threatening to toss either her bonsaied skellytum or himself off the balcony of their fifth story flat. When she doesn't respond, he throws the plant over. Ekaterin's only reaction:

* [[Defusing the Tykebomb]]: Miles' and Cordelia's treatment of Mark.

* [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]: Each planet has wildly differing social mores, causing massive WTF-ery when, say, a [[Fish Out of Water|Barrayaran gets their first taste of Cetagandan culture]].

* [[Designer Babies]]: A common feature of the setting; Cetaganda takes this further than anyone else: their society, economy and political structure is built around making designer babies. Most of the galaxy uses uterine replicators, but Barrayar is just beginning to adopt them, along with genetic screening. While Miles got his mix of genes the old fashioned way, his kids are screened and canned in a uterine replicator.

** The often mentioned use of the "Choose Your Baby's Sex" pill/treatment/whatever made the Barrayaran parents crazy for boys.

** Miles. Other characters refer to him with nicknames such as "Miles the monomaniacal," and Ivan [[Lampshading|lampshades]] it when he mentions that he has never seen a barrier that Miles could not climb, or find a way around, or dig his way under, or [[Refuge in Audacity|just blow up with sapper charges]].

** [[Lampshading|Lampshaded]] by Illyan, in ''A Civil Campaign'':

'''Illyan:''' Don't ever try that with Miles. Just...don't. }}

* [[Digging Yourself Deeper]]: Poor Armsman Roic has a knack for sticking his foot in his mouth (or not knowing what to say) around Taura.

* [[Dirty Business]]

* [[Disposing of a Body]]: In ''Ethan of Athos'' Elli Quinn spends an entire chapter disposing of a body.

** Commodore Clement Koudelka and Ludmilla Droushnakovi, aka "Kou and Drou."

"You’ll always be Drou to me," Kou had promised. }}

** Ekaterin hates her nickname, "Kat." The fact Miles loves her first name and icily corrects Ivan when ''he'' calls her that... well, you know.

** Ekaterin asks this of Lord Auditor Vorthys about Miles in ''Komarr''. A bit of a subversion, as she's trolling for family background and not in any romantic sense.

** Miles later makes a mental note to ask if Ekaterin has a sister. Much more by the book; Miles has just realized that he is starting to fall for her.

* [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!]]: In ''Mirror Dance'', Mark says as much to Elena, stating, "Don't you ''dare'' pity me."

* [[Drives Like Crazy]]: "Dear God, don't tell me you let Ivan drive."

** Barrayarans believe in making burned offerings to the dead, a trait the Cetagandans seem to share, at least for Empress Lisbet's cremation, in which functionaries brought priceless artifacts to be burned with her.

** The ending of ''Shards of Honor''.

* [[Dying Alone]]

* [[Either World Domination or Something About Bananas]]: In ''Diplomatic Immunity'':

** The Cetagandans to start off with, but even they get [[Character Development]] in ''Cetaganda.''

** The Barrayaran Imperium used to be this, and is currently trying very hard to drop the capital E (if not the precise system of government).

* [[Enemy Mine]]: This is basically how Miles' parents met.

* [[Epiphanic Prison]]: According to Miles, this is what the Cetagandans were trying to create with their Dagoola IV prison camp in ''The Borders of Infinity:''

"When this is killed," [Miles] touched her forehead, oh so lightly, "then the Cetagandans have nothing more to fear from this," one finger on her bicep, "and you will all go free. To a world whose horizon will encircle you just like this dome, and just as inescapably." }}

* [[Even Evil Has Loved Ones]]: Oki, one of NewEgypt's goons responsible for two deaths and three kidnappings/cryofreezings, explained his actions and continued employment with NewEgypt by pointing out that he has a family.

* [[Cute Kitten|Everything's Cuter With Kittens]]:

** Subverted with the Cetagandan Kitten Tree.

** Played straight with Zap's offspring in ''Memory'' and ''A Civil Campaign''.

** Equally short but gorgeous [[The Vamp|vamp]] Cavilo in ''The Vor Game'' is this towards Miles, sharing his talent for clever scheming, but not giving a damn about others - Miles is the [[Guile Hero]] to her [[Manipulative Bastard]].

** In a way, although he is never ''per se'' evil, Mark also fits this in respect to Miles. Instead of having birth defects like Miles did, he was born handsome, but cruelly and painfully re-formed so that he could impersonate Miles. While Miles had a ''relatively'' benevolent [["Well Done, Son" Guy]] in his grandfather, Mark was raised by the [[Abusive Parents|physically and mentally abusive]] and [[Ax Crazy|insane]] Galen. The end result is someone who is brilliant in an unrestrained way just like Miles, but is much less friendly, and ''his'' unrestrained behavior can border on the questionably sane. Not that Miles is exactly a picture of perfect mental health. [[Lampshade|Lampshaded]] by Miles:

* [[Evil-Detecting Dog]]: The sphinx in ''Cryoburn''

* [[Evil Is Not Pacifist]]: The Komarran engineers are pleasant, non-violent intellectuals who are very distressed when they inadvertently cause the death of a colleague and the other deaths they cause in ''Komarr'' are similarly accidental. However, in a bit of overlap with [[A Million Is a Statistic]], they are oblivious that their plans would entail bringing death and hardship to millions of people.

* [[The Evil Prince]]: Prince Serg in ''Shards of Honor''.

** Aral can be a little slack about safety margins at times. e.g. ''Shards of Honor'':

** This is a way that Barrayarans use to turn stunners and plasma arcs, or more specifically the high-density power cells that serve as their magazines, into jury-rigged bombs. One never knows quite how long the "fuse" is, making this a tricky maneuver at best, not suited to use in active combat as a supply of extra grenades.

* [[Extended Disarming]]: Twice in the series, [[Played for Laughs]].

** ''The Warrior's Apprentice'': Sergeant Bothari going through Beta Colony customs. The custom's officer is very familiar with Bothari because he can ''never'' not try to get ''some'' weapon through customs.

* [[Fakeout Escape]]:

** In ''Brothers in Arms'', Miles considers trying to escape via this trope -- claiming that he is the clone and that the real Miles somehow got free and tied him up -- but quickly realizes that he has several days' worth of stubble and the clone does not, so it is not practical.

** Played straight with the Duronas in ''Mirror Dance''.

* [[Famous Last Words|Famous Last Thoughts]]: {{spoiler|Miles}}

* [[Famous Last Words]]: Vidal Vordarian

* [[Fantastic Caste System]]: The Cetagandans. There's the Emperor, the cultured ''haut'' lords, the ''ghem'' warrior aristocracy, the genderless ''ba'' who serve the ''haut'', and the common man. Add a strict, caste-like gender divide that (on the surface) looks like a traditional patriarchy and constant genetic tinkering, and you get the complex system that drives the plot of ''Cetaganda''.

* [[Fantastic Honorifics]]: The "Vor" prefix is used to denote the military caste. The word itself is Russian for "thief," which Bujold did ''not'' know when originally writing the series, but she has since included many linguistic jokes once she was told by a Russian fan.

