Penric & Desdemona, Part 5
by Lois McMaster Bujold
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted December 3, 2023
Edits and Addenda on January 31, and July 12, 2024
Knot of Shadows / Demon Daughter / Penric and the Bandit
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It has been over two years since the publication of Knot of Shadows. This is as good a tale as all the rest, but I hope it is not the last. [EDIT: It's not; see below.] There have been several characters who have recurred after their first appearance. This time it is Alixtra, who was featured in Assassins of Thasalon, but I did not mention her by name. She was the Cedonian assassin who attempted to kill Adelis, twice, but both times was thwarted by Penric. When the saint attempted to extract her demon, the White God, the Bastard, instead said she was to keep the demon and channel its powers for good. Penric took her under his wing, teaching her how to control the demon, how to use its Sight. She is an acolyte now, serving in the Bastard's temple in Vilnoc, occasionally helping Penric, as she does for his latest case.
In the beginning I thought this would be too similar to an earlier story, Masquerade in Lodi, which saw Penric dealing with a man fished out of the sea, possessed by a demon which had previously been in a dolphin. Word comes from the Mother's temple of a strange case; a man, apparently drowned, pronounced dead, who later comes back to life, or at least his body is reanimated in some way. This time it is not a demon, but a ghost, which Penric suspects was the result of demonic magic. That is when a mortal person calls upon a demon to kill someone else, offering up their soul to the gods in exchange for the sundered soul of the person they want dead. It is not a very common practice since the mechanics of the spell are not well known, just stories handed down through the generations. Certain objects need to be used, certain incantations spoken, but most times the process is not successful. It is so uncommon that Penric recalls receiving just minimal instruction on it while in seminary, never to be thought of again. Until now.
I was a little confused about the process myself. The person casting the spell gives up their soul, but in this case another soul comes into their body, from a person who had died at approximately the same time, and in close proximity. I'm not positive, but I assume the drowned man received the soul of someone else who died near him, or else the soul in his body was from the one who cast the spell. Once Pen realized what had happened, he needed to find the body of the soul that had entered the spell-caster, in order to assure that soul was not sundered, meaning not received into the care of one of the gods. Alixtra doesn't have a prominent role, but it is clear she is a quick learner, very eager to atone for her previous wrong-doings. She had been forced into her role of assassin because her superiors were holding her son for ransom. Once those responsible were dealt with and her son returned to her, she once again became the loving mother she had previously been. But still in possession of a demon.
This series was a spin-off from the three World of the Five Gods novels. Even if Bujold continues to write about Penric, she could also start another spin-off series focused on Alixtra, or maybe flashbacks to Desdemona and the ten women she had inhabited in the past. I would also welcome a Nikys-centric story. Only time will tell, but whatever Bujold chooses to write I will want to read it. One of these days I will get to her Sharing Knife series, which I have, and the stand-alone novel, The Spirit Ring, which I don't have yet. However, I hope she returns to Penric, perhaps with another novel to tie up all the loose ends, if only to find out how good a father he might be. I suspect he will be as successful in that endeavor as he has with his sorcerer's duties..
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Posted January 31, 2024
The twelfth Penric & Desdemona story was published about three weeks ago. The date at Amazon, ISFDb, and fantasticfiction.com all match, but doesn't seem right, since January 7 was a Sunday. [EDIT: Since Bujold has been releasing ebooks through her literary agent, publication date doesn't have to conform to the typical Tuesday release.] It came as a surprise to me since I had not seen any prior mention of it. I reviewed the previous eleven titles last year, one a month, starting in February. The way this one ends makes me sure it will not be the last. There have been a few characters who have recurred after their initial appearance, but not as much or as many as I expected. The new character added now is likely to feature prominently in any future story.
Otta is a six-year-old girl on a trading ship owned by her father, her mother being his concubine who he had previously bought as a slave from pirates. The scene on the ship does not last long. One of the crew, a boy not much older than Otta, obviously thought he would be scaring her with a rat he had just caught. Instead, she thinks it is cute and cuddly, and takes it from him. But First Mate had other ideas. He takes the rat from her and throws it overboard, Otta pining for it as she sees it sink into the sea. The story switches to Vilnoc, where Penric still lives, working for the Bastard's Temple there, and Duke Jurgo on occasion. An acolyte of the Daughter's Temple comes to him with a message from a nearby fishing village. A young girl had washed up on shore. The local temple priest was sure she was demon possessed, since fires kept spontaneously starting around her. He had thrown her into an old, mostly dry well, then sent for help. Nikys accompanies Penric on this assignment.
This is not the Nikys-centric story I have been anticipating, but she does help, her motherly instincts smoothing the way with Otta, even though she knows little of the Roknari language the girl speaks. But Penric does, which surpirses Otta, and she is also surprised a demon-possessed sorceror is not the malevolent entity she expected from Rocknari legends. Penric suspects the rat had been the source of the very immature elemental demon now inside Otta. The task is to help her control her fear and anxiety, which had been the trigger for the fires. Otta says First Mate had thrown her overboard when he suspected she was the source of the fires on the ship. She does not know if the ship had sunk, or if not, if anyone on board had died because of the fires. The balance of the story shows how Penric teaches Otta how to control and understand what is happening to her, and it is an indication of how good a teacher he must be for other divines and sorcerers.
