This is an omnibus edition of Bujold's 3 earlier novellas, framed by Illyan's interrogation of Miles into the enormous bills the Dendarii Mercenaries seem to accumulate under his command. The framing story is set shortly after Brothers in Arms.

 

Mountains of Mourning (5++++++ stars) - set after Miles's graduation from the Imperial Service Academy, just before The Vor Game

 

already reviewed here - still dearly loved.

 

Labyrinth (3 stars) - set after Cetaganda/Ethan of Athos

 

Miles is sent to Jackson's Whole to extract a geneticist - whose terms are that Miles has to kill the last remnant of an experiment into creating super-soldiers, animal genes mixed with human DNA. But Miles doesn't find a monster, but a frightened, disillusioned girl.

 

The weakest of the 3 stories. Not because of the message, but it seems very compressed. Jackson's Whole and Taura would have deserved a longer introduction, especially because both will turn out to be quite important to Miles's growth as commander and human-being. The way the story stands now, Taura latches on too quickly... I don't know... one tumble in the sheets (well, a stone-cold floor) and she's convinced Miles takes her as fully human? And Miles thinks that the body can't lie? I mean, I'm happy Miles thinks for himself (sometimes too much) and doesn't simply follow orders stupidly - and Taura is certainly worth saving... but... still not satisfied with this story.

 

Borders of Infinity (4 stars) - set right before Brothers in Arms

 

Miles is sent to infiltrate a Cetagandan prison camp. Initially set to rescue one person he ends up organizing the whole camp.

 

Again a story that could profit from expansion because again Miles convinced those disillusioned prisoners who are merely existing instead of living, entirely without hope, that there's someting worth living for, a future worth fighting for. Bujold doesn't pull any punches describing the situation there. The Cetagandans are complying with the interplanetary charta to treat PoW... but only literally, reality is quite another thing entirely. You actually feel hope and even sanity leak from you while reading this story. In the end even escape isn't a victory to celebrate.

 

Curiously, this prison escape also marks the beginning of the end of Admiral Naismith - even if Miles only later learns that fact years later (in A Civil Campaign).

 

Overall, 3 stories definitely not to be missed in this saga.

 

Oh this one was just tasty.  And exactly what we had been waiting for.  Doctor on Doctor, Voyeurism, Open Doors, Spanking, Blindfold, Belts, Gagless, Loud, Desk Sex, and NO CONDOM.  Oh yes, he marked this one.  

 

This was so OTT fantastic...I just loved it.  This cocky bastard I swear is like valium on legs...everyone gets hard and wet in his presence.  

 

BWHAHAHAHAHA!  

 

Next?

Either way, he couldn’t match the Englishman’s strength, and Groves dragged him toward the desk, spinning him toward it and bearing him down over the blotter. Hughes gasped as the breath was squeezed from his lungs, and he felt Groves’ hot breath against his left ear.

“How long have you wanted this?” Groves’ voice was silk.

Every Which Way Crochet Borders: 139 Pat... This is an EXCELLENT resource for crocheters, both beginners and experienced. I was very pleased by the clarity of the instructions, the (amazing) photographs, and the extra hints added. Not only does Edie clearly show how to add a plethora of borders to crochet projects, but she gives ideas for design, color placement, and yarn choice as well. There are troubleshooting boxes and helpful tips scattered throughout the book. Since I only recently picked up my crochet hooks again (I'm usually a knitter), I found a lot of helpful insights on things that had been frustrating me (like, WHY will that square not lie flat?!?) and have picked up some very useful things to try.

As a very visual learner, the photography was a huge point for me. There are oodles (yes, oodles) of pictures in this book. I want to reach through the pages and feel the stitches. There are individual pictures for each step of difficult or previously unexplained stitches. Also most, if not all, of the borders include written and charted instructions.

The only downside is that the photographs and instructions are all only from a right-handed perspective, so lefties will (as usual) be left to attempt to mirror for themselves. Not a huge issue to anyone well-used to the way knitting and crochet books are written, but still worth noting. I'm a left-handed crocheter myself, and while fairly new to the craft, didn't have any trouble reversing anything in the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Breaking Down Borders is another volume in the Barefoot Gen series that meanders a bit too far from the original story. Still more characters are introduced and still new story lines are created. I get it, years after the bomb, the format is much more episodic, focusing on how all these various lives and stories have been shaped by the bomb. The heart of the story gets lost in the mix, however. While earlier volumes were heartbreaking, these are more adventure based. Also, for sake of the story, these later volumes forget some of the details established in earlier volumes. For example, in an earlier volume, Ryuta is taken under the tutelage of Gen's former teacher, Mr. Ohta, but that's all forgotten when it's convenient that Ryuta be without education. There are many similar occurrences and that's just sloppy storytelling. These later volumes could've been left out of the series, or condensed, but one cannot read this far into a series and simply abandon it because it grows lackluster.