** Barrayaran prejudice against mutants, which tends to include genetically engineered people such as hermaphrodites, quaddies, and [[Super Soldier|Sergeant Taura]]. This is a problem for Miles, even though his deformities are ([[Insistent Terminology|as he hastens to assure you]]) teratogenic, not genetic. In some backwoods communities, infanticide is still committed over "defects" as minor as a harelip, and the traditional engagement ceremony includes the bride's family giving the groom a knife as proof of her genetic purity. Carries over even into their fairy tales, where evil mutants are generally the villain. "Mutant" is, effectively, the Barrayaran word for "bogeyman."

** Cetagandans look down on other humans as primitive barbarians, barely one step removed from animals.

* [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]]:

** Cetaganda for Japan (most prominent in ''Cetaganda'')

** Beta Colony for California (per [[Word of God]])

** Barrayar has cultural elements of Russia (complete with Baba Yaga folktale), and Kibou-daini is heavily reminiscent of Japan (Including Japanese honorifics), but this is because their ancestors were actual Russians and actual Japanese.

** A non-lethal headshot by a nerve disruptor. A nerve disruptor destroys nerves.

** In ''Cryoburn'', {{spoiler|Cordelia refuses to put Aral in cryostasis because he died via a brain aneurysm. He would have been revived with serious brain damage, and considering what happened to Dubauer in ''Cordelia's Honor'' (shot by a nerve disruptor in the head), she has ample reason not to subject Aral to that. She also believes that reviving him, with his memories intact, would be just as bad a fate for him.}}

* [[A Father to His Men]]: Aral's command style strongly emphasizes this. Miles tries to emulate it with the Dendarii, but his need to slip in and out of his Admiral Naismith persona tends to come across as "Slightly crazy, but very cool uncle" instead.

* [[Fire-Forged Friends]]

** Ethan Urquhart on Kline Station in ''Ethan of Athos'', though he adapts pretty well, considering.

** Leo Graf in ''Falling Free'', on what will become the Quaddie colony named for him.

* [[Feudal Future]]: Barrayar was isolated from the rest of the galaxy early in its colonization and terraforming when the wormhole leading there collapsed; when a new one was found several centuries later Barrayar had turned to a feudal society just to survive, and has carried it out into the stars.

* [[Finger-Poke of Doom]]: Miles demonstrates the power of a single finger to [[Super Soldier]] Taura, by having her use just one finger to manipulate the temperature control on Baron Ryoval's high-security freezers-- the heart of his biotech empire. They go from "deep freeze" to "sterilize for cleaning..."

* [[Flying Car]]: Like many [[Speculative Fiction]] settings with mature [[Anti Gravity]] tech, there is a wide variety of flying vehicles:

** Float bikes (flying motorcycle analog)

** Admiral Miles Naismith (At least as far as the greater galaxy is concerned, ignoring Miles' protests about not having "real" flag rank.)

** Admiral Elli Quinn (Unless something ''really'' unexpected happens.)

* [[Gambit Pileup]]:

** Most of ''The Vor Game''. Most of the schemes were Cavilo's. Miles later points out that if she had just stuck with a plan, ''any'' plan, instead of inflicting this on herself, she would have won.

** This drives the plot of ''A Civil Campaign''. To quote from the back cover: "Miles has a cunning plan... Unfortunately {{spoiler|his clone-brother Mark}} and his cousin Ivan also have cunning plans."

* [[Gargle Blaster]]: Maple mead.

* [[Gender Bender]]: Played quite seriously in ''A Civil Campaign''. Lady Donna Vorrutyer's only recourse to keep her cousin [[Complete Monster|Richars]] from inheriting Vorrutyer District and running it into the ground is to take a trip to Beta Colony and come back as Lord Dono.

* [[Gender Rarity Value]]: While the rest of Barrayar was using galactic reproductive technology to favor boys because of their patriarchal, warrior-obssessed society, the Koudelkas intentionally took Cordelia's advice and went the other way because girls would have [[Gender Rarity Value]] in the future. By the time of the Miles-centered storylines the number of available, socially-acceptable women plummets due to the imbalance and Vor men begin to resort to desperate, sometimes questionable acts in order to secure the affections of whichever Vor women happen to become available.

* [[General Ripper]]: Stanis Metzov.

* [[Genius' Sweet Tooth]]: Lord Auditor Vorthys is very fond of desserts, and goes on regular trips to the local bakery to stock up on pastries. He also keeps a stash of cookies in his study.

* [[Genre Shift]]: Up to around ''Mirror Dance'' it is fairly straightforward [[Space Opera]]/[[Military Science Fiction]] with a generous dash of [[Character Development]]. Then comes ''[[Wham! Episode|Memory]]'' and ''Komarr'', and the series veers into [[Mystery]] and political intrigue. And a ''ton'' of [[Character Development]].

* [[Gentleman Snarker]]: Byerly Vorrutyer never insults anyone unintentionally.

** Miles, in a rare sympathetic way.

** Prince Serg, {{spoiler|which is his downfall.}}

** In ''The Vor Game,'' after being interrogated separately by Cavilo and Metzov, Miles wonders if they had set up a classic "good-guy/bad-guy" interrogation tag team, but got their signals crossed and both of them thought that they were supposed to play the bad guy.

** In ''Cryoburn'', Miles notes that Mark and Kareen make a very good good cop/bad cop team, but also hastens to remind himself that not all the bad cop ideas come from Mark, and not all the good cop ideas come from Kareen.

* [[Gosh Dang It to Heck]]: In ''Komarr'', Miles teases Ekaterin for her G-rated vocabulary. Later in the novel, circumstances are so bad she still does not bother to swear, feeling that all other words were just as inadequate. See [[Precision F-Strike]] for when she finally does.

** Lady Alys Vorpatril, chief social mover and shaker of Vorbarr Sultana, is a rare sympathetic version.

** Ekaterin is clearly a [[Grande Dame]] understudy, with her poise, beauty, breeding and recently acquired social position.

* [[Grey and Gray Morality]]: While there are a few completely evil people to fight, most of the stories tend to fall in this category, with the protagonists displaying [[A Lighter Shade of Gray]]. Lampshaded at the end of ''Brothers in Arms''.

Miles was still thinking about the answer to that one when the fleet broke orbit. }}

* [[Gray Eyes]]: Cordelia and Miles (and, perforce, Mark). Miles' eyes remind Count Vorhalas of his mother, which influences him to spare his life in ''The Warrior's Apprentice''. Miles later uses them effectively for his [[Death Glare]], as seen in the example above.

* [[Grew a Spine]]:

** In ''Shards of Honor'', this is combined with [[Sudden Principled Stand]] when Sergeant Bothari refuses to rape {{spoiler|Cordelia}} as per Admiral Vorrutyer's orders.

** Ekaterin in ''Komarr'' and ''A Civil Campaign'', though it is probably better to say that she found and nurtured the spine, rather than grew it.

* [[Groin Attack]]:

** Cordelia ''accidentally'' kicks the Betan President in the groin once. "I didn't vote for him..."

** After Lord Dono ([[Gender Bender|formerly Lady Donna]]) takes a shot to the pills for the first time, he is absolutely astonished at how much it ''hurts''.

* [[The Grovel]]: Miles offered Ekaterin her dream job [[Subordinate Excuse|just to keep her close to him]]. When she learns the truth, she storms out of Vorkosigan House and he sets out to write the best damn apology letter ever, sealed in his own blood. Nothing like a [[The Determinator|determinator]] bent on groveling better than anyone else has ever groveled.

