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A review by rhodered
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
2.0
I was so happy to be back in Cordelia's story. Miles is fine - so clever and adventure prone - but Cordelia is the best thing about the Barrayer books to my mind. And Admiral Oliver Jole is a nice enough with enough talent, intelligence and hidden depths to be worthy of her. So, joy about the leads. But...this is a disappointing book.
In part, I think it's because I am a fan of romance. However, romance is not Bujold's true strength. There's just something a little too distant, calm and even clinical about her romantic writing. I find myself loving the characters so much, as well as the worlds they inhabit, and yearning for their romantic connections, but when it comes, it just feels...a little cold.
Secondly, the book has way too many fragments of back story. We are constantly being told bits of history from the past books, I presume so new readers and forgetful ones can understand the world the current plot takes place in. However, this continual past story telling distracts from the current plot so much that in effect it often feels as though that's all that's going on. And it's hard to have an emotional connection with summarized stories of the past.
The book also shares too many random bits of new back stories for current characters. For example, on page 153 we get details on Cordelia's assistant's back story. If this were a 600 page book and we needed the story to set the stage for a main plot that was just getting started, that would be ok. But it's a 339 page book, so the plot is already well underway and this back story has little relevance to it. The character has no real role to play moving forward.
Most of all, I felt cheated because the biggest chunk of back story - the 23 year history between Aral, Cordelia and Oliver, is sketchily summarized and tossed in the book so matter of factly that I assumed it was a relationship we had already explored in depth in past book I had forgotten about. It read like a reminder, not new information to the series. I had re-read the series just last year, so I knew better, but still I went online and poked around at plot summaries for all the past books looking and looking for it. What a disappointment!
The plot as a whole also confused me a bit. First we are dealing with a new romantic entanglement but, just as we begin to dig into it, wham bang Miles and his entire family come bashing in and they then interrupt much of the rest of the story. I wanted to slam the door in his face. Really, honestly, I have had ENOUGH of Miles. This was supposed to be Cordelia's turn!
Then we have a sub-plot (or is it meant to be the main plot?) about Oliver deciding what he wants to do next with his life. The answer is so obvious that it's a bit like a murder mystery where everyone knows whodunnit immediately. But fine, I was willing to go through his deliberations with him because I like him...except we kept on getting interrupted by back story, Miles, Mile's children, you name it... When Oliver at last announces his decision, it's startling because we've been so distracted that we lost track of where his head was. In fact we don't get to see inside his head at that moment anyway, we just see Miles (not Cordelia!) being the very first to hear his decision.
So, no plot never really digs in. In fact it felt more like a diary of day to day life than a plot. And I certainly don't feel like I know Cordelia any better, or that she changed or grew or resolved anything internally. She just kinda gamely stuck around through stuff. I know Olivier better sure, but I wasn't allowed to fully emotionally connect with or focus on him, so it didn't really pay off.
Bujold's giving interviews about this book telling fans it's far less adventure driven than past books in the series. The thing is, I'm fine with no big adventure. I'm fine with a calmer plot line. What I'm not fine with is no in-depth plot to hook into at all. I kept waiting for the 'real' plot to start. For the author to commit emotionally to something besides people's interactions with Miles. But she didn't...and then the book, which was fairly pleasant otherwise, just dribbled out of pages.
I think the problem is that Miles, not Aral, is the big giant oak in this story. He chokes out the sun for everything else. If Bujold had killed him off and then started a plot three years later, she might have had something new growing.
P.s. WTF is up with Emperor Gregor??? Why did he try to throw not one but two spokes in Cordelia's hopes, and why is this never addressed by anyone whatsoever?
In part, I think it's because I am a fan of romance. However, romance is not Bujold's true strength. There's just something a little too distant, calm and even clinical about her romantic writing. I find myself loving the characters so much, as well as the worlds they inhabit, and yearning for their romantic connections, but when it comes, it just feels...a little cold.
Secondly, the book has way too many fragments of back story. We are constantly being told bits of history from the past books, I presume so new readers and forgetful ones can understand the world the current plot takes place in. However, this continual past story telling distracts from the current plot so much that in effect it often feels as though that's all that's going on. And it's hard to have an emotional connection with summarized stories of the past.
The book also shares too many random bits of new back stories for current characters. For example, on page 153 we get details on Cordelia's assistant's back story. If this were a 600 page book and we needed the story to set the stage for a main plot that was just getting started, that would be ok. But it's a 339 page book, so the plot is already well underway and this back story has little relevance to it. The character has no real role to play moving forward.
Most of all, I felt cheated because the biggest chunk of back story - the 23 year history between Aral, Cordelia and Oliver, is sketchily summarized and tossed in the book so matter of factly that I assumed it was a relationship we had already explored in depth in past book I had forgotten about. It read like a reminder, not new information to the series. I had re-read the series just last year, so I knew better, but still I went online and poked around at plot summaries for all the past books looking and looking for it. What a disappointment!
The plot as a whole also confused me a bit. First we are dealing with a new romantic entanglement but, just as we begin to dig into it, wham bang Miles and his entire family come bashing in and they then interrupt much of the rest of the story. I wanted to slam the door in his face. Really, honestly, I have had ENOUGH of Miles. This was supposed to be Cordelia's turn!
Then we have a sub-plot (or is it meant to be the main plot?) about Oliver deciding what he wants to do next with his life. The answer is so obvious that it's a bit like a murder mystery where everyone knows whodunnit immediately. But fine, I was willing to go through his deliberations with him because I like him...except we kept on getting interrupted by back story, Miles, Mile's children, you name it... When Oliver at last announces his decision, it's startling because we've been so distracted that we lost track of where his head was. In fact we don't get to see inside his head at that moment anyway, we just see Miles (not Cordelia!) being the very first to hear his decision.
So, no plot never really digs in. In fact it felt more like a diary of day to day life than a plot. And I certainly don't feel like I know Cordelia any better, or that she changed or grew or resolved anything internally. She just kinda gamely stuck around through stuff. I know Olivier better sure, but I wasn't allowed to fully emotionally connect with or focus on him, so it didn't really pay off.
Bujold's giving interviews about this book telling fans it's far less adventure driven than past books in the series. The thing is, I'm fine with no big adventure. I'm fine with a calmer plot line. What I'm not fine with is no in-depth plot to hook into at all. I kept waiting for the 'real' plot to start. For the author to commit emotionally to something besides people's interactions with Miles. But she didn't...and then the book, which was fairly pleasant otherwise, just dribbled out of pages.
I think the problem is that Miles, not Aral, is the big giant oak in this story. He chokes out the sun for everything else. If Bujold had killed him off and then started a plot three years later, she might have had something new growing.
P.s. WTF is up with Emperor Gregor??? Why did he try to throw not one but two spokes in Cordelia's hopes, and why is this never addressed by anyone whatsoever?