Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

December 21, 2015
This enjoyable addition to the Vorkosigan family saga (after Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance) will work best for readers who don’t expect interstellar derring-do but are prepared to amble through a gently developing romance. Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, now vicereine of the colonial planet Sergyar, and Oliver Jole, admiral of the fleet guarding the planet, have discovered that they not only both loved Cordelia’s dead husband, Aral, but are ready to care passionately for each other. There’s still the question of what to do with frozen genetic material that can let Cordelia have six more daughters and Oliver three sons, but no one—not even series hero Miles Vorkosigan, Cordelia’s son—is terribly upset by the thought of such a large expansion of the family. The tender feelings and humor add up to a droll tale that’s more comforting than exciting, like a space opera written by Jane Austen.

Narrator Grover Gardner's faintly ironic intonations, just short of outright humor, capture the tone of Bujold's writing style. One can almost see his lips twitching. Bujold's space opera series involves fully formed characters in highly political and dangerous situations. They're the type who often smile before a fight. Gardner accomplishes character differentiation without significantly altering his vocal patterns as two of the series' more prominent players engage in a series of trysts and fall in love. That's about it. But this is not a stand-alone adventure. Read the first 16 books first, and the character and planetary details will then become clear. D.R.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine