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Penric and Desdemona (Publication order) #12
Demon Daughter
A six-year-old shiplost girl draws the kin Jurald family of Vilnoc into complex dilemmas, and sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona into conflict—with each other. It will take all of Penric’s wits, his wife Nikys’s wisdom, and the hand of the fifth god’s strangest saint to untangle the threads of their future.
153 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 7, 2024
About the author
Lois McMaster Bujold
202 books38.5k followersLois McMaster Bujold was born in 1949, the daughter of an engineering professor at Ohio State University, from whom she picked up her early interest in science fiction. She now lives in Minneapolis, and has two grown children.
Her fantasy from HarperCollins includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife tetralogy; her science fiction from Baen Books features the perennially bestselling Vorkosigan Saga. Her work has been translated into over twenty languages.
Questions regarding foreign rights, film/tv subrights, and other business matters should be directed to Spectrum Literary Agency, spectrumliteraryagency.com
A listing of her awards and nominations may be seen here:
http://www.sfadb.com/Lois_McMaster_Bu...
A listing of her interviews is here:
http://vorkosigan.wikia.com/wiki/Auth...
An older fan-run site devoted to her work, The Bujold Nexus, is here:
http://www.dendarii.com/
Her fantasy from HarperCollins includes the award-winning Chalion series and the Sharing Knife tetralogy; her science fiction from Baen Books features the perennially bestselling Vorkosigan Saga. Her work has been translated into over twenty languages.
Questions regarding foreign rights, film/tv subrights, and other business matters should be directed to Spectrum Literary Agency, spectrumliteraryagency.com
A listing of her awards and nominations may be seen here:
http://www.sfadb.com/Lois_McMaster_Bu...
A listing of her interviews is here:
http://vorkosigan.wikia.com/wiki/Auth...
An older fan-run site devoted to her work, The Bujold Nexus, is here:
http://www.dendarii.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews
January 12, 2024
A nice addition.
If the reader really enjoys Nikys, her life and her preoccupations, they will find this instalment particularly enjoyable.
Below is a rant. Be warned.
Bujold, since her very first book, has been all about the invisibility of female labour in traditional roles basically keeping civilisation operating, and how that is continually being devalued/ignored. I'm a radical feminist. I'm all for this.
In this series we have seen the female point of view in how events of "male history" such as wars, invasions, male violence, patriarchal structures shape womens' lives and how women move and live and form their networks/relationships etc within, through and around patriarchal structures and thought lines, to basically survive and keep functioning in a system inimical to them which basically regards them as chattel. (like cows but they make babies with them and make them do the housework versus eat and milk - this was, incidentally, the legal state of wives in the UK and Australia until 1890. Just sayin').
The problem for me is somehow, she always makes these female protagonists incredibly boring/muted. Nikys is depicted incredibly boringly. So is whatserface from the Vorkosigan universe. Who is actually a landscape designer. (I'm really into landscape design). Not Cordelia (I love Cordelia), but the other one. It's bizarre.
I have been reading gobs and gobs of romance for decades. M/F romance is about womens' lives and womens' spaces told almost always from a female point of view. I have loved and read m/f romance across all genres of it including historicals and f & sf. Lots of m/f romance are what used to be called "domestic novels" about womens' daily lives which used to usually include being full-time in the home. I have read literally thousands and have enjoyed so many of them.
What I'm getting at here, is that depicting someone who is a full time mother and head of household in a historical period does not, to me, make a character inherently boring. At. All. But somehow Bujold manages it! They even went on a super adventure in one of the books to rescue the imprisoned mother, ... and Nikys was still incredibly boring. Her mother was much more interesting and dynamic somehow. Probably because we don't get her point of view.
I have been a devoted reader of her work since the 80s. I will continue to be. I just don't get what's going on with her "muted female point of view". The Sharing Knife had the same problem.
The actual characters, Nikys, Sharing Knife Woman, Whatserface in Komarr actually go about doing dynamic things in fraught circumstances, often for their very survival, often majorly driving the plot but somehow theres this muted/passive point of view that is just...somehow really boring. It's the strangest thing. Her male characters (and Cordelia) have a lively dynamic engaging point of view. But the traditional ladies...not so much.
It's so bizarre. We are talking about a master author here.
If the reader really enjoys Nikys, her life and her preoccupations, they will find this instalment particularly enjoyable.
Below is a rant. Be warned.
Bujold, since her very first book, has been all about the invisibility of female labour in traditional roles basically keeping civilisation operating, and how that is continually being devalued/ignored. I'm a radical feminist. I'm all for this.
In this series we have seen the female point of view in how events of "male history" such as wars, invasions, male violence, patriarchal structures shape womens' lives and how women move and live and form their networks/relationships etc within, through and around patriarchal structures and thought lines, to basically survive and keep functioning in a system inimical to them which basically regards them as chattel. (like cows but they make babies with them and make them do the housework versus eat and milk - this was, incidentally, the legal state of wives in the UK and Australia until 1890. Just sayin').
The problem for me is somehow, she always makes these female protagonists incredibly boring/muted. Nikys is depicted incredibly boringly. So is whatserface from the Vorkosigan universe. Who is actually a landscape designer. (I'm really into landscape design). Not Cordelia (I love Cordelia), but the other one. It's bizarre.
I have been reading gobs and gobs of romance for decades. M/F romance is about womens' lives and womens' spaces told almost always from a female point of view. I have loved and read m/f romance across all genres of it including historicals and f & sf. Lots of m/f romance are what used to be called "domestic novels" about womens' daily lives which used to usually include being full-time in the home. I have read literally thousands and have enjoyed so many of them.
