Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (Vorkosigan Saga)

I LOVE Lois McMaster Bujold's books. The characters were great but the action and twists I normally enjoy in her books is somewhat lacking in this one. I'll still read the next one and the next one.

This is Bujold; she does not write the same book twice. Apparently some have complained about this book revealing unexpected things about characters who the complainers thought they already knew all about. Perhaps they want no surprises in their books, or don't like the particular things that are revealed in this one. Too bad for them! This is Bujold. She tells the story, paints the characters vividly and brings all to a satisfactory conclusion with no cliffhangers to help sell her next book. Get it, read it!

I fall squarely in the target audience for this book (people who have read many of the previous books, who like the romance aspect that Bujold often features in her stories, and who care more about characterization than immediate peril.) I enjoyed it very much. But if you get bored in the absence of fights and need a bad guy you can really hate, this book won't be your cup of tea.

Well, while not as great as most of the other books in the Vorkosigan series, it was still a good, enjoyable read. It's a little bit more like a Sci Fi romance novel then the more action/adventure that's in most of the other books. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, it just threw me off initially and took a little while to get into it. After finishing it, I re-read the entire series from the start (18 Novels plus short stories) and when I got back around to this one, and re-read it again, I actually enjoyed it much more then on that first read. If you are a fan of the series, it's a worthy addition (hopefully not the last!) to the series!!

While not the action or strategy filled adventures of the past, this was a very open look at Cordelia's life with Aral. It addresses issues hinted at in the earlier novels and explores and expands the depth of the love a very Betan Cordelia is capable of.

Each of Bujold's books can be read by itself but just likevreal life each one builds on events in previous ones. I really like how her characters age, change and mature realistically as the series unfolds.

Not as action packed as other Vorkosigan tales but with its moments of gasping and humor, this book holds out the fact that it's characters are not gods after all; merely humans reaching for happiness.

Bujold - my favorite-ever author - departs from her usual Vorkosigan "character-based action/adventure" mode, instead bringing us a tale that is as character-based as ever but without the plasma fire. It's a thought-provoking and moving story about Miles' mom Cordelia, one of the most interesting characters in the entire Vorkosigan universe. Though it probably won't be to the taste of readers who are looking for battle scenes, I for one am delighted to add it to my bookshelf, both virtual and real. Thanks Lois!

A continuation of the Vorkosigan saga, but left me wanting much more. To be clear, this is a good book but I have come to expect so much from the Vorkosigan series. I was hoping for battles, plot twists, intrigue, new enemies, etc. I felt like this book was an in between, perhaps setting up the next stories of the adventures of Gentleman Jole and the Red Queens children by Aral.

This reviewer is a big fan of Ms. Bujold and this wonderful series. This book returns us to the worldview of Cordelia Naismith, now around 40 years forward from the first wonderful book Shards of Honor. Ms. Bujold re-visits many of my favorites and gives a book of romance, hope with a few surprises. 3 years past the death of the love of her life, we see a busy practical woman and she finds treasure, most of which she made herself. A book of triumph without gloating. I think it might be the last in the series, for a variety of reasons. I'm curious when I have time to check on what Mr. Bujold has said in recent interviews. I don't wish the series to end, nor to give away the various surprises except to say Ms. Bujold said in an earlier interview she likes to take her characters and imagine the worst possible thing that can happen to them. So its with a bit of fear I read this book. This is nice book and a must read for all Vorkosigan saga fans.

I've read all of the other Vor novels, and loved them. This one was just terrible! No plot. No action. It makes retroactive changes to characters that had been fairly fleshed-out in the prior books. I wouldn't have minded that so much, had the story been at all interesting (correction--there was no story, really!). It was almost as if someone else wrote the book.

The title reminded me of an old Paul Kantner/Grace Slick album title, "Baron Von Tolbooth and the Chrome Nun," but I would have bought it without that touch. Cordelia is my favorite character in fiction, or close to my favorite and this book is about her life after Aral's death.

It isn't an adventure story and Miles is only onstage fairly briefly but it works. And Bujold's use of the language is, as always, wonderful.

With even less of the high speed adventures than the first books of the series or th mind stretching mysteries and plots of the later books the books and instead reads like a pleasant epilogue to the series. Still fun and not 'slow' and there are further places the series could go but this could also easily be the off into the sunset for the series. Cordelia Admiral Joel Miles Mark etc. all seem to have settled in to new less book worthy roles.

I've read all of the other Vor novels, and loved them. This one was just terrible! No plot. No action. It makes retroactive changes to characters that had been fairly fleshed-out in the prior books. I wouldn't have minded that so much, had the story been at all interesting (correction--there was no story, really!). It was almost as if someone else wrote the book.

The title reminded me of an old Paul Kantner/Grace Slick album title, "Baron Von Tolbooth and the Chrome Nun," but I would have bought it without that touch. Cordelia is my favorite character in fiction, or close to my favorite and this book is about her life after Aral's death.

It isn't an adventure story and Miles is only onstage fairly briefly but it works. And Bujold's use of the language is, as always, wonderful.

With even less of the high speed adventures than the first books of the series or th mind stretching mysteries and plots of the later books the books and instead reads like a pleasant epilogue to the series. Still fun and not 'slow' and there are further places the series could go but this could also easily be the off into the sunset for the series. Cordelia Admiral Joel Miles Mark etc. all seem to have settled in to new less book worthy roles.

I have read everything Bujlod has written with varying degrees of enjoyment even though I was nervous that she drags sci fi closer and closer to the romance fantasy genre with every novel. Well, in this novel she has stepped off the edge and shown the whole world that she has absolutely no talent for romance fantasy. I think this novel should be advertised in that genre, and if there is a sub-genre for gay romance fantasy, it should be stuck there and then it still only gets one star. This is such a bad, smug, self-referential piece of crap I doubt that i will ever ready anything this author writes again, and I bought it because I was such a dedicated fan I would read *anything* she wrote. Never again.

Another great part of the tapestry of history of the Vorkosigan clan. It is nice to get a view of the private lives of Aral & Cordelia and their significant other. I look forward to the continuing expanding adventures of the Vorkosigans.

I was hesitant to read this book after seeing some of the other reviews but I really liked it. It fleshed out some of Cordelia's character and I did not mind the relationship that Cordelia and Aral had with Jole. I felt that it was a natural extension of their passionate natures. As usual, Mrs. Bujold has produced an excellent book.

Cordelia Vorkosigan has given forty years of her life to Barrayar,and now is free to follow her heart. Well, almost.Admiral Oliver Jole finds out that life changing affairs of the heart are as explosive as a war, and sometimes more painful. The wit is sharp and funny, Beloved characters are getting on with their lives,and we get to listen in. LMB at her best.

Bujold always creates a multi-faceted, compelling tale with a complex plot. It was the Betan survey captain who drew me into the series, and her son's engaging flaws that kept my interest. The only complaint I have about this volume is that it does not have as much of the well-timed grace notes of joy and humor that the other books possess. Still, for those of us who have always admired her strength and brilliance, this is a welcome addition to a character who often seemed to be becoming a side note in the earlier books.

Splendid novel tidying up many familial strings in the lives of those around Miles Vorkosigan, but focused almost exclusively on his mother. Interstellar politics, intrigue, biology and love, all in a frontier world.

My love affair with Miles Vorkosigan started in the 80's when The Warrior's Apprentice came out. Over the years we picked up an odd book or two in this series at the library but it wasn't until a few years ago that we were able to buy all the books.

I even knew what I'd name our two male cats . .. Miles and Ivan. No problem which was which. Ivan was the more colorful one, laid back and aimless. Miles ended up cross eyed, loving, but independent, bites with kisses but also has panic attacks. Of all things he has to be sedated at the vet because he's a terror. So then two more came into our home, a male and female, and they remain unnamed. When I mentioned Yuri is a great name, my son said, "No! We can't have a blood thirsty tyrant on our hands!"

Back to the review: Gentleman Joel has a different tone than the other books. .. More quiet reflection. I will say that the opening chapters are rambling and descriptive which was hard going. The focus is on Cordelia and her life three years after her beloved husband, Aral, passed away. The older you get, the more you look back and this story is full of those memories. Some are hers, some are Aral's, some bring a smile and all enhance the series. It was interesting seeing her parenting show up in her son, Miles and how even though Miles is a parent himself, she is still his mother and still looks out for him. The writing is top notch, the world building of Sergyar was wonderful, and riveting to watch Cordelia's life unfold and blossom. Not only was it a mature look at life and choices, but also how to make a new life. There is a theme of you're never to old to live life to the fullest. It's nice when approval is there but it's okay to do what makes you happy and ignore the naysayers -- Be that the public, friends, and family. Making memories, new memories are priceless and to be valued at any age. - Dan's Wife

EDIT: Two days after reading Gentleman Jole I'm still thinking about this story. Only a great author does that. And I've read a few books lately, too!

One of the things I love about Bujold is the way she treats her adult characters as *adults.* In particular, her adult women (Ista in Paladin of Souls, Cordelia throughout the Vorkosigan books but especially in this one) have been powerful models for me. It's so rare to see middle-aged or older women as protagonists, making their own choices based on their own needs and desires -- I really, really love this book. I expect I'll be rereading it repeatedly.

I love this series, which gives us stories about relationships in all their complexities. Others have a lot of action, this is less about action and more about people who all loved the same person finding their way together in the aftermath of his death. I don't necessarily agree with some of the actions taken but having read all the other novels/short stories this is either a nice wrap up to the series or a good launching point to start a new one in the same "universe".

What a delight that Cordelia is back center stage! The plot twist regarding Gentleman Jole and the past history with Aral was amazing. I immediately wanted to go back to re-read the whole series to see if I could catch something I missed. The ending leaves so many ways the plots could go forward into new books....just wonderful. I can't wait to see what direction "master Lois" goes next! I especially loved the hints about the unusual biology and fauna of Sergyar! Of course Miles is present with his amazing mind, and its fun to see that his children have tamed his craziness to some extent. The book leaves me hungry for more, more, more!!

Spoiler Alert

This is a fun read without any of the fast pace of the early books of the series, but rather a (not so much closing) a closure after the news of Aral Vorkosigan death at the end of Cryoburn.

While I like Miles, I have always enjoyed the glimpses of Cordelia we have gotten through even the novels which have primarily focused on Miles. Shards of Honor was previously one of my guilty pleasures--I believe I have read it more than any other novel in the entire series.

This novel focuses on a more world-weary Cordelia who is recovering from her husband's death in a way that I really did feel was true to the character.

I kept waiting for a book to deal with the aftermath of Aral's death. I expected a traumatized Miles moving into yet another new stage in life. This book is not about that although it is in a way about the aftermath. It is also not one of the heady fast-paced Miles tsunamis that I love in this series. This book is much better than those things. It is quiet and thoughtful, about family and love and the time we have together. If you have not read this series before, this is not the place to start. If you have read most of the series and have fallen madly in love with the characters, then this book is a wonderful gift from the author.

I've been following this series since it began. Lois McMaster Bujold never disappoints. For those wh enjoy C.J Cherryh series, Lois is he one who got me there. She's a brilliant storyteller, weaving colorful characters through the vast universe she has created. It's great to revisit the Vorkosigan/Naismith family and see the new beginnings of the next adventures.

I've read Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen more than a few times now. At first, I had trouble sinking into the story, which I did not expect given that Ms. Bujold wrote it. The more I've read Jole and Cordelia, the better I appreciate and like them, their story, and the complexities of power in their universe. I'm glad I got the book.

For readers expecting a space opera, they will be dissapointed. Bujold has used genres (romance, social comedy) not normally used in science fiction. As she has before.

I've always thought Cordelia's story needed to be a trilogy and while this is a welcome addition to the Vorkosigan Universe, this is not it.
Shards Of Honor shows us Cordelia Naismith. Barrayar as Cordelia Vorkosigan. We need to see how she embraces Lady (Countess?) Vorkosigan.

Is she becoming tired of Miles? First, Ivan and now Cordelia as books. Not only that, he's shown as aged, requiring a cane to get around. Perhaps
Bujold is just following the reality of her character, but she could write a book showing Miles dealing with his limitations.,

Without the bubbling energy of some of the Miles stories, this is a slow-paced romantic comedy a bit slow to pick up pace and covered with all the happy turns of phrase and pinpoint-accurate language Bujols excels at. Faithful followers of the saga will appreciate the many references to its own past, while new readers might find it maybe too mellow.

I was very disappointed with this novel. Two people who used to be interesting have uninspired midlife crises and start dating. That is the whole book. No action, no twists, no brilliant dialog. It was like bad fan fiction. Huge let down.

Not as exciting and full of dramatic events as the usual Bujold novel, but as engaging and quietly entertaining as any of them. A fascinating look into both the present and the past of the Vorkosigan Saga and well worth the aficionado's time! Newer readers should find it of value, too.

I really enjoyed Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, which takes the Vorkosigan Saga to a new direction.

The pacing is subtle, with a heavy emphasis on character development. There are new perspectives on old characters and events in the previous books. Actually, I want to read all the previous books again, just to see how my own perspective has shifted due to this book.

If you're looking for space battles and furious excitement, I would suggest you come back to this book after you've scratched that itch with something else. The book is a delight, but impatience with the slow pace will not help you here.

Provided you bear in mind this is a romantic comedy, the book is another wonderful Bujold. No space operatics, but a great autumn love story about one of Bujold's greatest characters, Cordelia Vorkosigan.

This is a Cordelia and Jole centered novel. It is best read with at least some of the other Cordelia focused novels. What makes this novel stand out is the superb circumscribed circumstances. This is a great parent/grandparent novel.

A whole other side to Miles parents. Cornell's honor and sense of duty on full display. Not so much action but lots of character development and revelation all tendered in the precise prose of the author that I have come to expect. Beautiful renderings of the planet and the people. I will not say more because I would be tempted to reveal to much.

I am straight outta here on Miles' hair-raising adventures (although I love them always). My cardiovascular system just can't handle them the way it could when I was younger. This is a nice book for the Vicereine and her friends.

This is a quiet book that is not the place to start the Vorkosigan saga, it more like wrapping up important loose ends in that saga and (hopefully) preparing for another. First off, the book is about Cordelia, and while her adventures began the saga, her son took it over and ran with it rather spectacularly. Miles Vorkosigan is a wonder and a delight to envision as you read his adventures, but I always looked forward to when Cordelia would "pop into" his adventures, because she was the character that first captured my interest. Secondly, the story is not about going on after the love of your life, the husband you gave up your initial career for is gone, but rather how do you reclaim the parts of yourself that you willingly subdued for that relationship and nurture the parts of yourself that have grown from that relationship? It's also not about picking up those dreams again as the same person, decades have gone by and Cordelia has grown even if much of that growth was not directly documented. This is a book that makes you appreciate life and shows that as long as one is willing to grow, how life can continue to carry you along to new adventures.

If you are looking for space battles and exhilarating excitement, go to the earlier books of the saga. If you are looking for the excitement of character growth and continuation, this is a really good book. It gives you a lot to think about.

A wonderful book! There are no space battles and no dark plots or disasters, but if you care about the characters in this world you won't want to miss this book. I have to honestly say that this is my favorite of the series so far. Thank you, Ms. Bujold, for this story!

Feels like a transition novel in the series, really liked the humor and the insights about change in viewpoint on life as one moves into the 50's and beyond, a gentle read, not much action but absorbing in its way, good character development

Not a "Miles" book, but that's okay by me. Next one, maybe?
I'm still angry Aral died in the last book. Such a waste. But, I can live with it now.
Plenty of new story from Cordelia. More character, less Space Opera.
I think people that like Cordelia will love this book. I did.

