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.

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.

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!

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.

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!!