Waded through another book on my backlog....

I had picked up another book about Vorkosigan with some reluctance. I have several friends that consider Lois McMaster Bujold's writing style to be delectable, so I once again tested the waters.



Capsule Review:

It must just be me, but I find Bujold's writing style to be somewhat self-indulgent and flowery for the genre of military SF. Some amount of that can be hand-waved away by saying that the main character Miles Vorkosigan is a very different sort of fellow - intense, driven, intellectual, etc. Some amount of it can be hand-waved away by realizing the book is about military and espionage covert operations more or less made up on the fly if such a thing makes any sense. And still, I find it a bit much.

I did learn a couple of new words, which I find enjoyable (swive and uxorial). But then, betimes I enjoy reading a dictionary, so I might just not be the average reader.

The story itself was not glaringly problematic. I did see a bit of (depending on your taste) incredibly ingenious plotting or incredibly contrived plotting in how the main challenge appeared and was dealt with.

I also take an issue with this due to the genre the book was written in (military and/or espionage SF). I've met a fair number of people from both modern communities of that ilk and it seems to me Vorkosigan is not fit for the work. His personality type (self-doubting, somewhat flighty as his mind flits from worry to worry, and rather glibly chatty) does not fit with the members of either profession.

In some sense, that may be the point; Miles is a fish of a different variety. That said, I think he would not survive the actuality of such operations. I just don't find him believable in the role. I find many of the leaps of logic he makes rather unlikely and I cannot shake the feeling that he would be busted out of the service. The books make lip service to the latter threat, trading against his Imperial bloodline in many cases or the success of his unconvential operation as the bromide. My experience of the sort of people who work in both the espionage and covert special operations realms (or the broader combat arms) is that they are not the sort to excuse bad process and poor craft simply based upon good results so far.


Will many readers enjoy the book? I don't doubt it, in the same way many readers enjoy Stainless Steel Rat or similar works. This work has the same improvisational plotlines that make for a fun read, if you happen not to know how the real professions work or the sorts of people that populate them (and most people do not have those sorts of connections).

I enjoyed the book well enough, but I did regularly have to beat down the little voice saying 'that wouldn't fly' or 'that was convenient' or 'person X I know would have thought about having this guy shot'.

Perhaps I judge too harshly and this is meant to be more of an adventure story than military SF. But the story cloaks itself in that sort of accoutrement so against that background I judge it.

Overall, I'd say it is about a 3 out of 5. If you need to fill some time, its not a bad read. But this author has not impressed me enough to buy another of these books.

I got some reading in!

Blackcollar: The Judas Solution 

Capsule Review:

Follows on from Blackcollar and Blackcollar:Backlash Mission and provides (perhaps) a wrap up for the series. Without spoiling the story, the Blackcollars are at their usual shenanigans again - guerilla warfare, midirection, tactical actions that support inobvious strategic ends, etc. The ending is vaguely bittersweet and it does provide what could be a warp on the series and the conflict between the Human and the Ryquil if the author wants this to be the last book. I enjoyed it, but it was exactly what I was expecting and you need to read the others books first.

Cobra Alliance: Cobra War: Book I 

Capsule Review:

Follows on from Cobra, Cobra Strike, Cobra Bargain (the first trilogy, available together ) with a story of a new generation of Cobras from the Cobra Worlds (Aventine particularly). It invokes the character of Jasmine "Jin" Moreau Broom from Cobra Bargain and sets her off on a cryptic secret mission. At this point, she's an older lady with some of the early onset of the problems that beset the Cobras due to all of their implants. The story traces that mission and the outcomes as a whole new arc (for the new trilogy) unfolds, involving Jin, her husband, her offspring, and some old familiar faces along with many new ones. Another interesting yarn, if you liked the other three in the series.