* [[Guile Hero]]: Miles most prominently, but really [[Big Badass Family|the whole Vorkosigan family]] qualifies, each with their own signature brand of guile:

** Miles is the manic king of [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] and the [[Indy Ploy]].

** Cousin Ivan, [[Butt Monkey]] that he may be, can be a distressingly effective example of [[The Charmer]] when he needs to.

* [[Gunship Rescue]]: A by-the-book example in ''The Vor Game'' with the huge brand-new capital ship of the Barrayaran Imperial Navy coming in all guns blazing to save the day.

* [[Handsome Lech]]: Ivan. Possibly even a Casanova. One scene in ''Cetaganda'' suggests he is a Miles-level genius when it comes to seductions. On the other hand these affairs are good-natured and rarely end up in a painful break-up, so he is probably more of a [[Chivalrous Pervert]].

** Referenced in Miles' thoughts in ''Memory'' when Gregor takes Laisa riding for the first time in her life. Since she is extremely "luscious" looking, Miles thinks that he would not hold it against Gregor if he used the opportunity to cop a feel while helping her on to the horse.

** Gregor's handling of Cavilo in ''The Vor Game'' when he let her "seduce" him.

'''Gregor''': Oh, it took both hands. }}

* [[Happily Married]]:

* [[Harmless Freezing]]: Notably averted. Soldiers who need better medical care than can be provided (such as after getting a huge hole blown into their chest) are routinely frozen so they can be transported to a medical facility. The required preparation includes replacing their blood with a special liquid. If anything goes wrong with that, it can lead to tissue damage, which can leave you a vegetable if it affects the brain. Even if everything goes right, more people than not suffer some amnesia. {{spoiler|Miles himself}} ends up with a (first-)career-ending seizure disorder after undergoing the process.

* [[Heir Club for Men]]: Gregor ''really'' needs a male heir. {{spoiler|And as of ''Cryoburn'', he has multiple children, though none of them have appeared in the story or been mentioned by name.}}

* [[Her Heart Will Go On]]: Ekaterin is a grieving widow...grieved by the damned mess Tien left her with.

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Miles engages in several.

** "Tante Cordelia" to all the Koudelka daughters.

** Simon Illyan, to Miles. As of ''Memory'', he is even sleeping with Miles's aunt.

** Technically, "Aunt Alys" Vorpatril is Miles' 1st cousin once removed by marriage (Alys' late husband's mother was Count Piotr's sister-in-law).

* [[Hot Amazon]]: [[Lampshaded]] by Mark, who called Miles' girlfriends and love interests "terrifying Amazons." Miles tends to be attracted to tall, aggressive women in the first place. Perhaps not coincidentally, his mother was one herself in her younger days.

** Cryogenics is a mature technology, often used to freeze combat casualties until they can reach the high grade medical facilities needed to repair them. {{spoiler|Miles himself spends much of ''Mirror Dance'' frozen.}}

** The planet Kibou-daini, in the novel ''Cryoburn'', has its entire culture and economy revolving around the cryogenic storage of people.

** Quite a common circumstance on Barrayar, especially after Lord Regent/Prime Minister Vorkosigan's social and economic reforms. Byerly Vorrutyer is "notoriously without visible means of support." {{spoiler|Though we discover in ''A Civil Campaign'' one source of his income.}}

** Ghem-lord Yenaro is a Cetagandan example.

** Ekaterin is an unusual female example, as a Vor widow left destitute after her husband's death.

* [[In the Blood]]: Gregor is afraid of this because of how insane, inbred, and generally [[Royally Screwed-Up]] much of his family was. Finding out how evil his father was almost [[Driven to Suicide|drove him to suicide]], though that was far from being the only issue.

* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: In ''Diplomatic Immunity'', after being shot at by a jury-rigged piece of construction equipment.

* [[Indestructible Edible]]:

** Barrayaran military issue Emergency Rations, according to Aral in ''Shards of Honor'', can go for years without spoiling... and probably have already.

** During their second encounter in ''The Vor Game'', Cavilo provides Miles with a commercially available field ration bar that "...proved even more repellent than the Barrayaran Imperial version, resembling a rawhide dog chew. Wetted with spit, it softened slightly, enough to tear off gummy shreds if your teeth were in good health."

'''Cavilo''' (frowning sympathetically): Oh dear. Those. I thought they'd been condemned. How did they end up here? Someone must be economizing. }}

* [[Indy Ploy]]:

* [[Insane Admiral]]: Ges Vorrutyer is a literal example. There are more than a few crazy generals in the Barrayaran combined services too, such as Stanis Metzov.

* [[Insignificant Little Blue Planet]]: Earth is a strategic backwater, as an isolated cul-de-sac in the wormhole nexus, but it is still diplomatically and culturally significant:

* [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja]]: Mina thinks the black-clad arsonists are ninjas, and her opinion of (potential stepfather) Vorlynkin goes way up when he fights them off.

* [[Instructional Film]]: Miles' boredom during his quasi-exile to ImpSec HQ following the Fetaine spill at Camp Permafrost drives him to start watching every training vid in the military library . . . in strict alphabetical order. One film on the list (Filed under H for Hygiene) was for training recruits from the remote rural areas of Barrayar how to take a shower.

** Dr. Vaagen in ''Barrayar''.

** Dr. Canaba in "Labyrinth" and ''Memory''.

** One of the ways Roic puts his foot in it while talking to Taura in "Winterfair Gifts"; he winds up an account of the Butter-Bug Incident with a comment about exterminating the grotesque genetically-engineered monsters -- having temporarily forgotten that his audience identifies herself as a grotesque genetically-engineered monster.

** In ''Cetaganda'', Ivan makes an off-handed remark about mutations, insulting Miles. He realizes this by blushing, and Miles tells him through clenched teeth, "Try not to start any wars down there" and mentally adds, "Civil and otherwise".

** Part of Miles' backstory is an attempted suicide when he was fifteen that was interrupted by Sergeant Bothari.

* [[Ironic Echo]]: Aral's first wife committed suicide by plasma arc and burned her face off. Miles' first girlfriend, Elli Quinn, had her face burned off by plasma fire and was replaced with enhanced beauty.

** When Miles gives his grandmother's old saddle to Ekaterin.

** In ''Falling Free'', Madam Minchenko has a valuable old violin that she used to keep in a climate controlled vault until she realized that musical instruments are meant to be played.

* [[It Was a Gift]]

* [[Karmic Death]]: {{spoiler|Tien}} suffocates to death horribly when his mask runs out of oxygen. He was shown earlier in the book yelling at his wife for telling him to check on his oxygen reserves.

* [[Keep It Foreign]]: Russian translation, big time. In the original, Russophone influence pops out at every corner, starting with Piotr Vorkosigan, Yuri, Ludmilla Koudelka and ending with... well, the list would be too long to even contemplate. It got almost wiped out in translation. Ekaterin, for example, became Katriona. Damn, they even managed to disguise Ivan... as Ivan. The last case was purely phonetical: instead of Иван (pronounced "Ee-`van") they translated it as Айвен (pronounced "`Ai-ven"). The "fool-hero" reference was, of course, lost in process.

