The book blogosphere is doing its best to keep life interesting, huh? I thought I’d seen it all with plagarism, piracy, and other scandal-of-the-week-type events, but obviously not.
However, not all unexpected events are unpleasant ones – there still are surprises of the pleasant book kind! Specifically in this case, the new Vorkosigan book from Lois McMaster Bujold as well as the upcoming third book in CS Pacat‘s CAPTIVE PRINCE trilogy.
Links for the latter first:
- Here’s the (US) cover of KINGS RISING, the third book of the Captive Prince trilogy (Australian cover also on CS Pacat’s website) – pretty, right? And the title KINGS RISING… I like it.
- And then a breakdown of what happens in the first chapter of KINGS RISING, and various other tidbits of information courtesy of Sketch & Run. I cannot wait.
As for the LMB Vorkosigan book – well, the non-spoilery bit first:
I was practically bouncing in glee when I read LMB’s post about the new Vorkosigan book, GENTLEMAN JOLE AND THE RED QUEEN. I’d pretty much thought the series had come to an end, especially as LMB has been refusing to comment on the possibility of a new book for quite a while. It’s one of my all-time favourite series – up there with Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody books. I love so much about her stories – the sheer pace of her plots, this knack of hers for capturing that quiet moment that reveals so much, how her characters live and breathe… well, I could go on and on.
And then I read the spoilers coming out from her first reading, and 
doesn’t even begin to reflect my reactions. I cannot wait for next February.
Spoiler links follow. I mean it. Don’t click unless you want to be spoiled….
[When I say spoilers, I mean spoilers for those who haven’t yet finished the Vorkosigan series, as well as those who really don’t want to know the plot of the new book at this point in time.]
As an aside, I am on the fence re spoilers. I generally avoid them when it comes to books I haven’t read yet, so I skim early reviews and the like. But these ones, though – I couldn’t resist. Especially as the publication date is next year.
Okay, enough rambling to have the spoiler-averse clicking away. Also be warned, I put on my fangirl hat so there may be some flapping around, both verbal and non-verbal.
The not-so-spoilery bit: The new book is set three years after CRYOBURN, and if you’ve read that book, you pretty much know what that means for Cordelia (who’s the main character in the new book). I’m excited about seeing her as the main POV character again – the first two books (or the CORDELIA’S HONOR omnibus, which was the one I read) were written so early on in LMB’s career. I enjoyed them, and there are some scenes (and lines) which still stick in my mind, but I suspect Cordelia’s portrayal will have so much more added depth and nuance now.
So – if you haven’t yet read the spoilers about the plot, they’re here – serious spoilers as soon as you click through!
And then some really interesting links following on from that:
- A really good analysis of previous canon by dsudis on tumblr – I read the passages she quoted and was dying
- LMB gives her take on previous canon and when and how she actually came up with the storyline
Not a book I could have written 25 years ago, that’s for sure.
- LMB responds to some thoughts about the storyline, including power dynamics – interesting, both on the challenge and the answers
- And finally, more LMB thoughts about how the other characters would have reacted – I loved these. “Even Ivan matures.” Ha.
Well. Appetite whetted yet?