What I'm getting at here, is that depicting someone who is a full time mother and head of household in a historical period does not, to me, make a character inherently boring. At. All. But somehow Bujold manages it! They even went on a super adventure in one of the books to rescue the imprisoned mother, ... and Nikys was still incredibly boring. Her mother was much more interesting and dynamic somehow. Probably because we don't get her point of view.
I have been a devoted reader of her work since the 80s. I will continue to be. I just don't get what's going on with her "muted female point of view". The Sharing Knife had the same problem.
The actual characters, Nikys, Sharing Knife Woman, Whatserface in Komarr actually go about doing dynamic things in fraught circumstances, often for their very survival, often majorly driving the plot but somehow theres this muted/passive point of view that is just...somehow really boring. It's the strangest thing. Her male characters (and Cordelia) have a lively dynamic engaging point of view. But the traditional ladies...not so much.
It's so bizarre. We are talking about a master author here.
January 15, 2024
A wonderful story, poignant and multifaceted. It makes you think. As always, Penric is helping someone else, but this time, his actions bring him in conflict with his demon, Desdemona, and it is hard on them both. Desdemona's maternal instincts flare up against Penric's duty to his god and his temple.
Nobody is to blame, nobody is a villain, but Penric's and Desdemona's interests and desires collide in this tale. Fortunately, the Bastard's benevolent decision reconciles their differences, but I wonder what would've happened between Penric and Desdemona if their mutual God made an opposite choice in this controversial situation.
After all, Penric doesn't have magic without Desdemona's assistance. And Desdemona doesn't have a body without Penric's will. They are a symbiosis, and neither could function 100% without the other. Would they find a mutually acceptable compromise? What would it cost them both?
A powerful, thought-provoking story.
Nobody is to blame, nobody is a villain, but Penric's and Desdemona's interests and desires collide in this tale. Fortunately, the Bastard's benevolent decision reconciles their differences, but I wonder what would've happened between Penric and Desdemona if their mutual God made an opposite choice in this controversial situation.
After all, Penric doesn't have magic without Desdemona's assistance. And Desdemona doesn't have a body without Penric's will. They are a symbiosis, and neither could function 100% without the other. Would they find a mutually acceptable compromise? What would it cost them both?
A powerful, thought-provoking story.
June 5, 2024
[9/10]
“Rightly understood and used, there is no end to the clever things that can be done with demonic magic, despite its being intrinsically chaotic.”
The Penric and Desdemona series is still going strong after a dozen instalments. Demon Daughter is one of the best offers, so far.
Lois McMaster Bujold offers us here another clever and touching episode from the adventures of her sorcerer Penric kin Jurald – a sort of Renaissance man in a fantasy setting. Demon possessed, magic wielder, medical researcher, inventor, author of books, high priest of the Bastard God, shaman trained, sometimes spy or criminal investigator, Penric has lately settled down in the port city of Vilnoc with his family, but troubles keep coming to knock on his door.
The author clearly has not run out of clever ideas and of ethical dilemmas that need to be put in practice with the help of Penric and of his resident demon Desdemona.
The usual added bonus of the story being a stand-alone novella, so that new readers do not need to be familiar with the previous events and characters in order to enjoy the ride still applies.
>>><<<>>><<<
“Tremendously interesting. I see you as if through clear but wavery glass.”
Among the powers granted to the host by its chaotic tenant is a sort of second sight that reveals the auras of demons hiding inside humans or animals. Desdemona, who is one of the oldest recorded entities with eleven serial hosts in her memory banks, has a swirling, multi-coloured, deep aura that can be quite frightening to lesser demons.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, are newly hatched creatures of chaos that have only manifested themselves or made their first jump from animal to human hosts.
This is the case with Otta, a six years old girl who is found stranded on a beach by local fishermen. She is promptly chased to the bottom of a well by the scared locals when they discover that Otta has the power to start fires when frightened. She’s the one with the clear glass aura.
Penric is sent to investigate and quickly identifies the presence of a chaotic entity as clueless and as inexperienced as the little girl. The rules of the Bastard’s order require that the demon be banished back to the chaotic realm before it can take control of its human host and before it becomes a danger to others.
But we readers already know that Penric’s problems are never of the black & white nature. The whole series revolves around the solving of an ethical equation with as much empathy and fairness as possible.
Otta, fitting neither model, was once again outside of his prior experience.
Penric takes little Otta back to his house and family in order to study her and her demon before she is taken to the local saint who can perform the required banishment. While he is waiting, Penric also starts to teach Otta about demons and magic and the way different countries and adepts of the Five Gods treat sorcerers.
This is a very good and concise recap of the whole magic system from the Land of the Five Gods, explained to the readers like they’re five years old [Otta]
“Trust me, in the pursuit of knowledge, I am willing to be as silly as you like.”
Penric is his usual self, pragmatic and methodical, driven both by scientific curiosity and by his enhanced empathy. Some surprising complications come his way from unexpected directions: both Desdemona and his wife and children get attached to the little girl and urge Penric to do his best to save both Otta and her demon.
But will this not endanger Otta when she will be unable to control her uninvited guest? And does the ken Jurald family have the right to adopt the girl when her own family might still be looking for her
“Why be fair?” grumbled Des. “The rest of the world isn’t.”
Desdemona grumbles that Penric is strong enough to do as he pleases. It’s a very good question for all of us who cannot rely on ready made answers provided by a church or preacher. I prefer free will and personal responsibility, the same as Penric, whose Bastrd God moves in mysterious ways that seem designed to test his adherents faith with the moral problems he keeps throwing in their path.