It never ceases to amaze me how fluidly Bujold moves through genres within science fiction. Don't come to this book expecting an adventure. Instead, make yourself at home in a book about starting over, second chances, and deciding what to build or rebuild from the ashes of a loss. It's beautifully written and delicately plotted. I highly recommend it.

What a disappointment. Let me preface the review that like many others here I am a huge fan of Lois's writing. Most of her books are among my favorites and I have re-read them over and over. Not so this one. I did not think it was possible but this is a boring book. Nothing much happens and the personal revelations and internal monologue of the characters are not that interesting. And these are characters that I positively love. I kept waiting for something to happen, but it never did. It has been described as a book for adults, but only in the sense that it reflects on topics like retirement plans. I'm there myself, and appreciate the topics, but they do not make for an interesting read. There are some gems here and there about the nature of parenting, but not enough to salvage the entire book. Besides, Lois has already done some of the themes such as growing old and second chances, only with actual plots to go with them. I'm going to pretend that this book does not exist and hope that Lois decides to write the further adventures of Penric and Desdemona next. That sounds like something middle aged me would actually enjoy reading.

Awesome! If you want space battles don't read this. If you want Bujold's character development, narrator's inner thoughts, and uncommon thoughtfulness ... what are you waiting for? One of the best of the series!

I have read all the Vorkosigan books and this one is by far my least favorite. It was boring. It was obvious. It took well loved characters like Cordelia and Miles and rendered them as 1 dimensional caricatures.
Boring.
Does not move the greater narrative arc along at all.

I have been reading the Vorkosigan saga since the very beginning and this is the only one that I have not enjoyed. It's kind of flat and boring. Bujold has always had characters with alternative sexualities as supporting characters or as villains; but she doesn't seem comfortable focussing on them. Here we have Oliver Jole, a rather mysterious character who has appeared in a number of the novels as Aral's stunningly beautiful aide de campe. Since we have been informed that Aral had some history as a bisexual before meeting Cordelia, it comes as no surprise that he and Joel were lovers and that Cordelia knew and accepted this. Now, in this book, Jole, like Aral before him, gets psychoanalized and fixed up by Cordelia and they commence on a regular heterosexual relationship.

I keep wondering, what was Jole's relationship with Aral like? Lois doesn't tell us. Yet, Aral has a truly tormented history and Cordelia is vital to him in keeping him sane and functional. What was Jole's role? We know that Aral's first male lover was pretty sadistic. Aral escaped from him, but doesn't that tell us something about the less acceptable side of Aral's sexuality? Bujold implies that Jole is a man who is attracted to "leaders," and those of us who follow the series remember that Aral is attracted to "soldiers," It's apparently one of the things that originally attracted him to Cordelia. But, wow, how shallow is that? Aral and Cordelia are two of the most complex characters in the series and it would seem logical that any other person that Aral fell for would also be powerful, brilliant and complex; but Jole is presented as a kind of one-dimensional guy who followed Aral around and got Cordelia's leftovers when Aral was out in space and then joined the two of them in a mange à trois marriage. Now he has just discovered in a pretty passive way that he might like to have some kids — and the idea doesn't even come from him, it comes from a suggestion by Cordelia. It's all pretty bland and, frankly, I'm dissappointed.

It would have been more interesting if Jole were not bisexual, but were strictly gay. Then the love between him and Cordelia would have been more interesting—and more difficult to express: what do you do with, "I love you but I am not physically attracted to you?" It's not a relationship current in the our American lexicon. And yet, that is the real relationship between many gay men and straight women. The sex between Cordila and Oliver Jole seems like a cop out on the part of the author. It could have been something more difficult and more developed.

And I am afraid this is not an anomaly. The only other serious LGBT character to appear in any of her books, or I should say, LGBT character who is not a sadist, is Ethan in Ethan of Athos. And here, too, no actual gay love affair is given any air time. Maybe Ethan and Terrence go back to Athos to fulfill Ethan's desire, but it is pretty clear that Terrence is a hetersexual and his reason for going to Athos is to escape the Cetagandan goons and to have children from his deceased wife, to be Ethan's soul-mate. In her other books, we find the same thing: the rumor of gay characters spices up the plot a bit, but there are no LGBT relationships in any leading roles.

P.S. Speaking of Ethan of Athos, what ever happened to that telepathy gene that got imported into the Athosian gene pool. It seems that there should be a generation coming up on Athos that is about 25% telepathic by this time — and they're ALL GAY. (I also want to know more about Guppy the genetically modified bisexual, amphibian engineer who lost his family to the Cetagandan ba's bioweapon.)

Great authors don't write bad books, but they do sometimes write different ones. This book falls into that category of different. I almost didn't get it, because of the bad reviews, and that would have been a mistake. This is not Miles and his usual mayhem and magic. But I did laugh out loud in a few places, and smiled in many more. The best thing about Bujold has always been her characters. This book gives us another character to care about: Gentleman Jole. I like him. I've always felt that the relationship between Aral and Cordelia, given his bisexuality, was incomplete and somehow not quite right. Now that feeling is gone, and it makes sense.
If you are of the author's generation, as I am, and you have enjoyed her books as they have come along, you will understand this one, and I think you will enjoy it. Disregard the Nay Sayers.

I've tried several times to finish reading this book. This is boring, uninteresting, rambling, more rambling, vague tepid bleachhh. I don't care enough to keep trying to finish. I wish I hadn't tried to keep slogging through to the halfway point. I wish I'd bought something more interesting and fascinating to read, like a pamphlet on one of those at-home colorectal fecal tests. This book is so bad it makes my heart hurt with disappointment.

I snapped this book up in a hurry out of sheer curiosity after seeing reviews calling it "shocking" and "divisive," then spent the whole book confused when these shocking or divisive things never occurred. It's a very slow, gentle, character-explorative read with little conflict, great for fans of the series and anyone who wanted more resolution after Cryoburn. Unlike almost all the other books in the series it doesn't actually work well as a stand-alone read to anyone new to the universe--new readers should start literally anywhere else.

I love the Vorkosigan Universe and getting a chance to fall in love with Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan all over again after so long in the her Universe was wonderfully refreshing, not to mention getting to know Jole and posthumously Aral Vorkosigan through their memories. I thoroughly enjoyed this book as part of the series.

Fans of the series won't want to miss this story which is filled with Bujold's masterful prose, subtle humor, and vivid characterizations.

Three years after Aral's death, Cordelia is planning to change her life in a major way. Admiral Oliver Jole will also have his life plans rearranged. This isn't a book with external conflict. The action is internal to both Cordelia and Jole. And while not planet-shattering, it is certainly is change of epic proportions for both of them.

It was good to see Cordelia starring in a book again. It was also good to see Miles and his growing family when he rushes to Sergyar to see just what it is his mother is planning to do.

Bujold's characters unfold yet again as they explore love (romantic, familial and unconventional), the world around them (undiscovered species and infinite horizons)
and their futures (weighing calling against duty). This author was wisely recommended to me by a fellow Pratchett enthusiast, so I had to share as well. Enjoy!

I'm a longtime fan of Lois McMaster Bujold's writing. I'm also retired, and of an age when her depiction of elder sex, and the issue of age difference between lovers or prospective lovers resonates. Ageism is a thing in modern American culture. Less so in other cultures I am told. There is a lot going on in this novel that has more to do with mature ideas of sex, whether same, hetero, or herm. What impresses me is that the author surpassed by far some controversial themes the venerable Robert Heinlein raised in his books, although he did so more from a "male with harem" dynamic than accomplished in Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen/. - David W. Wooddell

I found this book to be very satisfying. Cordelia Vorkosigan opened this series, but she got lost somewhere along the way, becoming a supporting player to others.This is a very contained story; no action, little intrigue, lots of old fashioned romance. It does a lot of exploring, though: what is it that makes one a parent, or child, or sibling? How do you recover from crippling loss? Everyone is aging, Cordelia, Miles, even battleships. What is a respectable retirement, when you have no expectation of dying. How do you end a hugely popular series? This book is either a final book or something more transitional. I think there are plenty of adventures still unwrit. It depends on the author, I guess.

McMaster Bujold has an amazing gift to bring worlds and characters to life. The Vorkosigans and those who orbit them have been a reader's delight since Shards of Honor. I am in awe of, delighted with, and entranced by McMaster Bujold's initial Cordelia, Cordelia as woven through the adventures of Miles, and now this beautiful tale of Cordelia at 76. So many writers miss the "humanity" of their characters; McMaster Bujold "gets" humanity. The tale suits the 76-year-old Cordelia, just as her short curls do.

WARNING: She is Betan, you know. Betan Astronomical Survey captain, which is magnificently captured in GJ and the RQ. Traditional Barrayarans are as offended by Cordelia as ever, as some other reviews aptly demonstrate. This is a book for readers of a galactic mindset.

As an avid fan of Miles Vorkosigan I was a bit worried about this book. But once again mrs Bujold scores. It was fascinating to learn more about the life and loves of Aral and Cordelia. It made them more human and more real to me.

If you enjoy a romance, try one with all of the superlative wit and charm of the former Betan Survey Captain, Vicereine Dowager Countess Cordelia Vorkosigan. You will fall in love with the Vorkosigan saga all over as the story takes an unexpected turn back to the beginnings on Sergyar.

A nice story tie-up for life after the death of Miles Vorkosigan's Dad, Aral. Cordelia has learned to cope with life after his death and is planning on starting a new chapter in her own. More details of what her life was like during her marriage are revealed. Other characters in the series are mentioned, and Miles reaction to his mothers decisions are given. While not the action packed page turning adventures of Miles stories, I real enjoyed the book.

A wonderful follow up to Cordelia's story after years of (wonderful) Miles books and Aral's death. It lacked the enormous scale of some of Miles' adventures, but the relationship between Cordelia and Jole, and their history of sharing a love for Aral was fascinating. Not to mention the interesting speculative science of Cordelia's family extension plans. It was different from the Miles books and even from the earlier Cordelia books in an entirely natural way, respecting the way Cordelia has grown over time. Lois McMaster-Bujold's beautiful skill for writing interpersonal drama is extremely present. An entry in the Vorkosigan Saga not to be missed, or underappreciated.

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars. The best way I can describe it is that it is the same type of book as "Shards of Honor". It is about personal and family relationships with the sci fi stuff way in the background. So your reaction to Shards should be able to tell you whether you want to buy this book now or wait for the price to go down. I prefer the Miles books in the Vorkosigan saga, so this is not my favorite book. If it weren't for Bujold's great writing, I would have rated it much lower. Romances are not the kind of books I enjoy reading.

I also had a problem with the amount of back story that is peppered throughout the book. I suspect that Ms. Bujold wanted to make sure that people who hadn't read her other books wouldn't be lost. I believe that the people reading this book have already read the others and so the explanation is unneeded and actually annoying.

I was disappointed by the quick ending that gave no information about the two YEARS between the last two chapters. It is completely unlike Lois cut off the storyline like this!!! Otherwise very good story even though not my cup of tea. The explanation of bisexuality was well done even for this straight old lady!

Spoiler but you find out early anyway.

The widowed Cordelia embarks on a romance with the Third in a secret little menage a trois they were involved in, orbiting Aral, and wrecked for a couple of years after his death. Given that Cordelia had said in earlier books, "He was bisexual, but now he's monogamous," and "I think my being a soldier solved a certain difficulty for him," it certainly did not seem that she chose the more free-wheeling aspects of Betan society for herself. Cheats the reader IMO - this rewritten back story.

A much more linear, low key story than Bujold's previous Barrayaran romances. No perils of any note, no complexity of plots spinning into each other. Very little humor. Middle-aged and staid.

Cordelia seems far too detached and analytical in the plans for the rest of her life, burnt out. Those plans include children, one of whom gets decanted in the course of this book, but is not given any kind of personality - and there is no maternal passion, no fierce renewal of self - no true marriage with Jole - he's good company, he scratches an itch, they have memories together - and he's going to live next door and raise his kids.

MRS JS

Bujold is back with a new Vorkosigan novel, and it's a fantastic, thoughtful, entertaining read.

It's a Cordelia novel, and takes place three years after the end of Cryoburn. The plot is a surprise and a delight, and manages to be both unexpected and true to the characters we know. Before its release, Bujold described it as "not a war story. It is about grownups", and this is an apt description; the focus is on internal landscape, not action, and the thoughts and feelings of mature adults. It's also a book that I suspect readers will experience very differently depending on their own age and experience. Ten or twenty years ago I would have thoroughly enjoyed reading it, but it wouldn't have brought tears to my eyes.

If you're a Vorkosigan fan, go out and buy this immediately. If you're not familiar with the series, this is probably not a good place to start, but you should go out and read the rest of the series immediately.

Off-beat compared to the rest of the Vorkosigan Saga, but then then every book in the series is a bit offbeat from the prior books. I dislike the buttons requesting description of the mood which ask if it is Hopeful, Dark, Nostalgic, Light-hearted, Suspenseful. or Thoughtful, because it is all of these.

By far the worst book she's ever written, and the only Vorkosigan novel I disliked. This book screams, "I'm not making money unless I write a Vorkosigan novel, so here, let me crank one out". There is no real plot, there is nothing but the rewriting of history events / characters in a way that makes little or no sense.

This book is an exceptionally badly written bisexual romance novel.

Cost too much for the story line. Too many coincidences, Miles showing up as a charactature of his former self very one dimensional. His great intellect reduced to saying "aha, so that's what it was about" kind of. Almost seems revisionist of the origninal story lines. A few shots of Granma and grandchildren, but feeling more just stuck into the plot rather than inherent or intrinsic. Never any tension about how it would turn out and no real shockers about things as they really were. Seriously felt more like a bunch of short story ideas strung into a book, a vehicle for discussing bisexuality that doesn't seem to retro fit well into rich volume of work.
Oh well its her characters, I just don't think six more children will revive the series.

I gave this book five stars because of the fine characters and their interplay. This was a book about family and their secrets, wishes, and hope for the future. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the Vorkosigan series.

Love all of this saga but this latest chapter left me longing for more of the same. Cordelia Vorkosigan is a larger than life character and it was awesome to have her as a primary character again. Thanks, Lois, you never disappoint!!

The Vorkosigan Saga is the most honored science fiction novel/novella series in history (via Hugo and Nebula awards and nominations), and deservedly so. I might put other individual novels ahead of them on my best-ever list, but up until now, the _worst_ of the series's 20 novels and novellas was still excellent. Not this one. Every other Vorkosigan book skillfully weaves together unusually well-developed characters and relationships with page-turning political or military drama and some interesting sociological observations drawn from the highly varied cultures of this universe's many planets. "Gentleman Jole" has none of that. The plot can be summarized as, "Cordelia and Jole begin a romance and face a few minor issues along the way." That's it. The plot contains almost nothing of note beyond the Cordelia/Jole relationship. That relationship is mildly heartwarming, but not particularly interesting. (The contrast is most stark with "A Civil Campaign," which is the most relationship-focused of the other Vorkosigan books and is my favorite of them all.) The story has almost zero new development any of the characters or cultures beyond what had been done in the earlier books, apart from creating the Jole character -- who is boring. (If you spend a minute imagining a bland, generic, fine/upstanding/competent 50-year-old military man, you've got him fully fleshed out.) Any good story needs some sort of conflict or struggle; this story doesn't have any genuine struggle even on the purely interpersonal level.

