Fans have been clamoring for Hugo winner Bujold to pen a new Vorkosigan Saga novel since 2002's Diplomatic Immunity, and they will not be disappointed by this thoughtful tale. Only five days after arriving on Kibou-daini for a cryonics conference, interplanetary diplomat Miles Vorkosigan narrowly escapes kidnapping. Drugged, dazed, and alone, he is taken in by Jin Sato, whose mother was the leader of a cryonics reform movement until being declared mentally ill and involuntarily frozen. Now Jin lives in a building full of squatters running an illegal cryonics clinic. Under imperial orders to investigate the shady dealings of the cryo cartels, Miles connects the far-flung pieces and exposes a sneaky plot. Bujold introduces appealing characters to join familiar ones in exploring the ramifications of a planet-wide culture of postponing death, and her deft and absorbing writing easily corrals the complex plot and softens the blow of a tear-jerking conclusion. (Nov.)

When a company specializing in cryogenics from the planet Kibou-daini seeks to expand into the Barrayaran Empire, Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan travels to the distant planet in search of hidden agendas and other complications—and finds them. A botched kidnapping attempt lands Miles in the company of Jin, a young boy who collects pets of all kinds and has contacts among the street people. Corruption on many levels and a resistance movement seeking to end the cryo-freezing of the dead make life interesting for the Emperor's foremost troubleshooter. The first Miles Vorkosigan novel in eight years (after Diplomatic Immunity) offers another gateway into the world of one of sf's most charismatic and unusual protagonists. VERDICT Filled with snappy dialog and quirky humor, this long-awaited title should find a large following among series fans.