As YHB mentioned Ethan of Athos on a comment thread over at Jed’s Lorem Ipsum, and then my Best Reader pulled it off the shelf and gave it a read, it was, perhaps inevitable that YHB would reread it with a critical eye. And you know, I still like it.
I think David Moles’ comment that “I think you need your far-future interplanetary characters to be a little less whitebread” is well-taken, although of course one doesn’t dispute taste. My own first reading took into account my past readings of other Lois McMaster Bujold books, so I was pretty sure that despite any initial milquetoastiness, people would be shooting at each other soon. And, of course, one of the recurring things about her books is that people from what ought to be vastly different cultures are very similar. This could well piss off somebody who likes a nice emphasis on difference, or on originality. For all that there is No Communication with the Outside World, Athos is very recognizable, and Ethan has no real difficulty in even casual conversation. He has, you know, a slight accent, which makes it difficult, but not impossible, for him to pass as a native of the space station. Not plausible.
On the other hand, as with most of the Vorkosigan books, not to say most of Space Opera, the point is not so much the realistic or even plausible creation of Other Worlds, but the interesting portrayal of thought experiments as a background for Lots of Fun Plot. And the plot is fun. People are regularly put into tight situations where ridiculous actions appear to make sense to them. Then they shoot at each other, and throw bombs in airlocks, and all kinds of fun stuff. Ms. McMaster Bujold is very good at plot, as I may have mentioned, and that’s where the big author points are for YHB.
chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek,
-Vardibidian.