The intrigue and coup plot works well. Making unborn Miles a time-dependent hostage I thought was particularly inspired. The pieces of the endgame were all placed nicely -- Bujold seems to be a master of Chechov's gun, placing her weapons subtly enough that I didn't even notice they were there until she fired them. But then I'd look back and think: "Of course." All well-constructed.
The omnibus volume was a good choice, I think. In her Afterword, Bujold says that she started writing this as a single story, and it shows.
And now I need to go find the next one...
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