Book: A Civil Campaign
Jul. 13th, 2009 10:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livAuthor: Lois McMaster Bujold
Details: (c) 1999 Lois McMaster Bujold; Pub Baen Books 2000; ISBN 0-671-57885-5
Verdict: A civil campaign is highly readable.
Reasons for reading it: Even though I tried to declare I was going to stop reading this series after Memory because that wraps things up so beautifully that anything further could only diminish the series, I enjoy these books enough that I couldn't resist going on to Komarr and this.
How it came into my hands:jack lent me both books, making me promise not to rush through them back to back!
A civil campaign is very accomplished; the characterization is spot on, and I can quite see why people describe this as the most quotable of the series, it's absolutely packed with epigrams. The problem is that it's essentially "Georgette Heyer in space", and even having Miles as the hero isn't quite enough to make me passionate about this kind of romance plot. This is possibly sexist of me, but the fact is that I'm just more interested in space battles and galaxy-threatening plots than in overcoming obstacles and miscommunication to get an obviously perfectly matched couple together. I liked Shards of honor a lot, because the romance element was spiced by a major cultural conflict. And I didn't dislike aCC, it just seemed a bit dull and parochial compared to most of the rest of the series.
As romances go it's very good. Miles and Ekaterin have problems of communication which are plausible for intelligent, well-meaning people, and the external barriers to their getting together are actually significant and not contrived. As you'd expect from Bujold, it's not ignoring the issues around romantic relationships in a highly male-centred society, it's directly tackling those issues. And it's witty and fun, though at times veering too much towards embarrassment comedy for my tastes. The biggest problem is that it looks rather as if Ekaterin was simply invented to be the absolutely perfect partner for Miles (even down to having a fetish for scars), which made it hard to sustain disbelief. This is not improved by the fact that Laisa was obviously created to be the ideal partner for Gregor and Kareen was created to be the perfect partner for Mark as well. Mind you, I did enjoy the portrayal of that relationship, which is emotionally strong but not without serious problems, and very plausible as a depiction of a student away from home for the first time and experiencing her first adult relationship with a slightly older, somewhat damaged man.
I really don't know what to make of the whole Lord Dono thread. My immediate reaction was that it trivializes trans issues by using his sex change as a convenient plot element, and as yet another source of comedy of manners arising from the friction when people break social norms. Still, I actually do know someone IRL who transitioned to male as a way to cut the gordian knot of the endless grind of sexism against even the most privileged women. And it makes sense that if you postulate Betan surgical tech and enlightened attitudes, SRS is less of a big deal than it would be in our society. I just feel as if the whole plot arc is there to say, sexism is bad, also, woo, dick jokes!
I also rather dislike Bujold's portrayal of scientists, because it's become a recurring theme that people who care about their research are totally oblivious to morality or normal human interaction. But that's a very minor problem in the scheme of things.
So, yes, I probably should have exercised willpower and stopped after Memory. I don't exactly regret reading aCC, if only for the highly memorable lines and images.
Details: (c) 1999 Lois McMaster Bujold; Pub Baen Books 2000; ISBN 0-671-57885-5
Verdict: A civil campaign is highly readable.
Reasons for reading it: Even though I tried to declare I was going to stop reading this series after Memory because that wraps things up so beautifully that anything further could only diminish the series, I enjoy these books enough that I couldn't resist going on to Komarr and this.
How it came into my hands:
jack lent me both books, making me promise not to rush through them back to back! A civil campaign is very accomplished; the characterization is spot on, and I can quite see why people describe this as the most quotable of the series, it's absolutely packed with epigrams. The problem is that it's essentially "Georgette Heyer in space", and even having Miles as the hero isn't quite enough to make me passionate about this kind of romance plot. This is possibly sexist of me, but the fact is that I'm just more interested in space battles and galaxy-threatening plots than in overcoming obstacles and miscommunication to get an obviously perfectly matched couple together. I liked Shards of honor a lot, because the romance element was spiced by a major cultural conflict. And I didn't dislike aCC, it just seemed a bit dull and parochial compared to most of the rest of the series.
As romances go it's very good. Miles and Ekaterin have problems of communication which are plausible for intelligent, well-meaning people, and the external barriers to their getting together are actually significant and not contrived. As you'd expect from Bujold, it's not ignoring the issues around romantic relationships in a highly male-centred society, it's directly tackling those issues. And it's witty and fun, though at times veering too much towards embarrassment comedy for my tastes. The biggest problem is that it looks rather as if Ekaterin was simply invented to be the absolutely perfect partner for Miles (even down to having a fetish for scars), which made it hard to sustain disbelief. This is not improved by the fact that Laisa was obviously created to be the ideal partner for Gregor and Kareen was created to be the perfect partner for Mark as well. Mind you, I did enjoy the portrayal of that relationship, which is emotionally strong but not without serious problems, and very plausible as a depiction of a student away from home for the first time and experiencing her first adult relationship with a slightly older, somewhat damaged man.
I really don't know what to make of the whole Lord Dono thread. My immediate reaction was that it trivializes trans issues by using his sex change as a convenient plot element, and as yet another source of comedy of manners arising from the friction when people break social norms. Still, I actually do know someone IRL who transitioned to male as a way to cut the gordian knot of the endless grind of sexism against even the most privileged women. And it makes sense that if you postulate Betan surgical tech and enlightened attitudes, SRS is less of a big deal than it would be in our society. I just feel as if the whole plot arc is there to say, sexism is bad, also, woo, dick jokes!
I also rather dislike Bujold's portrayal of scientists, because it's become a recurring theme that people who care about their research are totally oblivious to morality or normal human interaction. But that's a very minor problem in the scheme of things.
So, yes, I probably should have exercised willpower and stopped after Memory. I don't exactly regret reading aCC, if only for the highly memorable lines and images.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-07-26 08:04 pm (UTC)It will also be interesting to see Miles as a father, but I expect she hasn't anything new to say about parenting. (Hmmm. It might be interesting to see him as the father of a daughter, specifically, since so much of the series has been about parent-son relations.)
I think maybe Lois herself needs to age enough to have something to say about later developmental stages.