Penric’s Progress

Frabjous!! I sought this out for review thinking it was another in the series of entrancing Penric novellas. It is in fact a trilogy of three I had already read and treasured. Disappointment did not ensue. Thinking I would just scan and write, I found myself devouring every word of all three again, in a read that cost me a night’s sleep. Juxtaposition made for enhanced enjoyment and a smooth continuation. I knew Ms. Bujold tries to make even her “series” work effectively as stand-alones. I was happily gob-smacked to realize how neatly they heterodyne.

We are treated to the mental interactions of a multiply-female chaos demon and a still-embarassable young man, the legal and theological implications of the same concatenation (this is the World of Five Gods, after all) an episode of remote arson and one of close combat with a demoness director/assistant.

Daniel Dos Santos has contributed a cover exciting, complex, happily salacious. That complements the author’s notorious humor and gender takes.

Supporting characters are limned with fine detail, admirably developed. Penric himself and his demonic ally also develop most satisfyingly over this fine triune progression.

A gift: a Bujold reading order guide. Invaluable, conversational, and foretelling the upcoming Penric’s Travels.