Vorkosigan 12.5--Winterfair Gifts--note--numbers are OUR reading order only

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

Comments here about Winterfair Gifts

[Allan]

Novella, 2.5 hours on audio, got through the first half on a dog walk, will finish tomorrow. So far it looks like it could be a poignant closure to a loose end left from another story.

[Allan]

Finished it up earlier today. The events were not unexpected, but as usual, Bujold does a great job of creating some tension and weaving different elements together. Five stars for me.

[Antti]

Oh, I had very different experience from yours, Allan: I felt it was a unremarkable by-the-numbers work. I can understand Bujold wanting to show Miles ja Ekaterin getting married, I can also see how she wanted to bring Sgt Taura back one more time into the spotlight, but still, this was a weak work.

The (view spoiler)[ murder attempt storyline was predictable, boring and unnecessary. It also mischaracterized Miles: he should've suspected poison from the very start with his ImpSec-instilled professional paranoia.

Roic and Taura had a romance that seemed to be built using a "write your own romance" guide book: Oh, she's scary! But kinda hot! Oh no, now I offended her deeply, she'll never forgive me! And only now I realize how hot she really was! But phew, thanks to external factors we combine our forces and triumph together! And now we'll have steamy sex!

I was unimpressed.
(hide spoiler)]

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

Antti wrote: "(view spoiler)[The murder attempt storyline was predictable, boring and unnecessary. It also mischaracterized Miles: he should've suspected poison from the very start with his ImpSec-instilled professional paranoia. (hide spoiler)]"

I had never really thought of this. Good call, though I am not sure I agree. Miles is (view spoiler)[ so damn insecure and so excited that he might not be thinking straight (hide spoiler)] But you made me think about it. And certainly that point could have used more explanation. But perhaps, since we are in Roic's POV, we didn't see some stuff.

[Lee at ReadWriteWish]

I wasn't a huge fan, especially after how much I loved A Civil Campaign.

The idea of the (view spoiler)[poisoned necklace (hide spoiler)] was good but the mystery plot was resolved way too fast and there seemed little point to it, as the whodunnit (view spoiler)[was no one in particular we knew (hide spoiler)].

I felt like if I had not known LMB had read this, I would have guessed it was fanfic.

[Nick]

Lee wrote: "I felt like if I had not known LMB had read this, I would have guessed it was fanfic."

Yes, I agree. Very simple plot and some wooden characters. It's not the most fanficish thing she's ever written in the Vorkosiverse but it's a solid second at least.

[Joe]

Grrr... the library has neither the Omnibus or the anthology this appears in... I might have to actually buy a ebook (probably just gonna skip for now)

[Kalin]

This one is very skippable, IMO.

[Lee at ReadWriteWish]

Yeah, Joe, I wouldn't fret.