Lois McMaster Bujold's new book (spoilers)

[Little_Nemo]

@MEBuckner

And I don’t think it’s too incredible that he would have No Idea. Everyone was clearly being discreet; at that stage in Miles’ life–IIRC Jole is first mentioned in The Vor Game–as much as he loves and respects his father, Miles very much has his own life (lives) to live, and wouldn’t have been spending much time hanging around Vorkosigan House to pick up any odd vibes or accidentally stumble across anything; and Miles had undoubtedly gotten very good at tuning out any weird stories about his parents as being yet more slanders from the Vorkosigan family’s numerous political enemies, so even if he had heard some rumor, he would have just dismissed it.

No, I have to still disagree. It just isn’t plausible.

As you note, Aral Vorkosigan was a major political figure throughout most of this period and he had bitter enemies who regularly attempted to slander him. We’ve seen there were rumors circulated about Aral’s bisexual history and Cordelia’s sexual openness. So a rumor that they were engaged in an ongoing affair with an officer on Aral’s staff would have been exactly the kind of rumor their enemies would have loved to spread.

And the affair was happening, so it’s not like anyone would have needed to make stuff up. All they’d have to do is say things like “Did you notice Vorkosigan spent another afternoon behind closed doors ‘in conference’ with his aide? This is the third time this month. Who does he think he’s fooling?”

It also goes against what we’ve seen about Aral and Cordelia’s character. Neither of them were the type to hide something away out of a regard for public opinion. Aral was the type who would throw everything out into the open and dare anyone to complain about it. And Cordelia constantly complains about how Barrayarans go around hiding things and would be so much better off if they did things openly.

I’m remembering that scene in Mirror Dance where Mark accidentally overhears a conversation between Aral and Cordelia. He’s amazed to discover that they act the same way when they think they’re alone as they do when they’re out in public and he admires their integrity. But now we know that isn’t true; they were keeping secrets not only from the public but also from family members like Mark and Miles.

[Little_Nemo]

Reviving this zombie rather than starting a new thread.

I’ve reread GJRQ a couple of times since 2016 and my initial opinions still stand. So no change there.

Bujold has written a number of other works since 2016 so she has apparently not retired.

And here’s my question. I agree that GJRQ feels like a good bye to the Vorkosigan series and I could accept it as such. But then Bujold wrote The Flowers of Vashnoi.

That novella is a strange one given its placement at the end of the series. Unlike several previous works, it does not have a “good bye to these characters” feeling. In fact, it feels like the opening section to a longer work. When I read it, I fully expected the follow-up novel within a year or two. But five years later, nothing.

If Bujold was done with the Vorkosigan setting why did she write and publish this work as its ending?