Penric's on a covert diplomatic mission when he's arrested and thrown in a hopeless prison. Of course he doesn't die (there's 6 more books) and this is the tale of how he got out and what happened then.
I enjoyed exploring Penric's healing talents more and as always learning about Desdemona 's prior lives. The gentle romance is heartening. ( )

This entry in the Penric & Desdemona series is the longest so far - really a proper novel rather than a novella - and it begins a new story arc rather than being a self-contained plot. It takes place about 5 years after the events in "Penric's Fox" when Penric has a new superior, the brother of the Duke of Adria. I missed Oswyl & Inglis but the story is quite exciting. ( )

This is an enjoyable series, but in this story about a covert mission gone utterly awry, Penric seems even more like Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan: clever, brilliant, resourceful, confusing to those around him, and prone to babbling to 'himself' (in Pen's case it's to his demon) especially when tired. This isn't all bad, given what a marvelous character Miles is, but does make him seem more familiar than not. And I keep hoping Bujold will give us more of Des as a unique being.

That said: this is an engaging story with all the tropes of a classic adventure tale: a secret mission, betrayal, daring escapes, clever strategies, a bit of desperation, a bit of magic, a bit of luck, and a hint of romance. ( )

Perfect.
Apart from it ending, though I guess that was also perfect.
Another, fantastic Penric and Desdemona novella.
Please to be having more please?

Just, everything about it is so good. The world, the characters, the dialogue, the wierd theology stuff, everything.

I 4 1/2 months since the last one was published, so I'm going to hope that there will be another coming mid April. Oh, I do hope there is. ( )

These Penric novels are getting very good. Bastard be praised. :)

We've seen Penric grow as a person and a cleric/sorcerer and now he has eleven years of Desdemona inside his flesh. I love how he's struck off on his own (for very persuasive reasons) doing spywork for a Duke.

So of course, it perfectly follows that this should be a tight and fun novella about magically healing a soldier's wounds and beginning a romance with the soldier's sister. I can see it! :) Plus it gets rather exciting but not for the whole romance thing. There's still some other kinds of action going on here. :)

For everyone not in the know, this takes place in the universe of Chalion by the wonderful Bujold, focusing delightfully on the life and inner life of a disciple of the Bastard God. He was unwilling at first, but it is really fascinating to read how a boy learns to make friends with twelve demons who've been skinwalking for over two hundred years in other disciples.

Flash forward a bit and Penric is fine in his own skin. He has a great working relationship with his demons (collectively called Desdemona) and dare I say it, a good friendship. Penric is also insanely powerful, but he generally keeps that to himself. He's rather a quirky and nerdy delight. His idiotic fumbling with women can only get better when the demon starts talking to her. :) I loved it.

No spoilers, but I had a great time! :) It doesn't necessarily need to be read with all the other Penric novellas, but I like a sense of progression. :)

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this ARC! ( )