Vorkosigan 15--Cryoburn--note--numbers are OUR reading order only

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

comment here about Cryoburn

[Allan]

Just finished this one. I wasn’t the most focused listening to it, but it seemed a bit jumbled to me, lots of characters and moving parts. The best, most focused, part was the ending, but while abrupt, that’s the way it goes. It wasn’t the worst of the series by a long shot, but it felt a little concocted, as usual with a specific goal in mind. Only one to go!

[Kalin]

*spoilers below*
I should have seen it coming because of the foreshadowing, but what a gut punch at the end. Really beautifully done, the only moment of the entire series where I teared up and got (that kind of) emotional.

I think my heart also feels heavy because I know this is the last book with Miles as a protagonist, and the way one of the last vignettes described the "death" of "Lord Vorkosigan" got to me.

I started out Shards of Honor with a lot of skepticism, but with each passing book I've grown more attached to these characters and Bujold's light, often ridiculous storytelling -- which always still has something to say.

So just one to go, but I'm also going to be sad to leave the Nexus.

[Antti]

This was a fitting end to the series - although there is still one more book to go, I understood it to be more of an epilogue or a coda.

The plot(s) were a bit convoluted and I still don't really understand what WhiteChrys was actually planning to do. (view spoiler)[They were going to capture planetary voting shares on Komarr... how, exactly? (hide spoiler)]

But Miles got to be Miles, all forward-momenty but still Auditorial. We got to see Mark in action, which was nice even if it smelled a bit like fan service.

(view spoiler)[But the real point of the book was the ending, which was, indeed, very heavily foreshadowed. Still, the drabbles in the very end were a perfect ending: I especially liked Ivan's. "He wondered what old Miles would've said". Miles has walked a long way to reach his destiny as a Count Vorkosigan. (hide spoiler)]

[Allan]

As a completionist, I read the last book. It was a coda, but a good resolution to the abrupt ending and gut punch of Cryoburn.

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

I guess I never said I read this, even though I did read it again. It's not one of my favorites, but a good yarn.

Allan wrote: "As a completionist, I read the last book. It was a coda, but a good resolution to the abrupt ending and gut punch of Cryoburn."

Agree. I finished Gentleman Jole a couple of days ago. My least favorite. But maybe that is just me. Maybe it's the HEA???

[Antti]

Now that we've reached the end of Miles books, I notice there was a big thread left hanging from The Vor Game that never was returned to.

In the end of the Vor Game, (view spoiler)[the bad guy (bad gal?) Cavilo escapes, and for a couple of books afterwards I kept expecting her to return - but she was never mentioned again. That was... unexpected. I mean, Miles keeps bumping into old friends and enemies every time he leaves his home, but this old enemy never reappears. Weird. Did LMB forget about her or what happened? (hide spoiler)]

[Alina]

Kateblue wrote: "I finished Gentleman Jole a couple of days ago. My least favorite. But maybe that is just me."

Definitely not just you. I read the whole saga a few years ago, but I remember that Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen was my least favorite as well.

[Kalin]

Antti wrote: "Now that we've reached the end of Miles books, I notice there was a big thread left hanging from The Vor Game that never was returned to.

In the end of the Vor Game, [spoilers removed]"

Yessssss I was wondering this through half the series but I eventually gave up on it ever happening.

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

Antti wrote: "In the end of the Vor Game, [the bad guy (bad gal?) Cavilo escapes, and for a couple of books afterwards I kept expecting her to return - but she was never mentioned again. That was... unexpected. I mean, Miles keeps bumping into old friends and enemies every time he leaves his home, but this old enemy never reappears. Weird. Did LMB forget about her or what happened?"

Didn't she get blown up in that shuttle that escaped from the ship during the Cetagandan wormhole defense scene?

[Antti]

I thought Metzov was the one who got blown up in the shuttle, but Cavilo got away clean. But perhaps I misremember.

