Previous novels referred to the Cetagandan Empire because of its occupation of Barrayar decades before the events of the first novel, Shards of Honor. Cetagandan soldiers of the ghem military class appear in The Warrior's Apprentice, Ethan of Athos and Brothers in Arms, which describe their use of facial paint. This novel introduces the hautruling class of the Empire, who are not at all militaristic, but seem to have a way of controlling their military classes to keep the Empire stable. Miles and Ivan are sent to the home world of the Cetagandan Empire to represent Barrayar at the state funeral of the dowager Empress Lisbet, mother of the current Emperor, the haut Fletchir Giaja. They quickly become entangled in an internal Cetagandan plot when they arrive at a nearly deserted docking bay, much to their puzzlement. A ba unexpectedly rushes into their spaceship. A struggle ensues, in which the ba drops a weapon and some sort of artifact before fleeing. Miles takes it upon himself to investigate — without informing his superiors — and eventually discovers that the artifact is a fake copy of the priceless Great Key, which has been stolen. The ba is later found dead. Realizing that an unknown enemy is trying to frame him and Barrayar, Miles forms an unusual alliance with the haut Rian Degtiar, the "Handmaiden of the Star Crèche", who is charged with the duties of Empress until the new one is chosen. The Star Crèche is the heart of the genetic engineering project that is, or appears to be, elevating the haut class beyond being merely human. Miles solves the complex mystery and stops a plot to fragment the Cetagandan Empire into eight dangerously expansionist-minded parts, a plot which itself is hijacked by one of the haut governors for personal gain, abetted by a renegade haut lady and his top ghem General. Then, much to his chagrin, he is publicly awarded the Order of Merit, one of the very highest Cetagandan honors, by the Emperor himself. He also picks up clues to a Cetagandan genetic experiment, which becomes the object of much skulduggery in Ethan of Athos.
Reception
Cetaganda was nominated for the Locus Award in 1997, the same year as Memory, the following book in the series. It received mixed reviews, with The SF Site stating that it has "a good and delicious mystery at its core", while a Tor.com review stated "I don’t find the Cetagandan political set-up very plausible, and worse, I don’t find it very interesting." SFF.net stated that "All in all, this is certainly an enjoyable book, though not best.
