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A review by hadas
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
3.0
I never imagined I could not enjoy a Vorkosigan novel, but life can be surprising. I say it with all my love for the Vorkosigan saga - "Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen" is not a bad book, but it is, in my opinion, a boring one.
I absolutely adore Cordelia, and I was really excited by the prospect of another novel from her viewpoint.
The premise of the book was a bit hard to swallow at first. I was saddened by Aral death, and I wan't sure I wanted to hear anything that could shatter the prefect image of Aral's and Cordelia's marriage.
After a while, however, I realized I actually really like this premise. While Aral was alive, Cordelia was grounded to Barrayar and to certain responsibilities. After his death, horrible is it may be, she became free to ask herself again what is it that *she* wants.
Another points I really liked is Oliver's backstory with Aral. At first, it was difficult for me to accept a third party at a relationship I liked so much. However, I quickly learned to embrace it. I enjoy reading about relationships which are not straight and monogamous. After all, Cordelia is from Beta colony.
So I got to the point in which I really liked the premise, and I was even excited to read about A new romance for Cordelia. However, there was one big problem. NOTHING HAPPENS. While the ideas behind the book are great - everybody getting over Aral's death, Cordelia moving on - There was no plot whatsoever. As much as I enjoy character development, it was simply not enough to keep the book interesting. I didn't suffer reading it, since I like the characters, and the dialog was great, like it always is. However, without any real plot, there wasn't much drive for me to keep reading.
I absolutely adore Cordelia, and I was really excited by the prospect of another novel from her viewpoint.
The premise of the book was a bit hard to swallow at first. I was saddened by Aral death, and I wan't sure I wanted to hear anything that could shatter the prefect image of Aral's and Cordelia's marriage.
After a while, however, I realized I actually really like this premise. While Aral was alive, Cordelia was grounded to Barrayar and to certain responsibilities. After his death, horrible is it may be, she became free to ask herself again what is it that *she* wants.
Another points I really liked is Oliver's backstory with Aral. At first, it was difficult for me to accept a third party at a relationship I liked so much. However, I quickly learned to embrace it. I enjoy reading about relationships which are not straight and monogamous. After all, Cordelia is from Beta colony.
So I got to the point in which I really liked the premise, and I was even excited to read about A new romance for Cordelia. However, there was one big problem. NOTHING HAPPENS. While the ideas behind the book are great - everybody getting over Aral's death, Cordelia moving on - There was no plot whatsoever. As much as I enjoy character development, it was simply not enough to keep the book interesting. I didn't suffer reading it, since I like the characters, and the dialog was great, like it always is. However, without any real plot, there wasn't much drive for me to keep reading.