JG&RQ e-book out today; spoiler thread #2
Aha. Christmas morning, grownup style...
The Baen e-edition of Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen goes on sale today, at all the usual suspects.
This will create a second wave of readers and reviews, in service of which I offer this thread open for spoilerific inter-fan discussion. (There was an earlier such thread back in October when the eARC, which is now off-sale in favor of the final, came out.) Persons who like their first reading free of spoilers may want to steer clear. Have fun!
Hardcover due out Feb. 2 -- I hope there will be some readers left to buy it -- likewise the audio edition.
***
Speaking of things e-, I was reminded I hadn't mentioned this e-exclusive book lately, a collection of my nonfiction writings I put together, somewhat experimentally, a couple of years back.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
in Kindle, Nook, and iBook stores.
Let's see what happens...
Ta, L.
The Baen e-edition of Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen goes on sale today, at all the usual suspects.
This will create a second wave of readers and reviews, in service of which I offer this thread open for spoilerific inter-fan discussion. (There was an earlier such thread back in October when the eARC, which is now off-sale in favor of the final, came out.) Persons who like their first reading free of spoilers may want to steer clear. Have fun!
Hardcover due out Feb. 2 -- I hope there will be some readers left to buy it -- likewise the audio edition.
***
Speaking of things e-, I was reminded I hadn't mentioned this e-exclusive book lately, a collection of my nonfiction writings I put together, somewhat experimentally, a couple of years back.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
in Kindle, Nook, and iBook stores.
Let's see what happens...
Ta, L.
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Lois, I've been looking forward to this book being released forever! I have one question. Do you know if the audiobook will be a whispersync release? That means buying the Kindle version and then getting a reduced cost copy of the audiobook? Thanks.
I loved it.But Barnes and Noble won't let me comment on it somehow. Sigh.
The comment someone made on Baen's Bar about ones head (canon) exploding in Chapter 1 is so à propos!
One way of revising canon - it was always that way, just covered by Imperial Security! Brilliant.
Love, love the book
Can't wait to see what happens with the next generation(s), if you ever get around to it.
Heck, or even the biology of Sergeyar. I'd love to see that.
Robin wrote: "Lois, I've been looking forward to this book being released forever! I have one question. Do you know if the audiobook will be a whispersync release? That means buying the Kindle version and then g..."I'm afraid I don't know anything about the technicalities of the audio release, sorry.
Ta, L.
Robin wrote: "... Do you know if the audiobook will be a whispersync release? "I wrote the Audible support folks and got this back:
"The Audiobook is scheduled to be released on 02-02-16. Currently we don't have information that the Audiobook will release with the Whispersync for Voice or Immersion Reading-ready.
However, I'm forwarding the same to our concerned team to be available as a Whispersync for Voice or Immersion Reading-ready Audiobook. I will make sure that your valuable feedback are reviewed by the concerned team and they will release the Audiobook with Whispersync for Voice or Immersion Reading-ready.
We are working hard to make all Audible Audiobook and Kindle eBook titles eligible for this feature, so please check back later for Whispersync/Immersion Reading eligibility. "
Which leaves me a bit confused, but hopeful. I can interpret this as "our database can't tell if an unreleased title is Whispersync ready", so it might show up in Whispersync on Feb. 2. If not, then it sounds like they will work on getting it that way.
Just finished reading the ebook yesterday; I read it much more slowly than I usually read, just to savor the writing. Lovely story, and I'm still thinking about it. Don't know if I'll read it again before hearing the audio version. Thank you so much.
I have a nook, so it's a good thing I like a hardbound in hand. :)
Mage wrote: "I have a nook, so it's a good thing I like a hardbound in hand. :)"Well, we certainly also want to sell hardcovers, but the e-book is available on B&N, Kobo, iBooks, and several other vendors, plus Baen's own e-books store.
Ta, L.
Just finished last night and turned around to go back through--as I sometimes do with your books. I predict that Kou's All-Blonde Commando Squad is going to be nothing to Cordelia's girls--though likely none of them will be blondes. :)
I predict that Kou's All-Blonde Commando Squad is going to be nothing to Cordelia's girls--though..."
No they will probably be red headed or brunette tomboys :-)
No they will probably be red headed or brunette tomboys :-)
I loved this one. I read it immediately (with competition from my kids) and am eagerly awaiting the audio release so my husband will listen to it and we can discuss.I think often about your comment (often reprinted) about your "typical reader." I am a late 30s hospice nurse with 2 kids and I definitely need someone to hand me a drink. Thanks for supplying such an excellent vintage.
Nancy wrote: "Robin wrote: "... Do you know if the audiobook will be a whispersync release? "I wrote the Audible support folks and got this back:
"The Audiobook is scheduled to be released on 02-02-16. Curren..."
Thanks for the follow-up. It's released for sale now and isn't yet listed as Whisper-sync. I'll just have to try to be patient. That isn't an easy thing. I refer to my Kindle and iPod Touch as my portable patience.