Ever since the first novella in the series, Penric has had to answer this milestone question: is demon possession a gift or a curse?
The answer of course is that it has to be decided anew each time, by each person that is asked. I love how well McMaster Bujold solves the equation:
No Hands But Ours, read the motto of Pen’s Order.
I also love the way these stories deal with spirituality, a gentle and subtle appeal that doesn’t try to antagonize or belittle other ways of thinking. This is done in each book by the presence of either one the Five Gods or one of their saints living among the regular people of the realm.
The river kept making sweet trickling noises over the rocks. The sunlight danced and sparkled on it. It would go on dancing like that even if there were no one to watch. Which would be a shame. So Iroki watched as if for all those absent eyes, as the angle of the light slowly sifted.
I hope the series will continue, because I am as enchanted with the premise and with the actors as I was at the start of the journey to the Land of the Five Gods.
“Rightly understood and used, there is no end to the clever things that can be done with demonic magic, despite its being intrinsically chaotic.”
The Penric and Desdemona series is still going strong after a dozen instalments. Demon Daughter is one of the best offers, so far.
Lois McMaster Bujold offers us here another clever and touching episode from the adventures of her sorcerer Penric kin Jurald – a sort of Renaissance man in a fantasy setting. Demon possessed, magic wielder, medical researcher, inventor, author of books, high priest of the Bastard God, shaman trained, sometimes spy or criminal investigator, Penric has lately settled down in the port city of Vilnoc with his family, but troubles keep coming to knock on his door.
The author clearly has not run out of clever ideas and of ethical dilemmas that need to be put in practice with the help of Penric and of his resident demon Desdemona.
The usual added bonus of the story being a stand-alone novella, so that new readers do not need to be familiar with the previous events and characters in order to enjoy the ride still applies.
>>><<<>>><<<
“Tremendously interesting. I see you as if through clear but wavery glass.”
Among the powers granted to the host by its chaotic tenant is a sort of second sight that reveals the auras of demons hiding inside humans or animals. Desdemona, who is one of the oldest recorded entities with eleven serial hosts in her memory banks, has a swirling, multi-coloured, deep aura that can be quite frightening to lesser demons.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, are newly hatched creatures of chaos that have only manifested themselves or made their first jump from animal to human hosts.
This is the case with Otta, a six years old girl who is found stranded on a beach by local fishermen. She is promptly chased to the bottom of a well by the scared locals when they discover that Otta has the power to start fires when frightened. She’s the one with the clear glass aura.
Penric is sent to investigate and quickly identifies the presence of a chaotic entity as clueless and as inexperienced as the little girl. The rules of the Bastard’s order require that the demon be banished back to the chaotic realm before it can take control of its human host and before it becomes a danger to others.
But we readers already know that Penric’s problems are never of the black & white nature. The whole series revolves around the solving of an ethical equation with as much empathy and fairness as possible.
Otta, fitting neither model, was once again outside of his prior experience.
Penric takes little Otta back to his house and family in order to study her and her demon before she is taken to the local saint who can perform the required banishment. While he is waiting, Penric also starts to teach Otta about demons and magic and the way different countries and adepts of the Five Gods treat sorcerers.
This is a very good and concise recap of the whole magic system from the Land of the Five Gods, explained to the readers like they’re five years old [Otta]
“Trust me, in the pursuit of knowledge, I am willing to be as silly as you like.”
Penric is his usual self, pragmatic and methodical, driven both by scientific curiosity and by his enhanced empathy. Some surprising complications come his way from unexpected directions: both Desdemona and his wife and children get attached to the little girl and urge Penric to do his best to save both Otta and her demon.
But will this not endanger Otta when she will be unable to control her uninvited guest? And does the ken Jurald family have the right to adopt the girl when her own family might still be looking for her
“Why be fair?” grumbled Des. “The rest of the world isn’t.”
Desdemona grumbles that Penric is strong enough to do as he pleases. It’s a very good question for all of us who cannot rely on ready made answers provided by a church or preacher. I prefer free will and personal responsibility, the same as Penric, whose Bastrd God moves in mysterious ways that seem designed to test his adherents faith with the moral problems he keeps throwing in their path.
Ever since the first novella in the series, Penric has had to answer this milestone question: is demon possession a gift or a curse?
The answer of course is that it has to be decided anew each time, by each person that is asked. I love how well McMaster Bujold solves the equation:
No Hands But Ours, read the motto of Pen’s Order.
I also love the way these stories deal with spirituality, a gentle and subtle appeal that doesn’t try to antagonize or belittle other ways of thinking. This is done in each book by the presence of either one the Five Gods or one of their saints living among the regular people of the realm.
The river kept making sweet trickling noises over the rocks. The sunlight danced and sparkled on it. It would go on dancing like that even if there were no one to watch. Which would be a shame. So Iroki watched as if for all those absent eyes, as the angle of the light slowly sifted.
I hope the series will continue, because I am as enchanted with the premise and with the actors as I was at the start of the journey to the Land of the Five Gods.
January 15, 2024
Another excellent novella in my favorite comfort-read series.
The blurb sets up the story:
"A six-year-old shiplost girl draws the kin Jurald family of Vilnoc into complex dilemmas, and sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona into conflict—with each other. It will take all of Penric’s wits, his wife Nikys’s wisdom, and the hand of the fifth god’s strangest saint to untangle the threads of their future."
