After Cetaganda, I get to Ethan of Athos in my Vorkosigan saga reread. There's no Miles Vorkosigan in this story, although it is connected to the main saga through a secondary characer (Elli Queen).

Like in Cetaganda, Lois M. Bujold has fun creating a different science-fictional society, in this case the reclusive, male-only society of Athos (made possible by the technology of the Uterine Replicator, which allows them to reproduce without women).

Maybe because Miles does not appear, many fans regard this as a minor title in the saga, but I have a soft spot for it. Ethan is a likable main character, and I really enjoy his naive reactions when he gets in contact with the galactic society (and women). The story is an action and espionage thriller, starting when Athos fails to get replacement for their vital ovarian tissue cultures and they send Dr. Ethan Urquhart off-planet to get them.

Very enjoyable. ( )

Una aventura más ligera con personajes secundarios, aunque Elli Quinn me encanta, creo que la novela es algo irregular.

Veo por donde va Bujold con los temas que toca pero a la vez creo que no acaba de acertar tan bien su critica como en otros libros de la saga. Aún así, su escritura es excelente y hacen el libro igualmente entretenido. ( )

Nice read, and again competent female characters, but also again chaos. Entertaining, but not brilliant. ( )

Soft sci-fi- easy read but thought provoking ( )

2021 reread via audiobook narrated by Grover Gardner. I had forgotten the ending of this book & would love it if Bujold wrote a follow-up, perhaps set 100 years or so after these events. (added later - I see I had this thought on my previous reading too!)
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Originally, I shelved this as a short story but it is really a novella. This entry in the Vorkosigan series is really only very tangentially linked to the Vorkosigan family (through Elli Quinn, member of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries).

Athos, a very reclusive planet, is a planet of all males - reproduction is done using the uterine replicators and cloned ova brought to the planet 200 years ago when it was colonized. However, the cloning is breaking down due to the age of the material and Ethan Urquhart, a physician specializing in reproduction biology, is sent by his government to obtain new samples. Lots of adventure and some romance and humor follow but for me, what is memorable about this book is this concept of an all-male planetary society. It seems clear to me that the "Founding Fathers" were men frightened of women (because they were homosexual or overly religious [equating sex with women with Sin] or whatever reason); they surely left a strange view of women and their 'powers' to their descendants. It would be interesting to read another story about this planet set 100 or so years after the events of this book! ( )