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desertvixen I thought this one rather deserved its own entry. I got it on Tuesday, and although the beginning went a little slowly, around about the middle I hit the "just keep reading" stage.
Unspoilered review: I really enjoyed it. Although I loved the step back in time that was Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (letting us say something of a proper, happy goodbye to characters we have loved), I loved this one as well - letting us see not the immediate aftermath of Aral's death, but letting us see people after they have had time to adjust to his death. I liked where she took it, and I like how the story is left open for more.
I'm seeing some negative reviews on Amazon, wherein people didn't feel like it was really a Vorkosigan Saga novel, because it's not Miles and action focused (I will concede, there are some parts where the Betan conversations got a little rambly) but it seems like some of them have forgotten that while TWA might have been the first book published, chronologically, the Saga starts with Shards/Barryar - and with Cordelia and Aral. I will plead to not being a Miles fan - I'm not big on him, but I do love all the people that hang out with him.
Giggles at the review that claims LMB made Aral "bisexual" out of the blue because it's IN THE FIRST/SECOND BOOKS.
Spoilered review:
I can see why some people did not like it, or thought it was too much like fanfic. I can see how the people who were pretty invested in the Aral-Cordelia-Jole threesome/triad felt like LMB didn't take it far enough, but I personally thought it was well-done, and believable that the relationship was dominated by Aral's personality - like a LOT of the world we've come to know through the books. There's complaints about LMB "warping" the characters on Amazon reviews, touching on one of Cordelia's lines - "He was bisexual, now he's monogamous" - but I'd point out that the Jole relationship chronologically comes after that one.
Her touch on the sensual scenes has not diminished. The dry humor that is typical of her (not just on the sex, but everything) was in good form.
I was a little surprised at how well Miles took everything. I also succumbed to a total fit of the giggles when Alex is looking through Aral's drawings and comes on the "figure studies".
Some of the moments - like Cordelia cutting off her hair to lay in the brazier - got me choked up.
I loved Kaya Vorinnis and Fyodr Haines, and young Freddie.
And I liked the idea of Cordelia getting a second chance at the sort of life I think she thought she would have.
The "Red Queen" moniker was a bit unfair, given that she only took one head off in her whole career.
All in all, I enjoyed it.
Unspoilered review: I really enjoyed it. Although I loved the step back in time that was Captain Vorpatril's Alliance (letting us say something of a proper, happy goodbye to characters we have loved), I loved this one as well - letting us see not the immediate aftermath of Aral's death, but letting us see people after they have had time to adjust to his death. I liked where she took it, and I like how the story is left open for more.
I'm seeing some negative reviews on Amazon, wherein people didn't feel like it was really a Vorkosigan Saga novel, because it's not Miles and action focused (I will concede, there are some parts where the Betan conversations got a little rambly) but it seems like some of them have forgotten that while TWA might have been the first book published, chronologically, the Saga starts with Shards/Barryar - and with Cordelia and Aral. I will plead to not being a Miles fan - I'm not big on him, but I do love all the people that hang out with him.
Giggles at the review that claims LMB made Aral "bisexual" out of the blue because it's IN THE FIRST/SECOND BOOKS.
Spoilered review:
I can see why some people did not like it, or thought it was too much like fanfic. I can see how the people who were pretty invested in the Aral-Cordelia-Jole threesome/triad felt like LMB didn't take it far enough, but I personally thought it was well-done, and believable that the relationship was dominated by Aral's personality - like a LOT of the world we've come to know through the books. There's complaints about LMB "warping" the characters on Amazon reviews, touching on one of Cordelia's lines - "He was bisexual, now he's monogamous" - but I'd point out that the Jole relationship chronologically comes after that one.
Her touch on the sensual scenes has not diminished. The dry humor that is typical of her (not just on the sex, but everything) was in good form.
I was a little surprised at how well Miles took everything. I also succumbed to a total fit of the giggles when Alex is looking through Aral's drawings and comes on the "figure studies".
Some of the moments - like Cordelia cutting off her hair to lay in the brazier - got me choked up.
I loved Kaya Vorinnis and Fyodr Haines, and young Freddie.
And I liked the idea of Cordelia getting a second chance at the sort of life I think she thought she would have.
The "Red Queen" moniker was a bit unfair, given that she only took one head off in her whole career.
All in all, I enjoyed it.
no subject
Date: 2016-02-04 03:50 pm (UTC)She thought everyone knew about the Red Queen Hypothesis, and is being rather surprised to discover how uncommon that knowledge is.
no subject
Date: 2016-02-05 02:42 am (UTC)I admit that the Red Queen with regard to evolution was more what I thought she was going for when I initially read the title... It's a little more fitting for Cordelia.