I loved Otta, our 6-year old, who witnessed her father's burning ship sail away, leaving her in the water, clinging to a board. Penric quickly determines that she possess a very young demon and sets out to teach her how to cope. Penric's children, daughter Rina, 7, and son Wyn, 4, also set out to help Otta feel at home. Nikys, as always, was a font of motherly concern, backed by common sense.
The conflict between Penric and Desdemona was profound, with Des worried about the fate of Otta's demon, and Penric worried about what was best for Otta.
All ends well, of course. I came away feeling comforted, though i suspect the next few years will be interesting for all concerned.
I hope that Bujold will give us more Penric stories in the coming years. I'll be waiting...
The blurb sets up the story:
"A six-year-old shiplost girl draws the kin Jurald family of Vilnoc into complex dilemmas, and sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona into conflict—with each other. It will take all of Penric’s wits, his wife Nikys’s wisdom, and the hand of the fifth god’s strangest saint to untangle the threads of their future."
I loved Otta, our 6-year old, who witnessed her father's burning ship sail away, leaving her in the water, clinging to a board. Penric quickly determines that she possess a very young demon and sets out to teach her how to cope. Penric's children, daughter Rina, 7, and son Wyn, 4, also set out to help Otta feel at home. Nikys, as always, was a font of motherly concern, backed by common sense.
The conflict between Penric and Desdemona was profound, with Des worried about the fate of Otta's demon, and Penric worried about what was best for Otta.
All ends well, of course. I came away feeling comforted, though i suspect the next few years will be interesting for all concerned.
I hope that Bujold will give us more Penric stories in the coming years. I'll be waiting...
January 18, 2024
Wonderful edition to the series
January 14, 2024
Found families
Demon Daughter is book 12 in Lois McMaster Bujold's reliably entertaining Penric and Desdemona series. The stories take place in Bujold's World of the Five Gods and feature as main characters sorcerer Penric and his demon Desdemona. Penric either possesses or is possessed by Desdemona -- the relationship is complicated, but however you slice it, Pen and Des (as they call each other) are good companions sharing Penric's body.
The Penric and Desdemona books are like the world's best buddy-cop show. Thus I was apprehensive when the publisher's blurb mentioned "A six-year-old ship-lost girl draws ... sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona into conflict". I was not looking forward to suffering through a novella's worth of Pen and Des having a real fight. But I had faith in Bujold, and it was justified.
The story begins when a six-year-old girl becomes possessed by/of a brand-new demon. Subsequently she falls into Penric's care, and the difficult ethical issues raised by such a young child and such a young demon are of course vividly present in the minds of both Penric and Desdemona. It is about these that they disagree. But I will spoil no more!
Much of the story is told from the point of view of Otta, the six-year-old girl in question. Thus, we spend a great deal of time inside Otta's head, and this was, I thought, particularly well done. It's a very difficult thing for an adult to do well, to report from inside the head of an intelligent six-year-old. There are almost as many ways to get it wrong as there are authors who have tried it. But Bujold nailed it. Her Otta is not a small adult, she's inexperienced but not stupid, she's both fearful and happy when those things make sense, and she is not particularly cute.
Because we spend so much time with Otta, there is less of Penric and Des than usual.
Demon Daughter is one of the best of the Penric and Desdemona books.
Blog review.
Demon Daughter is book 12 in Lois McMaster Bujold's reliably entertaining Penric and Desdemona series. The stories take place in Bujold's World of the Five Gods and feature as main characters sorcerer Penric and his demon Desdemona. Penric either possesses or is possessed by Desdemona -- the relationship is complicated, but however you slice it, Pen and Des (as they call each other) are good companions sharing Penric's body.
The Penric and Desdemona books are like the world's best buddy-cop show. Thus I was apprehensive when the publisher's blurb mentioned "A six-year-old ship-lost girl draws ... sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona into conflict". I was not looking forward to suffering through a novella's worth of Pen and Des having a real fight. But I had faith in Bujold, and it was justified.
The story begins when a six-year-old girl becomes possessed by/of a brand-new demon. Subsequently she falls into Penric's care, and the difficult ethical issues raised by such a young child and such a young demon are of course vividly present in the minds of both Penric and Desdemona. It is about these that they disagree. But I will spoil no more!
Much of the story is told from the point of view of Otta, the six-year-old girl in question. Thus, we spend a great deal of time inside Otta's head, and this was, I thought, particularly well done. It's a very difficult thing for an adult to do well, to report from inside the head of an intelligent six-year-old. There are almost as many ways to get it wrong as there are authors who have tried it. But Bujold nailed it. Her Otta is not a small adult, she's inexperienced but not stupid, she's both fearful and happy when those things make sense, and she is not particularly cute.
Because we spend so much time with Otta, there is less of Penric and Des than usual.
Demon Daughter is one of the best of the Penric and Desdemona books.
Blog review.
May 7, 2024
A girl is thrown off her father’s ship, and horrific as this is, this pales in the six-year-old Otta’s mind, when compared to all the new visions she sees when interacting with others, and the fires miraculously appearing around her.
Thank goodness Penric, Desdemona and Nykis take the girl in and teach her to communicate with them, to interpret the things her bonded, baby elemental Atto shows her, to control her new sorcerous abilities, and to give her a safe, loving home in which to stay.
Desdemona’s protective, maternal-like feelings for the elemental were a nice surprise, and also cause some unexpected friction between her and Penric.
The ending was lovely, and sets the young Otta on a new trajectory in her life.
The Penric and Desdemona stories are so comforting, with intelligent, kind people finding humane and compassionate solutions, whenever possible, to difficult situations.
