We loved the groundbreaking Miles Vorkosigan series that took science fiction and shook it firmly, so that it didn’t quite go back the same way, again – see my review of Cryoburn. So we were delighted when Bujold started self-publishing this delightful fantasy series, featuring a young man possessed by demons, set in her World of the Five Gods series. See my reviews of Penric’s Demon, Penric and the Shaman, Penric’s Mission, Mira’s Last Dance, Penric’s Fox, The Prisoner of Limnos, and The Orphans of Raspay and The Physicians of Vilnoc. And it was a wonderful treat to discover that this year, there was to be another offering.
BLURB: Bastard’s Eve is a night of celebration for most residents in the canal city of Lodi — but not for sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona, who find themselves caught up in the affairs of a shiplost madman, a dangerous ascendant demon, and a very unexpected saint of the fifth god.
This novella falls between “Penric’s Fox” and “Penric’s Mission” in the internal chronology of the Penric & Desdemona tales.
REVIEW: As ever, Penric is an enjoyable protagonist. It was interesting to go back to a time when he isn’t so self assured and mature in his judgements. Bujold has a habit of dotting around, so the publishing chronology isn’t the same as the internal chronology. But while it’s worth knowing, so that the characterisation is consistent, other than that, I don’t find it too much of a problem.
Bujold is an experienced author, with a smooth, readable style and while I did enjoy this one, I was aware that there wasn’t quite the same depth of plotting, this time around. We get told that Penric is reeling from some personal losses, but I would have preferred to have had this demonstrated.
I also felt that the pacing was slightly off – the main part of the plot didn’t feel quite substantial enough to sustain the story for its length. It didn’t help that I guessed early who the culprit was – and this time around I was right. It didn’t mean that the adventure dragged – Bujold is too good a writer to let that happen, but it wasn’t as intense and fulfilling a read as usual. Which means that it was good, rather than outstanding. I’ll take that. Writers who can work at Bujold’s level consistently are rare – and an 8 is perfectly respectable.
I’ve been reading for far too long to be arrogant enough to ‘expect’ a 10 every time from any author. Because, let’s face it, a 10 is a gift of a reading experience. Something magical and mind-altering. And the day I start ‘expecting’ that is probably the day that I’ll give up reading, as I will have become far too jaded and entitled.
Recommended for fans of the series – but if you have just picked this one up, I do recommend that you go back to the beginning and start from there. Though if you do, I suggest you follow Bujold’s internal chronology, rather than the publishing one.
8/10
Brainfluff 
I often forget that 10 or 5 (depending on how you rate) is exceptional, and we can’t always expect our favorite writers to hit those marks. 😁
Absolutely! And I was reminding myself, as well as everyone else. Because I was conscious of actually feeling a bit disappointed I was ONLY giving this novella an 8. And that simply won’t do…
In the Vorkosigan saga there are shorter works that, while still good, are not on the same level as the main stories, so it stands to reason that not all the “adventures” of Penric and Desdemona would deserve a 10. Still, I need to move forward with this series (I read only the first one) because otherwise I would feel guilty of not sampling other Bujold works… 😉
And most of the novellas have been a 10! Which was why I was talking about giving this one an 8. Most of them are absolute gems – The Physicians of Vilnoc, for instance, was an amazing read… And I loved some of the Vorkosigan shorter reads, too:))
An author that I keep promising myself I’ll read but then just don’t seem to be able to carve out the time to do so.
Lynn 😀
Well, if you do decide to treat yourself – I highly recommend this lovely series. The novellas mean each one is an entertaining, engrossing read that doesn’t take too long – and because she self pubs these, they are also excellent value for money!