MScottM

Here is another person who reads and really likes these stories. I just realised that DVD Talk has this section and was really supried when I saw the subject of this thread. I didnt know that the new book was due out this soon and am looking forward to geting it. I will look in my local Walden's tonight to see if it is on the shelves yet. I wil post my review of the book after I have read it and hopefuly you "two" wont feel that you are the only people in the forum that realy care about this story.

Seeker

I think we were beginning to wonder....

I haven't seen it in any bookstores yet (it's due out May 15), and was even wondering when BN.COM said "ships in 24 hours" --- but sure enough, they shipped the book, and I HAVE read it!

Given it "isn't out yet", I didn't want to review it yet as a spoiler. Let's just say it is a standard Miles Nai ---- Vorkosigan book.

Startide

Hooray! My local B&N B&M had it on the shelves this Sunday (Apr28). Just for the heck of it, I looked at Borders and they didn't have it out.

It sure is a thin hardcover for the price, maybe even fewer words than in the Quenta Silmarillion. I stopped reading with about 8 pages left since my eyes got bleary (tired). I will try my usual game of speculating on the ending before I finish reading the book.

Seeker

conjecture away here with spoiler tags. Love to see the conjectures...

also, then thoughts on "what's next", or "what happened at the wedding", since the wedding is a story of it's own that's coming out later.

Startide

One speculation that I had since Cetaganda was that a future book would implement one of the following:

Seeker

Interesting conjectures...

given you've read most of the book, this isn't that much of a spoiler, but didn't you love it when Miles was in full swing, he says....


"do this... do that.... I'll do this.... ---- Nais, er Vorkosigan out."

MScottM

I had no luck finding it this weekend but I will try B&N on my way home today. Hopefully I will find it and can start reading today.

Seeker

Technically it still isn't out till May 15, but obviously can be found in some places.

I got mine shipped to me from BN.COM

Seeker

so, anyone get and read the new one yet?

Startide

Finished reading it. Now waiting for another book in the Bolo series or a new one from Elizabeth Moon. I have given up hope for another one by Daniel Hood (he explains why on his website) but he also posted a nice long story and a short story on his site as well. It can be good to visit the author's own website (not one created by the company, but by the author) as you can find interesting downloads or other stories written in that milieu but otherwise unpublished. Some authors hoard all their ideas and short stories, whereas others will self-publish them on their websites.

In the meantime, I've taken up reading fanfic again. There is a lot of good anime fanfic out there, and I've started cobbling another bit of plot for a crossover. Even if I don't post the update, it still is stimulating for the imagination (which is why I bother to do it).

Seeker

It seems as if only 2-3 people are interested in this series.

But what a great series!

ah, well.

Startide

Bujold's stories are getting a bit stale though. Bujold doesn't have any mastery of technical hard-SF detail, so her stories aren't able to ascend out of the soap opera style plotting. After awhile, the soapishness feels repetitive to me.

Also, this latest book was rather THIN and used somewhat large font with wide spacing.... I miss those somewhat thicker books that authors used to write. And for her most recent "thick" book CHALION, I'm glad that I didn't buy it as her formulaic soapish style didn't work well in that fantasy political drama (well, at least I didn't like Chalion).

It seems like a lot of SF book authors are like pop music stars -- they dole out one or two great ideas per book and space them out over a set of releases to collect the most money. It is a case of my losing faith with a number of authors and seeing some of the authors who try to cram a lot of clever ideas into one book (without regard to saving the ideas for use in separate books) fall by the wayside. I would have liked to see Daniel Hood's next book come out, for example, rather than this latest one by Bujold. Bujold didn't use any of the ideas for Sgt Taura, the assassination plotting in the Cetagandan empire, or anything else to make it more than a one trick pony show. I'm getting fed up with this "one hit song per CD" formulaic shenaniganism going on with some books.

My disappointment will result in my not buying the next books by Bujold which is my way of voting. I may look towards reading it in the library instead. Or I could stop once I read the ebook version posted to FTP.

Seeker

I'll agree Diplomatic Immunity seemed like a one trick pony and was too quick a read.

I haven't given up, though, because quite a few of the books have been real winners... she did win a few best novel awards fo them, so some others must feel the same.

This one definitely won't win, but I can stay hopeful for the future.

Startide

I agree in that Bujold had some annual Hugo "World Science-Fiction Fan Convention favourite" winners, but that was quite some time ago.

Also, her four Hugos were for books in the same series and were awarded in a tight span of time. I'm familiar with some of the Hugo award tactics of some authors and their publishers in how they promote to the fans both outside and inside the annual fan convention where the votes are held. I've seen the exhortations at fan conventions as well as online. Also, as a member on some authors' mailing lists, I can see how the exhortations of the author and her/his friends go a long ways towards gaining enough votes. Ha, ha, on one of the mailing lists, the author is good, but not super great, yet he gets a lot of Hugo votes due to the "voting machine" that is in play. So, I have a partially jaundiced eye when it comes to Hugo awards.

Sanji

Hello,
I am new to this forum but not to the Vorkosigan Saga. I have read all of them.
I do enjoyed them enormously (though if you ever have to go to hospital for a major operation I suggest you don't read Memory at the time).
The only thing I didn't like about Diplomatic Immunity was the neat and tidy ending.
It was so nice and nice doesn't work so well in the life of Miles Vorkosigan.
He has suddenly got this perfect life. Miles is best when he struggles against Barrayan society, Cetegandans, his own body.
Bring back the angst!

tasha99

I'm a big fan of this series, too. I'd love to see these made into films, though I doubt that would happen.

I finished Curse of Chalion a few weeks ago, and I couldn't put my finger on why I never got into it. It was better than The Spirit Ring (her previous fantasy), but I think her space opera works a lot better.

Seeker

I'm worried that Bujold has decided that Miles should have a good life now.

But really, the angst is indeed what makes the series work. I'd love to see Bujold throw everything into turmoil again. But I don't think she will, otherwise we'd probably have a new novel by now.

She could even kill off a few of the major characters - but again, I think she's become enamored with them and the recent works have tended more toward comedy than toward drama.