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icepixie1. CHARLIIIIIIIIIIE! Charlie was one of my favorite characters! *sniff* But I see from IMDB that Kirk Acevedo is in some other episodes, so I assume we're going to get an alternate Charlie at some point. Whether he'll be as likable as the original remains to be seen...
2. Upon reflection, "August" does not make the most sense, but I think it still might be my favorite episode, largely because Peter Woodward is freaking amazing. He played the hell out of his role as an Observer who finds that Christine "crossed his mind and never left." It was incredible.
3. On a shallow note, Olivia has been rocking the buns and braids lately. I approve.
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ARAL! NOOOOOOO!
Why is there a book where Aral only appears to DIE, and then not even on screen? Why? This is NOT ON! Maybe LMB's planning another book set somewhere earlier in the timeline all about him and Cordelia? Pretty please?
You know, maybe it was just that I'd had eight years to build up expectations for this installment and nothing could have measured up to them, but I was not as thrilled as I was hoping. Don't misunderstand, it was still good! The story itself was exciting, and the cast of new characters was fun (Jin and his animals were cute), and Miles was entertaining as always (though the idea of him as father to a brood of small children is something I'm still trying to wrap my head around), but...I sorely missed a good chunk of the usual gang, particularly Cordelia and Aral (always Cordelia and Aral), Ivan, Ilyan, Alys, and Gregor. It was nice seeing Mark and especially Kareen again, and Roic and Raven are definitely good times, but...yeah, let's face it, my preference is for our usual cast of characters getting involved in Barrayaran royal intrigue, so this was never going to be the next Barrayar or A Civil Campaign for me.
Though I did get a big cackle out of Miles's assertion that "Where I come from, someone's head in a bag is generally considered the best revenge." *SNERK*
2. Upon reflection, "August" does not make the most sense, but I think it still might be my favorite episode, largely because Peter Woodward is freaking amazing. He played the hell out of his role as an Observer who finds that Christine "crossed his mind and never left." It was incredible.
3. On a shallow note, Olivia has been rocking the buns and braids lately. I approve.
*
ARAL! NOOOOOOO!
Why is there a book where Aral only appears to DIE, and then not even on screen? Why? This is NOT ON! Maybe LMB's planning another book set somewhere earlier in the timeline all about him and Cordelia? Pretty please?
You know, maybe it was just that I'd had eight years to build up expectations for this installment and nothing could have measured up to them, but I was not as thrilled as I was hoping. Don't misunderstand, it was still good! The story itself was exciting, and the cast of new characters was fun (Jin and his animals were cute), and Miles was entertaining as always (though the idea of him as father to a brood of small children is something I'm still trying to wrap my head around), but...I sorely missed a good chunk of the usual gang, particularly Cordelia and Aral (always Cordelia and Aral), Ivan, Ilyan, Alys, and Gregor. It was nice seeing Mark and especially Kareen again, and Roic and Raven are definitely good times, but...yeah, let's face it, my preference is for our usual cast of characters getting involved in Barrayaran royal intrigue, so this was never going to be the next Barrayar or A Civil Campaign for me.
Though I did get a big cackle out of Miles's assertion that "Where I come from, someone's head in a bag is generally considered the best revenge." *SNERK*
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Date: 2010-11-13 05:06 am (UTC)I was shocked at the time, but in retrospect... the whole book was really a lead-up to that moment. Like, step by step. With diagrams. And I missed it anyway. Arg!
*flailflailflailhmph*
The book was good, but the rest of the core cast *was* sorely absent, yes. I thought that was actually more of a problem in Diplomatic Immunity, which was why that one was a bit blah for me, despite the awesome that is Bel.
Maybe LMB's planning another book set somewhere earlier in the timeline all about him and Cordelia? Pretty please?
