![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Bemused musings on Bujold
Feb. 26th, 2004 10:36 amGot my amazon books yesterday and immediately started reading 'Cordelia's Honour'.
After about 150 pages, I really, really can't see why people make such a fuss about Bujold.
The plot: I know, I know, I've only read 150 pages out of 500. But all the same, the plot isn't really original. Strip it of nerve disruptors and spaceships, and you've got nothing more than a Regency Romance of the Stubborn-Strong-Woman-Meets-Stubborn-Strong-Aristocrat kind. The intricacies of Barrayaran politics and a greater number of secondary characters make for a bit more liveliness, but otherwise the plot boils down to just that.
The characters: Again, there's still hope in the 350 pages ahead, but the characters seem very one-dimensional. And their motivations are a bit hard to believe. Or maybe it's just me--but I just don't buy Cordelia's being deeply in love with Aral after three days of hiking across the wilderness and two more days as his prisoner. In lust, yes, but love? And the fact that she vomited her guts out 'with great composure' seems a pretty poor motive for Aral's instantaneous infatuation. The most complex and interesting character by far seems to be Bothari, but so far the author hasn't really fleshed him out.
The setting: after reading a few enthusiastic comments on my flist, my expectations were probably too high. But even if I had expected less, I don't think I would have been overwhelmed by Bujold's originality. Barrayar is a rather faithful image of Rome in the times of, say, Tiberius. Decadent refinement vs. a still very strong miltary class, lots of intrigue and the will to dominate. Beta Colony is still very vague. It seems to belong to the 'futuristic democracy' category, though, the kind where growing economic and ecological problems have led to certain restrictions of personal freedom (the child permit seems to point in that direction). All the rest belongs to the Sci Fi standard repertoire.
I can't say I'm disappointed, because I really didn't expect I'd like the book. But I was prepared to give it a chance. Unfortunately I can't put away a book once I've started, so I'll have to read it through to the end. Grr. Well, maybe it gets better. But 'grrr' all the same.
After about 150 pages, I really, really can't see why people make such a fuss about Bujold.
The plot: I know, I know, I've only read 150 pages out of 500. But all the same, the plot isn't really original. Strip it of nerve disruptors and spaceships, and you've got nothing more than a Regency Romance of the Stubborn-Strong-Woman-Meets-Stubborn-Strong-Aristocrat kind. The intricacies of Barrayaran politics and a greater number of secondary characters make for a bit more liveliness, but otherwise the plot boils down to just that.
The characters: Again, there's still hope in the 350 pages ahead, but the characters seem very one-dimensional. And their motivations are a bit hard to believe. Or maybe it's just me--but I just don't buy Cordelia's being deeply in love with Aral after three days of hiking across the wilderness and two more days as his prisoner. In lust, yes, but love? And the fact that she vomited her guts out 'with great composure' seems a pretty poor motive for Aral's instantaneous infatuation. The most complex and interesting character by far seems to be Bothari, but so far the author hasn't really fleshed him out.
The setting: after reading a few enthusiastic comments on my flist, my expectations were probably too high. But even if I had expected less, I don't think I would have been overwhelmed by Bujold's originality. Barrayar is a rather faithful image of Rome in the times of, say, Tiberius. Decadent refinement vs. a still very strong miltary class, lots of intrigue and the will to dominate. Beta Colony is still very vague. It seems to belong to the 'futuristic democracy' category, though, the kind where growing economic and ecological problems have led to certain restrictions of personal freedom (the child permit seems to point in that direction). All the rest belongs to the Sci Fi standard repertoire.
I can't say I'm disappointed, because I really didn't expect I'd like the book. But I was prepared to give it a chance. Unfortunately I can't put away a book once I've started, so I'll have to read it through to the end. Grr. Well, maybe it gets better. But 'grrr' all the same.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
