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A review by pattydsf
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
4.0
“But you can’t be planning development out that way,” said Miles. “Mother is trying to get people to move away from the local tectonics.” Cordelia abandoned patience as unrewarding. “Actually, Oliver and I are dating.” Miles stared. The silence stretched just a little too long, though Ekaterin raised her eyebrows, looked back and forth between Cordelia and Jole, and ventured, “Congratulations!” Miles closed his mouth. In another moment, he opened it again. “Er…what exactly do you mean by dating? In this context.”
Many years ago, I found a series of novels and short stories about a young man named Miles Vorkosigan. I read them faithfully as each one was published and loved how Miles managed to come out on top in every episode. I don’t know when I stopped reading these books or why. Life often intervenes and we can’t see the patterns until we look in the rearview mirror.
Now we are in the pandemic (CORVID-19) and libraries are mostly closed, and books seem hard to come by. This is patently untrue – I have 32 regular books checked out, 50 some ebooks on loan from 4 libraries and then all the books that live in my house and Kindle full time. However, when my friend offered to lend me the latest volume of the Vorkosigan saga, I jumped at the chance. I figured I would like encountering Miles again even if it had been years since we last got together.
Bujold did not disappoint. She could always tell a tale well. Her stories are always full of action and adventure and I fell into this one just like her other books. I remembered why I had been a faithful reader. There was one small issue – Miles was no longer the main character. We were still in the same universe and things seemed familiar. It was Miles’ mother, Cordelia, that was the main character. After a bit of a surprise, I had a great time.
Now the question is, do I go back and fill in the details that I missed?
Many years ago, I found a series of novels and short stories about a young man named Miles Vorkosigan. I read them faithfully as each one was published and loved how Miles managed to come out on top in every episode. I don’t know when I stopped reading these books or why. Life often intervenes and we can’t see the patterns until we look in the rearview mirror.
Now we are in the pandemic (CORVID-19) and libraries are mostly closed, and books seem hard to come by. This is patently untrue – I have 32 regular books checked out, 50 some ebooks on loan from 4 libraries and then all the books that live in my house and Kindle full time. However, when my friend offered to lend me the latest volume of the Vorkosigan saga, I jumped at the chance. I figured I would like encountering Miles again even if it had been years since we last got together.
Bujold did not disappoint. She could always tell a tale well. Her stories are always full of action and adventure and I fell into this one just like her other books. I remembered why I had been a faithful reader. There was one small issue – Miles was no longer the main character. We were still in the same universe and things seemed familiar. It was Miles’ mother, Cordelia, that was the main character. After a bit of a surprise, I had a great time.
Now the question is, do I go back and fill in the details that I missed?