Katherine
This is definitely my least favorite Vorkosigan saga book (so far) by a good amount. While some aspects of Shards of Honor and The Warrior’s Apprentice, the other two books also published in 1986 in the series, are a bit clunky and clearly representing an inexperienced Bujold, Ethan of Athos *really* shows that.
The first 60% of the book focuses mainly on Ethan’s character and why he’s being involved in a complex political situation when he’s from a planet that’s likely viewed as very “backwater”- why would anyone care about someone from Athos? Athos is a planet founded by very religious men who wanted a planet free of women- yes, I know, it sounds bad. I was extremely skeptical about this setup. And there are a lot of homophobic “jokes” and moments. Most of them make logical sense why it would happen. Still kinda sucks to read at times. One particular homophobic insult, though, doesn’t make any sense to me even within the context of the world of the book, and that bothered me for a WHILE. But by the *end* of the book, I understood a lot more about why Bujold set it up this way. I needed more of this worldbuilding and Ethan’s views in the beginning. It would’ve made things a lot clearer to begin with.
The problem is, the first and second halves of the books feel very different. The first half follows this trail of breadcrumbs for a mystery, plodding along, then boom something happens and it’s pedal to the metal for the rest of the book. That second half is really well plotted! The answers to the mysteries are interesting, the resolution of the conflict is fun in that Bujold style, and I really liked it.
It really needed more connective tissue between it and the first half, though. Especially when the second half asks all of these great questions about free will and what makes a human a human. I needed more of this philosophy to connect with the first half of the book. It’s not that it’s bad per se. It just feels like there’s a disconnect somewhere.
The book is too short- if there were a few more chapters there that really bridged the two halves, it would’ve helped it a *lot*. I liked the characters- let them *breathe* Bujold! Let the story unfold more slowly if it needs it. Anyway, I do think this is perhaps a symptom of Ethan of Athos being one of her earliest books and even though I had some problems with it, it’s still an enjoyable read (for the most part. Seriously, the homophobia could’ve been toned down). Of course I’ll continue to read Vorkosigan. This one was just a bit of a miss.
This is definitely my least favorite Vorkosigan saga book (so far) by a good amount. While some aspects of Shards of Honor and The Warrior’s Apprentice, the other two books also published in 1986 in the series, are a bit clunky and clearly representing an inexperienced Bujold, Ethan of Athos *really* shows that.
The first 60% of the book focuses mainly on Ethan’s character and why he’s being involved in a complex political situation when he’s from a planet that’s likely viewed as very “backwater”- why would anyone care about someone from Athos? Athos is a planet founded by very religious men who wanted a planet free of women- yes, I know, it sounds bad. I was extremely skeptical about this setup. And there are a lot of homophobic “jokes” and moments. Most of them make logical sense why it would happen. Still kinda sucks to read at times. One particular homophobic insult, though, doesn’t make any sense to me even within the context of the world of the book, and that bothered me for a WHILE. But by the *end* of the book, I understood a lot more about why Bujold set it up this way. I needed more of this worldbuilding and Ethan’s views in the beginning. It would’ve made things a lot clearer to begin with.
The problem is, the first and second halves of the books feel very different. The first half follows this trail of breadcrumbs for a mystery, plodding along, then boom something happens and it’s pedal to the metal for the rest of the book. That second half is really well plotted! The answers to the mysteries are interesting, the resolution of the conflict is fun in that Bujold style, and I really liked it.
It really needed more connective tissue between it and the first half, though. Especially when the second half asks all of these great questions about free will and what makes a human a human. I needed more of this philosophy to connect with the first half of the book. It’s not that it’s bad per se. It just feels like there’s a disconnect somewhere.
The book is too short- if there were a few more chapters there that really bridged the two halves, it would’ve helped it a *lot*. I liked the characters- let them *breathe* Bujold! Let the story unfold more slowly if it needs it. Anyway, I do think this is perhaps a symptom of Ethan of Athos being one of her earliest books and even though I had some problems with it, it’s still an enjoyable read (for the most part. Seriously, the homophobia could’ve been toned down). Of course I’ll continue to read Vorkosigan. This one was just a bit of a miss.