Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (Vorkosigan Saga, #16)
Lois McMaster Bujold
Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan returns to the planet that changed her destiny.FUTURE IMPERFECT Three years after her famous husband's death, Cordelia Vorkosigan, widowed Vicereine of Sergyar, stands ready to spin her life in a new direction. Oliver Jole, Admiral, Sergyar Fleet, finds himself caught up in her web of plans in ways he'd never imagined, bringing him to an unexpected crossroads in his life. Meanwhile, Miles Vorkosigan, one of Emperor Gregor's key investigators, this time dispatches himself on a mission of inquiry, into a mystery he never anticipated; his own mother. Plans, wills, and expectations collide in this sparkling science-fiction social comedy, as the impact of galactic technology on the range of the possible changes all the old rules, and Miles learns that not only is the future not what he expects, neither is the past.
Publication Year: 2016
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
0 0Starting from SHARDS OF HONOR, reading and re-reading the adventures of Cordelia and Aral and Miles and Mark and Ivan over the years, it should not have surprised me how much emotional weight GENTLEMAN JOLE AND THE RED QUEEN was able to generate from page one. Mourning Aral myself, this exploration of his personal struggles and relationship, was ever so much more complex than passing the happily-ever-after baton to his son and fading into the ether. Part of me was frustrated by the retrospective, wanting more immediacy than the reminisced glimpses Oliver and Cordelia offered. But this device supports two benefits. One, the focus is on the emotional reality of Cordelia and Oliver, the way their past experiences shape their present, rather than the mechanics of a plural marriage, secret or otherwise. Two, there are repeated explorations about what, if any, transparency individuals owe others with regards to their personal lives. Miles became my avatar, his opinions and questions gently fielded by Cordelia and Oliver alike to emphasize that he was family, he was welcome, but he didn't "get a Betan vote" on their lives.
Full review to follow.
Sexual content: Kissing, references to sex.
0
© 2024 Pagebound