When you have loved all the previous works in a fiction series, the impulse to read the next one is enormous, even if you know it's not as good as its predecessors. And usually, even if you do conclude it wasn't as good, you don't regret having read it. This case is the highly unusual one in which I regretted it. Don't waste your time.

I'm not a verified purchaser, largely because I bought the ARC from Baen and then chose not to purchase the actual book.

I'm a longtime Bujold fan, and a lover of the Vorkosigan series. This book, however, sadly disappoints.

One of Bujold's great strengths is -- or was -- her ability to intertwine emotional and character development with physical adventure. There were feelings, but also plot, and the plot drove the emotional resolution, while emotional issues factored into the plot. Shards of Honor, for example, is a love story -- but the lovers are kept apart because they are on opposite sides of a war. Barrayar is in part about a mother's love for her child -- but there's a civil war going on.

Here, there is no plot. Literally nothing interesting happens. I kept waiting for the shoe to drop -- and, no shoe. What's worse, the characters seem thinner -- less real. It's self-indulgent.

Finally -- the main point is (I guess this is a spoiler, but it's revealed in the first 20 pages) -- that Aral and Jole had a long-term sexual relationship, which at times included Cordelia. Now, I don't object to Aral being bisexual -- that was clearly established. But Bujold created one of the great love stories of all time -- Aral and Cordelia. It's not that I object to him having a relationship with another man -- I object to another relationship, period. She's crapped all over her own creation.

Further, I don't see him having a relationship with a subordinate, given the power imbalance there. It's unprofessional -- dishonorable in the extreme.

And the excuses for Miles not figuring it out earlier are just absurd. Miles is a genius. The idea that they could hide that from him is ridiculous. (And for that matter, from Aral's political opponents, who would have no hesitation to smear him as a soddomite.)

Bujold may be sick of writing adventure stories and maybe she wants to write all about FEELZ. Fine. But she shouldn't despoil a great series, instead she should start a new one, all about feelings.

Gosh, I don't know how to say this tactfully--so I'll just not bother with tact. I enjoyed and reread every book in the Vorkosigan saga up to Diplomatic Immunity. Treasures, every one. Cryoburn was deeply flawed, but Captain Vorpatril's Alliance was a partial return to form. I had every hope that Gentleman Jole would be a good book. I give this recitation so you know where I'm coming from.

I would never have expected a thoroughly _boring_ soap opera.

"But, but, but", you splutter, "it must have some redeeming quality...?!" Bujold wrote it, and she's one of the greatest science fiction storytellers of all time."

She _was_, but no. Sadly, it doesn't.

I'm a huge Bujold fan and wish I hadn't read this one. This feels like Bujold is writing fanfiction of her own work. While Cordelia is well established as being very open about different relationship types, I don't accept her being open to bringing someone else into her close relationship with Aral. As she told Vordarian early on, "[Aral] was bisexual, now he's monogamous." And even if that changed for Aral and Cordelia, I don't believe she would have been ok with treating Jole so shabbily that he wasn't even acknowledged as part of their family to Miles.
Beyond that major objection, I felt this book lacked a lot of the witty insight that normally characterizes a Bujold novel. Cordelia seems very sure of herself, with very little decision making to be done. Jole has some, but he never seems a fully realized character.
I was greatly disappointed.

Last of the series? It seems that she is retiring everybody that was a main character from the beginning, and even a secondary character (Vorpatril). When I read the first book of the series, I thought: now why would anyone want to read more about a genetically damaged runt for a hero? So I didn't read any more for several years until I got desperate for good writing and tried her next one. Bingo! I have loved nearly every book and there isn't a greater hero in scifi, I don't care how many muscles or daring he has, Miles is better than all of them. But I don't know what more they can do, though Bujold seems to come up with new ideas effortlessly. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is a five star book just full of twists and turns and excellent characterization.

So why only four stars? It could have been five, but there was just not enough tension in the plot, and I am not talking about good guys versus bad guys and physical action, but emotional tension in the characters and their options for their futures.

If this is the last ti will be very sad, but I will understand that Bujold might want to flex her creativity with new horizons, and I will be among the first to buy whatever it is she writes. The only question for me personally is how many times I will read the entire series.

Thank heavens this was a gift! I've been recommending the VOR SAGA books to everybody for years. This is NOT one of the series. The title is clearly not consistent with the rest, and the story is so off the wall and inconsistent with everything in the other books that one can only wonder what the writing impetus was. The VOR series is a strongly written, cohesive, well-developed, internally consistent character-driven series. This book is a political statement with no relationship to the others, in terms of internal and external consistency. I don't object to the story, per se, except that it's about somebody else, tacked onto Cordelia and Aral, without any believable connection to the entire saga of their lives to that point. Further, it negates without reason the entire thrust of their relationship and its development. It's as though Bujold just got sick and tired of the VORs, and said "This will end it!" BUT - change the names, and it could be a good story. Bujold should withdraw this book and rewrite it. I'm thinking of the arranged marriages of the Regency period, where the passions are not so integral to the couple's relationship, because the most unbelievable thing about this Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen is that Aral's soul-deep love of Cordelia, and hers for him, could so easily support Aral's "falling in love" with ANY other person. The second most unbelievable thing, given CORNELIA'S HONOR particularly, is that Cordelia with her Betan philosophy would hide her actions, or that she would need to do so in the VOR society. Bummer!

What a disappointment. Like many Miles and family fans I eagerly looked forward to the release of Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. I'd anticipated Cordelia having an intelligent adventure, making pithy comments and being the kind and wonderful woman we've enjoyed through the Vorkosigan series. Sadly, the character Bujold calls Cordelia in this new book is not the Cordelia we know. In this new book she's a self-centered and shallow soul. And the revisionist history on Aral and Cordelia's marriage that includes Aral and Cordelia having a longstanding, semi-secret bi-sexual relationship with Jole during their marriage is nonsense -- at no point was such a relationship even remotely indicated in the previous books.
The next thing Bujold writes should be an apology to the characters and the fans.

I am a long time and HUGE fan of the Miles-O-Verse, but this book was a tremendous disappointment.

Not only for what it was, but what it could have been. That this book comes on the heels of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance and Cryoburn, two of the better books in the series, makes this book even more of a disappointment.

Almost all of this book is a rather pedestrian if well written romance novel, with a little bit of scientific what-if and space opera thrown in. There is effectively no action, and almost none of the wry humor and chaos that characterizes Bujold's other novels. This is disappointing, because there were numerous opportunities for the kind of situations that made, to cite a recent book, Captain VorPatril's Alliance, so fun. I kept expecting new characters and situations to be hooks for something good, and nothing materialized.

The best books in this series have one crazy and chaotic event piled on top of another until you're certain there's no way for the characters to extricate themselves, and then at the end the miraculously do manage through their own wits and ingenuity.

EXAMPLES OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN WITH MILD SPOILERS

Throughout the book there's a shady contractor that dumps a bunch of crap construction material on the colony, and then nothing happens with it. They could have rigged the books and framed Cordelia for embezzlement, forcing the Emperor to send one of his other Auditors while Miles was visiting. Or there could have been a character of a smarmy construction company owner introduced to later get his comeuppance. Or the shoddy material supplier could have done one crazed thing after another to cover their potential loss and error until things get wildly out of control.

There's a romantic subplot between a Ghem son and a Barryaran Women's auxiliary member that could have been hilarious and tragic by turns, and ends going nowhere; almost literally.

There's a second theoretical romantic subplot between the base commander's daughter and the son of the Cetagandan ambassador that, again, goes nowhere, or rather never starts.

Miles shows up and... Does nothing but be mildly irritating. Here's is Mom, dealing with an obviously corrupt contractor, various Ceta entanglements, and this is Miles, right? Even if she expressly forbade it, the Miles I know from previous books would have thrown on the Auditor's chain and caused all sorts of chaos.

The Prince Serg gets mothballed, and pirates or a shady mercenary company fail to show up to steal the old warship while all of the main characters are touring it.

In fact, while Sergyar is called "chaos colony" repeatedly throughout the book there is virtually no chaos in the book at all.

These are only the obvious examples. There were ample opportunities for this book to be exciting and interesting, and Bujold left us with a rather staid and boring romance story that could have been half as long, because at the end it also felt like she was padding out the pages too.

One of my favorite all times quotes and my favorite quote of this whole series is: “One corner of his mouth crooked up, then the quirk vanished in a thoughtful pursing of his lips. "He's bisexual, you know." He took a delicate sip of his wine.
"Was bisexual," she corrected absently, looking fondly across the room. "Now he's monogamous."
Vordarian choked, sputtering.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold, Barrayar

So, now I'm very, very [depressed (hide spoiler)]. I am literally [sick to my stomach. Not from the homosexual aspect (which I could care less about) but from the not monogamous aspect. (hide spoiler)]

Why or why would you take one of the best relationships in fiction and change it so irrevocably? The author must have known there would be a backlash especially with the quote above in the beginning of this entire series. The relationship that develops in this book would not have been hurt by redefining this added person differently in my opinion and would have made this a great book in the series because if I could have got beyond this revelation, I would have liked this book a lot more - probably a 5 star. But you can't changed something so fundamental and expect your fans to not be upset, well as least you can't expect this fan to not be upset.

Another reviewer described this as an epilogue - and I think that describes it perfectly. I found the whole "three-way marriage" background - never hinted at in any way in any prior novel - a rather jarring interjection despite knowing from the very beginning of the series that Aral was bisexual. Once I got past that, the evolution of the relationship between Jole and Cordelia was actually relatively easy to understand, I found the concept that the three-way marriage was more discreet than truly secret hard to swallow - it began while Aral was the Prime Minister and still had his fair share of political enemies. On conservative Barrayar, it would have been discovered and made VERY public before long.

The other main plot point - Cordelia finally having all the other children she was never able to have with Aral, for political reasons - was actually much harder to swallow. Yes, she wanted more children all along and with Miles' health issues and the political environment, it might have been disastrous to the Imperium. Now that Gregor has kids of his own, and these concerns are over, Cordelia has basically decided to cut herself off from Barrayar and the rest of her family (Miles and grandkids) in order to raise a litter of daughters whose connection she plans to make a very distant one at best. Yes. she's expressed her dislike of Barrayar over the years, but she's spent over half her life in the empire, and she's decided to isolate herself from both Barrayar *and* Beta. It actually reminds me of Heinlein's Howard Family stories: you raise your family, then so long, bye bye, off to another planet and family.

We're die-hard Bujold fans here. We've purchased everything she's written at least once, read them all multiple times - and despite knowing a fair bit about this one beforehand, I bought it anyway - more for completeness than anything else.

There were many potential plotlines hinted at and never developed, like that of the Cetagandan diplomats. I wouldn't mind seeing those explored. But all in all, I'd say you can give this one a miss and you won't lose anything,

In fact, you might want to skip this book completely. Go find Shards of Honor and read them in order, then forget this one. I envy you.

I am so disappointed that this book will be the last in the Vorkosigan series. I wish we could retcon this book out of existence.

I have to wonder if Bujold had some sort of conflict with Baen, perhaps she owed them another Vorkosigan book and decided to squeeze out this one and leave it on their front porch. Maybe she just has come to loathe the whole Vorkosigan...thing. She has to know that this book is a huge FU to fans. Has to.

I gave it two stars because it is competently written. I read the whole thing in a couple of days, and believe me, it's no page turner. Whatever.

Although I do not believe that Ms Bujold COULD write a bad story this one is just really one loong winded novelette.
I was so excited when this came available. A NEW VORKOSIGAN NOVEL! ! ! Yeah!
Boo. . Yawn. . Get on with it! !

In preparation for this review, I wanted to find out how long Bujold has been writing books in the Vorkosigan Saga. After a little bit of digging, it appears that the first work in the saga was back in 1986, and whether ETHAN OF ATHOS or SHARDS OF HONOR was published first is irrelevant. Bujold has been writing about the Vorkosigan family for 30 years. Granted, Bujold took a lengthy break from Miles and the gang to write some award-winning fantasy between 2002's DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY and 2010's CRYOBURN (with a shorter piece, Winterfaire Gifts in 2004 stuck in for good measure), but there's no mistaking that the Vorkosigan novels have been with us for a very long time.

When I reviewed CAPTAIN VORPATRIL'S ALLIANCE a few years ago, I ended with this statement:

I suspect that the next time we get a Vorkosiverse book from Bujold, we'll be reading about the aftermath of the events at the end of Cryoburn.

I was right, but not in the way I was thinking about it.

GENTLEMAN JOLE AND THE RED QUEEN is something completely different for a Vorkosigan novel. Oh, it has Miles - more Miles than CAPTAIN VORPATRIL'S ALLIANCE did. It's got all the trappings of a Vorkosigan novel - well wait, that's not quite right either. Let's see, we have Cordelia, three years removed from the death of her husband Aral at the end of CRYOBURN; we have Ekatarin, Miles' lovely wife and the mother of his children, all who appear in the book; we get Mark, the clone brother of Miles; we get Gregor, the emperor; and we get humor - lots of humor. But what we dont get is a plot. Almost nothing happens in this book, and I'm not sure whether that's good or bad. Isaac Asimov recounted the story of how he got talked into writing FOUNDATION'S EDGE (that is, Doubleday threw a dump truck of money at him) and how he prepared to write it: he read the original Foundation novels, and discovered that basically nothing had happened. The Foundation Trilogy is fondly remembered by a lot of folks as the books that brought them into the field; they sure were part of my gateway into reading sf. The trilogy has even won a Hugo - so it must be good, right? I certainly think so, although I confess to not having read the trilogy in more than 20 years, maybe even longer. So, this nothingness can be good for GENTLEMAN JOLE AND THE RED QUEEN, right?

Honestly, I'm not sure.

As I said earlier, the book takes place roughly three years after the untimely death of Count Aral Vorkosigan, husband to Cordelia, father of Miles, etc. Cordelia comes to Sergyar with some plans (and some items) that will shake not only the foundations of the Vorkosigan family, but the core of Bujold's fandom as well. Oh, and Sergyaran Fleet Admiral Oliver Jole is going to be affected by what Cordelia has in mind as well.

Writing a review of a novel like this is a bit of a struggle, because I can usually describe the basic storyline, give some hints regarding one or more major events that affect the plot, and generally send readers off on their merry way to discover the delights (or lack thereof, I suppose) of the book. I can't here. This is a story of....characters and relationships. It's definitely about both the past and the future, but both the past and the future are examined in a way that's not quite standard for a Vorkosigan novel.

In order to give the setup - something I normally like to do - I have to give some background. So way back in one of the prior Vorkosigan books, it was revealed that Aral was bisexual. When reminded of this fact in that book, Cordelia said something to the effect of "he's not any more". And on this little point the whole Vorkosigan universe (and the not insubstantial) Vorkosigan fan base is turned on its collective ear when we find out that not only was Aral always bisexual, but there was a third partner in the marriage of Cordelia and Aral - Oliver Jole. The setup then, is that Cordelia is coming to Sergyar to deal with the issues of children with Aral - she has the genetic material and is looking to final have their children. Cordelia knows how much Aral and Oliver meant to each other, so she has brought the means for Jole to have children that are genetically both his and Aral's. And in the process of the whole thing Oliver and Cordelia fall in love.

No, there isn't no secret plot by anyone to do anything even remotely questionable - although Miles, in his capacity as Imperial Auditor for Gregor does show up with the entire family in order to, in part, investigate his own mother - there is only one really big action piece which takes place at Jole's 50th birthday party, and there's no big revelation at the end of it all. There are no wars, no military actions to worry about, no grand conspiracies that Miles has to figure out. It's really just a story about two people falling in love and planning for a future that is made possible by the technology available to them (and isn't that was science fiction is supposed to be all about anyway?).