* [[Kicking Ass in All Her Finery]]: Olivia Koudelka demonstrates that [[Action Girl|Drou]] -- former personal bodyguard to the Emperor -- was passing more than just tips on baking cakes to her daughters as they grew up. Dressed in an evening gown, she responds to a attempted assault on a member of her party by first taking out one mook in hand-to-hand combat, then using a captured stunner to incapacitate two more. All in a matter of minutes in a crowded, poorly-lit parking garage.

* [[Killed Mid-Sentence]]:

** Miles himself. {{spoiler|It didn't stick.}}

** The tale of an officer in the Cetagandan War, whose last words were purported to be, "Don't worry lieutenant, their guns can't possibly hit us at this ran-"

* [[Knife Nut]]: Bothari. Piotr even introduces Bothari to Kly by telling him Bothari is "good at throats."

* [[Knight Errant]]: Cordelia diagnoses Miles as thinking of himself like this. After a while, Mark is forced to agree.

* [[Lady of War]]: Based on her exploits up to and including the Shopping Trip, Cordelia qualifies, but would be appalled at being so named.

* [[Laser-Guided Karma]]: Bujold just loves this trope. Miles in particular takes great joy in devising and delivering these sorts of comeuppances.

* [[Leave Behind a Pistol]]: Vor who commit treason are usually offered this as an alternative to the official punishment: public starvation. Miles asks Illyan if he ought to do this for {{spoiler|Illyan's betrayer Lucas Haroche}}; Illyan says he would rather the man [[Cruel Mercy|live through every eternal minute of his trial and punishment]].

** Ekaterin compares Tien's friendless state with Miles's many and interesting friends.

** A pivotal point in ''Mirror Dance'' occurs when Mark, who has been trying -- and failing -- to be Miles all on his own, and is definitely well on his way to being a freak, finally figures out that not even ''Miles'' tries to be Miles on his own; he gets his friends to help. Or, if they don't ''want'' to help, he dragoons them into doing it anyway.

*** Water? Everyone gets a cup along with their clothes and a bedroll (the taps by the latrines work most of the time).

*** Access to medical personnel? Plenty of medics mixed in with the general population, but the rules mention nothing about medicines or equipment.

*** No forced labor? Nothing to do at all.

*** No solitary confinement for more than 24 hours? <insert bitter laughter here>

*** No beatings or rapes by guards? No guards....

** The legendary 2,000 chefs of Lord Vorharopulous were an attempt to pull this off against Emperor Dorca Vorbarra's decree that each Vor house could only have 20 sworn armsmen. It did not work.

* [[Lost Colony]]: The planet of Barrayar, which was rediscovered only eighty years prior to the start of the main series timeline.

* [[Love Across Battlelines]]: Aral and Cordelia when they first meet in ''Shards of Honor''.

* [[Love Makes You Crazy]]. Miles, in a big way. The things he did to try to win Elena's hand, and then Ekaterin. From a certain point of view, Miles creates the whole vast edifice of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet just so that Elena can fulfill her longing to be a soldier - or, in a different sense of love, to prove his worth to his father.

* [[Make It Look Like an Accident]]: Ethan was going to be force-fed alcohol and [[Railing Kill|tossed over a railing]] [[Big Damn Heroes|before Elli showed up]].

* [[Malicious Slander]]. Several cases, including Aral Vorkosigan's first marriage, and Miles {{spoiler|when he was accused of killing Ekaterin's husband Tien}}. Aral gave Miles a salient piece of advice regarding reputation and honor:

* [[Mama Bear]]: Cordelia, especially in ''Barrayar''.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: Miles means soldier (Per [[Word of God|comments from the author]], the name was picked at random [[Sure Why Not|and just worked out]]); Ivan is the stereotypical fool-hero in Russian folklore, their Jack equivalent.

* [[The Men First]]

* [[Mental Fusion]]: Wormhole-jump pilots have implants that let them neurally link with their ships. It affects them similar to LSD, in which they can transform into colors and taste sounds.

** Cordelia. Look at her effect on Kou, Drou, Aral, and Bothari - and in later life, Mark and Kareen.

** This is a talent that the entire Vorkosigan clan seems to have. In ''The Warrior's Apprentice'' Miles starts out with an about to be junked spaceship, with an alcoholic washed up pilot and a cowardly deserter of an engineer; uses them to capture a bunch of total screw-up mercenaries and and turns them all into a crack special-ops team by sheer force of will and making them believe that they can do it. As the former alcoholic washed up pilot says:

** Brother Miles ''uplifts'' 10,000 naked prisoners of war, bringing them bodily into the high places of the air.

* [[Military Maverick]]: Miles, in a big way. ''The Vor Game'' starts with him being [[Reassigned to Antarctica|assigned to Kyril Island]] because the Academy staff feel he needs to learn how to be a subordinate instead of maneuvering himself into charge. He ends up getting his commander [[Reassignment Backfire|discharged from the Imperial Service]]. By the end of the book he is reporting directly to [[The Spymaster|Simon Illyan]] simply because he makes such a habit of driving his superiors nuts that Illyan cannot, in good conscience, inflict him on anybody else. At one point in ''The Vor Game'', Miles has three different commanding officers (in different contexts) locked up in neighboring cells in the brig. Contrary the trope, Miles ''does'' eventually {{spoiler|get himself discharged in ill standing and does ''not'' get his commission back, even after he saves the day once again}}. Granted, Miles being the sort to "fall into a cess pool and come up with a handful of gold," it works out fine.

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: Aral Vorkosigan during most of ''Shards of Honor'' and ''Barrayar'', where his role {{spoiler|as a conspirator to destroy Prince Serg through the broad assassination tool of an unnecessary war}} destroys his personal honor and leaves him a broken man in the former book; his decision to execute Carl Vorhalas is a prominent example in the latter book.

* [[Nail'Em]]: Guppy and the automated hot riveter in ''Diplomatic Immunity''. (See [[Incredibly Lame Pun]] above for Miles' reaction.)

* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]:

* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: In ''Shards of Honor'', Cordelia's Betan Survey crew decides to rescue her from the clutches of the psychotic Butcher of Komarr...and in exactly the wrong move, they take in two Sergyar-stranded members of the mutiny against Aral (both secret police and nasty pieces of work) and orchestrate their return to the ''General Vorkraft'' where they stage a breakout of their fellow mutineers. They're terribly proud of themselves for being so clever, too.

* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Herod]]: Mad Emperor Yuri killed, or tried to at least, all of his direct blood heirs, including Piotr Vorkosigan's wife and family. Missing Piotr was a serious tactical blunder, as he turned and helped Ezar win the throne.

* [[No Biological Sex]]: Cetagandan ''ba'' which, when added to Betan herms, leads to ''real'' [[Pronoun Trouble]].

* [[No Periods, Period]]: Via the widespread use of contraceptive implants.

** Ethan, who starts his story as a timid scientist unused to the galactic way of life and ''is'' a timid scientist unused to the galactic way of life.

* [[Noodle Implements]]: Lead-lined rubber hoses are mentioned several times as being part of the older Barrayaran discipline parades.

** The Infamous Incendiary Cat Plot, That Time We Stole a Tank and--Ivan's personal favorite--The Abandoned Escape Tunnels.

* [[No Pronunciation Guide]]: The audio books each pronounce "Dendarii" differently, even ones with the same reader.

