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A review by lizshayne
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
5.0
Five stars worth of squee. Thank you, Baen, for selling the e-ARC. Not that I'm short on books right now, but I've been on a Vorkosigan reread and the prospect of ending with Cryoburn was too depressing to contemplate.
I should note, by the way, that this book has a certain "This Pretzel is the Worst Lasagna Ever" feel to it. If you come in looking for threats on the planetary scale, widespread battle Military SF of the sort usually brought by Vorkosigans, this will confuse you. But it is such a delicious pretzel.
Spoilers for the series, of course.
Bujold remains a wonderful writer and the comparative lightness of this entry into the series only adds to its appeal. Nothing goes horrifically wrong...presumably because neither Miles nor Ivan are heavily involved. But this is a much needed sequel.
I'm really enjoying her tendency in the past few books of writing Miles from someone else's POV. Even when there were other narrative points of view in the earlier books, any scene with Miles was told through his eyes. Seeing him through Cordelia and Jole's eyes makes for a nice change.
Also, I have never jumped faster from
"How could this character have a romance now?"
to
in my life. Seriously, well done. This was almost like getting another Aral and Cordelia story. And everything about it was just heartwarmingly sweet. When the next set of omnibuses comes out, this had BETTER come right after Cryoburn. It makes for a good ending.
And I think I see the threads of another story involving the Cetagandan beginning to make itself known. Not that I won't stay tuned.
I look forward to reading this again once it's actually published.
I should note, by the way, that this book has a certain "This Pretzel is the Worst Lasagna Ever" feel to it. If you come in looking for threats on the planetary scale, widespread battle Military SF of the sort usually brought by Vorkosigans, this will confuse you. But it is such a delicious pretzel.
Spoilers for the series, of course.
Bujold remains a wonderful writer and the comparative lightness of this entry into the series only adds to its appeal. Nothing goes horrifically wrong...presumably because neither Miles nor Ivan are heavily involved. But this is a much needed sequel.
I'm really enjoying her tendency in the past few books of writing Miles from someone else's POV. Even when there were other narrative points of view in the earlier books, any scene with Miles was told through his eyes. Seeing him through Cordelia and Jole's eyes makes for a nice change.
Also, I have never jumped faster from
"How could this character have a romance now?"
to
in my life. Seriously, well done. This was almost like getting another Aral and Cordelia story. And everything about it was just heartwarmingly sweet. When the next set of omnibuses comes out, this had BETTER come right after Cryoburn. It makes for a good ending.
And I think I see the threads of another story involving the Cetagandan beginning to make itself known. Not that I won't stay tuned.
I look forward to reading this again once it's actually published.