And still, I don't know what to make of this book. I *think* it's a good book. It feels like a good book - I certainly enjoyed listening to it. But I'm not sure what it added to the Vorkosigan mythos. A friend of mine suggested to me that maybe Bujold is retiring Miles. I don't know about that, but it's true that Miles doesn't affect the outcome of the novel as he has done in so many others. But a more relevant question may be where the Vorkosigan Saga goes from here. There certainly is no obvious jumping off point for another story. Maybe Bujold is thinking that the story can be carried forward by the next generation of the Vorkosigan clan: Cordelia's children, Jole's children, and Miles' children.

But what would be the point? We have come to know and love Miles Vorkosigan and his relatives and friends, and have followed their escapades for 30 or so years. Much like the rest of us, these characters are getting old and are just not doing too many interesting things. I'm not saying this should be the end of the line for the Vorkosigan novels, but I'm wondering where Bujold could possibly go next. It almost feels as if the Saga needs a shot in the arm, and I don't know where that's going to come from. As much as I clambored for more Vorkosigan novels during that long hiatus, I'm beginning to wonder if it is indeed time to wrap things up, bring them to a close.

The most I can say about Grover Gardner is that he does a workmanlike job reading GENTLEMAN JOLE AND THE RED QUEEN. He made the story engaging enough that I was pulled into the lives of Cordelia and Oliver the whole time; however, he really did nothing to make his work on the book stand out and want me to listen to more books that he narrates, although he did nothing to turn me off as a listener either. He did a good steady job; that's all.

Nothing happens in this book. On the pros side: writing is light, classic Bujold. Unlike some of her previous books in this series, there's few, if any, plot devices (egregious decisions) that rip the reader out of the story (at least readers who prefer not-stupid stories). On the cons side: Definitely a middle-age confronts mortality shadow across the entire book. Cordelia's decision to have 6 more children seems terribly arbitrary and suggests she's wasted decades playing "wife" - all of which is, imho, just not consistent with who she was/is. Jole's decisions (fatherhood, coming out, career, relationship with Cordelia) are not very captivating. He's not a very sympathetic character. And of course, the worst is that the story is mostly boring, a weak attempt to describe the internal conflicts as Jole tries to decide. So other than Miles possibly ending up (in his near future) with 10 siblings instead of just Mark (and really, them being on a planet 5 jumps away and 45 years younger will hardly make them "close family".) there's nothing that happens in this book that adds anything important to the series it's more about endings than beginnings. (Not with a bang, but a whimper)

My husband died nearly 4 years ago.

This book was utterly beautiful in showing how people whom I feel I know cope with the death of a very strong and focal character as Aral Vorkosigan. Especially Cordelia.

Cordelia has never been a follower, she always had her own ideas, she was never "just the companion of the great man".
And she is keeping busy, or kept busy, by all her responsibilities and interests all the time, after his death, so she seems to function quite well, and would not immediately strike you as " still not quite arrived" in her new reality.
So, describing how she was somehow still partially numb and how she needed to find a new identity and integrate grieving and acknowledging that she will always be Aral's widow, no matter who else she will be (or already is), and still finding a full happy rich new "post-Aral" life - describing this internal process while telling a story - is difficult.
It makes a slow story, unfolding in stages, and not much happening, compared to Miles's mad headlong adventures.

I loved it utterly, because I can relate.
It showed me how some parts of you are still numb and you do not even notice, how the old image of self needs to be reviewed, it said some important stuff about aging, and lovin and living...

It did justice to Cordelia, who continued to be the amazing woman she was in other books, no cheating by the author and somehow recasting her in another "mould".

It was a quiet book, of summer picnics, grandchildren, memories, interspersed with an abundant will and joy to go on.

But maybe, if you have not lived through the total shock of restarting life, in middle age, without your very longterm partner, and the will and hunger to be happy, fully happy, pushing you forwards, while the loss keeps you convinced that you never can move on, then this is not the book for you.

While reading, I thought that repeatedly: I know nobody personally to whom I would recommend this book.
Other Vorkosigan books: yes, I would happily recommend them to many people I know.

Hope this view is helpful for those trying to decide if it is for them.

I think the Vorkosigan books are among the best literature, but after a long hiatus from the series, Bujold has returned with different ideas, and has not been able to recapture what made the series so interesting. Starting from Cryoburn, the books she wrote I find quite forgettable.

I hated having to say Predictable or Some twists or whatever. This book had a major twist; it was horribly boring! I couldn't wait to finish it. I probably got half through before I realized that there was probably going to be nothing to this book, and three quarters through before I was convinced. I did finish it, though, because I have never before read anything by Lois McMaster Bujold that wasn't at least very good and often excellent, and I've read most of her books, including all the Vorkosigan series.

I found myself wondering towards the end if this book isn't a sadistic revenge by the author at those who constantly demanded more Vorkosigan stories when she'd finished with it. It seems unfair to me, though, because I never wrote her to ask for more, so why was I punished?

Nothing happens in this book of any note. There is no character development. There is a little backstory to Cordelia and Aral with the introduction of their never before mentioned "third spouse", Jole. Well, Jole had been mentioned in the books, but never as anyone extremely important to the main characters. At any rate, the ditherings of the main characters are not enough to raise any suspense or wonder.

I never would have required action and great suspense, but this was just too much of a muchness. I will carefully read reviews before getting another of Bujold's books because either the spark has gone out or she was pushed into getting another Vorkosigan book out the door.

I was surprised by this story. It was not what I expected, although I knew that the author had suggested that she warn her fans that it wouldn't be. However, I had avoided reading any information about the story in advance so that I could appreciate fresh, without preconceptions. I am writing this review the same way, without looking at anyone else's review.

Bujold's Vor series has been about the people. While most of that centered on Miles, there were some stories that were about a young Cordelia, his mother, and others that centered on his cousin, Ivan, and his brother, Mark. Ultimately, in my opinion, this series has always been about the characters, set in a world where the warrior was honored and women had been kept in the dark ages to slowly exit the keep into the sunshine, much of which was encouraged by Cordelia. When I was younger, Miles' enterprises with the Dendari were a fun escape, although I also recognized the substories on women's lib, sexuality, and gender, which has been one of the reasons I have loved science fiction since I was 12 in 1972.

This story of Oliver and Cordelia, if I had read it when I was in my 30s I would have said ok and put it on the shelf. As a women in my mid-50s, alone, having recently been disabled, and wondering what to do with the rest of my life, this book hit me hard. I could feel such empathy with Cordelia as she adjusted to the loss and to the awakening of her heart and soul to the potential of her future.

It is still a story of Barrayan with the politics less involved in the outcome, a peacetime army, Miles stepping in to determine what is going on with mom, a somewhat cameo appearance by Mark and Kareen, the Cetaganda, and some new characters. Instead of war, it's the politics of how to grow a planet and make it home.

No, it is not what I expected. Along the way over the years, I have forgotten how much time has passed. (Ivan married and a diplomat - I want to know what that's about.) Then again, has this series ever been what we expected? Think about it - Miles was a very short, large headed, broken boned, bipolar, overactive, determined young man - not your usual space hero. Cordelia has always been a very Betan, sensible, loving, independent woman. She has remained true to that and for my generation is again a heroine in simply being a middle-aged, retired legend who has continued to live her dream.

This review comes with a warning: it isn't quite the "clean" fiction I normally go for, partly because I didn't know what I was getting into. This book talks about sex, bisexuality, affairs, threesomes, umm... and stuff like that. Now that's out of the way...

I jumped into Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen ("Gentleman", because the title is so long) on the basis of having read two of the Sharing Knife books (Legacy and Horizon) as well as a friend saying "Oh I used to love her Vorkosigan saga when I was growing up!" So I pretty well knew that I was jumping into the tail end of a series. (And there was wiki, though I didn't use it until after I'd finished reading this book.)

The lovely thing about Gentleman is that it doesn't require you to have read all the books to follow what's going on. It's quite a self-contained story on its own. Bujold is a seasoned writer - she drops hints and reminders of what has happened before in such a way that you don't feel you've missed anything from not reading those earlier books, but at the same time, you have the urge to pick it up because it sounds so darned interesting. (By the sound of it, though, some of these are new to followers of the series. Hm.)

Gentleman isn't exactly the military sci-fi story that the blurb leads you to expect. Instead, it's rather more space opera, following the budding romance between Cordelia Vorkosigan, the widowed Vicereine of Sergyar, and Oliver Jole, Admiral of the Sergyar Fleet. It's charming and a little slow-paced, and you come to the end of it feeling like nothing much has really happened (really, nothing much really did) but it's still a complete story about... relationships, I guess.

It takes its time to meander into the past, reminiscing about what has been, bringing up old stories - sometimes recasting them in a new light? - as well as introducing new stories of the past. Yet the present and the future is very much a cause for concern as well: Cordelia and Oliver have to work through their... decisions very carefully, considering both the impact on their lives in the present as well as their implications for the future; triggering, as the blurb says, Miles Vorkosigan to travel all the way from Barrayar (with his family as cover) to find out what was really going on in Sergyar. Not that a family visit from her son wouldn't have been welcomed by Cordelia.

Other diversions appear, giving an impression of things happening, yet not. Gentleman is really a romance told over a backdrop of digressions which include cultural problems with the Cetagandans, Betan views on love, sex and marriage, Bayarran prudishness, Jole's love of sailing, the incredible yet-to-be-documented biodiversity of Sergyar, exploding radials, frozen embryos, boot polo, and construction problems.

Note: I received an ARC from review via Edelweiss.

Don't listen to all those other negative reviews about the characters, plot, etc. This book has everything a Sci-Fi obsessed, middle aged male, such as myself, could want. Don't worry about epic ship to ship battles, bloody hand to hand combat between a boarding party and crew, or violence of any kind. There isn't any! Instead, this book has everything I look for in an great Sci-Fi novel - romantic dating, administrative meetings, and a picnic. Yes!

It IS possible to turn a fictional duo into a trio; even with such a well established pair of characters such as Cordelia and Aral. It IS possible to change a fictional duo into a trio retroactively if the story framework to allow it is already established. Certainly Cordelia's cultural flexibility and Aral's long established bisexuality makes such a trio possible. What is NOT POSSIBLE is to retroactively change a duo into a trio IF ONE OF THE CHARACTERS IS DEAD. Particularly if the deceased character is the bridge between the other two characters. Nope. Don't buy it. Because of this impossibility, the book sinks. I wish I could say otherwise.

Bujold is a fine writer and the Vorkosigan saga is one of the joys of reading science fiction. But, she fails miserably in this, I hope, the last of the stories. This book shows nothing of her talent - no plot, no intrigue, no invention, no drama - nothing at all except some moderately nice stories about familiar characters. Page after page of filler and padding without anything happening.
There are a few nice touches, including one idea about reproductive technology, but all the good points should have been sub-stories in a real novel. The characters are all "nice" and reasonable, with the only tension being when to tell whom about ...
At best, it's a comedy of manners without the humor.
The book requires an extensive knowledge of the series to make sense of the characters and their histories - I do not understand how some reviewers claimed that it stands alone.
Without a doubt, her worst book.

This isn't your typical Vorkosigan book, if there is such a thing as a typical Vorkosigan book. It's basically cozy inter-character fluff in novel form, and it's reasonably skippable if you're not interested in such things.

That being said, I'm amazed at how well Bujold pulled this bit of fluff off. Normally I hate stories that have little or no conflict, and I was actively dreading the titular relationship in the book, because it felt out-of-nowhere after seeing Aral and Cordelia's relationship in the rest of the series. By the end of the book, I understood, and I was loving it, and I was so happy to see everyone getting a little closer to their happy endings that I didn't mind the lack of action and strife. (Also, now I'm noticing the oddly important-looking descriptions of Jole elsewhere in the series, and I think she was subtly- perhaps too subtly- setting up for this all along.)

It's not my favorite in the series, and it may not match up with the tastes that first got you interested in this series, but it's oddly good.

Three years have passed since the death of the legendary Aral Vorkosigan. His widow, Cordelia, continues to live and work on Sergyar, third world of the Barrayaran Empire, as vicerine. Aged 76, but expecting to live at least to 120, Cordelia has almost fully half her life ahead of her and is unsure of what to do with it. Complicating matters is Admiral Jole of the Sergyar Fleet, a respected officer and a close friend of Cordelia and her late husband's. With Sergyar in political uproar as a controversial decision to move the planetary capital is made, Cordelia has some important decisions to make.

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen is the latest (so far) novel in the Vorkosigan Saga and one of the most wrong-footing. Each of the sixteen novels in the series has been different, but at least incorporated some elements of action-adventure, political intrigue, war or undercover criminal activity, which the protagonist (usually Miles Vorkosigan but occasionally other characters) has to deal with. This novel doesn't have that. There are no villains, there are no explosions (well, one, but not quite what you'd expect) and no exchanges of energy weapon fire. The political intrigue is very slight, at best, and the novel is unfolds without much fear of mayhem, death or destruction taking place (unless you count a rather remote threat from a volcano).

Instead, this is a novel about relationships, the changing nature of life as people grow older, and the philosophical acceptance that we are not here for very long and people have to make decisions for their happiness and that of those around them, sometimes unorthodox or complicated ones. The tensest moments in Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen come in conversations, as Cordelia is forced to reveal that she's been leading a rather more interesting life on Sergyar then her son Miles believed and grapples with the baffling decision of just how you start a new live over when you've already done all the usual stuff - had children, gotten married and beheaded your most lethal political opponent in battle?

In this sense Gentleman Jole continues the themes from Cryoburn, musing on the passing of the generations, but the book again rejects this as a maudlin idea. Instead it also celebrates the commodities of life and time, delights in the arrival of new life and new children (and grandchildren) and spins out, in a good-old fashioned manner, an everything-but-old-fashioned romance between two people at a more mature time of their lives.

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (****) is not a rousing space action-adventure novel. It is a life-affirming, warm romance that returns to some some of Bujold's central SF ideas (most notably the science of uterine replicators), introduces some new ones (Cordelia's utter disbelief at people refusing to believe a destabilising volcano may erupt and destroy their town) and unfolds with a stately, mature pace. Is it slightly self-indulgent? Maybe, but then after thirty years of putting the Vorkosigan clan through the wringer, both the author and her characters deserve a break, especially when it's as thought-provoking and enjoyable as this one.

First off, I highly enjoyed reading the book. The characters are interesting. Bujold does a masterful job of exploring the intersection of science and culture as we gain technologies such as gene manipulation and uterine replicators. That said, for those who felt "A Civil Campaign" was a departure from the science fiction action genre for the series, this one is even more so.

Conflict is fairly low throughout. There are some minor irritations from politics, stresses of whether to keep or switch jobs, and the need (or at least desire) to keep hidden one's romances, but for the most part, it's a very comfy book where the characters just roll along toward the conclusion. There is a minor bit of action near the end, but there's no real disaster at any point. This is perhaps a function of the book focusing on older characters who have become more settled in their lives. It is also fairly dense reading, perhaps due to the slower pace. It's like a lazy river ride. Hurrying through it to get to the end will just spoil the experience for you. Instead, sit back and enjoy the ride.

For those more fundamentalist in their beliefs, I'll give fair warning that the book discusses same-sex relationships, polyandry, and unorthodox reproduction techniques. I personally did not find those bothersome, but I add the warning for those more sensitive to such things.

This is my second favorite series ever, and this book absolutely ruined it. It would have been better off halting the story right before it. I do not know how the story can be even readable after this.

