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A review by jaeclectic
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
4.0
Caution: Toward the end of this review, I mention some general topics / themes that may be considered spoilers, in that they might lessen the surprise of certain events in the book.
I enjoyed this a great deal, and heartily recommend it to fans of the series. It provides an update on Cordelia (and to a lesser extent, Miles and other characters), while also filling in some history of Cordelia and Aral's life together that Miles (and thus readers of the books focused on Miles) were unaware of.
I am not sure this would work as well for new readers. I felt like the dramatic decisions that the characters needed to make were not all that dramatic, and the outcome(s) felt like foregone conclusion(s). This lack of tension made for a cosy pleasant read when visiting old friends, but might not grab the interest of someone meeting these people for the first time.
An exception could be readers who are specifically interested in a story that embeds acceptance of bisexuality and ethical non-monogamy -- relatively unsurprising to those of us who know what Beta Colony is like, but still a pleasant exception to the rule in the fiction of modern day Earth :)
I enjoyed this a great deal, and heartily recommend it to fans of the series. It provides an update on Cordelia (and to a lesser extent, Miles and other characters), while also filling in some history of Cordelia and Aral's life together that Miles (and thus readers of the books focused on Miles) were unaware of.
I am not sure this would work as well for new readers. I felt like the dramatic decisions that the characters needed to make were not all that dramatic, and the outcome(s) felt like foregone conclusion(s). This lack of tension made for a cosy pleasant read when visiting old friends, but might not grab the interest of someone meeting these people for the first time.
An exception could be readers who are specifically interested in a story that embeds acceptance of bisexuality and ethical non-monogamy -- relatively unsurprising to those of us who know what Beta Colony is like, but still a pleasant exception to the rule in the fiction of modern day Earth :)