GRAR! I remember a bit of the afterword to Miles in Love saying, "la la "Winterfair Gifts" is technically a violation of my anti-prequel beliefs since I wrote it after DI, but..." and me going, "NOOOOOO does this mean no Ye Olde Cordelia novels ever ever NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!1!" : (
(I just gave Leann Cordelia's Honor for her birthday, and she's about 30 pages in, and she said, "Wait, did you give me a romance novel? Because it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck..." and I said, "No! It turns into a real book, I promise! Keep reading!" Bwahah!)
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Date: 2010-11-13 05:14 pm (UTC)I was shocked at the time, but in retrospect... the whole book was really a lead-up to that moment. Like, step by step. With diagrams. And I missed it anyway. Arg!
I guess it kind of was, but I never in a million years would have thought she'd kill him off-screen, without even one scene in the book where he appears alive. SADNESS.
Yes, I liked this one a weensy bit better than DI, although to be fair, I don't really remember DI, just that I didn't like it.
Uhhhh, if LMB has an anti-prequel prejudice, she sure didn't for the first six books of the series. Check out the copyright dates at her Wikipedia article, especially for Barrayar. I still have hope!
Awwww, it becomes a real book, just like Pinocchio turns into a real boy!
no subject
Date: 2010-11-14 01:59 am (UTC)I guess it kind of was, but I never in a million years would have thought she'd kill him off-screen, without even one scene in the book where he appears alive. SADNESS.
Curse you, Bujold, catching your readers as well as your characters by cruel surprise! Miles thought he had more books with Aral, too!
I don't really remember DI, just that I didn't like it.
The main plot was... kinda blah. I mean, the cultural clash of Barrayarans with quaddies was interesting, and the idea of Cetagandan biowarfare, but a lot of the political details... when they had the big "everybody gather in the study so Agatha Christie can explain whodunit" revelation, my reaction was, "...huh?" because I hadn't quite been paying attention and had forgotten key points. And... it didn't really matter in the end. Hrmph. And I thought it odd that she retconned Miles and Bel to be a bit more... requited? Or maybe Miles is retconning himself as he grows Betan-er with age? One big disappointment of Cryoburn: WHATEVER HAPPENED WITH BEL? Nary a mention!
Uhhhh, if LMB has an anti-prequel prejudice, she sure didn't for the first six books of the series. Check out the copyright dates at her Wikipedia article, especially for Barrayar. I still have hope!
But were they written out of order, or accepted for publication out of order? It's unclear! Gah!
Awwww, it becomes a real book, just like Pinocchio turns into a real boy!
And then Pinocchio decapitates his enemies! Awwww!
(Did you explore the cd that came with Cryoburn? Mine is reluctant to open properly...)
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Date: 2010-11-14 07:25 pm (UTC)Personally, I always kind of wanted Bel/Miles/Elli. ...I bet someone out there has written that. Hmmm.
But were they written out of order, or accepted for publication out of order? It's unclear! Gah!
I'm pretty sure they were written out of order, because Baen accepted Shards, Warrior's Apprentice, and Brothers in Arms, all of which she'd written by that point, as a set in 1988ish. I can't imagine they would've passed on Barrayar and Vor Game if she had them already written.
And then Pinocchio decapitates his enemies! Awwww!
Tehehehe!
I haven't played with my CD, but I hear that it contains ebooks of every other book in the series except, oddly, Memory. They're shareable, so people have put them up everywhere.
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Date: 2010-11-15 04:05 pm (UTC)Possibly Bel? Heh.
I'm pretty sure they were written out of order
Bah, further research agrees! She also said that as the Vorkosiverse got bigger and more complex, she was reluctant to do more prequels, since they were limited plotwise by what came after them. But! There's totally room in there for a Sergyar book, right? Right??
I hear that it contains ebooks of every other book in the series except, oddly, Memory.
Really? Huh. I was unable to get a menu or any sort of auto-play out of it, so I had to just dig through the files by hand. I saw all sorts of book titles in there, but assumed they were promotional blurbs... wow, now I need to go back and see what else is in there...
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Date: 2010-11-15 11:12 pm (UTC)Hee.
There's totally room in there for a Sergyar book, right? Right??
TOTALLY.