• Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

  • The Miles Vorkosigan Adventures, Book 17
  • By: Lois McMaster Bujold
  • Narrated by: Grover Gardner
  • Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (2,084 ratings)

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Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

By: Lois McMaster Bujold
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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Publisher's summary

Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan returns to the planet that changed her destiny in a new novel by multiple New York Times best-selling author Lois McMaster Bujold.

Future imperfect: Three years after her famous husband's death, Cordelia Vorkosigan, widowed vicereine of Sergyar, stands ready to spin her life in a new direction. Oliver Jole, admiral, Sergyar Fleet, finds himself caught up in her web of plans in ways he'd never imagined, bringing him to an unexpected crossroads in his life. Meanwhile, Miles Vorkosigan, one of Emperor Gregor's key investigators, this time dispatches himself on a mission of inquiry into a mystery he never anticipated - his own mother.

Plans, wills, and expectations collide in this sparkling science fiction social comedy as the impact of galactic technology on the range of the possible changes all the old rules, and Miles learns that not only is the future not what he expects - neither is the past.

©2015 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

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What listeners say about Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Only for Cordelia fans and, even then, be warned.

Where is her editor?

No plot, no conflict, minimal tension (either emotionally or romantically), and she creates events that happened decades before in the series that go against the characters' natures. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, some difficulty for the characters to overcome. There isn't even any romance tension, which could have saved the book. According to the story, they're basically just re-kindling a relationship, so there's no 'falling in love' process and no wondering if/when they'll declare their love and consummate the relationship. There's mild tension where the hero has to decide to whether to accept a long distance job, but there's no crisis or anything.

There were points where I thought an exciting plot was about to start, but she never took the story in any of those possible directions. It's frustrating to know it could've been so good that it makes your disappointment so much worse.

Someone said she's ending her series and tying up loose ends, which is a good idea as the plots and writing have been going downhill. As someone said, this makes a nice, but boring, epilogue. It should not have been a stand alone book.

I would only read it if you're a Cordelia fan, which I am; so I continued listening all the way to its tedious end. But I would recommend buying a used paperbook, not an audiobook.

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29 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Back to Barrayar

After more than four years, since Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, Grover Gardner again brings the Vorkosigan saga to life and back to Barrayar in the latest story “Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen.”
I personally began my adventure with this series starting with the “Warriors Apprentice,” and couldn’t get enough of Miles. Brittle boned, slight of build, and always over-matched physically in a world that prided itself on strength, he wass usually able to overcome all obstacles with his keen intelligent and equally sharp and witty wit. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every audible book in this series that Louis McMaster Bujold has so masterfully crafted and this latest release is no exception. Some of my favorited characters are back, including Miles, but this is a Cordelia story. Throughout the series we got to know her; “Shards of Honor” and “Barrayar,” centered on her. We learned of her diverse background growing up on a technological forward thinking planet called Beta Colony that was indirect contrast with the militant hierarchical planet from which her husband came from and which they both resided called Barrayar. Now three years after the death of her famous husband, Aral Vorkosigan, Cordelia, widowed vicereine of Sergyar, is ready to begin a new direction in her life. Insightful and heartwarming, this story does not have a whole lot of action but for those who have been following this series I think you will like this addition.
Grover Gardner, as usual, gives a great performance setting the tone perfectly.

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Disappointing

I expected a book similar to the others in the series - full of action, intrigue & humour. What I got was a badly handled & utterly boring romance between Cordelia & a new character that had no real conflict, angst or even interest. There were one or two minor characters that frankly were more interesting than the protagonists but they were never developed beyond the barest minimum. The whole thing should have been a short story or, at most, a novella. I can't see myself ever listening to this again, whereas all the other books in the series have been read & reread many times. Very annoying.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed.

LMB is one of my favorite authors. I had listened to all of Miles several times over, so I could not wait for this one to come out. Her writing style hasn't changed but I did not care for the story itself. I did not get past the first chapter.

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vanishing armada

I was so disappointed with this book. After the first chapters, I only skimmed. I was kind of painful to see characters and relationships I loved sacrificed... for what?

I have read every Vorkisigan book, and some of them are among my favorite books ever. Bujold's writing style is in my top three of all-time.

But in a seemingly obsessive pursuit to redefine/challenge morality, Bujold has turned all of these beloved characters into an amorphous, meaningless mass, especially in this book.

I loved it when the characters were different from each other, when they challenged each other. Now I can only say: "This again?"

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14 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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A very flat story

It's happy ending, happy start and happy in the middle. I have read or listened to all Bujold's books so purchased this out of principle although it seems I would stop with this one. The story progress very lazily and has virtually no rise.it's slightly more adventurous than watching paint dry. On the other hand if you have a condition that requires you to avoid strong emotions then this is the book.

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A huge disappointment.

After so many good books this one had no real plot, no suspense, and no action. A sweet but boring love story.

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A Flop.. READ the REST of the Series NOT THIS ONE

Lois is one of my favorite SciFi writers. I have absolutely loved all of her other books in this series. They are full of delightful characters, good plots, humor and philosophical insight applicable to living life today, as well as sound speculation on what life could be like if certain science is realized in the future.

Sadly, this book is a flop. Its plot is uninteresting, not much at all happens. It is a poorly executed romance and nothing more, not at all up to par with the rest of the series.

Read ALL the REST of the series. They are truly a treat. But don't read this one, it will leave a bad taste in the mouth.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Any Book with Cordelia in it is to be treasured!

Ms. Bujold, You shouldn't be able to bring a sixty year old Veteran to tears with half a paragraph. But you did.

"Everybody has it wrong way round. Parents don't make children -- children make parents. They shape our behavior from the first wail. Mold us into what they need. It can be a pretty rough process, too."

I am as accustomed as one can ever get to you writing in heart's blood, but, this time, you summed up my life in 35 words.

This is one of your best, picking up plot threads and world building details all the way back from Shards of Honor. I feel sorry for your "nut allergy" non-readers, who will never dream what they are missing.,

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Not rollicking high adventure, but more personal

For fans used to the adrenaline and constant forward momentum of Miles's books, "Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen"... well, isn't that. Instead it's a more introspective journey into the lives of characters we thought we knew well, to discover the portions of their stories that had been hidden between the pages of the more action soaked books. This book combined insight into life, death, the past, the future, and the family webs that hold all those and more. A beautiful sendoff to the series, if that is the purpose, although - as always - holding the seeds to grow again.

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