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.

This series is fabulous, and this is one of the stronger novellas. The characters are well developed and the road toward resolution is anything but straightforward. That Bujold is able to pack so much into such a small space is never anything but astonishing.

The Assassins of Thasalon is the first full length novel in the the Penric / Desdemona series following nine previous novellas. Penric (Temple Sorcerer) and Desdemona (the demon which resides within Penric) is off to Cedonia to investigate a demon attack on his brother in law, Adelis, and hopefully defend his life from future attacks.

Interestingly, that aspect is much less of the novel than readers might expect because when the would-be assassin is identified the story takes a different direction as she was only doing the job out of coercion and that underlying conflict is a much larger concern - a concern specifically of interest to Penric’s god.

As a general rule, readers can jump into a Lois McMaster Bujold novel (or novella) pretty much at any time and fully understand the story - and that is absolutely the case with The Assassins of Thasalon, though long time readers will find much to appreciate as Bujold brings back characters from Penric’s past. Bujold is a masterful storyteller and The Assassins of Thasalon is another absolute winner.

This was a fun read and I was glad to see more of Tanar and Bosha (from The Prisoner of Limnos), although it suffers a little bit from "wrap up EVERY thread" syndrome. I quite enjoyed the twist at about the halfway mark!

Wow. An introduction to Lois McMaster Bujold. Really enjoyed this story, the characters, plot, and pacing. We definitely need to go back and read the previous volumes in this series (plus other Lois McMaster Bujold). #TheAssassinsofThasalon #NetGalley

The Assassins of Thasalon is the first full length novel of Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric & Desdemona series, which has otherwise featured only novellas set in her World of the Five Gods. The series features goodhearted studious sorcerer Penric and his demon Desdemona as they get into various adventures - often unwillingly (as Pen would rather spend time with his studies and in later works, with the woman he loves and marries) - and gets into conflict due to events that implicate the gods. At their best, the series is incredibly entertaining in its dialogue and characters, and occasionally poignant as the characters get into new and interestingly different situations. At their worst, they can kind of feel like Bujold is just going through the motions, and just kind of feel like more of the same.

Thankfully, The Assassins of Thasalon uses its greater length to tell an actually interesting story, featuring one of the better Penric subplots from prior works - Penric the mentor - and adding in Penric the Secret Agent (always fun), some really excellent side characters both old and new, as well as a plot that takes some surprising swerves. It's still not a series that is ever really hitting a "must read" kind of level, but this is it at its best: comforting, entertaining, and filled with characters that make you want to read a little more.

Note: I read this in part via e-ARC and in part in audiobook via my Hoopla Library. The audiobook reader is as always the great Glover Gardner, who does an excellent job with this series, so I definitely recommend it in that format if you're looking to continue the series in audio.
--------------------------------------------------Plot Summary--------------------------------------------------------
Two years after he helped stop a plague from gripping the military camps of Vilnoc, Penric has settled in, along with his wife Nikys, their young daughter Rina, his mother-in-law Idrene, and of course his demon Desdemona. But when his brother-in-law Adelis asks him to accompany him to hear out a plan to re-involve him in Cedonian politics he faces something he'd almost never seen before - a blasphemous attempt to use a demon for murder.

Soon Penric, a Saint of the Bastard, and the strangest assassin one might ever see, will find themselves heading on a covert mission into the heart of Cedonia - Thasalon - in order to take on a dangerous minister and his pet blasphemous sorcerer on a mission for the White God. But the God's charge only promises success in stopping the blasphemy...it doesn't promise that the mortals involved will make it out alive in the process......
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Penric stories tend to be either midquels or sequels, and this is a sequel, taking place after all the other stories, now that Penric is established and settled down, with people he cares about to come home to. But that's not enough to carry a story (as The Orphans of Raspay can attest), and the Penric stories that work usually contain really fun dialogue between Pen and Des, great and interesting new characters, some new powers or demonic tricks from Des, or some combination of these things.

The Assassins of Thasalon thankfully has all of these things. We have some really fun new characters in sorceress Alixtra and saint Iroki to go along with pre-existing characters Lady Tanar and her loyal retainer - the poisoner eunuch Bosha. We have Des making witty comments to Pes about the whole plot, and the plot putting Penric in some really fun situations which force him to adapt and think quickly on their feet to try and put things right. And this book does a great job bringing back old concepts and plot elements in ways that feel natural - so for example, how is Penric gonna handle imprisoning a sorcerer? Well, he has that experience from being imprisoned once himself. How is he going to deal with a covert mission? Well he has that experience himself.

