This is the second of Bujold's Penric books I've read--both of them novellas--and I have to admit, I still have no idea what Penric's larger story is, but I had a damn good time rumbling around with him and his friends in this book. There's a touch of a love story here, a huge slice of queering, and some weird possession-ish body-cohabiting thing going on that I really should understand better by now but really ... don't. And I didn't even mind this time around, just allowed myself to go along for the ride as Penric & Co. got themselves into and out of yet another scrape.

As for the title, I sure hope this isn't Mira's LAST dance. I'm pretty sure the chaos demon thing doesn't work that way? Anyway. I digress. This is cute, fun, snappy, and involves gender bending. I'm here for it.

I received an e-galley of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Mira's Dance is the 4th story of Penric and Desdemona in which Mira came out quite a bit to help their group in traveling. I enjoyed the story - as I tend to enjoy most any of Bujold's efforts. 4 out of 5 stars.

One of my favorite authors, in one of my favorite worlds that Ms Bujold writes in. The characters are charming and funny. The world she has built is believable and her characters discussions of gods and people work in for those in the "real world." Penric's demons help him help others.

Mira's Last Dance is the fourth published and fifth chronological novella in the Penric and Desdemona mini series. This one follows immediately after the events of Penric's Mission and continues Penric's flight with a betrayed General and the Genera's sister (who Penric has just happened to have fallen in love with) to continue Penric's mission of bringing the General to Adria. That mission does not seem likely to succeed, but escape is the ultimate goal.

Here we get a deeper dive into one of Penric's demon's previous riders / personalities - one several hundred years removed from her life and her time as a courtesan is well utilized in helping Penric and company remain free from capture. Those scenes are tenderly and considerately well handled with the grace and wit that readers have come to expect from Lois McMaster Bujold. Though she has not yet attained the title, Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the grandmasters working today and Mira's Last Dance continues to show Bujold's mastery of her craft.

A pleasant and amusing excursion in a favorite writer’s newest series, my second from among the five novellas so far that feature the scholar, sorcerer, and priest Penric and the more earthy and sarcastic “demon” possessor, Desdemona. This one is involves a challenging journey out of a country where Penric and his companions, a brother and sister, are being hunted for their role in some secret mission there. All we know is that Penric is recovering from some magical attack that damaged his heart, leaving him vulnerable and weak in his sorcery powers. As I read this one out of order, I suffer a bit from not knowing what their mission was, but the author’s method of not revealing the backstory itself makes it feasible to read out of order without spoiling an earlier tale.

Here the main plot element involves the party seeking refuge in a village brothel, the aid of the madam is disguising Penric as a traveling female courtesan, and the comedy and danger when the commander of the nation’s defense falls for “her.”

The modest plot here, and I suppose all of the series, appears designed to use certain fantasy elements as a means to elucidate human nature. The device of souls of the dead being able to jump into and the mind of the living allows Bujold to explore the functioning of plurality of the self we all have of capacity for. Not only is Penric the host to Desdemona, he is the repository of the personalities of about 10 others, plus two animals. Luckily, one such personality is a skilled courtesan, Mira. The metaphor or allegory of our mind as a stage for performance of roles we put on takes on some special whimsy here when it involves crossing the gender boundary.

I wished for more out the two stories I’ve read so far from the series, such as the fulsome tales from the same “World of Five Gods” as her masterful “Curse of Chalion” and “Paladin of Souls.” My rendering of 3.5 stars for this read reflects that comparison. But perhaps I will come to benefit from seeing this new series of novellas as chapters in one big book or as dishes in one prolonged smorgasbord meal.

This book was provided for review by the publisher through the Netgalley program.

Number 4 in the Penric series -- a short work following Penric and his demon Desdemona as they try to recover from the events in the last novella and make it back. In this particular episode, Mira, one of the demon's former riders, gets to come to the fore and have one last chance to use a body and do what she does best -- enchant and captivate.

