Penric's Mission
A novella. Dust jacket by Lauren St. Onge (the Subterranean Press edition). Originally self-published.
Learned Penric sails on a journey to Cedonia not as a sorcerer in the white robes of the Bastard’s Order, but disguised as a young lawyer on business. His real mission is one of clandestine diplomacy on behalf of the Duke of Adria. His usual traveling companion, the slyly clever chaos demon Desdemona who inhabits his body, is the only one in on the secret... Or so it’s supposed to be. Instead, upon arrival in Cedonia, Penric finds himself gravely injured and imprisoned in the darkest of dungeons. Escape will not be easy, as Penric meets an intriguing young widow and has more than one brush with disaster in his immediate future.
With Penric’s Mission, multiple-award-winner and bestselling author Lois McMaster Bujold returns to her World of the Five Gods, the setting of her acclaimed novels The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, and The Hallowed Hunt. Continuing the tale begun in the Hugo finalists for Best Novella “Penric’s Demon” and “Penric and the Shaman,” Bujold’s newest installment of Penric and Desdemona’s tale is another must-read novella for her legion of fans.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold (born 1949) is an American speculative fiction writer. She is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record, not counting his Retro Hugo. Her novella "The Mountains of Mourning" won both the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. In the fantasy genre, The Curse of Chalion won the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature and was nominated for the 2002 World Fantasy Award for best novel, and both her fourth Hugo Award and second Nebula Award were for Paladin of Souls. In 2011 she was awarded the Skylark Award. In 2013 she was awarded the Forry Award. In 2017 she won a Hugo Award for Best Series, for the Vorkosigan Saga.
Penric and Desdemona
Penric and Desdemona consists of eleven books, and the series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
Main series World of the Five Gods
Related series Penric and Desdemona (omnibus editions)