** Bel Thorne notes the similarities between the well-intentioned creation of hermaphrodites on Beta and Baron Ryoval's sick experiments.

** Miles' friends all note how similar Miles and Cavilo are at the end of ''The Vor Game'', to Miles' embarrassment and frustration.

** Barrayar, although it is (slowly) improving its treatment of women.

** Athos is a more literal example, being a males-only [[Cult Colony]].

* [[Nuke'Em]]. The Cetagandans nuked a significent part of Vorkosigan's domain (including the old capital) during the occupation.

** Miles understands completely:

* [[Obstructive Bureaucracy]]: Barrayar's ministries will helpfully give you the runaround...in triplicate. Especially if your business involves a High Vor family (e.g. Vorkosigan) in any sort of negative way.

* [[Of Corpse He's Alive]]: Drugged version in ''The Vor Game'', when {{spoiler|Elena and Miles guide around a fast-penta'ed Admiral Oser}}.

* [[Older Than They Look]]: Betans and Cetagandans both live considerably longer than the residents of most other planets. In both cases it is down to genetic tinkering, but where the Betans just eliminated genetic defects, the Cetagandans have been forcibly evolving themselves for centuries.

** At one point Miles mentions that Cordelia, then in her mid-sixties, was just reaching middle age for a Betan, and this leads to rumors about a nonexistent "Betan rejuvenation process" that can extend the lifespan of anybody who can afford it. Miles points out in one of the books that it's just their way of life and their health care system that lets them live longer lives.

* [[Our Hero Is Dead]]: In ''Mirror Dance'', {{spoiler|Miles gets himself killed. He is [[Human Popsicle|cryogenically frozen]] almost immediately, holding out hope for reviving him later... if anyone knew where his cryo-pod ended up. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast have to adjust to the fact that he is dead and may not be coming back.}}

* [[Our Showers Are Different]]: Sonic showers, toothbrushes, and other cleaning items make frequent appearance. At one point, Miles amuses himself by imagining what would happen if the programming for the gimmicky-even-for-Betans "sonic toothbrush" went awry.

* [[Patchwork Story]]: ''Borders of Infinity'' (the novel) is actually the shorter works "The Mountains of Mourning", "Labyrinth", and "The Borders of Infinity" with a frame story tacked on.

* [[Penal Colony]]: "The Borders of Infinity."

* [[The Penance]]: In ''Mountains of Mourning'', the perpetrator of an infanticide is sentenced to have her property rights removed and to be considered legally dead.

* [[Phrase Catcher]]:

** "Ivan, you idiot..." and variations thereof. Amusingly reversed in ''Diplomatic Immunity'':

** At the climax of ''A Civil Campaign'', Miles begins to say, "Ivan, you idiot!" when he appears late to the Council of Counts with Lord Dono and Miles' political antagonists, but Ivan [[Catchphrase Interruptus|interrupts]] him, knowing he has just saved the day, and enjoys a moment of knowing something Miles does not, [[Batman Gambit|for once]].

** "Unpack, Miles" may be a candidate: Ekatarin uses it several times in ''Diplomatic Immunity'', and Miles himself uses it in ''Cryoburn''. Miles thinks ''extremely'' fast, and tends to skip straight to telling people ''what'' to do without telling them ''why'' he needs them to do it.

* [[Pineal Weirdness]]: The source of telepathy in ''Ethan of Athos''. More or less.

* [[The Place]]: ''Barrayar'', ''Cetaganda'', and ''Komarr''.

** Quaddies place a high value on the concept of work (Miles even compares it to the way Barrayarans feel about honor).

** Athos is a planet of only men. Offworlders sometimes derisively call it 'The Planet of Fags.' Athosians need not ''necessarily'' be gay, but most members of the culture are [[Situational Sexuality|for fairly obvious reasons]].

* [[Pointy-Haired Boss]]: Bruce Van Atta in ''Falling Free''. A former engineer, transferred to management where he would hopefully cause less damage. When Leo Graff sets off his plan to reconfigure the Quaddie's space station so that they can steal it, he tells Van Atta that he will be surprised by how much of the station, that Van Atta thinks is being decommissioned, can be "recycled." Van Atta insists that all of Leo's plans go through his office--so he can take Leo's name off them, and replace them with his own so he can take the credit.

** Barrayar is underpopulated, and has unfettered reproduction (though it is somewhat "backward" and considers all sex out of wedlock to be illicit.)

** Beta Colony is a marginally habitable world, and has strict population control. All babies must be licensed, though getting a baby license seems to be about as difficult as getting a driver's license (at least for the first two.) Since contraceptives are legally required for all females (and hermaphrodites), all sex between consenting individuals is considered to be normal recreational behaviour, though they do have statutory rape laws.

** The Cetagandan Empire is a group of planets exercising extreme bio-engineering, where every child "born" (at least among the Haut class) has its genetic makeup designed by the central government. What is more, it would be possible for the child's parents never to have even ''met'', let alone had sex.

* [[Portal Network]]

* [[Post-Rape Taunt]]: In ''Shards Of Honor'' Ges Vorrutyer attempts this, but makes a serious misjudgement of who to use as a proxy.

* [[Power Degeneration]]: Taura.

'''Cordelia:''' Yes. It's how I get results beyond hope. As you may recall. }}

* [[Primal Scene]]: First Miles and later Ivan have this reaction in ''Memory'' when they realize that Lady Alys Vorpatril (Ivan's mother) is sleeping with Simon Illyan.

"No. Simon Illyan is sleeping with ''my mother'', and it's your fault!" }}

* [[Prison Episode]]: The novella ''The Borders of Infinity'', set in a very nasty but ''technically legal'' [[The Laws and Customs of War|prisoner of war]] camp.

* [[Private Military Contractors]]: The Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet is one of many mercenary companies working around the wormhole nexus. The fact that they are on retainer with Barrayaran Imperial Security, and that their commander reports directly to the head thereof, is a secret known to only a very few.

'''Miles''': We're not something wriggling with too many legs that you found in your sleeping bag. The proper tone of voice is ''Mercenaries!''--with a glad cry.|"The Borders of Infinity"}}

* [[Professional Sex Ed]]: Betan Licensed Practical Sexuality Therapist training emphasizes the "educational" aspect of things, so they are occasionally contracted as "first time" introductions for nervous soon-to-be-ex-virgins.

* [[Psycho for Hire]]/[[Psycho Sidekick]]: Bothari was taken into Aral's employ specifically to restrain his psychotic tendencies.

* [[Purple Prose]]: In-universe during ''A Civil Campaign''. Specifically, Miles' attempts at writing an apology to Ekaterin are implied to have gone there over the myriad drafts. Including the one in rhyme.

** Some of the ''many'' Barrayaran uniforms enter this territory, to include jackboots, jodhpurs, high collars, peaked caps and capes. Miles offers a [[Justified Trope|justification]] in ''Cetaganda'', when he muses that it is derived from horse cavalry uniforms. Then he lampshades it, admitting it is a little silly to keep the boots when the last time the military used horses was his grandfather's time. Aral at one point remarks that the officers must use them for riding hobbyhorses, high horses, and nightmares.

** The Betan Expeditionary Force uniforms also included jackboots, even though the only horses to be found on Beta Colony are in the zoos.