Thank goodness Penric, Desdemona and Nykis take the girl in and teach her to communicate with them, to interpret the things her bonded, baby elemental Atto shows her, to control her new sorcerous abilities, and to give her a safe, loving home in which to stay.
Desdemona’s protective, maternal-like feelings for the elemental were a nice surprise, and also cause some unexpected friction between her and Penric.
The ending was lovely, and sets the young Otta on a new trajectory in her life.
The Penric and Desdemona stories are so comforting, with intelligent, kind people finding humane and compassionate solutions, whenever possible, to difficult situations.
March 6, 2024
12 Books already!!!! One of the absolute best novella series out there. Penic and his demon Desdemona have a bit of a tiff in this tale as a young girl picks up a demon by accident and sets things on fire as a result. What to do? What will the gods do? What will Penric's family do?
April 13, 2024
This one was a slower, quieter story than most in the series with a rather expected outcome. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it very much. Now I am sad because I have read all of the books in the series to date and have to wait and hope that Bujold will write another.
March 19, 2024
Lovely return to Penric. I hope Bujold keeps on writing these until the end of the world. I hope she's a vampire and will never stop writing.
There's a fundamental kindness to it that makes the story warm and lovely even though there is so much darkness in this world in which Penric's household and the religion he serves continue to bring light and kindness to others. The story doesn't flinch, never uses pain and suffering lightly (there's pregnancy loss, cruelty towards animals, sexual violence, etc.) but doesn't focus on it as much as on healing and coping, even when this coping is not done in ways we might expect. And it's just such a comfort read precisely because it's about thriving despite the pain. I loved Desdemona in this volume - but then I always do.
(I will do an all-Bujold month one of these days and it'll be glorious.)
There's a fundamental kindness to it that makes the story warm and lovely even though there is so much darkness in this world in which Penric's household and the religion he serves continue to bring light and kindness to others. The story doesn't flinch, never uses pain and suffering lightly (there's pregnancy loss, cruelty towards animals, sexual violence, etc.) but doesn't focus on it as much as on healing and coping, even when this coping is not done in ways we might expect. And it's just such a comfort read precisely because it's about thriving despite the pain. I loved Desdemona in this volume - but then I always do.
(I will do an all-Bujold month one of these days and it'll be glorious.)
February 7, 2024
4.5*
Always a pleasure to return to this world and characters.
Always a pleasure to return to this world and characters.
January 22, 2024
Going through hard times (or just having a cold) makes me want to snuggle in bed with a book that isn’t saccharine… but won’t make me feel even worse than I already do, either!
The P&D books are just the ticket. Although not devoid of sadness, even tragedy, they each glow with an inner warmth that leaves you looking at the world—our world—with a little less despair, a little less disgust. And who doesn't need that, nowadays? What Bujold has built for us with this series is a welcoming home—one that may get unmoored at times, sure, and then tossed hither and thither from adventure to misadventure, but still a home that will never sink in any storm.
Bujold’s writing, I should add, is always funny, in an understated way. Her quick darts of dry wit—just a few words, always—never miss their mark. Demon Daughter has its share of such darts, but adds to it the sly enjoyment of seeing the world (and dear Penric himself!) through the eyes of a very young protagonist.
Also, who knew fish could be so funny?
The P&D books are just the ticket. Although not devoid of sadness, even tragedy, they each glow with an inner warmth that leaves you looking at the world—our world—with a little less despair, a little less disgust. And who doesn't need that, nowadays? What Bujold has built for us with this series is a welcoming home—one that may get unmoored at times, sure, and then tossed hither and thither from adventure to misadventure, but still a home that will never sink in any storm.
Bujold’s writing, I should add, is always funny, in an understated way. Her quick darts of dry wit—just a few words, always—never miss their mark. Demon Daughter has its share of such darts, but adds to it the sly enjoyment of seeing the world (and dear Penric himself!) through the eyes of a very young protagonist.
Also, who knew fish could be so funny?
March 31, 2024
A lovely pastoral fantasy with some sharp edges. Everything gets sorted out pretty well at the end. But Otta, Atto and the new blended family are in for some interesting times in the years ahead. And the new sorcerette’s relationship with her birth family? To be determined . . .
Bujold is just a flat amazing writer. Saint Iroki! Wow. This is, I think, my second-favorite Pen/Des after “Mira’s Last Dance.” 4.5 stars, most highly recommended. And an amazing Kindle bargain at $4! Not to be missed.
Jo Walton said:
"I can’t imagine anyone else taking something horrific like demonic possession and making it so domesticated. ... I loved reading this."
https://reactormag.com/jo-waltons-rea...
My Kindle notes and highlights: https://www.goodreads.com/notes/20504...
Bujold is just a flat amazing writer. Saint Iroki! Wow. This is, I think, my second-favorite Pen/Des after “Mira’s Last Dance.” 4.5 stars, most highly recommended. And an amazing Kindle bargain at $4! Not to be missed.
Jo Walton said:
"I can’t imagine anyone else taking something horrific like demonic possession and making it so domesticated. ... I loved reading this."
https://reactormag.com/jo-waltons-rea...
My Kindle notes and highlights: https://www.goodreads.com/notes/20504...
May 4, 2024
This one was fascinating. Less sad than the last one but very thought provoking. Penric and Desdemona at odds with one another over the fate of a six year old girl and her demon. A lot of Nikys’ in this one. Some of the reviews say she’s boring. I don’t find her boring exactly but maybe a bit one dimensional. Otta felt more alive to me. And of course Penric and Desdemona are very alive and vibrant.
