Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold

[calissa]

Published: July 2015 by Subterranean Press
Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)
Series: World of the Five Gods #1.5
Genres: Fantasy
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Once Upon A Time X
Available: Publisher (print) ~ Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Book Depository ~ Booktopia

Disclaimer: I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Penric’s Demon is the first thing I’ve read by Lois McMaster Bujold and I can see I’ve been missing out.

I liked Penric. He’s reasonably intelligent but naïve, making him a great way to experience the World of the Five Gods for the first time. Having grown up in a rather backwater mountain valley, the city of Martensbridge is as new and amazing to Penric as it is to the reader. However, while I love a character with a sense of wonder, it was Penric’s kindness that really endeared him to me. He loves his home and gets disgruntled when people look down on it, even when he later concedes they may have cause. He also treats those around him with unfailing respect and generally believes the best of them. Bujold cleverly makes this both a hindrance and a help.

I found the author’s approach to demons to be quite a novel one. Saying more risks spoilers, but I will note I enjoyed it a lot.

The pacing was excellent. Bujold manages to skillfully convey information to the reader without resorting to info-dumps. I never felt lost or overwhelmed, even though the world was new to me. Being a novella, there’s always a risk that the story will feel too short or unfinished. However, there was enough conclusion to keep me satisfied while still leaving me craving more.

Overall, I found Penric’s Demon a great introduction to Bujold’s work and it has inspired me to seek out more.

Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.

Comments

[davidgillon]

And Penric's Demon is very much the least of the Five Gods series, IMO ;)

Note that the series is really a bunch of standalones. The Hallowed Hunt is set earlier, while The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls are set later. The latter two share period and location, and a secondary character in Chalion is the protagonist in Paladin. Best to read the two in order, but you can't really call Paladin a sequel, the relationship is too loose.

[calissa]

I hadn't realised that the series was more like a bunch of stand alones. That will certainly make it easier to get into. The Curse of Chalion is already on my follow-up list & I'm looking forward to it, especially if it's even better than Penric's Demon.

[davidgillon]

I liked Penric, but the balance seemed off. Most of the story is world-building through Penric's eyes, the conflict seemed bolted onto the end as rather an afterthought, as though Bujold had set out to write a novella, then decided to make it a novella instead and not had room for the plot she had planned.

[rmc28]

I love them all and look forward to seeing your take on them :-)

[calissa]

I will be sure to let you know, though I suspect it's going to take a while for me to get to them.

[onewhitecrow]

I think I will look out for this!

[calissa]

I quite enjoyed it.