Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms sends Miles Vorkosigan to London as a Barrayaran diplomatic aide while simultaneously running his Dendarii mercenary fleet, an impossible double life whose complications reach a crisis point when the two identities collide and someone begins engineering a disaster that could destroy both. Bujold introduces one of the series' most consequential plot elements here, with implications that will run through the rest of the Vorkosigan saga.

Grover Gardner's narration of the Vorkosigan series benefits from the genuine affection for Miles that the character demands. Gardner's voice captures the rapid strategic intelligence and the physical vulnerability in equal measure, giving the comedy of manners elements the same authority as the adventure sequences. The series' blend of space opera and Austenian social comedy is perfectly calibrated for audio.