Aral Vokosigan has been dead for three years. Cordelia starts dating. There are complications.

Expand the above sentences into an umpteen-thousand word novel and you have a book that trades on the author's earlier books in this series without adding anything noteworthy. Other than borrowing the universe and characters from the Vorkosigan universe, it has absolutely zip in common with earlier books.

This book contains *no* crisis to be resolved or other plot device for the to book revolve around. There is nothing but Cordelia dating. It's great that Lois wants her imaginary character to be happy. It's sad that she felt the need to unload this book on her fan base. It's a plodding, directionless book that contains absolutely no surprises. I am deliriously happy that I borrowed it from the library rather than paying actual money for a copy.

I was lucky enough to get this as a publisher's preview. I say lucky, because if I'd spent the money to buy this I'd have been seriously bummed. I LOVE Bujold--I've been collecting every one of her works since I read the first Vorkosigan, so when I saw a new novel I was so excited. But this book--while readable--has NO PLOT or ACTION. As one other reviewer noted, everything that you love about the Vorkosigan series is missing. WARNING: Plot spoilers ahead. Set after the death of Miles' father, it is supposed to be about Cordelia finding a new love. Ok ,fine. Except it moves at a snail's pace.

Starts out with Cordelia approaching a man who -- we learn now -- was involved with Cordelia and her husband in a menage a trois for most of their marriage. In all of the Vorgosigan novels, as I recall, it was only mentioned once or twice that Lord Vorgosigan might have had a bisexual encounter. NOWHERE was it indicated that Jole was in the picture. I don't remember him at all, much less as a major player. This bizarre plot twist is explained by having Cordelia muse on how the faithful family retainers helped cover up Jole's involvement and that Jole was sent away for years to protect his reputation and further his career.

Having introduced this guy, we next get to spend chapters and chapters while he debates over the wisdom of having children using fancy Betan fertilization techniques and Lord Vorgosigan's frozen sperm. After specifically saying in earlier books that Miles would be their only child because of the poisoning incident, we are told that both Cordelia and Aral have saved specimens, from which -- thanks to fancy science fiction medicine -- babies can be produced. Cordelia, at age 70 something, has decided to retire from her position, and have 6 daughters. Jole--after much hemhawing--FINALLY hooks up with Cordelia, decides to turn down a more prestigious position, and have several sons.

And that, my dears, is the plot of this book -- no action, basically a twist in a bad soap opera plot. The only excitement at all is at Jole's BD celebration when there is an incident involving fireworks and some local wildlife--apparently thrown in so he can have an opportunity to realize that he doesn't want to miss out on fatherhood and a life with Cordelia. Miles manages to show up for a few chapters to check on his mother and eventually accept her involvement with a man who is nearly his own age. Oh, BTW, that bit of cougarishness is explained by saying that Betans live at least 120 years, so Cordelia is really 'middle aged' and thus only a few relative years older than Jole, who life span will be much less.

buy it only if you want a complete collection of Bujold's works

If I made a list of the books I re-read shortly after finishing, ordered by the briefness of the delay in starting that re-read, the top five slots would all be occupied by books in Bujold’s Vorkosigan series. While I have deep philosophical problems with some aspects of underlying socio-political messages of the stories, I will be one of the first to admire her ability to create a “good read”.

I say all this to provide a context for my reaction to this latest Vorkosigan story. Meh. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen follows the unexpectedly [to the reader] intertwined personal lives Cordelia Vorkosigan (Regent of the planet of Sergyar) and Oliver Jole (Admiral in charge of same) several years after the death of Aral Vorkosigan, Cordelia’s husband and Oliver’s long-term lover. Now that they are beginning to recover emotionally from the death of the man they both loved, Cordelia has plans for her future that offer Oliver some options that only this latest generation of Barayarans have any need or ability to take account of. Options that involve creative uses of reproductive technology.
GJ&tRQ isn’t a romance in any sort of structural sense, but it is very much organized around personal, domestic concerns and consequences. Family dynamics. Relationships. Life choices. That sort of thing. And given that one of the things I’ve always loved about the series is the focus on those dynamics, one might think the love would carry over here. But…meh. All in all, it felt like nothing much happened. The dancers walked through the figures and returned to their places, a little flushed and out of breath, but nothing more. And the non-personal aspects of the plot revolve around the everyday logistics of running a colony planet. Early on in the story, the phrase “bureaucracy porn” popped into my head. I’m sure a thrilling novel could be built around diplomatic disasters and finding ways to turn the tables on dishonest contractors, but this novel wasn’t it.

I joke that the series hasn’t been quite as interesting since Miles became happy, but there’s a definite correlation in my enjoyment of the books. A Civil Campaign was the last one that triggered an immediate re-read. About a third of the way through GJ&tRQ, I realized that if I put the book down and walked away, I wouldn’t feel like I’d missed anything. It is a technical well-written story about interesting characters, but it feels like the butter is being scraped over too much toast at this point. I’m sure that Bujold can still write a book that would have me diving back to page one after I get to “the end”, but I’ve come to the conclusion that such a book is likely to be outside the Vorkosigan universe.

I was all set to write a review, but I really can't add anything to what others have wrote. Not one of her best. Nothing happens. Did not believe for a minute that Cordelia, at her age, would decide to have -- what was it? -- 9 daughters?? 1, maybe. I could believe that. 2 even. 9??????? And the whole threesome marriage thing also seemed to me, as others have said, McMaster Bujold pandering to modern times rather than staying true to the characters. To introduce that at this late stage in the books makes no sense. I did laugh a couple of times, which pales in comparison with the number of times I've laughed reading the other books. And one last thing -- whoever came up with that stupid, stupid book title should be flogged. Or given to the Cetagandans.

The appearance of a new episode in the immensely popular “Miles Vorkosigan” saga is always cause for rejoicing. This fifteenth book is a bit odd, though. It’s been three years since the sudden (and entirely natural) death of Admiral Count Aral Vorkosigan, ex-Regent, ex-Prime Minister of the Empire, and for the past dozen years or more Co-Viceroy with his wife, Cordelia, of the new colony world of Sergyar, which is in a key location between Barrayar and the rest of the universe as regards wormhole gateways. Miles, now in his forties, is the new Count Vorkosigan, which somewhat limits his activities as roving investigator for Emperor Gregor, and he has a relatively small part to play this time. The story revolves instead around two other characters, one of them Cordelia herself, still Vicereine, and doing a smack-up job of governing the world, too. She’s seventy-six now, but being Betan, that barely makes her middle-aged.

The other major player is Admiral Oliver Jole, whom we’ve never met before, but who turns out to have been a major player in the Vorkosigans’ private as well as professional lives all along. Turns out Count Aral was actively bisexual and that he and Oliver and Cordelia had a very happy but carefully concealed three-way relationship for many years, beginning when young Jole was his aide. Now Cordelia has returned to Sergyar from her annual reporting visit back to Barrayar and has brought along the spare eggs she had stored decades before, as well as Aral’s matching sperm. The couple had meant to produce more kids besides Miles, via replicator, but never found the time. And now she’s going to have six daughters, one right after another. And she gifts the never-married Oliver with some of Aral’s plasm so he can have a few sons of his own -- which means the late count would be the other parents, sort of. (It’s socially complicated.)

This sends Admiral Jole off on a voyage of discovery of his own. Does he really want to be a parent? Can he do it on his own? And, or more direct importance, what will his relationship be now with Cordelia? Can they sort of reset and restart their long-time relationship with a new two-way pattern?

No space fights this time, no strange new worlds, no interstellar intrigue. Instead, it’s a mostly domestic drama centered on the two principals and the next stage in their lives. There’s also Cordelia’s decision to retire to Sergyar rather than returning to the Barrayarans, whom she feels have taken enough of her life. Sergyar is where she and Aral first met and fell in love, back at the beginning of this saga. But she still has to run the government for another year or two, and there are always problems, both diplomatic and economic. She wants to move the planet’s capital to a more logical location, for one thing, before it gets too large. And that means dealing with government contractors. Much of the comic relief is provided by Oliver’s young aide, Lieut. Kaya Vorinnis, who takes herself very seriously and who doesn’t quite know how to handle the advances of an equally young Cetagandan cultural attaché And many of the more serious points come to a head when Miles and Ekaterin arrive with their own brood and are finally told of the late Count’s hidden lifestyle.

It’s not a bad story -- the author is incapable of telling a bad story -- but I suspect it won’t set well with some of the author’s fans, since it changes our perspective on two of the saga’s major characters so completely. (Fans generally don’t like fundamental change.) And I definitely would not recommend it as a starting place for the new reader. Without all the back-story in the previous volumes, you won’t really understand a tenth of what’s going on. And it’s not clear whether this volume is meant to close out the saga, either.

Three years have passed since the death of the legendary Aral Vorkosigan. His widow, Cordelia, continues to live and work on Sergyar, third world of the Barrayaran Empire, as vicerine. Aged 76, but expecting to live at least to 120, Cordelia has almost fully half her life ahead of her and is unsure of what to do with it. Complicating matters is Admiral Jole of the Sergyar Fleet, a respected officer and a close friend of Cordelia and her late husband's. With Sergyar in political uproar as a controversial decision to move the planetary capital is made, Cordelia has some important decisions to make.

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen is the latest (so far) novel in the Vorkosigan Saga and one of the most wrong-footing. Each of the sixteen novels in the series has been different, but at least incorporated some elements of action-adventure, political intrigue, war or undercover criminal activity, which the protagonist (usually Miles Vorkosigan but occasionally other characters) has to deal with. This novel doesn't have that. There are no villains, there are no explosions (well, one, but not quite what you'd expect) and no exchanges of energy weapon fire. The political intrigue is very slight, at best, and the novel is unfolds without much fear of mayhem, death or destruction taking place (unless you count a rather remote threat from a volcano).

Instead, this is a novel about relationships, the changing nature of life as people grow older, and the philosophical acceptance that we are not here for very long and people have to make decisions for their happiness and that of those around them, sometimes unorthodox or complicated ones. The tensest moments in Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen come in conversations, as Cordelia is forced to reveal that she's been leading a rather more interesting life on Sergyar then her son Miles believed and grapples with the baffling decision of just how you start a new live over when you've already done all the usual stuff - had children, gotten married and beheaded your most lethal political opponent in battle?

In this sense Gentleman Jole continues the themes from Cryoburn, musing on the passing of the generations, but the book again rejects this as a maudlin idea. Instead it also celebrates the commodities of life and time, delights in the arrival of new life and new children (and grandchildren) and spins out, in a good-old fashioned manner, an everything-but-old-fashioned romance between two people at a more mature time of their lives.

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen (****) is not a rousing space action-adventure novel. It is a life-affirming, warm romance that returns to some some of Bujold's central SF ideas (most notably the science of uterine replicators), introduces some new ones (Cordelia's utter disbelief at people refusing to believe a destabilising volcano may erupt and destroy their town) and unfolds with a stately, mature pace. Is it slightly self-indulgent? Maybe, but then after thirty years of putting the Vorkosigan clan through the wringer, both the author and her characters deserve a break, especially when it's as thought-provoking and enjoyable as this one.

First off, I highly enjoyed reading the book. The characters are interesting. Bujold does a masterful job of exploring the intersection of science and culture as we gain technologies such as gene manipulation and uterine replicators. That said, for those who felt "A Civil Campaign" was a departure from the science fiction action genre for the series, this one is even more so.

Conflict is fairly low throughout. There are some minor irritations from politics, stresses of whether to keep or switch jobs, and the need (or at least desire) to keep hidden one's romances, but for the most part, it's a very comfy book where the characters just roll along toward the conclusion. There is a minor bit of action near the end, but there's no real disaster at any point. This is perhaps a function of the book focusing on older characters who have become more settled in their lives. It is also fairly dense reading, perhaps due to the slower pace. It's like a lazy river ride. Hurrying through it to get to the end will just spoil the experience for you. Instead, sit back and enjoy the ride.

For those more fundamentalist in their beliefs, I'll give fair warning that the book discusses same-sex relationships, polyandry, and unorthodox reproduction techniques. I personally did not find those bothersome, but I add the warning for those more sensitive to such things.

This is my second favorite series ever, and this book absolutely ruined it. It would have been better off halting the story right before it. I do not know how the story can be even readable after this.

Aral Vokosigan has been dead for three years. Cordelia starts dating. There are complications.

Expand the above sentences into an umpteen-thousand word novel and you have a book that trades on the author's earlier books in this series without adding anything noteworthy. Other than borrowing the universe and characters from the Vorkosigan universe, it has absolutely zip in common with earlier books.

This book contains *no* crisis to be resolved or other plot device for the to book revolve around. There is nothing but Cordelia dating. It's great that Lois wants her imaginary character to be happy. It's sad that she felt the need to unload this book on her fan base. It's a plodding, directionless book that contains absolutely no surprises. I am deliriously happy that I borrowed it from the library rather than paying actual money for a copy.

I was lucky enough to get this as a publisher's preview. I say lucky, because if I'd spent the money to buy this I'd have been seriously bummed. I LOVE Bujold--I've been collecting every one of her works since I read the first Vorkosigan, so when I saw a new novel I was so excited. But this book--while readable--has NO PLOT or ACTION. As one other reviewer noted, everything that you love about the Vorkosigan series is missing. WARNING: Plot spoilers ahead. Set after the death of Miles' father, it is supposed to be about Cordelia finding a new love. Ok ,fine. Except it moves at a snail's pace.

Starts out with Cordelia approaching a man who -- we learn now -- was involved with Cordelia and her husband in a menage a trois for most of their marriage. In all of the Vorgosigan novels, as I recall, it was only mentioned once or twice that Lord Vorgosigan might have had a bisexual encounter. NOWHERE was it indicated that Jole was in the picture. I don't remember him at all, much less as a major player. This bizarre plot twist is explained by having Cordelia muse on how the faithful family retainers helped cover up Jole's involvement and that Jole was sent away for years to protect his reputation and further his career.

Having introduced this guy, we next get to spend chapters and chapters while he debates over the wisdom of having children using fancy Betan fertilization techniques and Lord Vorgosigan's frozen sperm. After specifically saying in earlier books that Miles would be their only child because of the poisoning incident, we are told that both Cordelia and Aral have saved specimens, from which -- thanks to fancy science fiction medicine -- babies can be produced. Cordelia, at age 70 something, has decided to retire from her position, and have 6 daughters. Jole--after much hemhawing--FINALLY hooks up with Cordelia, decides to turn down a more prestigious position, and have several sons.

And that, my dears, is the plot of this book -- no action, basically a twist in a bad soap opera plot. The only excitement at all is at Jole's BD celebration when there is an incident involving fireworks and some local wildlife--apparently thrown in so he can have an opportunity to realize that he doesn't want to miss out on fatherhood and a life with Cordelia. Miles manages to show up for a few chapters to check on his mother and eventually accept her involvement with a man who is nearly his own age. Oh, BTW, that bit of cougarishness is explained by saying that Betans live at least 120 years, so Cordelia is really 'middle aged' and thus only a few relative years older than Jole, who life span will be much less.

buy it only if you want a complete collection of Bujold's works

If I made a list of the books I re-read shortly after finishing, ordered by the briefness of the delay in starting that re-read, the top five slots would all be occupied by books in Bujold’s Vorkosigan series. While I have deep philosophical problems with some aspects of underlying socio-political messages of the stories, I will be one of the first to admire her ability to create a “good read”.

