Ethan of Athos (Vorkosigan Saga, #3)
by Lois McMaster Bujold
All-around solid Vorkosigan novel, though more traditional sci-fi than the usual space-opera. Interesting thoughts on misogyny/sexism (and the economics thereof!), futuristic family structures, and space-station life, with some additional touches on homophobia and genetic engineering. Info-dumpy in a few spots, but most of the thoughtful sci-fi stuff was well-integrated into the plot.
I appreciated that Ethan didn't stop being gay just because he'd realized there were other options. Maybe that's a weird thing to say, but I was acutely aware of the possibility from the moment he met Elli. Yay!
Normally Bujold's characters are amazingly complex and realistic, but I didn't really "get" Terrance. He acts very teenager-y, so it was jarring that he was also old enough to be driven by the ideas of marriage and reproduction. Those two things make some sense as results of his upbringing, but he didn't get enough screen time to integrate them and become a complete character. And the specific sci-fi issues he represented/advanced were the least well-integrated into the plot.
This is part of my current, internal-chronology, start-to-finish reread of the Vorkosigan books. Heh. I've picked up on a few fun inter-book references, and I'm hoping for more.
Reread 2025: Past me had good thoughts, tbh. I didn't remember that Terrence was a character at all before picking it back up. Was more struck by the eugenics of it all this read, which Bujold doesn't shy away from but doesn't dig into as much as she could either. "Top 20% intelligence ova;" even Beta Colony aka Space California has an accomplished citizens gene bank. Some weird comments about racial types that you're like... Really? In space, in a thousand years?
The very very end was actually profound as fuck, though. Subtle, but that was a theme all along, wasn't it?