The Orphans of Raspay

Lois McMaster Bujold remains an auto-buy and auto-read for me. It doesn't matter what she writes or when, as soon as I hear about it I buy it. And then I read it as soon as I can. It probably helps that her "retirement project" has her releasing e-novellas for less than $5 each. They're the perfect impulse buys.

That said, I think Bujold's best work may be behind her. Her Penric and Desdemona series is a light-hearted fun, and I always enjoy the adventures these two go on. But they don't quite have the depth of some of the mid-late Vorkosigan books (particularly Memory). Not that there's anything wrong with that. A quick, light adventure can be exactly what I want to read. It helps that everyone is competent and well-intentioned and everything always works out for the best in the end.

I think Bujold is becoming more of an idealist in her old age. Or at least she's writing books that embrace an idealism, perhaps as a response to what's going on in the real world. Her books feel safe. And lately I want that more and more from my fiction. So if they're lacking a bit in complexity or realism, who cares? Penric will always save the day with a little help from Desdemona. No one ever dies and everyone lives happily ever after. That's what fiction is for.

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