I say all this to provide a context for my reaction to this latest Vorkosigan story. Meh. Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen follows the unexpectedly [to the reader] intertwined personal lives Cordelia Vorkosigan (Regent of the planet of Sergyar) and Oliver Jole (Admiral in charge of same) several years after the death of Aral Vorkosigan, Cordelia’s husband and Oliver’s long-term lover. Now that they are beginning to recover emotionally from the death of the man they both loved, Cordelia has plans for her future that offer Oliver some options that only this latest generation of Barayarans have any need or ability to take account of. Options that involve creative uses of reproductive technology.
GJ&tRQ isn’t a romance in any sort of structural sense, but it is very much organized around personal, domestic concerns and consequences. Family dynamics. Relationships. Life choices. That sort of thing. And given that one of the things I’ve always loved about the series is the focus on those dynamics, one might think the love would carry over here. But…meh. All in all, it felt like nothing much happened. The dancers walked through the figures and returned to their places, a little flushed and out of breath, but nothing more. And the non-personal aspects of the plot revolve around the everyday logistics of running a colony planet. Early on in the story, the phrase “bureaucracy porn” popped into my head. I’m sure a thrilling novel could be built around diplomatic disasters and finding ways to turn the tables on dishonest contractors, but this novel wasn’t it.

I joke that the series hasn’t been quite as interesting since Miles became happy, but there’s a definite correlation in my enjoyment of the books. A Civil Campaign was the last one that triggered an immediate re-read. About a third of the way through GJ&tRQ, I realized that if I put the book down and walked away, I wouldn’t feel like I’d missed anything. It is a technical well-written story about interesting characters, but it feels like the butter is being scraped over too much toast at this point. I’m sure that Bujold can still write a book that would have me diving back to page one after I get to “the end”, but I’ve come to the conclusion that such a book is likely to be outside the Vorkosigan universe.

I was all set to write a review, but I really can't add anything to what others have wrote. Not one of her best. Nothing happens. Did not believe for a minute that Cordelia, at her age, would decide to have -- what was it? -- 9 daughters?? 1, maybe. I could believe that. 2 even. 9??????? And the whole threesome marriage thing also seemed to me, as others have said, McMaster Bujold pandering to modern times rather than staying true to the characters. To introduce that at this late stage in the books makes no sense. I did laugh a couple of times, which pales in comparison with the number of times I've laughed reading the other books. And one last thing -- whoever came up with that stupid, stupid book title should be flogged. Or given to the Cetagandans.

The appearance of a new episode in the immensely popular “Miles Vorkosigan” saga is always cause for rejoicing. This fifteenth book is a bit odd, though. It’s been three years since the sudden (and entirely natural) death of Admiral Count Aral Vorkosigan, ex-Regent, ex-Prime Minister of the Empire, and for the past dozen years or more Co-Viceroy with his wife, Cordelia, of the new colony world of Sergyar, which is in a key location between Barrayar and the rest of the universe as regards wormhole gateways. Miles, now in his forties, is the new Count Vorkosigan, which somewhat limits his activities as roving investigator for Emperor Gregor, and he has a relatively small part to play this time. The story revolves instead around two other characters, one of them Cordelia herself, still Vicereine, and doing a smack-up job of governing the world, too. She’s seventy-six now, but being Betan, that barely makes her middle-aged.

The other major player is Admiral Oliver Jole, whom we’ve never met before, but who turns out to have been a major player in the Vorkosigans’ private as well as professional lives all along. Turns out Count Aral was actively bisexual and that he and Oliver and Cordelia had a very happy but carefully concealed three-way relationship for many years, beginning when young Jole was his aide. Now Cordelia has returned to Sergyar from her annual reporting visit back to Barrayar and has brought along the spare eggs she had stored decades before, as well as Aral’s matching sperm. The couple had meant to produce more kids besides Miles, via replicator, but never found the time. And now she’s going to have six daughters, one right after another. And she gifts the never-married Oliver with some of Aral’s plasm so he can have a few sons of his own -- which means the late count would be the other parents, sort of. (It’s socially complicated.)

This sends Admiral Jole off on a voyage of discovery of his own. Does he really want to be a parent? Can he do it on his own? And, or more direct importance, what will his relationship be now with Cordelia? Can they sort of reset and restart their long-time relationship with a new two-way pattern?

No space fights this time, no strange new worlds, no interstellar intrigue. Instead, it’s a mostly domestic drama centered on the two principals and the next stage in their lives. There’s also Cordelia’s decision to retire to Sergyar rather than returning to the Barrayarans, whom she feels have taken enough of her life. Sergyar is where she and Aral first met and fell in love, back at the beginning of this saga. But she still has to run the government for another year or two, and there are always problems, both diplomatic and economic. She wants to move the planet’s capital to a more logical location, for one thing, before it gets too large. And that means dealing with government contractors. Much of the comic relief is provided by Oliver’s young aide, Lieut. Kaya Vorinnis, who takes herself very seriously and who doesn’t quite know how to handle the advances of an equally young Cetagandan cultural attaché And many of the more serious points come to a head when Miles and Ekaterin arrive with their own brood and are finally told of the late Count’s hidden lifestyle.

It’s not a bad story -- the author is incapable of telling a bad story -- but I suspect it won’t set well with some of the author’s fans, since it changes our perspective on two of the saga’s major characters so completely. (Fans generally don’t like fundamental change.) And I definitely would not recommend it as a starting place for the new reader. Without all the back-story in the previous volumes, you won’t really understand a tenth of what’s going on. And it’s not clear whether this volume is meant to close out the saga, either.

I was spoiled for the book's big surprise early, and honestly, my main thought as I read this was that the story of how Aral, Cordelia and Jole came to their mutual arrangement would have been much more interesting. As so many other reviewers have said, nothing happens in this book. It's just a chronicle of a couple of months in two people's lives, in which some stuff happens, but none of it has much consequence. All the major decisions were made offstage before the book started. The only source of tension is whether Jole will choose to put his career or his personal life first, and there's never any doubt as to which he'll choose, nor is he sacrificing much to make the choice he makes. The whole thing reads like shippy happily ever after fanfic. Unfortunately, we haven't seen enough of Jole prior to this book to be terribly invested in this particular ship, and in this book, Jole just isn't all that interesting. (Nor is Cordelia, sadly.)

As for said big surprise... eh? Bujold strikes me as one of those authors who was very progressive back in the day, but the world has caught up to, and in some respects passed her. I think it's laudable that she's trying to catch up, but someone needs to explain to her that bisexual and polyamorous are two different things. Not that I think it's bad for realistic poly relationships to get some exposure, quite the opposite, but conflating the two without examination leads right back to the old "bi people always sleep around" stereotype. I'm fine with Aral being both bi and poly, but I wish the narrative didn't assume that bi IS poly by definition.

In addition, I found myself bothered by repetitive phrasing -- everyone says "Right-oh!" and everyone makes explanatory waving gestures and everyone refers to things as "their patch." Lazy writing, the sort of thing a good line editor should catch, except no one wants to pay for good line editors these days.

I think this would have made a serviceable short story, but dragging it out to novel length was unnecessary.

Really disappointing. Why Bujold wanted to trash her beloved characters is beyond me. We have an entire series celebrating Aral and Cordelia's decency and honor, and suddenly she decides they have to be dragged down into questionable morality in a virtually plotless book. So sad. What a waste of talent.

I am disappointed in this book. It comes across as a first novel by someone who stretched out a short story to meet a contractual obligation. The characters are bland and superficial. So now Miles will have 10 brothers and sisters and 6 children of his own! Silly! I wanted another book about Cordelia but in this book she seems like a completely different character with a few kiddo references thrown in to show it is the same character.

There were a couple of side stories that I expected to be expanded upon but came to nothing. Oliver, the main character, was likeable but didn't have any depth. Bujold IMO was almost completely dismissive of her characters, their history, and comes across as not very interested in her own book.

Last of the series? It seems that she is retiring everybody that was a main character from the beginning, and even a secondary character (Vorpatril). When I read the first book of the series, I thought: now why would anyone want to read more about a genetically damaged runt for a hero? So I didn't read any more for several years until I got desperate for good writing and tried her next one. Bingo! I have loved nearly every book and there isn't a greater hero in scifi, I don't care how many muscles or daring he has, Miles is better than all of them. But I don't know what more they can do, though Bujold seems to come up with new ideas effortlessly. Captain Vorpatril's Alliance is a five star book just full of twists and turns and excellent characterization.

So why only four stars? It could have been five, but there was just not enough tension in the plot, and I am not talking about good guys versus bad guys and physical action, but emotional tension in the characters and their options for their futures.

If this is the last ti will be very sad, but I will understand that Bujold might want to flex her creativity with new horizons, and I will be among the first to buy whatever it is she writes. The only question for me personally is how many times I will read the entire series.

Over the years, I have read every Vorkosigan story I have been able to lay my hands on. This is the first time I finished one of these stories without connecting to any of the characters, positively or negatively, even Miles. I struggled to finish the book. I will not recommend this one to anyone. Controversial, thought provoking subject dealt with in a way that left me disappointed with everyone. Not what I have come to expect from Ms McMaster Bujold.

I have loved the Vorkosigan series. Great characters and plots, excellent writing. But I gotta agree with others who say this latest installment just isn't up to the level of the earlier books.

Libertarian sexuality is part of the series, but this novel extends it to marital infidelity (with a subordinate officer no less) on the part of Aral, who is consistently honorable and faithful in all prior stories. The storyline would have been more consistent with earlier novels had Jole and Aral cared for one another, but been respectful of Aral's marriage and military nonfraternization standards. Indeed, their relationship would have been more touching and sympathetic to the reader.

And there's no interesting plot. The freethinking sexuality of prior novels descends from being a thought-provoking part of the larger story to being much of the story itself, offered in frankly boring detail.

This is the first time I've been disappointed by a book from this author. I've been so excited for this to come out, I love her Vorkosigan series, couldn't wait to see Cordelia once again kicking a$$ and taking names after all these years. Unfortunately, what I got was a book that if it was set in our time, would have "A Novel" after the title, to let you know the boring mundanity you're getting yourself into.

*************SPOILERS*************

There is NO intrigue or mystery in this book. Just bureaucracy, dealing with grief, and the characters wringing their hands over whether being together is going to cause some sort of geriatric scandal. The MOST exciting thing in this book is exploding parasites that look like floating bubbles. Oh, and Miles show up to try to be the gatekeeper to his 76 year old mother's v*gina. WTF

I've cut myself some slack lately re reviewing the later books in this series, due to a combination of work deadlines, recovery from a concussion, and the comforting knowledge that the series has LOTS of ardent fans without boosts from me. But I wanted to jot down a few thoughts about this book, which is in some ways unlike its predecessors.

Actually, in one way. We have all the usual elements, from terrific major characters to intriguing minor characters to expert world-building to enjoyable turns of phrase, not to mention Bujold's insight into the human condition. What we don't have is much in the way of a plot. That makes quite a change from the usual suspenseful unfolding of events with ship-wide, worldwide, or empire-wide consequences. There is suspense of a sort, but on a personal and individual level.

If this book turns out to be the last in the Vorkosigan Saga (insert prolonged thin wail here), then it may be intended as a coda for the series as a whole.

Boring and a real disappointment. SO glad I didn't buy this in hardback. I own most of the Vorkosigan novels but this book just doesn't fit. While previous books in the series are space-opera swashbuckling how can-Miles-beat-the-system adventures, this book reads more like a Oprah Winfrey tell-some interview. I kept waiting for something sneaky to happen and it never did. Instead we get a long slow reveal of minor details of a past (yet previously never suggested at) triad between Cordelia, Jole, and Aral. More clinical than titillating. Very introspective and angsty. We never really ended up caring about the characters current activities or (minor, very minor) problems. Miles does make a cameo appearance but it feels like very mandatory inclusion to appease readers with no real depth or interest. I would probably have enjoyed it more if it had been written with all the characters being in the same universe but no relation to previous characters - no one in the story lived up to the Vorkosigan name.

So a lot of people don't like this one, and though I can understand why, I don't agree. It's not even close to being the same kind of fast-paced adventure that Miles's stories are (excepting A Civil Campaign, which is a slightly subversive comedy of manners.) But that's exactly what I like about Bujold, that she doesn't always just do the same thing, even though she does that thing incredibly well. This isn't a story about space or intrigue, it's a story about love and loss and moving on while still remembering. Most of the things that happen are entirely quotidian. It's a sweet, hopeful, quiet story about a new romance in the wake of a devastating loss.

There are some details revealed about Aral and Cordelia's life together that might surprise some people, but I'm not sure why... Cordelia is Betan, after all. Is it really so much of a stretch that deep, intense, lifelong love doesn't always mean total monogamy? I actually really enjoyed this aspect--after the two books about them, Aral and Cordelia somewhat fade into the background, and the reader knows them mostly as Miles's parents. But for all that time, while Miles was out adventuring, they still had lives of their own that don't always center around Miles. They aren't just "Mother and Da," they're Aral and Cordelia. The idea that older people can fall in love and (gasp) have sex is somewhat taboo in our culture. And if it turns out that characters we know mostly as somebody's mom and dad were involved in a behind the scenes polyamorous relationship the whole time, then hoo boy, people are going to get upset.

This book is, like all the Vorkosigan books to a greater or lesser degree, something of a social critique. It challenges our ideals about marriage, parenthood, and family, all of which are important themes throughout the series, and makes us consider that there could be relationships outside of the usual paradigm that are meaningful and beautiful.

I'm happy for Cordelia. I'm glad that Bujold didn't do this character the disservice of allowing her life to end when Aral's did. I'd love to read a book about her and... one of her granddaughters, perhaps, going on an adventure.

This latest installment of the Vorkosigan saga deviates quite a bit from the other books - well, except for the Winterfare Gifts novella. Firstly, this book is a straight romance. Secondly, absolutely nothing happens in the book. The best I can describe the book is a Slice of Life meets a Clip Show - if it was possible to use those two terms without any of the negative connotations that come with them. While on face value that sounds horrible, in actuality it is just the opposite: this is truly a wonderful book.

The story in its simplicity is that it's been a number of years since Miles' fathers death and after the period of grief his mother is finally moving on with her life. This involves a new relationship with Admiral Jole, the third (semi-secret) member of her marriage of Aral, and her designs to bring up more children from the frozen embryos they had stored for the future.

In the early parts of the book I was waiting for a 'main plot' to appear. nd as contradictory as it sounds, by the middle, I was hoping one would not - the story was moving at a nice languid pace and introducing strife would have felt out of place.

The writing is as smooth and professional as one can imagine. The style feels like the Vorkosigan saga but as befits new POVs, still different and unique. I did find myself missing the dry, self-effacing humor from earlier books but neither protagonist would really be suited for it.

I did have two nitpicks. There were so many occasions of reminiscence that it was starting to feel like fan service. The second is that there was a feeling of bidding a fond farewell to the characters of the saga. After this, I would be surprised if we meet them again in anything but a supporting role or if there will be any further books set in this universe. But each book has more than been worth every minute spent within them. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This is a five star book for those who are already Barrayar fans; maybe three stars for those who aren't. It has none of the excitement and adventure of Ethan of Athos or Cetaganda, or any of the darker aspects of Shards of Honor-- although Cordelia returns as one of the protagonists.

Rather, this is a rather sweet romantic tale (I hesitate to call it a romance, as romance novels all seem to feature graphic sex scenes nowadays!). Two older protagonists, both of whom are familiar to fans from earlier books by Lois McMaster Bujold, both of whom are professionals at the apex of their careers, find each other once again as they begin to recover from extend periods of mourning the death of the most important person in their lives.

