December Talking Meme, Day 5: Vorkosigan saga

December 5: I spot a Vorkosigan Saga tag over on the right. Exposition? Is it a series you've read before? (for Grumpy_Old_Snake) [Tumblr crosspost]

I am now trying to remember how and when I first discovered the Vorkosigan series. I think it may have been via the purchase of a used paperback copy of A Civil Campaign? Which is a decidedly weird entry point, but I literally cannot pick up that book and read an excerpt without getting sucked into rereading the whole thing and laughing so hard tears run from my eyes, so you know, there are worse introductions. *grin* Then I used the little timeline cheat sheet in the back to read the rest in chronological (rather than publication) order.

That was probably sometime after 2003, but definitely before 2006; I can't be more specific.

First and foremost, the books are entertaining. I mean that as a high compliment! If a book of fiction does not provide enjoyment to the reader, it's failing at its most basic task, but catching and holding attention is harder than one might think. Bujold makes it look effortless. I think the most important ingredients are characters with strong and distinct personalities and goals who have enough agency to make things happen without being so overpowered that they encounter no serious difficulties and obstacles on their paths. Bujold is also good about maintaining emotional reality, so when characters ought to be shaken or excited or angry about events, they get shaken or exited or angry or whatever. And of course these books are like catnip if you have a competence kink: lots of intelligent, capable people facing huge problems and solving them.

Bujold doesn't seem hugely interested in the 'hard' science of her settings, though she's clearly put some thought into the physics of space colonies and wormhole jumps and weapons and whatnot. She's more interested in biology and sociology, which I think is neat. That's also an unusual perspective for military sci-fi, but I think the books are stronger for the combination -- the wars and politics lend bite and edge to the bio-ethics, and the sociological conundrums humanize the realpolitik and guns.

I'm not really in Vorkosigan fandom, insofar as it exists, though I've read some Vorkosigan fic over the years. I'm happy with canon as it is, and even if I wanted to add stuff or fill in gaps, the twisty, kinetic nature of Bujold's plots and the wit of her dialogue are not things I am remotely qualified to imitate.

(Ekaterin and Gregor are my favorites, though Miles runs a very close second.)

-----

December Talking Meme: All Days

the last of the peppers (probably)

Since I wrote about my peppers a couple days ago for the December Talking Meme, I figured it's time to post my latest set of photos. :-)

This is probably my last pepper photo post of the year. I picked my two remaining peppers on Nov. 25, stuck them in a plastic container, and carted them down to NJ where I was visiting my parents for Thanksgiving. (My mom has been very skeptical about growing peppers from seed -- she thinks I should buy pre-sprouted seedlings -- so I wanted to prove to her that even if they were small, they were ACTUALFAX PEPPERS, so there.)


my last two peppers, on Nov. 23


( two more pictures )

I brought them back home and on Dec. 3rd, I chopped them both up. The green one went immediately into a veggie-and-cheese scramble. The red one got frozen for two days, and tonight joined some onion in a frying pan with a bit of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and became a nice vegetable side to the last of my leftover Thanksgiving turkey. (The bread in both photos is half a steak roll. I find steak rolls very versatile as a carbohydrate.)


ripened pepper, chopped and ready to freeze for later use


( three more pictures )

I will probably toss my remaining three pepper plants into the garden patch fairly soon. There is no point keeping them around anymore, and one of the problems with gardening in the Fall Creek neighborhood is that a bunch of the local soil is landfill made of sludgy 19th century industrial waste. Upstairs Neighbor E has said she wants to try doing something with the garden plot next spring, and I figure a bit of nice potting soil and some decaying plant matter cannot possibly hurt her chances of getting healthy plants out of our shared backyard.

I'm keeping Mom's pepper, though. It has been tenacious beyond my wildest expectations, and I am curious what it may do over the winter.