Book Review: Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

Fair warning - I came to the Vorkosigan books late (they began in the late 80s, but I didn't start until the mid 2000s), and I'm always trying to push this series on to friends. The latest, and seventeenth, title in the series is Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, which focuses on both a secondary character from the main series and a return of series protagonist Miles Vorkosigan's mother Cordelia (who was last a story lead in the 1986 novel Shards of Honor.

The book itself works as both a family drama and a nice finale for the series (although I'm always hopeful for more!). Although not nearly as action-heavy as many of the books in the series, the author works to tell a compelling story and it certainly hooked me.

My only complaint is that this book, unlike many in the series, does not work very well as a stand alone novel, and would definitely not be one I would recommend to a newcomer.

A great way to bring the series full circle, and definitely one that leaves me wanting more; it felt like catching up with old friends - but with spaceships and laser guns