I’m not sure but with Nikys (and Ekaterin) there is a lot of past trauma which can make a person tamp down their personality. More so with Ekaterin perhaps. I remember reading Komarr and her relationship with Etienne made me wince. Anyhow my mind is going off in tangents and I need coffee.
I’m not sure but with Nikys (and Ekaterin) there is a lot of past trauma which can make a person tamp down their personality. More so with Ekaterin perhaps. I remember reading Komarr and her relationship with Etienne made me wince. Anyhow my mind is going off in tangents and I need coffee.
February 17, 2024
I thought this was another good story in the series, with some good character development for Penric and his family and also for the new character Otta, although sometimes I felt she was maybe a bit too perceptive for a six year-old.
May 1, 2024
Always a delight to return to this universe and these characters.
January 10, 2024
pleasant yet poignant
Pen & Des are simple fantasy. Not world ending, not massively impactful magic, no swords and fireballs. Almost cozy.
Except…there are still some quietly meaningful moments.
There’s a reason Lois is a grandmaster of fantastical fiction.
Pen & Des are simple fantasy. Not world ending, not massively impactful magic, no swords and fireballs. Almost cozy.
Except…there are still some quietly meaningful moments.
There’s a reason Lois is a grandmaster of fantastical fiction.
January 11, 2024
More delicious Penric. Yes please 😊
January 9, 2024
Lovely story
When you love characters like Penric and Nikys et al, in a series like this you find yourself pining for a glimpse of their home life. Or at least I did. This story delivers on that while laying out a tangle for Penric, Des and his god to resolve that while simple on the outside, speaks to the importance of choices in taming chaos. Its hard for me to judge how someone new to this series would see this story. I think that you would have had to live/read through Penric's more extreme adventures to appreciate this tale as the perfect moment it was.
When you love characters like Penric and Nikys et al, in a series like this you find yourself pining for a glimpse of their home life. Or at least I did. This story delivers on that while laying out a tangle for Penric, Des and his god to resolve that while simple on the outside, speaks to the importance of choices in taming chaos. Its hard for me to judge how someone new to this series would see this story. I think that you would have had to live/read through Penric's more extreme adventures to appreciate this tale as the perfect moment it was.
January 27, 2024
Demon Daughter – not Demon’s Daughter because that would be a different genre altogether – is a delightfully cozy entry in the Penric and Desdemona series.
Not that there isn’t plenty of chaos along the way – because the god that Learned Penric kin Jurald serves as both sorcerer and Divine IS chaos. Or at least the god thereof. Penric serves the Fifth God, the Lord Bastard, the “master of all disasters out of season”. His god is also called the “White God” which, now that I’m thinking about it, makes him a sort of kin to the “White Rat” god in T. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel series. Which actually works if you think about it a bit.
I digress.
For a series consisting entirely of novellas, Penric and Desdemona’s adventures are not only compelling, but they always leave me thinking more than expected. Because this is a world where the gods absolutely are manifest in people’s lives – not just by faith, but by having real influence on and actions in the world. (Also they explicitly come to their own people’s funerals, sometimes even in person, to take them ‘home’.)
Penric has spoken directly with his god, not just in the sense of prayers and imprecations, but as a real conversation. Although usually when his god is talking to him it means that Penric’s life is about to have more than the usual amount of chaos thrown into it. Again.
Which is exactly what happens in Demon Daughter, in a roundabout sort of way. The chaos at least.
A little girl aboard her father’s ship pets a literal white rat (see, that connection isn’t quite so obscure after all) and starts setting things on fire. Aboard a wooden ship, that’s a recipe for death, disaster and oh yes and very much, chaos.
In a contest between little Otta and the entire crew of the merchant vessel, well, there’s not even a contest – even though the ship’s owner and captain is her own father. Otta gets thrown overboard while the crew sets to work putting out the fires, plural, lest they all end up joining her in the drink.
She washes ashore not far from Penric’s home in Vilnoc, gets scared, sets off more fires, and this time gets put in the bottom of a dry well while the local priest calls for somebody, anybody, from the Bastard’s Order to deal with this mess – because it most definitely is the Bastard’s business. Which gets Penric, his wife Nikys, and his demon Desdemona setting out for the tiny coastal village.
They take the little girl home and into their hearts. All of their hearts, including the demon Desdemona’s – in spite of Desdemona not having an actual heart or even a body of her own. Which becomes the real conflict within Penric.
His family wants to adopt the little girl as their own. Desdemona wants to adopt the little girl’s little demon as her own. But Penric answers to the White God, and he may have other plans, that may very well hinge on which choice adds the most chaos to Penric’s already chaotic life.
Escape Rating A: This twelfth entry in the Penric and Desdemona series could almost be classed as a ‘cozy fantasy’. Even with all the chaos naturally generated by Penric’s service to the Lord Bastard, this particular story is very home-oriented and relationship-centric in a way that is just warm and, well, cozy, because Penric’s household is both of those things – even in the depths of winter while he’s teaching a young girl and her even younger demon the art of NOT setting everything on fire.
Which turns out to be all about making sure Otta is not anxious and afraid – not the easiest things to do for a child who has been literally thrown away from her home and family, is scared out of her wits that she might have accidentally killed everyone she loves, and is forced to deal with concepts and responsibilities that are well beyond her years.
Otta is an accidental sorceress, just as Penric became an equally accidental sorcerer twenty years ago, a story told in Penric’s Demon. But Penric was an adult, maybe just barely, but old enough to attend Seminary and learn the ropes of being a Temple Sorcerer and Learned Divine and all that went with it. AND more importantly, having enough experience to truly understand what he was learning. Most of it anyway.
