Review of 'Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen'

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
A 'Vorkosigan Saga' book

Set in the world of the “Vorkosigan Saga”, three years after the death of Aral Vorkosigan, Admiral Oliver Jole (“Gentlan Jole”) of the Sergyar Fleet (Aral's long-time subordinate and lover) receives a proposal. After returning from Barrayar, Aral's widow Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, now Vicereine of Sergyar, tells Aral that she intends to have several new children using stored genetic material from herself and Aral. She also offers Jole the chance to have children of his own using her genetic material. As Aral debates how this might effect not only his life but also his successful career he begins a passionate relationship with Cordelia.

I wanted to like this book, honestly. Bujold is one of the greatest living SF authors today and is loved by millions, but I just could not get into it. It reads more like a romance novel than a SF one. If you were to remove the SF elements (set on a distant planet, space ships, etc) you would not effect the story in the slightest. I am not sure if this makes me a “SF snob” but I sort of think that if you are going to write SF it should have some SF elements that are in some way intrinsic to the story but here that is most definitely not the case.

The story is well written and easy to follow but I found it very slow paced and, for the most part, quite boring. In fact it took me several weeks to read as I kept putting it down and struggling to pick it back up again because it was so boring. The summary I have given above pretty much covers all major plot points and developments across the entire book. Yeah, not much really to get into with the reader basically left guessing until the last minute about what “Gentleman Jole” will eventually do and even when that happens it is not an entire surprise.

It has to be said that Bujold certainly has a way with characters with Jole and Cordelia painted vividly in prose. It was easy to imagine every setting and their behaviour perfectly consistent with how they have been described and with the history that those of us who have not read the previous books can gleam. Some people may find the “alternative lifestyles” here a bit hard to take but that really did not bother me and it quite fit the story and the people in it. I would not be so keen if it had been wedged into the story to appeal to a broader demographic…

In summary, not for me, but many may like it, particularly those who like a touch of romance and are not bothered with too much in terms of SF or action in their SF.

Rating: “A bit better than average”

Review Date: 2026-09-22

Genre: Science Fiction

Publisher: Baen

Publication Date: 2016

ISBN: 9781476781228