The Assassins of Thasalon, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Subterranean)
I first fell in love with…isn’t that the best way to begin a
book review? In the case of Lois McMaster Bujold, the love affair goes back to Ethan
of Athos (1986) and Falling Free (1988) Once Miles Vorkosigian burst
upon the scene, I was thoroughly hooked. The Curst of Chalion, the first
novel set in the World of Five Gods, saved me one convention (I think it was a
WorldCon) when I ended up with a concussion from getting slammed in the head by
a heavy glass door. I stayed an extra night, reading and re-reading, marveling
at the layers of richness. But I digress: Chalion was followed by the equally
awesome Paladin of Souls, then The Hallowed Hunt, and—about 100
years earlier in chronology—the Penric and Desdemona novellas. I gobbled them
all up, although Chalion retains a special, perhaps concussion-inspired,
place in my heart.
Penric is this world’s version of a healer/cleric, both
aspects being supernaturally inspired by his god, the Bastard, and the many-generations-old
temple demon, Desdemona, who shares his mind and, occasionally, his body.
Through her, he can tap into magical powers as well as the experience and
memories of her former hosts. “Demon” has a different connotation here than the
one typically used. While she is definitely a non-material being, she was born
of chaos and has been shaped into a person by her relationships with her human
hosts. She’s also sly and sarcastic, although she would never admit to being
loving.
Which brings us to the latest adventure, novel-length
instead of the previous novellas. The set-up is framed as a mystery: who is
trying to assassinate Penric’s brother-in-law, the exiled, brilliant general?
In the process of tracking down the attempted murder and preventing further
attacks, Pen and Desdemona uncover a plot that goes right to the heart of what
makes a person, and what part does the right use of power (or the atrocities of
its misuse) play? In too many fantasy stories, characters lack family ties, or
they have them, the families are off-stage and forgotten. Not so in this
series. Penric lives in a matrix of people he loved and who love him, sometimes
as vividly present when he is hundreds of miles away as when they’re in the
same scene.
Bujold is such a skillful writer, her work is a joy to read.
I’m hooked on the first page, wanting to read faster to find out what happens
next and yet wanting to read slowly to savor all the nuances. She plays fair
with giving the reader all the necessary information, but she doesn’t berate,
lecture, or inflict long explanations. Beneath the mystery-plot, there are
layers and layers of story-gold. Although I rejoiced at the novel length, the end
still came too soon.
Like the previous Penric and Desdemona stories, this one can
be read as a stand-alone, although the references to previous happenings and
off-stage characters would be enhanced by having read the adventures that
involve them. On the other hand, as an entry drug, it’s a grand excuse to sample
this world and its people, and then run off and delve into what has come
before.
Highly recommended.
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