The book does raise a question: should Aral be seen as cheating on Cordelia when, while far from home, he took up with Oliver? I don't think so, because I don't think Cordelia, as a Betan, would have thought so. First, she and Oliver filled different roles in Aral's life-- she was obviously incapable of fulfilling his bisexual desires. Second, I cannot believe that this possibility wouldn't have been discussed early in their relationship, given again her being Betan. And finally, she certainly didn't act the aggrieved spouse on Aral's return; rather, she entered into a triad relationship with the two of them.

There are no space battles, no escapes from planetary prisons in this novel, and the sexual content is implied and not described. The story, though, is not boring-- it's human, and a sweet ending to the Vorkosigan saga.

I was so looking forward to the new book in my favorite Vorkosigan series...
This book is a disappointment. Its spirit is completely off the rest of the saga. There is no adventure!!!
Perhaps I can understand a bow towards recent social changes on the real planet Earth. What does it have to do with the saga?

Noticed a few authors exploring writing from an alternative protagonist point of view path. Almost all not succeeding.

A very nice book. Somehow this is a let down for me. So often I read books with characters running from so much trouble and danger that I wish the author would just let the characters relax a bit. I got my wish with this book. However, knowing the author's other work, I kept preparing myself for the other shoe to drop. It never did. I think knowing that, I might enjoy a re-read of this book.

Having said all that, this book is about a relationship steeped in a lot of history; twelve books worth. It continues to push the envelope for me regarding non-traditional relationships. I don't mind being pushed as long as I'm not required to necessarily agree. A pleasing tale that also seems to be a setup for things to come, but lacking the depth that I expect from this author.

First, I think I've read all of the Vorkosigan books up to now and enjoyed them all.

About 30-40 pages into this book, I kept thinking to myself, "Where is this going ?" It seemed like a lot of banter back and forth, much of it not terribly interesting. Just a lot of dialogue and not much else. Like a meandering stream that goes all over the place, but not in a way that's interesting.

Frankly, I could not finish the book. I lost interest after the first 30-40 pages.

My advice to the author would be to go back to the formula that worked for most of the books in the series.

As it is, I think this novel should probably have been left on the cutting room floor..

This reads like a valediction to the Vorkosigan Saga. The focus is on Cordelia Vorkosigan (nee Naismith), in a slow dance with a Barrayran admiral. She is on the planet Segyar, where the saga began 43 years before in the novel Shards of Honor. Most of the intervening novels in the series have focused on the exploits of her son Miles. The saga thus seems to have come full circle. Miles, and other characters from previous novels, show up almost as if they are being paraded through for the last curtain call. Given all this, the novel is a light-hearted domestic drama, drawing the reader along with the adventures of familiar characters.

This was....stunning. I loved it. I read mine with a hi lighter in my mouth. Re reading sentences that were....so goooood.....so multilayered....this is not all the high action that usually mark her books...this is character driven, a lot internal reflection of the two main characters ...but it’s so charming, witty and endearing. She shows off the writing chops I am SO envious of ?please, please write more in the Vorkosigan universe. I will gladly read it....

If you aren't already a fan of the series, the book is boring with a lot of clip show like filler that would be something of a spoiler for the earlier fantastic books, except that after reading this you might not want to read any more and would miss out on them. If you are a fan, think twice because it is a painful caricature and befouling of the earlier books.
After waiting until I had time to savor it because it would be the last, I instead had to force myself through it hoping it would get better. Instead, it got ever more horrible. Even Cordelia's grandmotherly interaction with Miles' eleven year old son includes her leaving him alone to explore a collection of drawings by Aral that she knows includes some that are personally sexually explicit.
I wish I could unread this book because I enjoy rereading the earlier books and this will cast a pervasive shadow over them. I have decided to treat it like a reboot movie and try to disregard it. I wish Lois would announce that it was all a nightmare of Cordelia's, or an experiment in a new genre called The Author's Own Fanfiction.

How does a legend retire, take their life back, put aside the greatness thrust upon them?

When Cordelia Naismith fled Beta Colony to seek out Aral Vorkosigan on Barrayar so many years earlier, she had no idea how much would turn on her choice. For decades, she and those she loves have poured out themselves meeting a never-ending series of challenges. War, political intrigue, wrenching social change, affairs of the heart, personal tragedy... It's been quite a ride and Cordelia has gotten nearly sick to death of somehow always being indispensable. She's tired.

It has been three years since Aral died; she's stayed busy as Vicereine of Sergyar colony. She's seen her son Miles growing into the role of Count, husband, and father. Emperor Gregor has come a long way from the frightened child she and Aral raised out of the ashes of death and civil war, and years of political maneuvering. Even her nephew Ivan seems to have found his way into adulthood, and his mother Lady Alys has settled into a relationship with Simon Ilyan that is a quiet miracle after all they've been through.

So where in all this is a place for Cordelia to reclaim her life for herself? She'd hoped that she and Aral would have eventually been able to ease into something like a retirement of sorts, where their lives could become wholly theirs again - or at least a close approximation. Alas, making plans has never been a guarantee of seeing them come to fruition.

There are no pitched space battles, no deadly conspiracies or lurking natural threats in this story - just people being people, trying to find happiness in a world where plans seldom work out as hoped. The loss of Aral is still something Cordelia feels deeply - and not least because she has decided to act on a last legacy from Aral. Although she is in her seventies, as a Betan she's just coming into her prime with too many years ahead of her to leave empty.

Oliver Jole, the Gentleman of the title, is also at something of a pause in his life. Time is running for him as well, and as someone who has been in and out of the Vorkosigan orbit for years, he's more than just the Admiral in charge of the Sergyar space fleet. Red Queen Cordelia has plans to gift him with a challenge all unexpected, one that will ripple through the lives of all around them, including Miles and Ekaterin.

This tale is in a way of wrapping up the Vokosigan saga, which after all began with Cordelia. If she's been through some changes over the years, well so has Lois McMaster Bujold - this is a long journey away from the space opera adventures of the earlier works in the series. Bujold has not lost her gift for characters; if there's a thread running through this, it goes back to something Aral Vorkosigan once told Miles' clone brother Mark: all true wealth is biological. Bujold manages to give us an update on all the major characters in the Vorkosigan universe, leaving us with with something rather like closure. This doesn't rule out any further tales in the saga, but it certainly seems like a capstone on it.

If you've been a long time fan of the Vorksigans, this is one you owe it to yourself to read.

This is a book that explores different kinds of love. It is not an action story, so don't read it if you're looking for action.

Several of the recent Vorkosigan books have become weighted down by tedious recitations of what happened in earlier books and this one is the worst example to date. Someone needs to edit out everything that is unrelated to the plot. Also, please, Ms. McMaster Bujold: show, don't tell.

This book is a very satisfying read for those who've been reading the Vorkosigan Saga all the way through. It provides closure to some long-term emotional arcs and provides a satisfying character focus to a Cordelia far older and wiser than the one we saw in Shards of Honor and Barrayar. It's interesting to move out to seeing Miles from a more external perspective for once, and Oliver Jole is a fine and satisfying character to see threaded into their lives. I enjoyed it a lot and will re-read it multiple times.

That said, if you aren't already invested in and familiar with the emotional lives of the Vorkosigan clan, this is likely to be pretty disappointing. It's not a plot driven book at all, it's a character study, and it features deliberately low-drama characters. (The author has called it "a Grownup Book.") If you're not already into the Vorkosigan Saga, start elsewhere in the series.

Bujold returns to her Vorkosigan universe with a third (and perhaps last) novel told from Cordelia's point of view. We find out shocking truths about her marriage to Aral in the first few chapters, and then the story is left to simmer along at its own leisurely pace. The focus is on romance rather than adventure or mystery, which doesn't change even after Miles appears. The sub-plot about star-crossed young lovers, from Barrayar and Cetaganda, was quite comic. It was a pleasure to see Barrayar through Cordelia's eyes 40 years later, with the many social changes she pushed through (uterine replicators, women in the military) bearing fruit.

The first rule of writing is that there must be conflict, something or someone that challenges the lead characters, motivating them to take action and overcome the obstacles in their path (or not). What passes for conflict in this story is so inconsequential that there is no meaningful challenge. If I were more invested in the characters to begin with, as I was in the case of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, I might have been more interested. The end result was that I didn't care about the characters, their feelings, history, romance or "problems" such as they were. Bujold once said that she didn't write Miles stories unless she had something to say but I can't tell what she's trying to say this time.

I'm halfway through and I can barely bring myself to pick it up and finish it. I'm bored. I keep wondering if anything will happen. After hours of slogging through a dull storyline, finally Miles enters the story and has thus far been portrayed as kind of childish. I will not put this on my bookshelf with the rest of the series. It doesn't measure up.

This is the only book in Vorkosigan's world that, I think, should not have been written. It stands aside from the main series in many aspects. I do not recommend to read it unless you are a die-hard fan - and maybe not even in this case. Other reviews explain in different words what is the problem of the book. Check at least some of them before considering to read!

For readers of the Vorkosigan saga, this gives a nice follow-up and a nice continuation of the family's history. I have enjoyed Lois McMaster Bujold's stories, especially those concerning the adventures of Miles Vorkosigan, but it all started with his mother and father, many years ago, and continues in lady Vorkosigan's golden years. Her widowhood becomes lively with her new/old love interest with Admiral Jole, and the colony's growth becomes the basis of conflict. Many interesting characters...I enjoyed this latest chapter thoroughly.

Self-indulgent, slow love story with very little action. Much of the novel is told through character's thoughts and uses too much past perfect ("he had thought she was..."). I've read all the Vorkosigan novels and loved them; this was a disappointment. Ms Bujold is coasting--especially as many of the characters and situations are from previously developed work--although she does it pretty well. I look forward to her next Vorkosigan novel, hoping it is fresher.

Although I love the Vorkosigan universe, this is the weakest and most disappointing of the lot. A pure romance without even a pretense of "will they or won't they" to keep it interesting. It's as if Bujold said to herself, "they'll be so astonished by the sexual exploits of Aral/Cordelia/Jole that I won't even have to supply a plot! And she didn't. No plot. Absolutely no conflict. No interest.

I was glad to have another book featuring Cordelia, always my favorite of all the characters in the Vorkosigan series (it took a while for Miles to grow on me). However, I shook my head wondering how I had missed a three person marriage that spanned 20 years, even though it was not in the forefront of the books following Barrayar where Miles was the main character. Still, this is not my main reservation. My main complaint is that nothing HAPPENS compared to any other Vorkosigan books. The hooliganism and radical swarm at the picnic are the biggest events in the book and consume only a few pages. I kept expecting espionage by the Cetagandans or sabotage by the inhabitants of Karrenburg. No such luck. Maybe next time.

There is no plot to overthrow...anything. The book boils down to a couple of people finally coming to terms with their loss and how to move on after someone you love has died. There are some interesting bits of backstory, and letting the family know is complicated, but no one is in mortal danger (excepting the FAE at the party, but that was more of a mistake than a targeted assault) and fast-penta is not required.

It's kind of a character study of Cordelia now that Aral is gone. Well written and inventive. But ultimately a little dull.

If you are a long time fan, this serves as an excellent post script to the sudden death of Aral Vorkosigan. You should read it.

If you are new to the Vorkosiverse...start with an earlier book.

Meh. Unlike most of the books in this series, there is little to recommend this one. The story is mostly focused on the examination of gender and sexual roles with a thought towards the way in which technology will impact reproduction. This has been done, better, in many other venues and becomes trite and boring very quickly. Not up to Bujold's normal standards.

If I recall correctly from one of the few interviews I read a while ago, this book is one that Bujold has thought about for many years, but was waiting for society and her readers to catch up to her. It goes back to Cordelia, but moves forward from her vicereine job (Emperor-appointed ruler of the planet) on Sergyar. A great deal of the history that she shared with Aral, and knew about even when she didn't share it, has come forward in time to be woven into the fabric of her life choices now. In this story, three years after Aral's death, Cordelia is now revisiting hopes and dreams and desires that she put aside for fourty years of work at Aral's side.

With the "Red Queen" title and the DNA cover, I was expecting a lot more evolutionary biology in this story. What I got instead was another little slice of Cordelia's... bestowing of redemption, most particularly on herself and Aral's former aide. There were more hearts broken by Aral's death, but also more freedoms created, than we had been privy to knowing during the end of Cryoburn. And I appreciate how Miles and his family contributed to the satisfying conclusion all 'round this time, even though the main focus was Cordelia.

This book also unexpectedly answered a question that I've had since Diplomatic Immunity regarding the Cetagandans. So that was a nice bonus. Not that I like the answer, but at least it was reasonable enough in context.

I would nominate Lois McMaster Bujold as one of the best writers of all time; and her Vorkosigan books as one of the best series of all time: but if a reader started with THIS book, they would have no way to understand why I think that.

It was good to see some familiar characters again, but not in their present altered form. Call this one a misfire from a writer who is usually a crack shot.

I gave it a third star out of loyalty, not love.

I have been reading the vorkosigan saga for almost 20 years, it is so beloved to me that our first and only child's middle name is Miles.

Relying heavily on nostalgia and adding nothing new but twisting a beloved character into a mockery of herself. Ignoring the honor laden theme of the series this book rewrites history seemingly for no reason other than publisher pressure.

The deafening absence of Bothari was the final nail in the coffin for me. This was a phoned in addition that didn't need to be written .

I found the book pretty boring. It was nice getting reacquainted with old friends, but there wasn't much plot. It was more like a bunch of short stories put together. You move on from one scene to another. Also, there's very little action or drama. I think a better book title would have been, "We decided to retire, and not much happened".

This one's quieter than the other books in the series. No space battles or Miles and Mark causing trouble for everyone (well not much). What it does have is heart and the wry humor any fan has come to expect. It was such a delight to return to Cordelia, to see her marriage from her perspective again. And, honestly, this sweet, warm love story is exactly what she deserves. I commend Bujold for being true to Cordelia's Betan nature, and allowing her the kind of complexity I expected.

Jole is a delight as well. And it's rare that we see a man struggle with the decision to advance a career or start a family. How refreshing to see it here. And I appreciated the way his bisexuality was handled. Too often, bisexuals are written as disloyal or simply confused. There's none of that nonsense in Jole.

Beautiful. There were moments from both of them that made me want to cry.

Had to start this one multiple times. This last time, I just kept bulling through, waiting to get through the intro section. Then, I noticed I was more than half-way through. Just didn't really engage me. I don't think it was just the new characters (I count Cordelia as one, she's not the same we've known), or that this was somewhat of a romance and less action. Normally her novels are page-turners, and this just never grabbed me.

Yes I know that sounded kind of silly...but this is a series, and sometimes it can be VERY easy to get your chronology turned around.
Look at the chronology printed in the back of this book, and start with 'Shards of Honor'.
One thing to remember is that this series was not written in nice tidy order, but if you follow th chronology, you'll still be able to keep decent track of everything....and if things get a bit out of hand...well, I'm pretty sure that 'out of control's is what 'Vorkosigan' MEANS!!

The entire book is one long epilogue. No action, just talk and life planning. Interesting only if you are already a huge fan of the series. A very minor character is retconned into a major figure, Yawn. Politically correct gender roles for the USA in 2016. A smooth read, well written as always.
If you have not read any of the Vorkosigan stories please DO NOT START here. If you start here you may never bother with the others and miss out on some delightful tales.