It has been almost twenty years since Penric acquired Desdemona, and over nine since he married Nikys. Their daughter Rina is a year older than Otta, and their son Wyn is about four. The family is happy and prosperous, everyone pitching in for all chores, Penric even helping with laundry and other things. Otta is welcomed into their home while Pen considers the options. He contacts his old friend, the saint Iroki, who eventually replies that he should bring Otta to him, and for him to bring Otta into the presence of the Bastard, who will determine what happens to Atto, which is the name given to her demon. Otta needs to find out what happened to her parents and their ship, even if she decides not to return to them. If she is able to keep Atto, she will be required to attend seminary to become a divine sorceress.
There are a few things different about this story. Bujold always writes in third-person, and I may be wrong, but this is the first time I noticed people being referenced differently scene to scene. It appears there are times the perspective is Otta's, since it is always Learned Penric, or Madame Nikys, rather than just their names. I'm talking about exposition, not Otta speaking. The other difference relates to how Otta reacts to Desdemona. Previously, other possessed people and their demons were frightened of Desdemona, but it is not that way with Otta. Also, even though there have been occasional conflicts of opinion between the two, this is the first time I recall Desdemona being very angry with Pen. It is because of Des's desire to see Otta keep Atto, regardless of the consequences. Thus when that does happen, the tension between sorcerer and demon is resolved. It also begs the question of the intention of the title. Is Otta now the daughter of Penric and Nikys, or is Atto the daughter of Desdemona? If there is to be more to this sequence I hope those questions are answered..
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Posted July 12, 2024
Another Sunday ebook release from Bujold. Penric and the Bandit was available June 30, but I didn't hear about it until someone who had read my previous reviews emailed recently. I should have been following Bujold on Amazon, which I am now, because they would have sent an email shortly before that. With each of Penric's stories I have anticipated characters recurring, but most of the time they may get a brief mention, but otherwise are not part of the new adventure. I still look forward to a Nikys-centric story, but here we only know she is back in Vilnoc, with Penric on a personal journey in the adjacent country of Trigonie. Otta, from the previous story, Demon Daughter gets a mention as Pen and Nikys' adopted daughter. Penric is at an inn, perusing a map, when he is approached by a man intrigued by the map, even though Roz reads little, so he can't distinguish the various towns and other features on the map. He wonders if it is a treasure map, which interests him a lot, since he is a thief. He surprised even himself when he reveals his name to Penric, all three versions he has used in the past. His full surname is Rozakajin, but he used Rozak when he was in the army, but prefers just Roz. He probably shouldn't have said Rozak was his army name, since he is a deserter, later joining a bandit gang, mostly comprised of other deserters.
Another example of third-person narration from the perspective of another character. We know that Roz first thinks of Penric as "Goldie," because of his blonde hair. Then when he thinks the map might lead to treasure, Pen is referred to as the "Goose," as in the one who laid the golden egg. On other occasions Pen is the "Gull," short for gullible. But Pen is not gullible, and he (and Desdemona) are well aware of Roz's nature, that he is likely a thief. That doesn't stop Pen from allowing Roz to accompany him in his search for an old, abandoned temple. The main reason for that is the old maxim, "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Through Desdemona's Sight, they are aware Roz was visited by members of his old gang one night in the livery stable at the next inn. Roz had run away from the gang as they all had previously deserted the army. He tells them of his suspicions of the treasure Pen is seeking, which delays their revenge. Pen doesn't let on he knows, but he and Roz are aware of his former comrades following them later. Another thing Pen is able to glean about Roz is that he is sincere in his regret of past actions. He was from a very poor family, had no prospects for work or a family of his own in that village, and later work gangs and the army were harsh and repressive. He was good at being a thief, but was not as brutal as the gang's leaders, which is the reason he left them. If he had not stolen a horse and several mules from them they may not have pursued him, but he needed something to sell just to be able to eat.
I was sure the "treasure" that Pen sought was not what Roz was thinking about. Pen had read about the abandoned temple in other books, some of which were only reproductions of fractions of books and scrolls he hoped to find. That kind of thing was mere trash to Roz, and he even suggested they be burned for heat and cooking. Something I didn't expect was Pen sensing some real treasure too, which he told Roz he could keep. If they survived the assault his old gang is planning of course. I won't reveal any other details, other than how Roz was stunned when he learned of Pen's true nature, but also grateful of that nature which allowed them to escape. It took a big toll on Pen though, as both the uphill and downhill magic he had to expend was almost fatal. Pen gets Roz to swear that if he takes him to Orbas he will not return to his thieving ways. Roz does accompany him, but it is too soon to tell if he sticks with that pledge. Yet another character who may recur in a later story, or perhaps just get a brief mention.
I have no idea how many more Penric stories Bujold plans, nor whether these last three will get the omnibus treatment as the first nine did. If that happens I will update this page with links to that. I will also anticipate needing to create yet another page to continue following Penric and Desdemona. Penric has many abilities and powers, most but not all through his association with Desdemona. His most important attributes, which he would have even without his demon, are his intelligence and dedication, but most importantly, his empathy and compassion for all who live under the aegis of the Five Gods.
Related Links:
Go back to the start of the series with Penric & Desdemona, Part 1: The first 3 novellas
Then Part 2: Novellas 4-6
Part 3: Novellas 7-9
Part 4: the novel The Assassins of Thasalon
Part 5: Three more novellas
A list of all my Bujold reviews
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