Book Reviews: Penric and Desdemona Solve a Mystery
The Assassins of Thasalon, by Lois McMasterBujold (Subterranean)
I first fell in love with…isn’t that the best way to begin abook review? In the case of Lois McMaster Bujold, the love affair goes back to Ethanof Athos (1986) and Falling Free (1988) Once Miles Vorkosigian burstupon the scene, I was thoroughly hooked. The Curst of Chalion, the firstnovel set in the World of Five Gods, saved me one convention (I think it was aWorldCon) when I ended up with a concussion from getting slammed in the head bya heavy glass door. I stayed an extra night, reading and re-reading, marvelingat the layers of richness. But I digress: Chalion was followed by the equallyawesome Paladin of Souls, then The Hallowed Hunt, and—about 100years earlier in chronology—the Penric and Desdemona novellas. I gobbled themall up, although Chalion retains a special, perhaps concussion-inspired,place in my heart.
Penric is this world’s version of a healer/cleric, bothaspects being supernaturally inspired by his god, the Bastard, and the many-generations-oldtemple demon, Desdemona, who shares his mind and, occasionally, his body.Through her, he can tap into magical powers as well as the experience andmemories of her former hosts. “Demon” has a different connotation here than theone typically used. While she is definitely a non-material being, she was bornof chaos and has been shaped into a person by her relationships with her humanhosts. She’s also sly and sarcastic, although she would never admit to beingloving.
Which brings us to the latest adventure, novel-lengthinstead of the previous novellas. The set-up is framed as a mystery: who istrying to assassinate Penric’s brother-in-law, the exiled, brilliant general?In the process of tracking down the attempted murder and preventing furtherattacks, Pen and Desdemona uncover a plot that goes right to the heart of whatmakes a person, and what part does the right use of power (or the atrocities ofits misuse) play? In too many fantasy stories, characters lack family ties, orthey have them, the families are off-stage and forgotten. Not so in thisseries. Penric lives in a matrix of people he loved and who love him, sometimesas vividly present when he is hundreds of miles away as when they’re in thesame scene.
Bujold is such a skillful writer, her work is a joy to read.I’m hooked on the first page, wanting to read faster to find out what happensnext and yet wanting to read slowly to savor all the nuances. She plays fairwith giving the reader all the necessary information, but she doesn’t berate,lecture, or inflict long explanations. Beneath the mystery-plot, there arelayers and layers of story-gold. Although I rejoiced at the novel length, the endstill came too soon.
Like the previous Penric and Desdemona stories, this one canbe read as a stand-alone, although the references to previous happenings andoff-stage characters would be enhanced by having read the adventures thatinvolve them. On the other hand, as an entry drug, it’s a grand excuse to samplethis world and its people, and then run off and delve into what has comebefore.
Highly recommended.