And so these callbacks feel like learned experiences and come up naturally, and still help fulfill a plot that is new enough to keep things interesting - as we finally get to see the one who once blinded Adelis and tried to assassinate him numerous times get his just desserts. Interestingly, while opening parts of this book seem predictable (of course Alixtra is gonna wind up on the adventure with Pen rather than be dealt with early), the final acts of this book take some very surprising turns, such that certain seemingly-hard conflicts turn out to be easy to resolve, only to be replaced by different and equally interesting ones. And of course the influence of the Bastard, the White God, is readily felt in some really interesting ways, like the best books in Penric's Five Gods World.

I don't really have much more to say - this is another entertaining Penric installment, and that's about all there is to say. This is not the end of the series - there's one more novella after this one so far - but like Physicians of Vilnoc, this very much could be and it would be an immensely satisfying one incidentally. So if you've enjoyed the Penric series, particularly the parts set after Penric's Mission, this will be well worth your time and worth picking up if you just want something solid and enjoyable to take up some time.

Demons and assassination! Now there’s a combination!

I think Demon carrying sorcerer Learned Penric is one of my favourite fantasy heroes.
When Penric’s brother-in-law General Arisaydia is attacked by assassins from Cedonia and demons are involved Penric knows something is very wrong. It seems someone is embezzling demons. Penric contacts his order’s Chapter House and to his surprise is sent a Saint to help investigate the outrage. It seems they will be required to go to the source of the problem, Cedonia. All this as Arisaydia has been asked to return to his country. The same country he’d been hunted from. The same country that desired his death.
Penric and Blessed Iroki, a saint of the white God’s order, find both sorcerers and demons distraught. Many have been coerced into actions that go against the Gods’ rules for Temple Demons.
Once again a rich and unexpected episode in the World of Five Gods pantheon that ratchets up my appreciation for Bujold’s writings.
BTW, according to the Subterranean Press website there are apparently a limited number of signed hardback copies.

A Subterranean Press ARC via NetGalley
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

On the plus side I just started this series last October and didn’t have to wait long for this one.. On the downside why did I miss this series for years? Even this full length novel is enough of a page turner that I whipped through it in just a couple of days. Penric and Desdemona are both likable characters and the plots of each book moves quickly. These are page turners. I’d recommend this series to any fantasy reader that wants something quick and not too dark. Indeed I just talked a relative into buying the ebook of book one this same weekend I read this volume! 😁

I was given a free copy of The Assassins of Thasalon by Lois McMaster Bujold (author), Subterranean Press (publisher), and Net Galley in an exchange of an honest review.

The Assassins of Thasalon was published on May 10, 2022. Apologies for the review being late.

This story is the tenth in a series by Ms. Bujold that features Penric and Desdemona.

This review will be spoiler free.

I would categorize this novella (or short novel) to be sword and sorcery with more emphasis on sorcery and less emphasis on sword.

The world building is pretty straight forward and services the story without being a distraction. I think the setting is in urban settings that could be similar to pre-industrial cities in Europe.

Magic is important to the story because Penric/Desdemona have relationship that has to do with magic including a couple of other characters. One of the other characters is an assassin.

The characters are the strength of this story. I have read several of the stories in this series primarily for the Penric and Desdemona characters. The assassin is engaging, compelling, and I rooted for her.

I rate The Assassins of Thasalon 4 stars.

I would like to thank Ms. Bujold, Subterranean Press, and Net Galley for the free E-Arc.

The Assassins of Thasalon is the 10th Penric and Desdemona book by Lois McMaster Bujold.
In this installment, Pendric and Desdemona stumble into an assassination attempt and must travel to the Cedonian capitol city of Thasalon to investigate.

I love Penric and Desdemona! This is one of my favorite series, and I comfort re-read many of the episodes each year. While the previous Penric and Desdemona books were novellas, this one is novel-length, and it makes excellent use of the added word-count.

The best part of Penric stories are his interactions with Desdemona. Together they put the clearly defined magic system to creative use. But even with magic at their fingertips, they solve most of their problems with logic and intelligence and use magic only sparingly. Des provides the focus and stability while distractible Penric provides the unexpected.

In this book, Des is mostly an observer as Penric spends his time teaching a new disciple. I loved how we learned more about the Saints of the Baster's Order, and how what you can do for your God is vastly more important than what your God can do for you.

If you're new to Penric, I recommend starting with book 1. This book, coming so late in the series, has a lot of references and cameos from characters from most, if not all, of the previous stories. Readers who have stayed by Pen & Des from the start will enjoy it the most.

