It has taken me 3 books to realise that the author is doing a riff on the Vorkosigan saga. Either I was just not picking up on it to date or it just became a little too obvious to miss in this one.
I will allow because this is still a very entertaining ride. They do say that if you are going to take, take from the best after all.
It's still a recommend from me for some brain in neutral entertainment.