This latest installment of the adventures of traveling priest/scholar/mage Penric and his resident chaos demon, Desdemona, does the series proud. This time he must call upon one Desdemona’s previous guardians, the superlative courtesan, Mira of Adria. The rest is what we’ve come to expect of this world and its denizens, with action, reflection, and depths all nicely balanced. I'm a devoted fan!

This novella is a direct continuation of Penric’s Mission, and it’s a ridiculously silly and fun romp that reminds me of a mishmash of Shakespearean plays. It’s another enjoyable story in the World of the Five Gods, but one that ends on, I think, a bit of a turning point for Penric.

“In any case,” said Nikys, placating, “our roads lie together till we reach Vilnoc in Orbas. Penric can as well sail home to Adria from there.” Or not…
“Or we all could,” Penric suggested. Yet again.
“Nikys and I are going to Orbas,” said Adelis. “You may go where you please.”
Penric studied his set face, and sighed.
And if neither man—one as stubborn as a stone, the other too supple to be pinned down—would, or even could, change his mind, where would that leave Nikys? No place happy.”


After coming closer to death than he wants to admit, Penric and his traveling companions, general-in-hiding Adelis and his sister Nikys, finally make it to Sosie, near the border of Orbas. Unfortunately, they still need to find some way across the border, and their initial attempt to find shelter for the night at the Temple is thwarted by the dual funerals for the children of two competing families who’ve committed suicide together (sound familiar?). Without revealing too much more of the plot, Penric, in true Penric fashion, is able to find shelter and devise a plan to get them both money and over the border, but it involves disguises, cross-dressing, dueling brothel patrons, and a lovestruck general.

The story is told from the alternating third-person POVs of Nikys and Penric, like the previous book, and I again enjoyed seeing someone else’s view of him. I also enjoyed the glimpse of Mira, who, up til now, hasn’t been featured as much as some of Des’s other previous hosts. It added a lot of levity to what is, overall, a bit of a sad story. Both Nikys and Penric, facing the end of their journey together, are forced to face the question of what they want out of life. Adelis is, hopefully, soon to be head of a new army for the Duke of Orbas, but what will Nikys’ place be? Does Penric have any chance of still securing the general for his own patron, or will he have to finally return home having failed his mission? Does he even want to return “home”?

While I adore Penric and will stridently defend the fact that he’s not merely “fantasy Miles,” there were some definite Miles-ish turns in this one. Ms. Bujold does seem to have a tendency to have her male characters fall in love with women who are completely wrong for them. It’s not that there’s anything necessarily wrong with Nikys – it’s just that she’s used to spending her life relying on one man or the other, so she feels like she lacks the agency or just plain spark you’d expect for someone to be Penric’s equal. The story ends with their relationship on an uncertain note, and I’m honestly not sure if I’m interested in seeing more of it.

Overall, waffling thoughts about unequal relationships aside, I enjoyed this story immensely and am very much looking forward to more Penric and Desdemona in the future!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

An intersting novella that follows the action in Penric’s Mission. Great for fans of the Penric and Desdemona series. It was fun to see what Mira could get up to if turned loose.

I received an ARC of the story.

Mira is one of the dozen or so previous hosts Desdemona has inhabited in the past two centuries. Mira was a very very high-priced courtesan and her skills become very useful when Penric disguises himself as a women to escape his pursuers. His companions, Arisaydia and his widowed sister Nikys, watch in amazement as a few rolls of cotton, some henna and face paint transform tall slender Penric into a captivating stately beauty who wins the heart (and purse) of wealthy and honorable General Chadro, who never suspects the truth.

This is another novella in the tale of Learned Penric and his daemon Desdemona. It immediately follows Penric's Mission. Despite the title, I hope we meet Mira again.

I received a review copy of "Mira's Last Dance" by Lois McMaster Bujold (Subterranean) through NetGalley.com.

A well written short story from a master writer involving characters that are favorites of mine, if all you have read from this author is her science fiction books you need to give her fantasy stories a try to. You won't regret it!!

