Lois McMaster Bujold: Penric and Desdemona’s Adventures

I'm a fan of Lois McMaster Bujold's writing - particularly her World of the Five Gods novels and novellas. I quite enjoyed the first two Penric novellas, and then suddenly realised she'd written four more and I really needed to catch up. So over the last day or so, I have done so.

Penric’s Fox is, by internal chronology, the third of the Penric and Desdemona adventures. In this story, Penric, along with his friend the shaman Inglis, is once more called upon to assist Locator Oswyl in the investigation of a death - the murder of a loved and respected Temple sorceress. Penric’s particular charge in the case is to determine the whereabouts - and condition - of the deceased woman’s demon, which appears to have moved into the body of a fox. It’s a relatively light story, but quite enjoyable.

Penric's Mission gives us an older and more mature Penric, one who has become more comfortable with his demon and her personas, and more confident in both his sorcery and his priestly roles. He's still a scholar at heart, but he has also become a man of action - something much needed in his latest adventure.

He has been sent by his current patron, the Duke of Adria, as a secret agent, to make contact with a disenchanted general from the nearby nation of Cedonia, who has reached out to the Duke looking for new employment. What Penric doesn't know is that the whole thing is a plot by the General's enemies, the message his Duke received was a forgery, and his arrival - and immediate detainment - is the signal that the conspirators have been waiting for to have General Adelis Arisaydia arrested for treason and, his guilt proven by the secret papers Penric carried, blinded as punishment. Penric manages to escape the death intended for him, and realising how he has been used to frame the General, undertakes his own mission to heal him and help him and his widowed halfsister Nikys Khatai to safety. Action, excitement, and the possibility of romance make this - the first of three linked stories - a most engaging read.

The next novella, Mira's Last Dance, continues the story of Penric's self-imposed mission to get Adelis and Nikys Arisaydia safely away from Cedonia and the firmer general’s enemies. Adelis, suspicious of both Penric and his mission, has refused to take refuge with Penric’s patron, the Duke of Adria, preferring instead to offer his services to the Duke of Orbas. Nonetheless, Penric continues to lend his considerable abilities to their flight - disguising himself as Sora Mira, a courtesan entering retirement, on her way to take up a private position, accompanied by her two servants. Getting them safely to the border of Orbas requires Penric to draw on all the experience of one of Desdemona's former hosts, a practitioner of that ancient profession. And the whole matter is made more complicated by the fact that Penric has fallen in love with the General's sister.

The latest chapter of Penric and Desdemona’s adventures begins with Penric, Adelis and Nikys safely in Orbas. Adelis has a commission from the Duke, Nikys is installed as a lady-in-waiting at court, and Penric has been ordered home by his religious superior in Adria. Penric, of course, doesn’t want to go, because Nikys is staying in Orbas, and even though she has rejected his suit, he still hopes to win her affections. Then a message arrives, informing Nikys that her mother has been taken captive back in Cedonia. With Adelis away on military business, Nikys turns to Penric to help her save her mother. A wholly satisfactory conclusion to the adventure begun in Penric’s Mission.