Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold

You'll like this if you are a completist - it's like a nice short visit with friends, no drama, just catching up with things. I'll likely not be buying a copy of this for my own. Glad I read it but generally “meh.”

February 19, 2016

Cyn Newman

Enjoyable, but there wasn't enough action, which is quite the departure for this series. The romance was quite believable, but I don't read for romance.

January 23, 2018

Sarah

I was so surprised by some of the character actions on my first reading, that I didn't fully appreciate the book. I knew I'd like this book better on the second reading (which isn't to say that I didn't like it on the first reading, it was just it was more difficult to process).

January 1, 2015

Dorene

Always a fan of the Vorkosigan adventures, I dived into this at the first opportunity without doing any prior reading of others reviews or impressions. This story veers away from the adventures of Miles and delves deeper into the later life of Cordelia and, posthumously, Aral.

"Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen" is not an adventure story. Rather, it's a delightful catching up with Cordelia who's mostly appeared as texture in the last dozen books or so. You're reminded what a badass she really is and the sacrifices she's made for Aral and Barraya. It's also an in depth introduction to Oliver Jole, onetime lover and right hand man to Aral. Bujold reveals this romantic relationship between Aral and Oliver, one that exists with the blessing and endorsement of Cordelia. The story picks up 3 years after the end of "Cryoburn" and Aral Vorkosigan's sudden death. It's the story of two dear friends passing through the acute portion of their mutual grief and beginning to form a connection of their own. It's light and lovely and hopefully sets up for future adventures in the Vorkosiganverse.

June 7, 2016