Some spoiler-y questions:1. So, is Thorne a common name for Betan Herms? (OK, I admit, my question really is: was that Bel?)
2. I don't recall the possibility of "genes from two fathers, with only female contribution the 'egg shell' " from Ethan of Athos. Was this because that technology wasn't available when Athos was founded, or the founding fathers were afraid it would eventually lead to inbreeding? Or something else?
3. Had you considered calling the book "Sergyar", to go with the other planetary books?
Now comments:
I enjoyed the book. Yes, it wasn't an action-adventure, but really the Vorkosigan books have hit different notes, so that wasn't a problem. It did help to know that it wasn't action-adventure going in. And despite not being "action-adventure", I did keep reading past midnight on a work night. My first re-read will go a bit slower, I think. :-)
This book made me realize that while in other books we are inside Miles' head, he doesn't know everything. He thought that his parents didn't have any other children because they didn't want to overshadow him; it didn't occur to him (or me) that they didn't have six more children because they didn't have time, they were busy, but it was at least part of Cordelia's long term plans.
Thank you for another present. I guess it's rude to start asking about my next present now, right?
Goljerp wrote: "Some spoiler-y questions:1. So, is Thorne a common name for Betan Herms? (OK, I admit, my question really is: was that Bel?)
LMB: Yes, it was. Sometime between the time it was fired from the Dendarii at the end of Mirror Dance, and the time it came to port (and the Portmastership) in Quaddiespace. Really, how many other spacer Betan herms of the right age and rank and with an obsessive interest in Barrayarans can there be?
It's going to be quite a while before any of the principals get around to comparing notes on that one.
2. I don't recall the possibility of "genes from two fathers, with only female contribution the 'egg shell' " from Ethan of Athos. Was this because that technology wasn't available when Athos was founded, or the founding fathers were afraid it would eventually lead to inbreeding? Or something else?
LMB: Well, aside from "it didn't fit my plot back in 1985", the Athosian system is technically much simpler. And they would still have needed the ovarian cultures for enucleated ova.
3. Had you considered calling the book "Sergyar", to go with the other planetary books?
LMB: Considered and rejected. Neither Cordelia nor I were going to name anything else after that evil schmuck Prince Serg.
Now comments:
G: It did help to know that it wasn't action-adventure going in. ...
LMB: I hope people will spread the word on that point. Not knowing that seems to be the most common cause of confused first readings.
G: This book made me realize that while in other books we are inside Miles' head, he doesn't know everything. He thought that his parents didn't have any other children because they didn't want to overshadow him; it didn't occur to him (or me) that they didn't have six more children because they didn't have time, they were busy, but it was at least part of Cordelia's long term plans.
LMB: Well, all of the above. Plus Aral wasn't going to offer another such hostage to fortune/Barrayaran politics till he was well out of the Regency, at which point he began to think he was too old. Cordelia thought otherwise, but it's the sort of thing a couple needs a unanimous vote for.
G: Thank you for another present. I guess it's rude to start asking about my next present now, right?
LMB: Well futile, anyway. My stories seem to pick their own schedule. I can't imagine where they get that stubbornness from...
Ta, L.
LMB: It's going to be quite a while before any of the principals get around to comparing notes on that one.That was another thing I was thinking about. I suppose it's just as well, at least for some of those involved. :-)
LMB: My stories seem to pick their own schedule.
I understand. I also know I read so much faster than it's physically possible to write. I'm a bit spoiled because I started reading your Vorkosigan books fairly recently - around 2009.
Reading the early reviews with some fascination, I have been bemused by the many ways Jole's sexuality has been construed, or misconstrued. Some, curiously, seem really set on infantilizing him in retrospect, imagining him the victim in his own life, without agency. Yeah, no. A 27-year-old senior lieutenant, lately considered responsible enough to be put in charge and control of weaponry that could devastate a planet, is actually also capable of managing his own sex life, thank you. I never got to describe his blue eyes as "actinic", as I desperately wanted to do, since he never got teed off enough in the course of the book, but I do think one could earn an actinic glare from him for that.There has also been a lot of conversation around human sexuality along the straight-bi-gay axis, which I think is a simplistic construction, although it beats the heck out of the old "Stuff everyone in the same square box, and cut off all the bits that don't fit with a chainsaw." As was, I thought, spelled out in the text, what Jole fancies in his bed is power, and he's not too picky what shape package it comes in. I reflect that this could be, in part, that since he's such a powerhouse in his own right, it gives him a chance to cut loose, extend himself to his full range, without need to hold back or be reserved or careful. Such a relief! But really, I think it's simpler than that.
It may be more useful to think of him as a crazy cat man whose two favorite breeds for house pets are Bengal tigers and snow leopards.
Ta, L.
Great read and lovely to touch base with Cordelia and of course with Jole, post Aral.