184 pages
English language
Published May 30, 2016 by Subterranean.
On his way to his betrothal, young Lord Penric comes upon a riding accident with an elderly lady on the ground, her maidservant and guardsmen distraught. As he approaches to help, he discovers that the lady is a Temple divine, servant to the five gods of this world. Her avowed god is The Bastard, "master of all disasters out of season", and with her dying breath she bequeaths her mysterious powers to Penric. From that moment on, Penric's life is irreversibly changed, and his life is in danger from those who envy or fear him.
Set in the fantasy world of the author's acclaimed novels THE CURSE OF CHALION, PALADIN OF SOULS and THE HALLOWED HUNT, this novella has the depth of characterization and emotional complexity that distinguishes all Bujold's work.
Easily one of my favorite writing styles, and an excellent story.
I like this universe's idea of uphill and downhill (entropy) magic. Dunno if it's unique to the "Penric and Desdemona" subseries, the "World of the Five Gods" series, or Bujold's works in general, but I'm looking forward to reading more. This novella was an enjoyable entry point into her worlds!
I had somehow skipped the Penric books as I mistakenly thought they were part of the Sharing Knife series, which I thought was awful (although I love the Vorkosigan series). But no! They're in the same world as the Curse of Chalion, which was excellent and enjoyable fantasy in a world where demons and gods are real and actually occasionally interact with people.
In this short novella, young Penric, third son of a very minor countryside lord, finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time (or possibly the right place at the right time) and inherits a demon, which turns him into a sorcerer. In the world of the Five gods demons aren't inherently evil, just forces of chaos and destruction - but these can be controlled and directed for good. Such as the traveler who destroys all the fleas and ticks in the inns he visits, or …
I had somehow skipped the Penric books as I mistakenly thought they were part of the Sharing Knife series, which I thought was awful (although I love the Vorkosigan series). But no! They're in the same world as the Curse of Chalion, which was excellent and enjoyable fantasy in a world where demons and gods are real and actually occasionally interact with people.
In this short novella, young Penric, third son of a very minor countryside lord, finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time (or possibly the right place at the right time) and inherits a demon, which turns him into a sorcerer. In the world of the Five gods demons aren't inherently evil, just forces of chaos and destruction - but these can be controlled and directed for good. Such as the traveler who destroys all the fleas and ticks in the inns he visits, or the healer who destroys tumours, worms, and kidney stones in her patients. Penric calls his demon Desdemona, and thus begins a very sudden change in his expected life and career. Nothing earthshattering in this novel but it's an interesting world and sympathetic characters and my main complaint is that this book wasn't long enough!
I admit to being surprised how much I enjoyed this story of an awkward young man starting out into his - I suppose - hero's journey. And that mostly by accident. I had previously attempted but not liked [b: The Curse of Chalion|61886|The Curse of Chalion (World of the Five Gods, #1)|Lois McMaster Bujold|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1322571773s/61886.jpg|1129349] and so avoided other books by the same author. This was a quick and enchanting read and I enjoyed the idea of demons turning people into sorcerers quite a bit. Desdemona is definitely a character I want to read about more ... which I did because there is [b: Penric and the Shaman|30365013|Penric and the Shaman (Penric and Desdemona, #2)|Lois McMaster Bujold|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1466762873s/30365013.jpg|50875790]
The ending has several surprises not the least Penric swearing himself - again accidentally - to the Bastard's service
