#cara reads the vorkosigan saga

[agardenandlibrary]

I think my biggest struggle with the Vorkosigan Saga is that... everyone wants kids. And like, I know that's part of the point. That given the chance to have children without the physical burden of literally bearing a child and all the risks involved, that people would have more children.

I had to turn Cordelia's decision in Gentlemen Jole & The Red Queen over and over. I just. I live in Texas.

[clonerightsagenda]

#recently read March 24

Dead in Long Beach, California by Venita Blackburn. After discovering her brother's suicide, Coral takes his phone and pretends to be him as her grief sends her spiraling. *Very experimental. Includes excerpts of Coral's in-universe novel to reinforce the theme that humans always want More (more money, more power, more of your loved one's life) and destroy themselves.

The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush. Exactly what the title says. As someone who's read a lot of astronaut memoirs I didn't find much of this to be untold, but there were a few new tidbits. Includes the Sally Ride tampon story.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Parallel narratives follow the last refugees from collapsing human civilization and a dawning civilization of genetically engineered spiders, until the two come into conflict. *Kept getting distracted bc I did not expect the prose in the giant space spider book to be as good as it was.

Exordia by Seth Dickinson. Aliens come to Earth seeking a powerful weapon and drag several people - including a Kurdish community, an international group of scientists, and two American men clashing over right and wrong - into a struggle over the planet and their souls. *It's Seth Dickinson. It's big and unexpected and now that there's free reign to make pop culture references, extremely weird.

Those Beyond the Wall by Micaiah Johnson. When people start dying after their doubles appear from thin air, runner to the emperor Scales has to work with disgraced scientist Adam Bosch and famed world walker Cara to find out how to stop it. *Scales has a very different perspective than Cara which makes her narration an interesting alternative take on Ashtown culture.

Short post this month because Dungeon Meshi and Vorkosigan Saga are ongoing.

[agardenandlibrary]

oh, we're so back, baby

[agardenandlibrary]

Ivan is only the slacker of the family because the rest of his family are a bunch of overachievers. It takes him like 2 weeks to organize a whole planet so he can get back to slacking off. This is absurd. Everyone else is staring at him in shock while the rest of his family goes "pfft, it took you two weeks?"

[agardenandlibrary]

"Look at this! A letter from Lord Vorkosigan—he's free!"

The second man looked over his shoulder, and echoed, "Thank God! But why didn't he call in?" Then, after a moment more, "What? What?"

The lieutenant turned the letter over and they both read on. "Is he insane?"

Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold

I've read 15 of these books and I still laugh when new people are confronted with Miles' particular brand of shenanigans.

[agardenandlibrary]

I think Bujold knew the hottest thing a guy could be is obsessed with his wife

[agardenandlibrary]

seriously contemplating just going through the Vorkosigan Saga (again)(this time as audiobooks) so the horrible shenanigans can lull me to sleep

[agardenandlibrary]

Can't believe Cordelia got a cozy romance on Sergyar. Good for her. Makes me want to read Shards of Honor again.

[agardenandlibrary]

Books Read in November 2024

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - The audiobook this time! I’m not sold on the narrator, but I like this book so much that it was forgivable. 

The Wild Swans by Peg Kerr - as my notes on this one say: hmm. I do actually have a short review of this one written up. I'll post it eventually.

Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs - I was going to wait to read more Briggs, but then the election happened and my brain desperately needed something. » This one gave us some Leah POV and more from her and honestly? She is a very good character. I loved getting to see her in action. » I think Briggs made some odd choices about Mercy’s early relationships with the wolf pack. It was honestly disappointing for Anna to say “oh, Bran was like into Mercy” and for no one to disagree? Charles is even like “fine, you’re right, but we don’t talk about it!” Especially coming off of Silence Fallen where Bran goes to help rescue Mercy in secret and talks about how she’s been basically his daughter since her mother left her with the wolves. » It made for a fun discord conversation about how it could’ve been done differently, while still keeping tension in the relationships leading to Mercy leaving the pack. » I do still really like these books fwiw!

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy - Like I said earlier, embarrassing how quickly I latched onto this book as soon as it became apparent that Percy was desperately in love with his wife and couldn’t show it. Also I liked that the book was mostly from Margot’s perspective. 💥 Real shitty anti-semitic disguise and stereotypes used by the MC at the end of the book.

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb - So fun! A great audiobook. Constant comparisons to Good Omens aside…. This book was very grounded in daily life & struggles. Dealing with the cost to emigrate. Horrible boat conditions. Ellis Island doctors turning people away for mysterious reasons. A strike against a factory owner! And there’s a mean lesbian there!

Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold - Oh, Ivan.

The Return of Fitzroy Angursell by Victoria Goddard - Fun!! Very different style than Hands of the Emperor. The kind of ridiculous fantasy adventure where every step lands you in more trouble or gets you an unexpected encounter. Fitzroy has been out on the road for one week and you would not believe what’s been going on.

Graphic Novel:

Cosmic Detective by Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, David Rubín

Standalone tech-noir, cyberpunk mystery/crime graphic novel. Pretty good.

Short story/novelette:

The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois McMaster Bujold

Ekaterin 🥰

[agardenandlibrary]

Somebody kidnaps my wife, and they'll find the Imperium's boundaries can stretch a hell of a long way, Ivan found himself thinking with unexpected fierceness.

Wifeguy Vor-genes continue to be the dominant trait

[agardenandlibrary]

me, living my life, doin nothing:

me, remembers the existence of Ekaterin Nile Vorvayne Vorsoisson Vorkosigan: 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[agardenandlibrary]

Every day I get closer to Cryoburn 🥲

[agardenandlibrary]

Ivan, after being tazed and called "you idiot" by a beautiful woman: is this love?

[agardenandlibrary]

new episode of my podcast Backlog Books out now (link in pinned post)

Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold

Over the last few Vorkosigan Saga books, I have been wondering how Miles’ ongoing identity crisis was going to resolve itself. He has been bouncing between Admiral Naismith, debonair roguish commander of a mercenary fleet, secretly under the command of the Barrayaran empire, and Lt. Vorkosigan, a quiet and purposefully unremarkable yet dutiful cog in the wheel of Imperial service, who just happens to be the heir to one of the most powerful men on Barrayar. Miles has been running full-speed through life since he could walk. So it makes sense that  eventually he’s going to hit a wall, an obstacle, that he cannot break down, climb over, or go around. In typical Miles fashion, he brings about his own downfall. Who else could do it?

Next time: New Spring!

[agardenandlibrary]

[Ivan] disliked puzzles. He'd never been good at them, not even as a child. His impatient playmates had generally plucked them out of his hands and finished them for him.

Tiny child Miles, watching child Ivan futz with something: give me that, you idiot

[agardenandlibrary]

Currently reading: Cryoburn by Lois McMaster Bujold