His demon, Desdemona, was centuries old, very experienced, and was as much his teacher as any of his more corporeal tutors.
Otta is just six, her demon’s very first manifestation was that little white rat, and it only received a few days of experience at most. It can’t teach her and she can’t teach it – but Penric and Desdemona are perfect for that job. Jobs.
But Otta is just a little girl, just as Atto, her demon, is just a very little demon. It is Penric’s duty to train Otta enough that she stops setting fires. But she becomes part of the family, which is where all the conflicts and all the thoughts that raced through my head came in.
How does a small child cope when adult responsibilities are thrust upon them? More importantly, how does anyone cope when all of their teaching and training up to that point has indoctrinated them into believing that they have become an abomination – because the thing they are is something they have been taught doesn’t exist and should absolutely not be believed in?
Those are big questions, questions that little Otta has to wrestle with in a way that Penric never did. (His people did believe in the Fifth God, even if none of them ever expected to serve him directly. Otta’s people absolutely did NOT.) Those big questions and indoctrinated beliefs lead to choices that Otta and only Otta can make – all Penric and Desdemona can do is give them a strong foundation on which to stand while they make that choice.
It’s those questions that stick in my mind after finishing Demon Daughter. Because there are entirely too many people in the real world who face that dilemma every day while trying to live their truth even though they’ve been taught by family, faith and community that their truth is a lie.
In Otta’s case it’s easy to see the solution – even as we feel how difficult it is for a little girl to turn away from everything she’s known and form a new path for herself and the little demon she has become responsible for. In the real world, it’s not nearly so easy, both because Otta has a good, firm support network in Penric, Desdemona, and their family, and because the reality of her god is, well, real in a way that can erase many doubts. But her being forced to decide whether to break with her birth family or give up the thing that makes her whole breaks my heart even more than Otta’s decision nearly broke Penric’s, Desdemona’s, and even Otta’s own.
Now that Otta has become part of Penric’s household, it will be fun to see how his and Des’ training of the little sorcerette (Otta is much too little to be even an apprentice sorceress – yet) works its way into the next bit of chaos that the Lord Bastard sends their way. I’m already looking forward to reading those adventures, whenever the chaos surrounding their deity allows them to appear!
Originally published at Reading Reality
Not that there isn’t plenty of chaos along the way – because the god that Learned Penric kin Jurald serves as both sorcerer and Divine IS chaos. Or at least the god thereof. Penric serves the Fifth God, the Lord Bastard, the “master of all disasters out of season”. His god is also called the “White God” which, now that I’m thinking about it, makes him a sort of kin to the “White Rat” god in T. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel series. Which actually works if you think about it a bit.
I digress.
For a series consisting entirely of novellas, Penric and Desdemona’s adventures are not only compelling, but they always leave me thinking more than expected. Because this is a world where the gods absolutely are manifest in people’s lives – not just by faith, but by having real influence on and actions in the world. (Also they explicitly come to their own people’s funerals, sometimes even in person, to take them ‘home’.)
Penric has spoken directly with his god, not just in the sense of prayers and imprecations, but as a real conversation. Although usually when his god is talking to him it means that Penric’s life is about to have more than the usual amount of chaos thrown into it. Again.
Which is exactly what happens in Demon Daughter, in a roundabout sort of way. The chaos at least.
A little girl aboard her father’s ship pets a literal white rat (see, that connection isn’t quite so obscure after all) and starts setting things on fire. Aboard a wooden ship, that’s a recipe for death, disaster and oh yes and very much, chaos.
In a contest between little Otta and the entire crew of the merchant vessel, well, there’s not even a contest – even though the ship’s owner and captain is her own father. Otta gets thrown overboard while the crew sets to work putting out the fires, plural, lest they all end up joining her in the drink.
She washes ashore not far from Penric’s home in Vilnoc, gets scared, sets off more fires, and this time gets put in the bottom of a dry well while the local priest calls for somebody, anybody, from the Bastard’s Order to deal with this mess – because it most definitely is the Bastard’s business. Which gets Penric, his wife Nikys, and his demon Desdemona setting out for the tiny coastal village.
They take the little girl home and into their hearts. All of their hearts, including the demon Desdemona’s – in spite of Desdemona not having an actual heart or even a body of her own. Which becomes the real conflict within Penric.
His family wants to adopt the little girl as their own. Desdemona wants to adopt the little girl’s little demon as her own. But Penric answers to the White God, and he may have other plans, that may very well hinge on which choice adds the most chaos to Penric’s already chaotic life.
Escape Rating A: This twelfth entry in the Penric and Desdemona series could almost be classed as a ‘cozy fantasy’. Even with all the chaos naturally generated by Penric’s service to the Lord Bastard, this particular story is very home-oriented and relationship-centric in a way that is just warm and, well, cozy, because Penric’s household is both of those things – even in the depths of winter while he’s teaching a young girl and her even younger demon the art of NOT setting everything on fire.
Which turns out to be all about making sure Otta is not anxious and afraid – not the easiest things to do for a child who has been literally thrown away from her home and family, is scared out of her wits that she might have accidentally killed everyone she loves, and is forced to deal with concepts and responsibilities that are well beyond her years.
Otta is an accidental sorceress, just as Penric became an equally accidental sorcerer twenty years ago, a story told in Penric’s Demon. But Penric was an adult, maybe just barely, but old enough to attend Seminary and learn the ropes of being a Temple Sorcerer and Learned Divine and all that went with it. AND more importantly, having enough experience to truly understand what he was learning. Most of it anyway.
