Masquerade in Lodi by Lois McMaster Bujold
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another fun and satisfying episode in the life of Penric and Desdemona. I love just about any version of fantasy Venice, and Bujold delivered in this novella. An excellent dose of competence porn, magical adventure, backwards deliverance from a god with a sideways sense of humor, and happy endings.
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The Physicians of Vilnoc by Lois McMaster Bujold
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Another enjoyable Penric novella! I was uncertain when I started it if I wanted to be reading about a disease outbreak right now (and on Christmas!), but I trusted Bojuld to give me a positive ending, and she delivered. (She saves the real tragedies in Penric’s stories for off camera.) In the midst of solving the riddle of the illness, Penric grapples with a troubled piece of his past we are told about in an earlier volume but don’t see, and gains new perspective on why it was considered such a problem that Desdemona ended up in him and not her intended next host in the first place. By the end of the story, Pen sees the path of his future in truly developing others and not just himself unfolding before him.
Read on: December 25, 2020
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