* [[Railing Kill]]: Unintentionally in ''Ethan of Athos'': Quinn tries to stun a mook on a catwalk. Mook goes over the railing he was moving towards when she fired and breaks his neck. Elli is mildly (the mook was guilty of several murders, and was in the middle of staging an "[[Make It Look Like an Accident|accidental]]" death for Ethan) upset.

* [[Rape Is Love]]: Inverted in Bothari, who convinces himself that the captive and brutalized Elena Visconti was his wife. Including a "honeymoon" in his quarters as he nurses her back to some semblance of health. He later expresses at least some understanding of the truth, going through great and literal pains to ensure that he did not also rape Cordelia.

* [[Raven Hair, Ivory Skin]]: Every one of Miles' love interests. Even Taura, described in ''Winterfair Gifts'' as having mahogany hair and ivory skin. At least, so described by the besotted Armsman Roic.

* [[Read the Freaking Manual]]: After the [[Gambit Pileup|Dinner Party]] in ''A Civil Campaign'', Miles is at a loss for how to care for the lone occupant of Ekaterin's garden, despite detailed instructions appended to her resignation letter. Of course, Miles' thinking is not entirely rational when it comes to Ekaterin and gardens at this point.

* [[A Real Man Is a Killer]]: Deconstructed in ''Brothers in Arms'', when Galen tries to get Mark to kill Miles and Galeni:

'''Miles''': No, you don't. Most people go through their whole lives without killing anybody. False argument. }}

* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: The good guys get one when Gregor finally tells off Cavilo, pointing out that she has been treating the Emperor of three worlds as a naive newbie.

* [[Reassigned to Antarctica]]:

** Aral and Miles. They even got assigned to the same hellhole, thirty years apart. In Miles' case, this leads to a [[Reassignment Backfire]].

** Alexi Vormoncrief, and it could not have happened to a more deserving guy.

* [[Reassignment Backfire]]: Miles was sent to Lazkowski Base on Kyril Island, aka "Camp Permafrost," to teach him to take orders. He wound up getting his commanding officer discharged.

* [[Red Light District]]: The caravanserai area of Vorbarr Sultana in ''Barrayar''. By the time of the later books in the series it has been cleaned up and gentrified, but you can still get into trouble in some of its back alleys.

* [[Refuge in Audacity]]:

* [[The Resenter]]: Mark, at first. He gets better.

* [[Retired Badass]]: Aral and Cordelia, in the later books.

** Ser Galen's treatment of Mark.

* [[Romancing the Widow]]:

** Vidal Vordarian attempted to do this with Princess Kareen as part of his [[Regent for Life]] plan.

* [[Royally Screwed-Up]]: The Vorbarra family. Thank Father Frost for gene cleaning.

* [[Rule Number One]]: "You play games like that with the big boys, you'd better make damn sure you win, Miles says. Rule One. And there is no Rule Two." Count Falco Vorpatril, Ivan's distant uncle, says basically the same thing to Richars Vorrutyer just earlier in the book.

* [[Rules Lawyer]]: In ''Barrayar'', Aral Vorkosigan tells Bothari to obeys his wife's command as if they were his own and never rescinds the order. Aral probably meant that order as coming from Lord Vorkosigan. Bothari interprets it as coming from Lord ''Regent'' Vorkosigan, equivalent to an order from the Emperor himself.

* [[Running Gag]]: In ''Shards of Honor'', no one Cordelia meets actually voted for Betan President "Steady Freddy."

* [[Sadistic Choice]]: In ''Barrayar'', Aral has to decide between the letter of the law and compassion: execute a young man for a drunken play-duel that became a ''real'' one, or pardon him for his crime. Aral chooses the law, due to Barrayar's political instability and fears that favors to friends would lead to rampant nepotism. This forever estranges him from his friend Count Vorhalas, and leads directly to Miles' exposure to soltoxin. It also allows Gregor to, sixteen years later, take control of a relatively stable multi-planet empire, where even the political opposition is a loyal one--led by Vorhalas, determined to make sure his son did not die for nothing.

* [[Scars Are Forever]]: Miles has an amazing collection from years of bone replacement surgeries, the needle grenade, the Komarr Waste Heat Station incident...

* [[Schizo-Tech]]: Barrayar was originally a [[Lost Colony]], got cut off from everything, fell back into feudalism and is desperately trying to step up and rejoin galactic society. So while they may have a shiny new fleet of starships, equip their soldiers with kick-ass [[Powered Armor]] and are able to rebuild a man's ''nervous system'', [[The Emperor]] still presides over the government in an old-school ''castle'' and in the outlying regions mail is delivered by hand. On ''horseback''. The mailman on horseback is portrayed as keeping an old, valued, retainer on the government payroll, rather than replacing him with the more efficient modern alternatives. We get snapshots of backcountry life, twenty and thirty years later, that show that it has undergone the same sort of transformations that took place in similar areas of Earth in the last century.

* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Money]]: Jackson's Whole's [[Planet of Hats|hat of choice]]. Mark abuses this with glee.

* [[Screw the Rules, I Have Connections]]: Miles has had nepotism work in his favor many times. Helps to be foster-brother to the Emperor. To avoid giving the wrong impression, it should be noted that Miles is very careful to only (intentionally) play this card when he has no other options. Indeed, one of the reasons given for his relentless drive is to prove to himself and others that he does not need to rely on nepotism to advance. Which is why Illyan discussed kicking Miles out of ImpSec with Gregor before actually doing it.

* [[Secret Identity Identity]]: Miles.

* [[Secret Secret Keeper]]: Both Ky Tung, and Bel Thorne reveal that they've known about Admiral Naismith's real identity for some time, Ky when announcing his retirement to Miles, and Bel when it's officially read in on the secret in ''Mirror Dance.''

** Miles administers one on Consul Vorlynkin in ''Cryoburn''. He lets the Consul witness him both soliciting and accepting a bribe. The Consul reporting Miles' perfidy up the chain of command is what tells Miles that he can be trusted with the greater picture of what Miles' real mission is.

* [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]]: Emperor Yuri was convinced that his relatives were planning to kill him and take the throne. So he sent out assassins to kill them first. Those of his relatives who survived that night (Along with General Count Piotr Vorkosigan, who did NOT take having his wife and eldest son murdered at the dinner table well) decided that this was the final straw and launched a civil war to overthrow and kill the mad Emperor.

** Cordelia is ''very'' impressed by Aral in his dress uniform with all the trimmings near the end of ''Shards of Honor''.

** Lady Alys gives excellent advice to Drou on her wedding preparations, especially the dress, in ''Barrayar''. Drou is finally put in a white silk wedding dress and is absolutely stunning.

* [[Shoot the Hostage]]: Miles threatens to shoot Gregor, Cavilo's hostage, in ''The Vor Game''. {{spoiler|He is bluffing, since his plasma cannon is unpowered.}}

* [[Shout-Out]]:

** A passage from ''Pilgrim's Progress'', never explicitly identified (A character thinks it is "scripture" of some kind) plays a role in Borders Of Infinity.

* [[Show Within a Show]]:

** Miles and Mark settle into a ''very'' intense sibling rivalry once they get over trying to kill each other. Fortunately for the rest of the universe, their favorite way of scoring points tends to be pulling each other's chips out of the fire.

