Hey everyone, I usually write stories set on other worlds, where I can make up whatever names sound good to my ear. Even my debut novel, The Last of the Ageless, is set far enough in Earth's future that I made up all the names. When it comes to real-world names, it's a little trickier.
Can you help me by taking a quick survey because I need to decide which names to use. SurveyMonkey says this survey will take you 6 minutes.
Here's the link... feel free to pass it on to other science fiction reader friends of yours, too.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CJNZKXJ
I appreciate your input!
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They do kiss at a couple points, but without any reference to wanting to go further. It's more about the heat of the moment, and the passion of having survived, and the hope that they will continue to survive.
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For being what I would call an epic fantasy, this book had surprisingly few characters. As I writer, I found its adherence to fantasy tropes particularly interesting. It had to have kings and queens, and yet in a way it leans into an urban fantasy setting at times.
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Grey London is essentially "our" London, but it still has kings and queens in power... Interesting.
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I was almost thrown from the book at one point when Lila swears "Christ," but then I realized she's from Grey London, which is sort-of our world. It still took a moment of pondering for me to figure out if that was a slip-up.
There were also, interestingly, omniscient scenes on occasion, mixed in with the close-third viewpoints of Kell and Lila.
Huge fan theory spoiler, potentially a spoiler for the next book:
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I assume Lila is the Grey London's Antari, since she has an eye missing.
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It did a great job of wrapping up plot threads but leaving some loose for a sequel. The descriptions are lush, the writing fantastic, and it's a great read. Check it out!
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You have the exploration and capture part, ending in:
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Cordelia's awesome and brave escape even though she has mixed feelings about leaving.
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Then you have the part where she's back with her people and then:
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captured yet again, this time by the worst of the worst, before being quickly reunited with Vorkosigan. This part would include her time as prisoner down on the planet with the rest of the prisoners, and ending in her escape from her own people's psychiatrists.
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Then you would have the third and final part,
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being when she goes to find Vorkosigan at home. This part is really more of an extended denouement.
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I love how, unlike other books, we get a chance to not only imagine what live must be like when the characters go their separate ways, but to actually see it, and to see how it is every bit as miserable as they feared.
There were also great scifi ideas in this book, like the uterine replacement canisters, so that war rape victims could give the babies back to the rapists at the conclusion of the war, and the abortion would be on their heads, not the rape victims'. The canisters were designed to allow the fetus to live and be born if chosen.
I also like the nationalities (empires?) and how the different groups had their own distinct cultures and political systems.
Also... for those who are concerned about starting a long series, this book (and indeed I believe every one of her books in this "series") is a STANDALONE. So be not afraid, dear readers!
Of course it wasn't until I got to the author's afterward that I realized I still haven't read about THE Vorkosigan, which is Miles, not Aral! At some point, once I feel that my reading has been diversified enough, I'm sure to pick up a Miles Vorkosigan book.
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