5 stars
Bujold’s wit rides again

Mira’s Last Dance is the shortest Penric novellas so far, and yet it is in many ways the most enjoyable. It is a brief sojourn into the wit that Bujold displays in her Vorkosigan books, that sly gleam of humor as she leads us on a dance (pun intended) through innocence and innuendo, through discretion and distraction, and through male and female minds and female minds within male minds. It’s a witty romp through dangerous territory as Mira, one of Desdemona’s progenitors, plays with us and her victims as she veils and unveils, well, just about everything.

On one hand, this is an incredibly fun and witty comedy, on the other, a breathless tale of near misses and escapes. If you love Penric, Bujold, or fantastical fantasies, this is simply a must-read addition to the Penric-Desdemona canon/cannon.

Desdemona Gets to have some Fun

Spoiler-ific review

I was given this book for free for the purpose of an unbiased review.

This is the forth book written in the Penric series, but is chronologically the fifth book in the series. I have read the first three books in this series chronologically, but not the book just prior to this one. I’ll be honest, I was a bit confused. Mira’s Last Dance follows closely on the footsteps of ‘Penric’s Mission,’ a book I have not read. You should read this only after reading that (and the first four books in the series while you’re at it).

Penric and Desdemona are on a secret diplomatic mission far away from the Ibran Peninsula on behalf of the Bastard. And by diplomatic mission I mean they are spies using their magic powers to escape pursuit and save the woman Nikys and her brother a general of ill repute from the cops. They are trapped alone in a foreign land with no friends and no access to the temples of the gods which usually help priest Penric.

Ordinarily this situation wouldn’t be to much trouble- after all, Desdemona is a magic-wielding demon in a low-magic world. (Desdemona is a personality-devouring demon who copies the personalities of her hosts and adds them to her own personality). However on top of all their other troubles Penric was injured, and since Desdemona drains his body for energy to fuel magic, they don't have much magic at the moment.

I won’t go into details about the plot, but it has a fun and spoiling it in the least will kinda ruin it. I’ll just say that Mira is one of Desdemona’s sub-personalities.

Highly recommended if you read the prior four novellas in this series as well as ‘The Curse of Chalion. and 'Paladin of Souls.' If not, I suggest you check out those first. I kid you not, the World of the Five God super-series is one of the best modern fantasy series.

Stay Sunny!

Spoiler-free review: this is some 👌🏼👍🏼 GoOd sHIt 👌🏼👍🏼 heck yeah pretty dresses and pedicures for everyone and Penric having complicated gender experiences is my jam! BUT WHY WAS I PUT ON THIS EARTH TO SUFFER THESE CLIFFHANGERS I MEAN CMON. Anyway Nikys continues to be the best, as does Desdemona, and I crack up every time the narrative tells me how pretty Penric is. I could read millions of words in this series.

Unlike the other Penric novellas, this one doesn't work as a standalone. This is a direct sequel to Penric's Mission, and it picks up immediately after that one ends.

Penric, Nikys, and Adelis are still on the run, and upon reaching a town, they find themselves penniless and in need of a place to stay. After overhearing some laundresses outside a brothel discussing its vermin problem, he gets the idea to offer to delouse the establishment in exchange for a place to stay. One thing leads to another, and, well, it turns out that Penric can disguise himself very well as an attractive woman. If you like the movie Some Like It Hot, you'll like this story.

This novella needs to be read after Penric’s Mission otherwise you will miss the entire setup of how Penric got to where he is. He is still traveling with the brother and sister he met in the previous story and they have one more town to travel through and a short trip before they can cross the border to safety. But to do this Penric must rely on his demon to help him craft a plan of escape and misdirection. Lots of good chuckles throughout the story and as usual Bujold crafts a wonderful story.

Sorry but I couldn't get into the book at all. I tried though, I'm so sorry for my ADD brain. Also part of the series only in audiobooks I don't like that.