Scan barcode
A review by celli
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
5.0
Sorry, cannot discuss without massive spoilers. If you clicked this by accident, RUN NOW.
I don't know if Lois has declared this to be the last book in the series, but it feels like it. Not as High Adventure as the others (although not devoid of action). It felt like saying goodbye - checking in with so many of the characters and seeing them happy.
But it wasn't just a book-length epilogue. I feel like I've been given a gift - in the middle of more than one emotional journey and some great side plots, we got all these glimpses into the past. I always knew Cordelia and Aral were having a full and fascinating life when Miles wasn't looking, and now I have proof! Hints and stories and (oh my god I want fic) just enough to really get you to rethink some of the past books in a good way.
And now allow me to discuss RELATIONSHIPS. Namely, the Cordelia/Aral/Jole relationship. I had always wanted more queer characters and BOOM. A triad! Like, OKAY. I was texting a friend while reading it:
SHE JUST REVEALED A CANON THREESOME
PRETTY SURE
EITHER THAT OR V POLY BUT I THINK THREESOME
*wheezes*
(pause for friend to laugh at me)
Okay, looks like...poly v with special occasion threesomes? But a lot of emotional intimacy
Aral, the central point here, has been dead three years, and his widow and his lover are just really starting to thaw again
But she says things like "and then you came back to us"
* note: I doublechecked my poly terms and I think I got them all right? But please correct me if I'm wrong!
(also did I mention fic? PLEASE BRING IT ALL TO ME.)
It just felt really right for all three of their characters. Especially with the extra history - the moment where Jole realizes Cordelia recognizes his need to be a part of the news about Aral, I almost cried.
And poor Miles, learning all these new things. I think he would have been more Betan about it if it hadn't been his mom and dad.
So if it's the last book I will still be sad, because I love these people so. But also if it's the last book, I will be content, because it completes the circuit from Shards of Honor all the way home.
I don't know if Lois has declared this to be the last book in the series, but it feels like it. Not as High Adventure as the others (although not devoid of action). It felt like saying goodbye - checking in with so many of the characters and seeing them happy.
But it wasn't just a book-length epilogue. I feel like I've been given a gift - in the middle of more than one emotional journey and some great side plots, we got all these glimpses into the past. I always knew Cordelia and Aral were having a full and fascinating life when Miles wasn't looking, and now I have proof! Hints and stories and (oh my god I want fic) just enough to really get you to rethink some of the past books in a good way.
And now allow me to discuss RELATIONSHIPS. Namely, the Cordelia/Aral/Jole relationship. I had always wanted more queer characters and BOOM. A triad! Like, OKAY. I was texting a friend while reading it:
SHE JUST REVEALED A CANON THREESOME
PRETTY SURE
EITHER THAT OR V POLY BUT I THINK THREESOME
*wheezes*
(pause for friend to laugh at me)
Okay, looks like...poly v with special occasion threesomes? But a lot of emotional intimacy
Aral, the central point here, has been dead three years, and his widow and his lover are just really starting to thaw again
But she says things like "and then you came back to us"
* note: I doublechecked my poly terms and I think I got them all right? But please correct me if I'm wrong!
(also did I mention fic? PLEASE BRING IT ALL TO ME.)
It just felt really right for all three of their characters. Especially with the extra history - the moment where Jole realizes Cordelia recognizes his need to be a part of the news about Aral, I almost cried.
And poor Miles, learning all these new things. I think he would have been more Betan about it if it hadn't been his mom and dad.
So if it's the last book I will still be sad, because I love these people so. But also if it's the last book, I will be content, because it completes the circuit from Shards of Honor all the way home.