[Lee at ReadWriteWish]

I can't even remember that Vor Game character! LOL

[Lee at ReadWriteWish]

I really enjoyed this book. More than I thought I would as it is rated a lot lower than the others. I do prefer Auditor!Miles over Admiral Naismith though. It was the humour I enjoyed the most. I laughed a lot. I shaved off half a star for the at times confusing plot points of the cryo corps.

I did wonder if LMB was taking aim at the big pharmaceutical and insurance companies and their monopoly in the US in particular with the book.

I did cry a lot at the end but it was also rather a perfect ending. Gregor's thoughts in particular did me in. And that's how I intend to end the entire series. I have read a few spoilers about the next and, like many have stated, it sounds like bad fanfic. (view spoiler)[ Sort of spoiler: Aral has always been my favourite and I adore Cordelia/Aral. I don't want anything to spoil them and it sounds like Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen does just that. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, my favs in the series are (in order) Barrayar, Shards of Honor, A Civil Campaign, Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Komarr, and Memory.

[Antti]

Lee wrote: "[Gentleman Jole] sounds like bad fanfic."

It is definitely fanficcy, yes, but not bad fanfic. On the contrary, it has all the elements of a good fanfic. Not everybody enjoys fanfics, so I can understand why GJatRQ is disliked a lot, but I enjoyed it. It was a nice, quiet ending, with some first-rate retconning.

[Allan]

My feeling exactly. I didn't think it was bad, it was a relaxed final afterword to the main body of the series. Anyone going in looking for the quality and intensity of the keystones of the series would be sorely disappointed.

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

Lee wrote: "Overall, my favs in the series are (in order) Barrayar, Shards of Honor, A Civil Campaign, Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Komarr, and Memory."

VERY close to my list! We have good taste!

Antti wrote: "I thought Metzov was the one who got blown up in the shuttle, but Cavilo got away clean. But perhaps I misremember."

I think Cavilo was in the shuttle, also. But I can't really remember either. I never looked for her to show up again, though.

[Lee at ReadWriteWish]

Kateblue wrote: "Lee wrote: "Overall, my favs in the series are (in order) Barrayar, Shards of Honor, A Civil Campaign, Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Komarr, and Memory."

VERY close to my list! We have good taste!..."

Of course we do. I'm pretty sure those ones will be re-reads along the line somewhere.

[Joe]

I found this to be a good episode of Miles-as-Lord-Auditor, (I really liked Jin, and was hoping for Miles to keep him), it's a terrible end to Miles' story,.. I can only assume LMB intends to write something else.

I can't believe after spending so much time with him, that's the send off he gets when Ivan got such a nice tidy ending.

It was also a HUGE miss in terms of good old fashioned sci fi as a lense to look at today.... there's the aforementioned influence of big Pharma... there's the nature of Democracy itself (in the form of the corporate plot to take of Komarr).. those would both be great explorations that could use a whole book, but instead we just got hints of with no real analysis or thought about them.

Local Library is closed due to COVID again, so not sure when I'll get to the last one.. not really all that excited about it at this point.

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

Joe wrote: "I can't believe after spending so much time with him, that's the send off he gets when Ivan got such a nice tidy ending."

I agree that the end was WAY too understated. Usually, Bujold writes beyond what would be a satisfactory ending, giving all kinds of yummy and fun details. But she sure didn't do it here. Perhaps because they couldn't be yummy and fun, but still!

The last one--meh

[Kalin]

Joe wrote: "I found this to be a good episode of Miles-as-Lord-Auditor, (I really liked Jin, and was hoping for Miles to keep him), it's a terrible end to Miles' story,.. I can only assume LMB intends to write..."

While I do agree that this does not do justice as a "last book with protagonist Miles," it certainly is fine as "last book as pre-Countship Miles." I also wish there would be a suitable ending to Miles' story, but how in the christ do you end a story like his?! I can't picture it, that's for sure. For me, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen counts more as the "ending" of his story, even though it doesn't put us inside his head.

[Joe]

Perhaps I'll feel that away too when I read it.
I feel like a time skip of a few years, and one last mystery/spy caper might work as an ending... see how the kids turn out, etc.

Seems like she's done with the series (at least for now), so I guess we'll have to be happy with what we have.