A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold

Hello, Stranger.

Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's A Civil Campaign.

The Short of It

Plot: You've seen Miles Vorkosigan face down armies, conspiracies, and empires. But isn't it about time you saw him in a romantic comedy?

Page Count: 428

Award: Part of the Vorkosigan Saga

Worth a read: Yes
Primary Driver: (Plot, World, or Character)
Bechdel Test: Pass
Technobabble: Minimal
Review: Fine! I'm invested! It's a comedy of errors, an interwoven net of fumbling affections and budding romances. It's basically not science fiction, or action, or anything but a sappy romance. Yet after spending so much time with Miles we just want him to be happy. The same could be said for Mark, and Ivan, and Gregor, and everyone else who ends up amorously entangled throughout the novel. Of course, it wouldn't be a Vorkosigan book without some plotting and subterfuge, but all of that is background to the multiple romances all going on.

The Medium of It

Spoiler Free!

Romance is likely to be among my least frequently consumed genres of novel. My impression of the genre on the whole is pretty negative: that they are formulaic, predictable, shallow, dull, and sappy.

Anywho, A Civil Campaign is a sappy and predictable romance and is, if not a page turner, consistently enjoyable. It turns out that the missing element from the usual stew is actually caring about the characters. A healthy dash of well placed humor works as well.

There is extraordinarily little to actually say about this book. It is exactly what it seems to be: a romantic comedy, pairing up a number of the characters we've met over the previous [no idea how many] books. What more is there to say? If you're this far in the Vorkosigan Saga, you're probably here for it. If not, this would be a dreadful stand alone.

A few baffling choices are made regarding subplots. A couple dominant subplots take up significant runtime here. These are full Vor drama: inheritance, titles, nobility, and so on. They seems to be here in an attempt to add more facets to the narrative. Some of these are funny, some are dramatic, and all of them feel like fluff on a story that is already itself quite fluffy. We're here to see a character with whom we've developed a connection finally get a meaningful partner. That's it! Keep that Vor nonsense out of your mouth!

Other than just saying that this is enjoyable, I don't know how to judge it. It's fun, it's cute, and that's all that it needs to be.

The Long of It

Spoilers Ahead!

It's a rom-com with a happy ending. I have no further useful comments to make. Do some of the objections people have feel contrived? Yes, because that's how rom-coms work. It's cute, it's nice, and it leaves you feeling fuzzy. 

One thing that is very nice to see is the return of Cordelia and Aral as more significant characters. They're pretty great. Bringing back an excellent and establish couple offers a very nice foil to the many budding romances all around.

Mark gets some love too! Which is nice, I guess. He's still not the most interesting character, and I'd prefer to see less of him, but if he's going to be around, he might as well have a decent life.

Oh and Ivan is still solo. Continues to be one of the most fun characters around. It's a shame that the less successful he is, the funnier he becomes. Pitying him is just such a joy.

That's it, I'm not going to keep trying to say more about this one. It's simple, it's fun, and that's what it's meant to be. I spent far too long going over this review trying to figure out more insightful things to say, but... that's overkill. It is what it is and for what it is, it's a fun diversion.

Get better at flirting, Stranger.

And don't forget to read a book!