If I could give negative stars I would. She makes Aral bisexual out of the blue. Creates a "hidden" cospouse with one of his subordinates. She turned Cordelia into a caricature of her former self. I believe in an attempt to broaden her reader base Mrs. Bujold warped her characters beyond recognition. I used to be a huge fan but now I'm tossing the entire series.

This will be a short review because the book doesn't deserve a long one. The book was mildly entertaining which makes it mildly disappointing considering what Bujold is capable of. No more than a minor work in the Vorkosigan universe. One more like this from Bujold and she goes on my "I'll wait until I can get the book used" category.

This book, which covers Cordelia's pending retirement on Sergyar, is, to put it charitably, somewhat of a bore. Three years after her beloved husband's death, it's time for Cordelia to get on with her life, resulting in a book that is pleasant but in which barely anything happens.

For completists only.

This is the best book in which nothing at all happens. I think it nicely sets up Cordelia's not quite retirement. Answers some questions about Aral in a straight forward way, and is a perfectly fine book toward the end of a long long series. This is absolutely NOT a good entry point for someone who hasn't read a vast majority of the rest of the series. If this is your first Vorkosigan book... Well you're going to be lost.

Otherwise it was just nice seeing the world again, seeing these characters again, and then seeing an older Miles from the outside was... Wonderful and heartbreaking. I also think they set up the next level of conflict between Cetaganda and the rest of the universe if Bujold wants to go back towards a Mil SF bent.

Hope this isn't the end and many more books are forthcoming.

I just finished listening to the audiobook of this title, narrated most ably by Grover Gardner (and available from Audible). I am reviewing the book here as well because I want to register how strongly I dissent from the negative reviews so many readers have posted. I absolutely loved Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. In fact, I have been walking around all day today wishing it had been longer, so I would have more of it to listen to.

Yes, it's true: Miles Vorkosigan is a supporting character here, with his mother Cordelia and the delightful (mostly-)new character Oliver Jole playing the leads. And, yes, this is a rather *quiet* book, relative to some of the Vorkosigan Saga's more action-packed installments. But I did not find it any less enjoyable for that. Instead, I felt it was exactly the book it was meant to be—a love story, a comedy of manners, a family drama, an ode to scientific exploration, a meditation on grief and memory, and a beautifully modern, ultra-satisfying coming-of-(middle-)age story. (Yes, both of the main characters here embark on major life changes that are just as scary and exhilarating as those they made in their youth. I'll leave it at that, though, to avoid spoilers!) The book is also—as ever with Bujold, with the Vorkosigan Saga—laugh-out-loud funny in many parts.

So, no, there are no epic space battles in this book, and precious little espionage or political intrigue (except in retrospect; you actually do get some very interesting new perspectives on past events in the series). If that's all you're after, then maybe you really can skip this entry in the Saga. But, if you're open to a somewhat different kind of sojourn in the Vorkosiverse—if you think plots driven by character and relationship development can, in the right hands, be just as enjoyable as nonstop action—give it a try. I know I am very, very glad I did. And I hope Bujold will not let this be the last installment in the series either.

[FYI, I am in my mid-30s as I write this. Life has already (sadly) given me some idea what it's like to experience a bereavement like Cordelia's and come out the other side, which may have made parts of this book especially poignant for me. But it is not necessary to be in the same age bracket as one of the main characters, in order to appreciate the book.]

I love every singly other Lois McMaster Bujold book, go and buy them and love them like I do! ... but not this one :(

This book has every single weakest part of her writing front and center and lacks even a plot. I would not be so upset if there was a plot rather than a poorly written victorian era romance novel style sappy farewell to an otherwise brilliant author's universe.

Finally we get a postscript to Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series. Gentleman Jole and The Red Queen is a romance about people over fifty. It’s been three years since Aral Vorkosigan died and Cordelia is Vicereine of Sergyer, the planet where she and Aral first met when it was uninhabited. It has a small, but growing population. Oliver Jole is an old family friend and admiral of the fleet that protects Sergyer. Stored eggs and Aral’s sperm somehow bring the two together. Eventually Emperor Gregor sends Miles, his wife, and his six kids to visit. It’s a good visit. This is a must for fans of the series who want to know what’s happened to their favorite characters. Review printed by Philadelphia Weekly Press

This is, by far, the weakest book I've read by Ms. Bujold (and I've read all her books). It felt like it was written to be the end of the Vorkosigan series. The book also lacked any drama, suspense or humor. It made me sad reading this, since if this is the last book of the Vorkosigan series, this will be the end of a long and wonderful trip.

I'm a big fan of Vorkosigan series, but this novel is totally disappointing comparing with other excellent other novels in the series which are smart, funny and sometimes also thrilling. I really can't say anything good about this novel. If you haven't read this series before please start at the beginning, and if you have, then also go back to the beginning.

Cordelia is once more the star, and we learn a lot about her life that we didn't see while following Miles adventures. No space battles or crises narrowly averted, but a lot of character development. I miss Aral, but then everyone does.

i really liked the characters, and what drove them in the plot. as a woman of an age with the principals, it was a right relief to have *adults* falling in love. i find the revisionist history, postulating Gentleman Jole where we had previously no inkling of him, irritates me a bit. but i'm a sucker for a happy ending. overall quite pleased.

This book doesn't have the action adventure qualities of many of Bujold's other books, but it is a wonderful story about fascinating characters. It explores some intriguing themes, including public vs. private life, overcoming grief, and making life choices as you get older. I particularly loved the relationship between the two main characters--tender and funny, but also full of sharp edges. I loved it.

First, let's be clear: this is NOT for adrenaline junkies. Even though we return to the original planet where Cordelia's adventures began, this is a story of that same person much older, contemplating life a couple of generations after that first eventful landfall. It's a mature book, with a more deliberate pace and more subtle concerns than explosions, revolution, and messy deaths.

In a way, it's about coming back to life. Having endured a few bereavements that tore my world apart, I found this enormously satisfying as a tale of the "new normal" and the future life that evolves from that.

It's fun, exciting in several senses of the word :), and once again explores yet another aspect of the fundamental realities of human life. I screamed with laughter more than once. Initially unconvinced that Jole could be all that, as his reserve was almost too much even for me, I fell in love with the character, the story, the backstory, the side stories, and some incidental characters as well.

It is, in fact, a love story, in every dimension. Every relationship, real or imaginary, past and present, matters truly and affects the story.

It can be read as a futuristic comedy of manners, and enjoyed as such. It can be read as a meditation on the meaning of family, and yield rich food for thought. It can be read as a novel of "vintage" lovers as they juggle all the dimensions of middle aged life and responsibilities, and it will still satisfy. It can also, happily, be read as a cracking fun yarn with some slapstick humor to leaven an already very entertaining book.

Like any LMB novel, it's delightful on the surface with a deep, chewy center. Her skill with POV, her adorable and maturing characters, her generosity and humane intelligence, and her seemingly effortless, silky prose -- all these outstanding authorial qualities continue to ripen, even as she moves off the adrenalin-fueled plot-driven material and has to depend on more demanding talents to create a great book.

I think of this book and Cryoburn as literature, rather than niche fiction. She has never published anything that wasn't good, but I consider these, for story arc, intelligence, richness, delicacy, and pitch-perfect writing, to be among the greats. I love the classics, for real, and I'd be glad to add these to the list.

Years ago I liked eating Hotdogs then one day I read an article on how they are made. Eeeewwww!
No more hotdogs for me. I just finished reading Gentleman Jolie and the Red Queen. Eeeewwww!
Ms Bujold has been writing stories set in the Vorkosigan universe for some time now. These stories have, for the most part, been enjoyable reads. Unfortunately, like Ethan of Ethos, this ones a clunker. I wish there was some way I could un-read it.

I so looked forward to this latest installment of the Vorkosigan Saga.
For about 2/3 of the book it was steady but not compelling. Not at all what I have come to expect from this author and this series.
The last third is a bit faster paced but we are on the other side of excitement as the characters have grown to middle age and beyond.
I enjoyed the looking back and compacted memories of adventures and conflicts. I am thinking the series might have to its fruition and finality.

Recently read a post by LMB saying that she's seen old time fans advising new readers to start with the Vorkosigan series novels in the recommended order. For the earlier books this is great advice. This book, however, is meant to stand on its own and still appeal to older fans. It does a great job of that. LMB is a brilliant writer of character driven stories. If you've never read her stuff, this is indeed a good place to start. It has less action than her other stories, but is every bit as good. Enjoy!

A new Vorkosigan novel is a great day in the life of a reader. This one does not disappoint and gives us a further look into the life of Miles and his family and continues a great saga. If you read this one as a first dip into this storyline, I guarantee that you will then find a mother lode of great books waiting to be discovered. This is another fabulous book by a great writer and should not be missed by a fan of sci/fi, space opera, or just a really good tale.

**spoilers**
Who dates whom?
Who gets test tube babies?
Will someone get a new job on another planet, or stay and keep dating someone?
That's the book in a nutshell.
No violence. No action. Run away from this book.

A disappointing book from this solid writer. This book is essentially a romance novel for the middle-aged and lacks the features that made Bujold's prior books enjoyable. The plot is limp and she does little to expand the future universe that is the setting of this series. This book largely lacks the good comedic writing that marks some of the earlier books.

I feel several other reviewers have expressed themselves far better than I can. I hoped Baen would issue this as an EARC and grabbed it as soon as available. Then spent the next 2 days reading then rereading, enjoying the wry humor, so sneakily inserted, and the characterisations revealed and enlarged. The plans finally set in motion by Cordelia, obviously conceived of long ago that may allow Ms Bujold to revisit the Vorkosigan universe, for our further delight. I'm very hopeful.

If you read the Vorkosigan saga for grand adventures and improbable hijinks, this isn't the book for you. The focus here is very much on the inner life of the characters. As someone who loves the Ekaterin-viewpoint chapters in Komarr and Civil Campaign, I absolutely adored this book, and it's going to be one of the often-reread ones, I think. Bujold managed to make me tear up, laugh out loud, and giggle madly within the first three chapters.

Years ago I liked eating Hotdogs then one day I read an article on how they are made. Eeeewwww!
No more hotdogs for me. I just finished reading Gentleman Jolie and the Red Queen. Eeeewwww!
Ms Bujold has been writing stories set in the Vorkosigan universe for some time now. These stories have, for the most part, been enjoyable reads. Unfortunately, like Ethan of Ethos, this ones a clunker. I wish there was some way I could un-read it.

I so looked forward to this latest installment of the Vorkosigan Saga.
For about 2/3 of the book it was steady but not compelling. Not at all what I have come to expect from this author and this series.
The last third is a bit faster paced but we are on the other side of excitement as the characters have grown to middle age and beyond.
I enjoyed the looking back and compacted memories of adventures and conflicts. I am thinking the series might have to its fruition and finality.

Recently read a post by LMB saying that she's seen old time fans advising new readers to start with the Vorkosigan series novels in the recommended order. For the earlier books this is great advice. This book, however, is meant to stand on its own and still appeal to older fans. It does a great job of that. LMB is a brilliant writer of character driven stories. If you've never read her stuff, this is indeed a good place to start. It has less action than her other stories, but is every bit as good. Enjoy!

For readers of the Vorkosigan saga, this gives a nice follow-up and a nice continuation of the family's history. I have enjoyed Lois McMaster Bujold's stories, especially those concerning the adventures of Miles Vorkosigan, but it all started with his mother and father, many years ago, and continues in lady Vorkosigan's golden years. Her widowhood becomes lively with her new/old love interest with Admiral Jole, and the colony's growth becomes the basis of conflict. Many interesting characters...I enjoyed this latest chapter thoroughly.

A new Vorkosigan novel is a great day in the life of a reader. This one does not disappoint and gives us a further look into the life of Miles and his family and continues a great saga. If you read this one as a first dip into this storyline, I guarantee that you will then find a mother lode of great books waiting to be discovered. This is another fabulous book by a great writer and should not be missed by a fan of sci/fi, space opera, or just a really good tale.

**spoilers**
Who dates whom?
Who gets test tube babies?
Will someone get a new job on another planet, or stay and keep dating someone?
That's the book in a nutshell.
No violence. No action. Run away from this book.

A disappointing book from this solid writer. This book is essentially a romance novel for the middle-aged and lacks the features that made Bujold's prior books enjoyable. The plot is limp and she does little to expand the future universe that is the setting of this series. This book largely lacks the good comedic writing that marks some of the earlier books.

I feel several other reviewers have expressed themselves far better than I can. I hoped Baen would issue this as an EARC and grabbed it as soon as available. Then spent the next 2 days reading then rereading, enjoying the wry humor, so sneakily inserted, and the characterisations revealed and enlarged. The plans finally set in motion by Cordelia, obviously conceived of long ago that may allow Ms Bujold to revisit the Vorkosigan universe, for our further delight. I'm very hopeful.

If you read the Vorkosigan saga for grand adventures and improbable hijinks, this isn't the book for you. The focus here is very much on the inner life of the characters. As someone who loves the Ekaterin-viewpoint chapters in Komarr and Civil Campaign, I absolutely adored this book, and it's going to be one of the often-reread ones, I think. Bujold managed to make me tear up, laugh out loud, and giggle madly within the first three chapters.

When one picks up a Vorkosigan novel, one expects a ton of adventures, thrills, and excitement. This book in the series was totally different. It was calm, relaxed, and pleasant. I personally enjoy revisiting characters I love (Cordelia is amazing, as are many others), and the fact that nothing world shattering happens actually makes the Vorkosigan universe more real and vibrant to me. Would this book be a good introduction to the series? Absolutely not. But as an extended epilogue, it was more than enjoyable. I looked forward to reading more, and it felt like I was relaxing with old friends. Sure, I am looking forward to more adventures, but this story and the developments that happened were, well, nice. A pleasant surprise!!

Great book, happy for Cordelia, enjoyed it more upon rereading, not as exciting as many of the Miles books but realistic, feel tat most readers will enjoy it more if they ave read the series and are invested in the characters

I was hoping for a well written science fiction adventure with a strong female heroine of advanced years but wisdom. What I got was a very well written creepy new look at Aral Vorkosigan with a boring storyline. Lots of interesting sociological discussions but no real action or plot.

I'm very disappointed because the Aral of earlier books was a well written flawed hero who we cheered for as he slowly tried to recreate himself as a "good man" with his liberal love interest's help.

SPOILERS: What this book shows is that a beloved older male character was a predatory sex offender who pressured teenagers into a frankly creepy pedophiliac relationship that the formerly decent heroine enables. I'm sorry to criticize a great science fiction author who has written some of my favorite thought producing books but any military commander "seducing" a teenager under his direct command who is 60 some years younger into a relationship is not under any circumstances anything to cheer for. Its fraternization and highly unethical and illegal in just about any military in the world.

Creepy end to a once inspiring romance, I have no trouble with slash or polyandry but the pressuring of a young powerless subordinate several generations younger was a turn off and no white washing could turn it into anything but abuse of power.

I have always loved LMB's books, the Vorkosigan universe in particular. With this one she returns to Cordelia's story and moves with great subtlety and delicacy into sharing the challenges a strong and middle-aged woman with her own desires and longings experiences following the death of her life partner. This is not a space drama, nor is it one of Miles' trickster stories (although Miles does make an appearance). Rather it is a wonderful exploration of adult life... I sincerely hope she comes back to this story, and continues to show us what a mature woman can feel and think and do!

Bujold has a knack for presenting dimensional characters in all stages of growth. It is wonderful to have a novel about an adult woman who is still alive, thinking and planning and is well past that certain age. I continue to grow as I age and I don't like to be limited to young love in books. Cordelia is an interesting role model in her newest incarnation as a widow.