Thanks to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for access to an e-arc of this book.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

The Penric and Desdemona novellas take place in the World of the Five Gods from the trilogy of that name.  Book one of the trilogy, curse of the chalion, is one of the best fantasy books I have ever read and I really enjoyed the remaining two.  Penric, a sorcerer, and Desdemona, his chaos demon, are a fantastic duo that I ADORE.

In 2020, these novellas were republished in a two-book omnibus set.  The first omnibus contained novellas 1 - 3 in the internal chronological order not publishing order.  The second set had the novellas 4 - 6.  I normally read in publishing order but have to admit that I strongly feel this series should be an exception if ye be new to it.

This was the first full-length novel and is number 10 in internal chronology.  I LOVED all the extra time spent with Penric and Desdemona.  This feels like an ending to a series (though I hope it isn't).  General Arisaydia is threatened with assassination and has to go back to his homeland to deal with the issue.  Penric ends up getting involved despite himself, as usual.

This is not a high stakes adventure as Penric is well-within his powers and literally has the backing of the God.  It is, however, a comforting and lovely read.  Iroki is very much a new favorite.  There are a lot of cameos of prior characters from at least four other novellas.  There were a couple of plot twists I wasn't expecting.  Neither was Penric!  I truly love this series and world and will read as many books as the author care to write in it.  Arrrrr!

I am never disappointed by this writer and I sure wasn't this time! This was a Fantastic story involving characters I can never get enough of. Read this book!!

When Penric saves his brother-in-law from a sorcerous attack it starts the wheels in motion that certainly has his saint’s hands in the mix. After setting a trap for the assassin to try again they capture her and find out that she the Bastard God very much is upset about how his saint has been blackmailed to do these murders and sets Penric on the road to set things to right. Since he will have to travel back to Cedonia, there will be some cameos from the previous books when he went in to recruit and then rescue the general that became his brother-in-law. As usual Bujold writes a wonderful story, and it is great to see these characters on the page again. I can’t wait for the next adventure.

Bujold is my favorite science fiction and fantasy writer so I'm going to love any additional books from her in her semi-retirement. This feels like a capstone to the World of the Five Gods (or at least Penric's part in it) and suffers a bit from the fact the Penric is too good now. Nothing in the high stakes world of Cedonian politics and assassination (let alone Five Gods theology) felt like too much for him to handle and even the early morning attack that was the climax of the book was easily dispatched with and quickly devolved into a Vorkosigan-esque courtroom beatdown. The setting calls to mind the similar early morning attack faced in The Curse of Chalion, but that scene had far more tension and the outcome was in far more doubt.

That said, I still really enjoyed this book! Bujold is so good at characters and relationships, throws in a few twists, and develops the overarching moral message of the series in satisfying ways. Many plot points are tied up satisfyingly as well. Her writing is so masterful and while the outcome never felt in doubt, the ride was still quite enjoyable.

In thise tenth Penric novel, we pick up the main timeline again after the interlude of 'Masquerade in Lodi.' It has been a year or so since the events of 'Physicians of Vilnoc' when Penric's brother in law, General Arisaydia, was targeted by a sorcerous assassin. Penric saveed him and this kicks off a long, complex plot leading our hero back to Cedonia along with new travel companions.

The story this time is more ambitious than most other entries in the Penric saga (as well as longer), starting to feel more like a novel than a short story. The plot is well crafted and enjoyable - I quite like the political intrigue and there is something like a heist as the main plot. We also get a lot more new characters as well as meet old favorites from "Penric's Mission." All this makes this entry into Penric's saga one of the best. A small nitpick is that by the 10th novel, reading the description of how demonic magic works and its limits is getting a bit tedious (and as this book has a new character to explain it to so it is even more verbose than before).

Highly recommended for all Penric fans. Everything you've liked about the earlier entries is here, and more. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

The Assassins of Thasalon by Lois McMaster Bujold


I was late to the Lois McMaster Bujold party and only discovered her when she was nominated for Best Series for the Vorkosigan saga. I think it was the Baen book covers that turned me off. But I’m on board now! When I was getting close to the end of that series I began to despair, so I decided to give the Penric novellas a try. I was hooked instantly and binged my way through the series. Thankfully, Ms. Bujold is still writing more Penric stories.


I was thrilled to get a copy of this new Penric book - and it is the first novel in this previously novella-only series! Thank you, Subterranean Press, for the eARC. There is a bit of a tune jump in this one, and you see Penric’s delightful home life before a sorcerer/assassin goes after his brother-in-law! This new character adds some fascinating dimensions to the world, and it brings Penric finally to the capital city of Thasalon of which we have heard so much. We get to see some fan-favorite character recur and the party sequence was just wonderful. I hope we keep getting more Penric books! I’ll keep reading them!