tamaranth | 2021/015: Komarr -- Lois McMaster Bujold

2021/015: Komarr -- Lois McMaster Bujold

If a person lived in hurt like a mermaid in water, till hurt became as invisible as breath, its sudden removal -- however artificial -- must come as a stunning event. [loc. 3443]]

A whodunnit and a romance, with plenty of plot concerning making an uninhabitable planet into somewhere where humans can live. There's a solar reflector, life in atmosphere-controlled domes, and environmental crime. Komarr also features an unhappily-married woman who snags Miles' attention, a strong sub-plot about hereditary illnesses, and a dastardly terrorist plot.

Bujold's portrayal of an emotionally-abusive relationship is understated but effective; the whodunnit / mystery elements are nicely laid out, and signalled without fanfare; and she managed to make me sad about a plant falling off a balcony. Otherwise, though, I find I don't have much to say about my recent reread of this novel, which I first read (and enjoyed) around the time of its first publication in 1998.