Lois McMaster Bujold
Glad you're enjoying the books!
Demonic dissolution is indeed about the same thing as sundering, only on fast-forward. Desdemona's ultimate fate is undetermined at this time, but is certainly one reason she's trying so hard to keep Pen alive.
One possibility may be that she's reached the maximum size of demon that any human head can hold, and her next jump would entail some trimming, mutilation, or loss, like a human-expanded demon going back into an animal. It might not be good for the human target, either. Demons aren't Great Beasts, but one also remembers the messy fate of Pen's Great Earthworm experiment. Another is that over some unusually long sorcerer's life, the human-demon amalgam may undergo some change-of-state that makes such a, for lack of a clearer term, soul-upload to the god possible. Des is in no hurry to test the problem.
Ta, L.
Glad you're enjoying the books!
Demonic dissolution is indeed about the same thing as sundering, only on fast-forward. Desdemona's ultimate fate is undetermined at this time, but is certainly one reason she's trying so hard to keep Pen alive.
One possibility may be that she's reached the maximum size of demon that any human head can hold, and her next jump would entail some trimming, mutilation, or loss, like a human-expanded demon going back into an animal. It might not be good for the human target, either. Demons aren't Great Beasts, but one also remembers the messy fate of Pen's Great Earthworm experiment. Another is that over some unusually long sorcerer's life, the human-demon amalgam may undergo some change-of-state that makes such a, for lack of a clearer term, soul-upload to the god possible. Des is in no hurry to test the problem.
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Ann Perrone
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Like many readers, I have my genre preferences. As an entrenched Vorkosigan fan, I've not found as much attraction to fantasy. Year after year I see questions to you in the vein of "are you going to write more Vorkosigan books?" to which your boilerplate response is "Nothing is planned at this time." So, on behalf of my brothers and sisters of the Vorkosigan Community, can you PLEASE consider writing more? Please?
Starsreader
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I am devouring the snippet like short books on Penric, excellent idea pacing them out like this and whispersyncing the ebook with the audiobook. When writing these, I always love the names you find for the protagonists (may have mentioned that earlier). It's almost sad if Penric gets shortened to Pen, though, so would you consider this compromise: use Pen in spoken language, and Penric, in full, in storytelling?
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