Cobra Guardian: Cobra War, Book 2

Capsule Review:

Technically, this one doesn't count as reading because I heard it as an audible.com audiobook on my iPod. I must say, for eyes that have been strained by lengthy times in front of the computer, the audiobook is a nice touch. OTOH, I think it adds 25-50% to the reading time for a book. OTGH, this means that you could be doing other things while you listen to it. I will be buying the book in paperback just to have the complete set to loan out or reread, but the audiobook is a good thing to have too. 


This follows up on Cobra Alliance and follows more of the happenings to Jin, her husband and some of the offspring. It follows activities on Caelian and Aventine with a Quasama tie-in and sets the stage for the third book in the series, coming January 2012, called Cobra Gamble which will supposedly tie up this trilogy. I enjoyed this book although I will note this is more of the same sort of writing and stories from the first three books so one knew what one was getting. 

The narrator of the audiobook was okay (its a hard task to do well and alien voices always will be problematic) so I could listen to it easily enough - far easier than my lastest Han Solo book from audible.com.  I understand as the reader, you want to help the listener feel the book, but that effort should be a light touch and I found this was true with this narrator, but not with the one reading the Han Solo book (rather too emphatic for my tastes, although it did integrate some musical soundtracking if I recall which wasn't a bad idea). 

Latest shipment of Dead Tree Readers

Sails on the Horizon: A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars

The Photographer's Eye Field Guide: The essential handbook for traveling with your digital SLR camera 

The above is a pocket book sized format. I admit I did not pay enough attention and did not expect that!

Blackcollar: The Judas Solution 

Cobra Alliance: Cobra War: Book I  

  Writing Dialogue 

  Guidebook to the Historic Sites of the War of 1812: 2nd Edition, Revised and Updated 

Any Approaching Enemy: A Novel of the Napoleonic Wars 



 That ought to cover most of the low-hanging fruit that was easily available on my Amazon wish-list. And add to the never-ending queue of unread books. I am working through Horse Soldiers. This is a good novel about the initial movement of US SF into Afghanistan at the start of the current conflict. 

An interesting article on the progress of E-books and book pricing

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703838004576274813963609784.html

It is interesting that the self-published authors are now getting more attention as the consumers decide whose works they enjoy and are willing to pay for. I suppose this could reduce the standards of literature, but I don't really fear for the 'good book'. They'll still exist even in the new world of digital production and distribution.

Fun Quotes

Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.
William James

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.
Peter Marshall

A true friend stabs you in the front.
Oscar Wilde

I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.
Thomas Jefferson

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.
Groucho Marx

My friend James Cameron and I made three films together - True Lies, The Terminator and Terminator 2. Of course, that was during his early, low-budget, art-house period.
Arnold Schwarzenegger


The poor dog, in life the firmest friend. The first to welcome, foremost to defend.
Lord Byron


At every crisis in one's life, it is absolute salvation to have some sympathetic friend to whom you can think aloud without restraint or misgiving.
Woodrow Wilson

 You can always tell a real friend: when you've made a fool of yourself he doesn't feel you've done a permanent job.
Laurence J. Peter

 The cat could very well be man's best friend but would never stoop to admitting it.
Doug Larson

 Ideally a book would have no order to it, and the reader would have to discover his own.
Mark Twain

Beware of the person of one book.
Thomas Aquinas

I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library, and it's better than college. People should educate themselves - you can get a complete education for no money. At the end of 10 years, I had read every book in the library and I'd written a thousand stories.
Ray Bradbury 

Unprovided with original learning, unformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved to write a book.
Edward Gibbon

A nice quote....

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.

James A. Froude (1818 - 1894)

How To Destroy Your Credibility As An Author

http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2011/03/greek-seaman-jacqueline-howett.html

The book review was tough but fair. The author's replies in the comments to follow went from impolite to downright offensive and passed well off into 'tainted for life'.

The correct response for a review, even one you disagree with, is 'Thank you'. Thank your reviewer, display some class. Don't argue, don't engage in a duel about the review, just thank the reviewer for taking the time to review your work.

Professionalism isn't just a matter of blind convention; Professionalism is noticed by those who publish and by the reading public in general. So is its opposite.