** A milder one happens between the Koudelka girls.

** Ivan's reaction to a Cetagandan [[Nightmare Fuel|kitten tree]]. The fact that a kitten ''dies'' when he plucks it off the bush before it was... ripe... does not help matters.

** This is Miles' and Elli's initial reaction to the fur blanket they find in a shop in London. To be specific, this blanket is alive, purrs and snuggles closer when stroked and feeds on ambient EM fields.

* [[Silk Hiding Steel]]: Alys Vorpatril. Later on, Ekaterin Vorsoissan also manages to find her steel and develop into this.

* [[Slasher Smile]]: Well, a "canine grin", but Bothari gets one off ''without even being seen'' when Koudelka accuses Bothari of being off his medication when he refuses to follow Koudelka's orders, proclaiming that he was Cordelia's "dog" and that he had resigned his commission.

* [[Snowball Lie]]: Miles's creation of the Dendarii Mercenaries in ''The Warrior's Apprentice.''

* [[So Beautiful It's a Curse]]: Elli Quinn: after getting her face burned off in a space battle, Miles pays for it to be replaced with the best face that 30th century reconstructive surgery can supply. She is initially delighted with her new face "but the second time a soldier made a pass at me instead of following an order, I knew I definitely had a problem." She goes on to explain that her problems do not arise because she is beautiful, but because she does not have the experience of knowing how to properly deal with her admirers that naturally-beautiful women would have gained while growing up.

* [[Sociopathic Hero]]: Sgt. Bothari, Miles' bodyguard during his early years. A multiple rapist and murderer, who ''knows'' he is insane but struggles so hard to be a good dad for his daughter that he is very nearly [[The Woobie]].

* [[So Proud of You]]

* [[Son of a Whore]]: Bothari, as revealed in ''Barrayar''. Cordelia is unsurprised by this, but expresses outrage when Bothari reveals that his mother used to sell him to her clients. It also explains why "bastard" is a [[Berserk Button]] for Bothari when other epithets roll off his back.

* [[Split Personality]]:

** Miles's persona as Admiral Naismith is not quite a complete disassociation, but often treated as one. Cordelia in particular expresses grave concerns over how Miles could cope in the event that he had to abandon the role. {{spoiler|Despite a brief bout of depression, Miles does manage to maintain his stability after losing the alternate identity.}}

* [[State Sec]]: The Ministry of Political Education, complete with [[The Political Officer|Political Officers]]. ImpSec, though its name is fairly ominous (and it is willing to trade on that factor on occasion) is more of a [[Properly Paranoid]] intelligence agency.

* [[Strange Salute]]: A borderline example with the oft-mentioned (and unofficial) ImpSec analysts' salute, which is basically a salute so lazy that it is just a wave in the general vicinity of the face.

* [[Sudden Principled Stand]]: Used several times.

* [[Super Soldier]]:

** Taura.

* [[Sword Cane]]: Koudelka's swordstick. It avoids the unscrewing problem via a powerful spring-loaded sheath -- strong enough to make the ejected sheath a useful projectile weapon in itself. It also has a ''very'' good blade, as Bothari demonstrates during the Shopping Trip.

* [[Sympathetic POV]]: While early Miles-centered books are narrated from his point-of-view, later ones give the thoughts of Mark, Ivan, Ekaterin, Kareen and even Armsman Roic. While Miles struggles with his low self-esteem, all of his friends emphasize how intimidated they are by his genius, drive, and presence:

'''Kareen''': "Mark, I'd take you and [[Split Personality|every member of the Black Gang]] at your worst for a week before I let myself get locked in a room with Miles. He... takes you over. Do you have any idea what it takes to stop him?" }}

* [[Take My Hand]]: Subverted in "The Borders of Infinity" then deconstructed in ''Komarr'', as Miles belatedly realizes what the consequences of a successful [[Take My Hand]] moment would actually have been. They were in a space shuttle, the other person weighed significantly more than Miles, and Miles was not anchored in any way.

** Unfortunately for Elena, finding out about her mother in ''The Warrior's Apprentice'' was not what she expected.

* [[Thanatos Gambit]]: Ezar: His maneuvering Aral into position as Regent from his deathbed; his use of his infirmities to trap foes:

* [[They Call Me Mister Tibbs]]: Miles to Ivan in ''Memory'': "That's Lord Auditor Coz to you." Ivan continues to address Miles as "Lord Auditor Coz" every now and then just to needle him. Mark seems to have picked up the habit (doubtless for the [[Sibling Rivalry|exact same reason]]); he scores a point or two off of "Lord Auditor Brother."

* [[Thicker Than Water]]

* [[Throwing Out the Script]]: Ivan can see Miles planning to do this {{spoiler|at Aral's funeral}} at the end of ''Cryoburn''; it's a sign of [[Character Development]] that he doesn't.

* [[Tiny Guy, Huge Girl]]: Miles with ''all'' of his sexual/romantic partners, but ''especially'' Taura.

* [[Too Kinky to Torture]]: Mark.

* [[To the Pain]]: [[Smug Snake|Tried Twice.]] [[Too Kinky to Torture|Failed. Twice.]]

* [[Transhuman Aliens]]: The Cetagandans & the quaddies. Ironically, the Cetas, who look like standard humans, are actually more alien in their thinking than the quaddies. After all the genetic engineering they have done on themselves, Miles wonders whether the Cetan Haut class can even be considered part of the same species as the rest of humanity. Or the reverse: how long before the Cetagandans stop considering non-Cetagandans human?

** Emperor Gregor when he gets mad, as Miles and Ivan found out.

'''Ivan:''' Identical to what he looks like the rest of the time. That's the scary part. }}

** Ekaterin. Her mother taught her when she was young to deal with anger by being an [[Extreme Doormat]]. As she grew more independent, this transmuted into what Miles called "turning to stone." She becomes icy, unemotional, and unmovingly pragmatic.

* [[Tribal Face Paint]]: The Cetagandans wear elaborate facepaint with different variations for caste and rank.

* [[Tropical Epilogue]]: After seeing Gregor's betrothal ceremony to its conclusion, and before preparations for the Wedding start gearing up, Alys Vorpatril -- to Ivan's extreme discomfort, if not dismay -- plans to spend a couple of weeks with Simon at some prole resort on the south coast that has never come to ImpSec's attention. Ivan mutters about "those disgusting drinks with the fruit on a stick in them" among other things.

* [[True Companions]]: Quaddie culture puts special meaning into being part of a "work gang". The concept of the Crew is this trope, to them.

* [[Truly Single Parent]]: the Durona group.

** Miles demonstrates an anomalous reaction to it in ''Brothers in Arms'', where he becomes hyperactive instead of calm. Instead of compelling him to tell the truth, everything he thinks just spills out of his mouth. He realizes that he can evade questioning by cross-linking the questions to poetry, and ends up reciting the entirety of ''[[Richard III]]'' as a one-man show before vomiting and passing out.

** Mark is tested for a reaction at a point when being able to verify his complete non-involvement in Aral Vorkosigan's heart attack would be very convenient. Results? Mark should definitely avoid fast-penta interrogations.

** Ekaterin found that it removed constant pain she felt as a result of her life in a loveless marriage. {{spoiler|Said marriage has just ended in the "suspicious" death of her husband, which was why she was given the drug}}.

