A review by detailsandtales
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold

4.0

I really enjoyed getting back into Vorkosigan-land, and especially back into Cordelia's head. Hooray for budding romance - and for adults being able to work things out without undue melodrama. If I didn't already know Cordelia, it's likely I would have put this book down rather quickly. Since I do know Cordelia, reading it was, for the most part, wonderful. It was also great to see a story all about relationships or personal decisions could be based on a speculative element, such that this story is particular to this world with this level of science, and great to revisit a wonderfully alien planet with lots of new stuff to explore and discover.

The rest of my comments involve spoilers (mostly related to LGBTetc. stuff), so I hope I'm doing this correctly:

Spoiler Hooray for the existence of a stable polyamorous triad, especially among main characters. Less hooray for the fact that it feels retconned in, and also that we only get to hear about it in past tense. A friend of mine has also pointed out to me that Bujold has yet to show a healthy same-sex relationship in real-time rather than in retrospect, and others have noted that this follows the stereotype of bisexuals needing lots of sex from both men and women. On the other hand, bisexuals exist and are not just waiting to decide whether they're straight or gay. So... partial credit for trying. Not all the way there yet. Also, I'd love to see a story about how the triad got its start, and the working out of both the emotions and the logistics. I imagine, especially with Cordelia's practical approach, it would be rather entertaining.