Lois McMaster Bujold is so consistently brilliant. Every book in this series is brilliant-- and one of the things I love about this series is how finely drawn the world is-- and how each book fills in more detail about the fascinating universe she's created. This book explores the theology and practice of death magic. I hope there will be a dozen more.

Thank you, Subterranean Press, for allowing me to read Knot of Shadows early!

A very nice addition to World of the FIve Gods universe.

Review copy (eARC) provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short novella set in the Penric and Desdemona series. I have not read any of the other stories, but the summary looked interesting and was happy to receive a review copy.

Having completed the novella, I quite enjoyed it and didn't feel like I was struggling not having read the rest of the series. I enjoyed the plot, but I never felt like there was any real sense of danger or risk of something crazy happening (that's why 4, not 5 stars). That being said, I recommend you give this one a chance!

The latest of the Penric books deals with death and ghosts. He is also working with his apprentice and former assassin to solve what happened to the drowned man that came back to life. There is magic in the book that hasn’t come up before and chewy theological questions about the Five Gods. As always Bujold is a must read in every story universe she has.

Ahoy there me mateys!  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.

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.  I recommend the omnibuses.  The first omnibus contains novellas 1 - 3 in the internal chronological order not publishing order.  The second set has novellas 5 - 7 and the third has 4, 8-9.

Knot of shadows is number 11 in the series.  No surprise that this is another wonderful addition.  Penric and Desdemona are called on to visit a drowned man who seemingly comes back to life.  Of course things are more complicated then they first appear.  The darling duo are tasked with solving a murder, dealing with forbidden magic, and looking for a missing child along the way.  Unlike other Penric novellas, this one ends with a rather sad conclusion even though everything is technically solved satisfactorily.  It is always lovely to see how various characters' lives are progressing.  Recommended to Penric fans.  Arrrrr!

this was such a great job in a scifi novel, I was invested in what was happening to the characters. It had a great plot and I was enjoying the way the world worked. It left me wanting more and I'm glad I read this.

"So it seems. Two souls taken directly by the god’s hand, two already-sundered ghosts trapped in the world and past any ability to assent. If they were the only ones involved, it would be a mere matter of tidying up, but given how complicated Therneas’s affairs turned out to be, I can’t even guess about the unknown other. So we’d best go look.”