The sixth volume in McMaster Bujold's entertaining Penric and Desdemona fantasy novella series picks up immediately after the ending of of the previous Mira's Last Dance.
Temple sorcerer and demon host Penric and the widow Nikys Khatai seem to have found refuge in the duchy of Orbas, where Nikys brother, the irascible but brilliant General Adelis Arisaydia has been offered a command in the Duchy's army.
Penric and Nikys however have still not reached an understanding despite their obvious attraction to each other. Nikys is still mourning the sudden loss of her first husband, and ambivalent about beginning a new relationship --- especially considering the chaos demon that Penric is bound to host for the rest of his life as a temple sorcerer in the service of the Fifth God, the Bastard.
But when Nikys receives a letter saying her mother has been kidnapped and is being held hostage in Cedonia by her brother's sworn enemies, she instinctively turns to Penric for help. After all, if Penric managed to smuggle Nikys and Adelis to safety in Orbas, surely he and his demon, Desdemona, can rescue her mother from a locked cell in a forbidden sanctuary on the inaccessible cliffs of a closely guarded island?
And if Penric succeeds in this impossible quest, will Nikys finally agree to marry him?
A quick and charming story with characters who are three (possibly four) dimensional, appealingly human and very entertaining. I do recommend reading the novellas in order, starting with Penric's Demon, so as not to miss one jot of the fun!
Click HERE to read the * review in Publishers Weekly.
Click HERE to read the review from fantasyliterature.com
Click HERE to read the review from readingreality.net
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