Penric and the Shaman

This was a lovely, quick read that probed deeply into questions of responsibility and free will. I've come to expect nothing less from Bujold. The first Penric story managed to make demon possession into an almost cuddly coming of age tale. So it's no surprise that she manages to do the same thing with a grisly murder.

The story shifts between three points of view: Penric (and his demon), a murderer on the run from authorities, and the man hunting the murderer. The fun comes in the fact that they're all incredibly sympathetic. Even the murderer. Bujold hasn't written a pure villain since Falling Free, so I should have expected that there would be more to the story than met the eye.

I also love the world that Bujold set this story in, and I'm always glad for a chance to return to it. The Curse of Chalion is how I found her in the first place, so this setting has a special place in my heart. The world is a little disparate. Other than the gods, it's hard to tell what these novellas have in common with the others. They seem to take place in a different country and during a different era. But that connecting thread is what makes this world special, anyway. I think I caught a few references to the events of The Hallowed Hunt, but that book didn't leave a lasting impression on me, so it's hard to be sure.

I hope Bujold keeps releasing stories in this world. While I'm hungry for more novels, I'm more than happy to devour to occasional surprise novella. Especially when it stars a character I'm already familiar with. In the meantime, it's probably worth finally tracking down the rest of her Sharing Knife series.

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