Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

Cordelia and Admiral Jole discover their love 3 years after Aral died. Sweet but not exciting. ( )

I think it was a hard sell to make readers accept Cordelia moving on from Aral but Bujold did it masterfully. Lovely story. Not as much action as most of the other books in the series. That turned out to be a nice way to let the characters ride off into the sunset. I was glad to see Miles. He's is probably my favorite character in all of fiction. If he had not been in the final book I would have been severely disappointed.

So so sorry to finish this series. ( )

Complex, sorting through early days Vorkosigan relationships but satisfying conclusion to this fine series. ( )

While I think there might be another book down the line in this series, this still works as a nice coming around in a big circle, since we started with Cordelia and Aral ([b:Shards of Honor|531792|Shards of Honor (Vorkosigan Saga, #1)|Lois McMaster Bujold|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388212776s/531792.jpg|9673658]), and end with Cordelia and her co-spouse Oliver Jole, Aral's other life long love, coming together.

I like that Bujold's stories are open minded and welcoming to all possibilities. Oliver and Cordelia are wonderful together and that we get to see Sergyar becoming more than just a colony or weapons depot. The gift Cordelia offers to Oliver is both sweet and genuine. She gives him four viable gametes from Aral so Oliver could have children of his own. I love that Bujold is using possible real world tech here. Sweet ( )

Bujold is one of my favorite authors but this was truly a slog. The magical mashup of humor, drama, imagination, and insights into the best and worst of humanity that I expect from a Vorkosigan tale have been kidnapped and replaced by the reading equivalent of watching paint dry. ( )