Review by Booklist Review
Let me serve you in your need, Learned. Those eight words change a young man's life forever, not necessarily for the better. Penric of kin Jurald, the younger brother of a minor valley lord, is a kindhearted if aimless soul. His naïve offer of assistance to a mortally wounded elderly woman results in him becoming possessed by a powerful demon of the White God. Having everyone consider him crazy and being a sorcerer had never been Penric's ambition though the sorcerer part does have some appeal. In his own straightforward manner, Pen must deal with the demon before she becomes dominant a dangerous situation that would lead others to take matters into their own hands and destroys him as well as herself. Bujold expands the World of Five Gods series with this novella set between the events in The Curse of Chalion (2001) and The Hallowed Hunt (2005). Fans of fantasy with clever, innocent underdog characters will root for Penric to beat the odds and hope to visit him and his demon again.--Lockley, Lucy Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bujold (Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen) returns to her World of the Five Gods universe with a novella filled with a satisfying blend of strong characters and wry humor. Lord Penric kin Jurald is a younger son of a minor noble house whose life is radically altered on his way to his betrothal. On the road to Greenwell Town, he volunteers his assistance to a dying Temple Divine (a kind of priestess). As the Divine passes away, Desdemona, the demon dwelling within her, leaps into Penric. With the unexpected acquisition of a demon, Pen becomes a sorcerer and now must travel to Martensbridge, where the Divine's order is located, to make an account of what occurred and, if possible, come to terms with the demon within. The demon has had 12 previous hosts, making it powerful and a very desired commodity. Bujold creates a good-hearted, if somewhat naive, fellow in Penric and a fascinating multivoiced character in Desdemona. The banter between the two and the bizarre situation that Penric finds himself in add levity to this fantasy road story. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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