** One character in ''Komarr'', after being subjected to it, states that she might start taking it as a way to free up her thought processes and make it easier to think outside the box.

* [[Turned Against Their Masters]]: The quaddies run a relatively non-violent version of this in ''Falling Free''.

* [[Tyke Bomb]]: Mark Pierre Vorkosigan. It is telling that the people he was assigned to kill are the ones that give him his own name.

** The lengths to which Ezar Vorbarra is willing to go to clean up his own government are... extreme. {{spoiler|He declares a war he plans on ''losing'' so that his son will die in the crossfire and the "war party" faction be politically discredited. After he uses the [[Secret Police|Ministry of Political Education]] to enact a minor [[The Purge|purge]], he goes ahead and purged them too, because they were becoming too powerful.}} He very possibly let a civil war happen just because it was convenient.

** Miles' persona as Admiral Naismith, compared to his duties as [[The Fettered|Lord Vorkosigan]].

* [[Universal Universe Time]]: Averted. For example, Barrayar has a 26.7 hour day.

* [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]: Miles for Elena Bothari.

* [[Unusual Euphemism]]: "Shopping".

* [[Unwitting Pawn]]:

** ''Memory''. {{spoiler|General Haroche}} nearly succeeds in doing this to Miles.

** [[The Hedonist|Ghem-Lord Yenaro and his dissipated buddies from Cetaganda.]]

** Byerly Vorrutyer, notorious Vorbarr Sultana "town clown." {{spoiler|And domestic counter-intelligence agent.}}

* [[Uterine Replicator]]: '''The''' central technological innovation of the series. See [[Central Theme]], above.

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]:

** Prince Serg in ''Shards of Honor''. {{spoiler|We later learn Aral was goading him into leading the charge so that the Escobarans would kill him.}}

** Richars Vorrutyer in ''A Civil Campaign''. {{spoiler|He was encouraged by Byerly into making an unwise attack on Dono.}} Of course, his abrasive personality may have doomed him to failure, as exemplified by his political mistakes and his performance at the Council of Counts. Twit.

* [[Walking Transplant]]: The fate of clones from Jackson's Whole.

*** Delia and Olivia Koudelka getting ready to fight over who gets married first, with their father moaning about what this will do to his finances.<ref>We know that 6 months later in ''Winterfair Gifts'', both Olivia Vorrutyer and Delia Galeni are in attendance, so they must have settled it. No word about the financial angle--maybe some gifts, or Count Vorrutyer chipping in to his wedding, at least?</ref>

*** Mark musing (and by ''Cryoburn'' he is proved right) that Martya and Enrique seem to be getting very friendly.

* [[We Do the Impossible]]: House Vorkosigan. As Cordelia remarks:

* [[Weapon for Intimidation]]: Aral, in ''Shards of Honor'', prefers a nerve disruptor or plasma arc to a stunner for this reason. Miles is less than impressed three decades later when someone pulls the argument out.

* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Apparently Miles had a man tortured to death, hijacked a spaceship, commandeered a mercenary fleet and won a minor war ''to impress his dad''. Or possibly his late grandfather. Or maybe his love interest at the time, his bodyguard's daughter, who was the impetus of the entire trip.

* [[Wham! Episode]]: ''Memory''. Miles is {{spoiler|[[Turn in Your Badge|drummed out]] of Imp Sec and becomes an Imperial Auditor; Simon is [[Brought Down to Normal]] and learns how to have an actual life.}} All of the [[Vorkosigan Saga]] books to date have been published in omnibus editions...except for ''Memory''. Bujold herself called it "the pivotal ''Memory'' left as a stand-alone."

* [[Wham! Line]]: In ''Cryoburn'': {{spoiler|''Count Vorkosigan, sir?''}} It was foreshadowed in the very first Miles Vorkosigan adventure, ''The Warrior's Apprentice'' when {{spoiler|he was addressed as ''Lord'' Vorkosigan when his grandfather died. In a later book, he admitted dreading hearing those exact three words, "Count Vorkosigan, sir?" and begged his father ''in absentia'' to live a long life.}}

** Miles is sent to kill a genetically engineered monster in a laboratory basement. While there, he rescues a beautiful slave girl, who is chronically lonely and frightened by her imprisonment. They are the same person.

** The quaddies were created and enslaved by a [[Mega Corp]], then slated for sterilization when they were rendered obsolete.

'''Miles''': I think... I think I'm going for the best two falls out of three. }}

* [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?]]:

* [[Worthless Yellow Rocks]]/[[Only Electric Sheep Are Cheap]]: Cordelia is bemused by the value Barrayarans place on gold, which to her Betan sensibility is categorized as "metal, soft, good conductor." Conversely, she has difficulty remembering that wood furniture is not a sign of fabulous wealth. Miles mentions they run the fireplaces to impress Betan visitors, because to them actually ''burning'' wood as a heat source is tantamount to rappers pouring bottles of expensive champagne on strippers in their music videos.

** Count Vorhalas ''cannot stand'' Aral and is his most implacable political enemy, but his honor and principles are absolutely unimpeachable, and he rejects out of hand any attempt to bring Aral down through [[Dirty Business]]. Vorhalas is opposed to Aral because he allowed his son to be executed because of a drunk duel. Aral had to choose between compassion and political stability - and chose stability. Vorhalas also has deep-seated guilt for Miles' condition, however, which was caused by the actions of his ''other'' son who was being manipulated by a royal usurper.

** Miles and Emperor Fletchir Giaja become a pair of Worthy Opponents, to Ivan's horror.

* [[Wretched Hive]]: Jackson's Whole is a planet-sized version.

** Commander Cavilo famously gave Miles a salient piece of advice in ''The Vor Game''.

** Miles takes this lesson to heart, and later echoes it to Cetagandan Emperor Fletchir Giaja in ''Cetaganda''.

* [[Xanatos Speed Chess]]: Miles vs. Cavilo. Cavilo has an early edge, but Miles is a ''very'' quick study, and [[Batman Gambit|uses]] Cavilo's [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder]] to good effect to earn the final victory.

* [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]: Ekaterin.

* [[Yes-Man]]: At one point in ''Memory'', Miles tries to be the most literal possible version of this with Emperor Gregor. It does not work very well. That is because Gregor ''grew up with Miles''. Gregor is, at the very least, Miles Savvy. Later, Miles admits that his job description as Imperial Auditor is best summed up as "Whatever you say, Gregor."

* [[Yet Another Stupid Death]]: Lazcowski Base on Kyril Island (AKA Camp Permafrost) gets a lot of these. The record for the most original and idiotic death goes to the guy Miles found wedged in a drainpipe, having drowned trying to save his cookie stash.

* [[You Are Number Six]]: Quaddies do not have last names. If someone wants to use a first name that someone else already has, they have to attach a number to it. One "Leo 99" is given as an example, which happens to represent a [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] in its way. The highest number ever seen attached to any other name is something more like 8. The Quaddies ''really'' remember Leo Graf fondly.

* [[You Mean "Xmas"]]: Winterfair

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Nebula Award]]

[[Category:Long Running Book Series]]

[[Category:Hugo Award]]

[[Category:Science Fiction Literature]]

[[Category:Literature]]