Short Book Review: Penric and Desdemona Tackle Possessed Ox

The Adventure of the Demonic Ox, by Lois McMaster Bujold (Subterranean)

The Demonic Ox is yet another enchanting adventure featuring cleric-scholar Learned Penric and the centuries-old chaos demon, Desdemona, who has taken up residence in his mind. In past adventures, Des has given Pen supernatural powers of healing, perception, and strength, and she has a wicked (literally, since she is a demon) sense of humor, but her long existence through many hosts has made her extraordinarily powerful, a fact that Pen never forgets. Now Pen is summoned to investigate a different sort of demonic possession, the host being a valuable ox. Under the quite reasonable expectation that this will be a simple enough matter to resolve (is the ox actually possessed or crazed with a natural illness?), Pen brings along a small coterie of youngsters from his household. He expects the outing to be pleasant and instructive, but unfortunately, he is mistaken. A series of increasingly disastrous turns of events risks not only Pen’s life but those of his young charges.

Like previous adventures, Demonic Ox begins in a slow-paced manner, focusing on everyday family relationships. The sudden reversals spin the story at a breakneck pace, and the increasingly desperate conditions reveal new aspects of the central characters. Although Demonic Ox is not a good entrance point into the series, for established readers, it offers a richly rewarding journey.

I can hardly wait to read what happens next!

Very Short Book Review: Penric and Desdemona in "The Corpse Isn't Dead"

Knot of Shadows (A Penric & Desdemona Novella in the World of the Five Gods) by Lois McMaster Bujold (Subterranean)

Knot of Shadows (A Penric & Desdemona Novella in the World of the Five Gods) by Lois McMaster Bujold is not your ordinary murder mystery, but anything involving Temple sorcerer Penric and his chaos demon, Desdemona, is bound to be anything but ordinary. In this case, they’re called in to investigate when a drowning victim turns out to be not quite dead. The animated corpse houses two souls, sundered from the care of their gods, the result of vile and highly illegal death magic. But is the corpse the victim or the perpetrator, a person so desperate to avenge a wrong that they are willing to sacrifice their own soul?

As usual for these novellas, the story is intricately crafted, and full of snappy dialog, vivid characters, and profound emotions. I hope we’ll see many more of them.