His demon, Desdemona, was centuries old, very experienced, and was as much his teacher as any of his more corporeal tutors.
Otta is just six, her demon’s very first manifestation was that little white rat, and it only received a few days of experience at most. It can’t teach her and she can’t teach it – but Penric and Desdemona are perfect for that job. Jobs.
But Otta is just a little girl, just as Atto, her demon, is just a very little demon. It is Penric’s duty to train Otta enough that she stops setting fires. But she becomes part of the family, which is where all the conflicts and all the thoughts that raced through my head came in.
How does a small child cope when adult responsibilities are thrust upon them? More importantly, how does anyone cope when all of their teaching and training up to that point has indoctrinated them into believing that they have become an abomination – because the thing they are is something they have been taught doesn’t exist and should absolutely not be believed in?
Those are big questions, questions that little Otta has to wrestle with in a way that Penric never did. (His people did believe in the Fifth God, even if none of them ever expected to serve him directly. Otta’s people absolutely did NOT.) Those big questions and indoctrinated beliefs lead to choices that Otta and only Otta can make – all Penric and Desdemona can do is give them a strong foundation on which to stand while they make that choice.
It’s those questions that stick in my mind after finishing Demon Daughter. Because there are entirely too many people in the real world who face that dilemma every day while trying to live their truth even though they’ve been taught by family, faith and community that their truth is a lie.
In Otta’s case it’s easy to see the solution – even as we feel how difficult it is for a little girl to turn away from everything she’s known and form a new path for herself and the little demon she has become responsible for. In the real world, it’s not nearly so easy, both because Otta has a good, firm support network in Penric, Desdemona, and their family, and because the reality of her god is, well, real in a way that can erase many doubts. But her being forced to decide whether to break with her birth family or give up the thing that makes her whole breaks my heart even more than Otta’s decision nearly broke Penric’s, Desdemona’s, and even Otta’s own.
Now that Otta has become part of Penric’s household, it will be fun to see how his and Des’ training of the little sorcerette (Otta is much too little to be even an apprentice sorceress – yet) works its way into the next bit of chaos that the Lord Bastard sends their way. I’m already looking forward to reading those adventures, whenever the chaos surrounding their deity allows them to appear!
Originally published at Reading Reality
February 14, 2024
Being a Lois McMaster Bujold fan i grabbed this on publication. The Penric novellas are set in the world of the Five Gods, though a few hundred years before the events in (my all time favourite book) The Curse of Chalion. Penric shares his being with demon, Desdemona, which is, after some twenty-plus years a comfortable working relationship. It makes him a Temple Sorcerer, and he's frequently called in to solve some demonic dilemma or ethical quandary. This time he's called to a fishing village where a six year old girl has washed up on shore, imbued with a very young demon which is currently setting fires all over the village. Deemed dangerous, the villagers imprison the child down a (dry) well. Enter Pen and his wife Nickys who set about training the child in how not to set her surroundings on fire, and from there her training continues. Pen and Nickys take in the child (and the demon) but the time is coming when they have to take her to the saint and let the god decide whether the demon stays or goes. Though the child once wanted the demon gone, she's not so sure now. Des has firm views, which puts her at loggerheads with Pen. This is a low-stakes, but engaging story and I was fairly sure where it was going to end up. That's not a problem - it's the journey to the conclusion that counts.
March 5, 2024
A young girl washes up on the beach of a coastal town, and since she has a demon Penric is dispatched to deal with her. Pen and Desdemona are at odds in this story, which was a novel development. (I never doubted that things would end well and they would reconcile, but it was still interesting to see.) Nikys also got a fair bit to do in this story, although she remains rather bland--Pen is so much more active and exuberant.
August 3, 2024
Probably the most domestic of the entire series. What a pleasure to see Penric as a dad (loving, full of dad jokes, still a nerd). And super interesting to see what happens when Pen and Des aren't aligned. I think it's one of my favorites, but I have so much love for the entire series. The world of the five gods feels so lived in and real. Please Lois McMaster Bujold, keep them coming!
January 15, 2024
Delightful and Touching
The latest Pen and Des novella both in chronological order and publication. Written with charm this is a story about family, found and biological. One of my favourite instalments.
The latest Pen and Des novella both in chronological order and publication. Written with charm this is a story about family, found and biological. One of my favourite instalments.
January 21, 2024
I liked this installment of the series for its mix of cozy domesticity and genuinely thorny moral and theological issues.
[2024 READING CHALLENGE: a few pages over qualifying for TL;DR so I'll count it for the LOTL category.]
[2024 READING CHALLENGE: a few pages over qualifying for TL;DR so I'll count it for the LOTL category.]
May 2, 2024
A relatively sweet story about a 6-year-old girl with a new and scary power in her. Penric and Nikys and the family are adorable as they help Otta, and the pain involved in the ethics was understandable for everyone. Just a nice port in a storm.
January 10, 2024
Oh my :) So beautiful. Loved the fish.
January 18, 2024
Another good entry into the Pen & Des story.
February 5, 2024
A neatly wrapped, gorgeous novella. Albeit with a predictable end, I still enjoyed it as much as every other part of this series.
February 11, 2024
These stories are like coming home, and thankfully this one was less sad than the last.
Pen and Des must rescue and shelter and teach a young child with a young demon. Wholesome family vibes ensue.
Pen and Des must rescue and shelter and teach a young child with a young demon. Wholesome family vibes ensue.
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