The Orphans of Raspay

Every few months, I check Amazon for a new Bujold story. Bujold is brilliant at making her characters engaging, seems like a modernized version of Georgette Heyer (Heyer is a modernized version of Jane Austen) in her character development. I yearn for just one more to read. The Orphans of Raspay is not the place to start appreciating Penric. In my view, the first Penric book, Penric\’s Demon, is the best, because it sets out the rules for magic, demons and gods. Then, the subsequent books deepen your understanding of Penric, Desdemona and magic. Orphans is like a sherbet course at dinner: it is small and focused (whole story occurs during a fairly short timeframe). Penric is captured by pirates, meets two orphans, realizes he is the Bastard\’s answer to the prayers of the orphans\’ mother, appoints himself their caretaker since the orphans are children of his god, the Bastard, then spends most of the rest of the book escaping, using Desdemona\’s demon magic to unleash chaos on the bad guys. The joy of this story is in the character interactions crafted by Bujold – you are reading a master\’s work and you know it. The best part is the interactions after the ships are damaged (not gonna give the plot away, read Bujold\’s novella). Orphans seems like a set-up for the next book (whatever it will be), wherein the orphans will be young adults and command magic themselves. Just my guess. So, my appetite for Bujold stories, already voracious, is further whetted. Ms. Bujold, if you\’re reading this, please know that I want more of your characters!!! I love and often re-read the part in Paladin of Souls (occurs about 100 years after the Penric series) where Ista eats a demon (not going to spoil the story for those who haven\’t read it).

How does Bujold manage to make you feel that you are entertained only to hit you with something utterly worth hearing with a few words? Another installment in the continuing adventures of the learned Pen, a part of Bujold’s five Gods series. Pen is traveling by boat uncomfortably when his journey is interrupted by pirates. The pirates trade in slaves as well as goods and when they dump Penric into the hold there are children there. On his own Penric could quite possibly engineer his own rescue, but leaving children behind would be reprehensible. Amusing, gritty and enlightening all at the same time. In other words, Bujold.

Louise Bujold kicked off the Penric and Desdemona series with Hugo nominee, Penric’s Demon, in 2015 detailing how a likable but not particularly ambitious son of minor and impoverished country nobility was seemingly stuck in a dead end life when by chance (no such thing of course) an old woman carrying a very powerful mix of demons died in his presence. In the case of their carrier dying a demon will leap to the best nearby substitute for a new ride and in this case Penric was its best bet. Penric was lucky I guess, but it would be some serious water under the bridge before he realized just how lucky. Penric lives in a medieval style world where magic works and demons exist. What is known as a demon is actually the essence/consciosness/spirit of any person that for various reasons passes into another body at the moment of death. In Penric’s case he is now carrying the spirits of 10 different women and for good measure two animals as well. Initially the spirits he carried vacillated between a desire to dominate, gratitude for being carried and, increasingly, a genuine affection for Penric and pleasure in his company. It has to be busy inside his head but in addition to his eventual abilities as a physician, scholar and practitioner of magic he gains the combined knowledge/guidance of his passengers. This makes Penric a person to be reckoned with. The lead spirit is Desdemona who after battling it out with Penric for dominance eventually realized that Penric was a sweet, gentle and kind carrier and they reached a point of mutual trust, an increasingly effortless partnership of sorts. The next five novels detailed Penric’s advanced studies and further adventures giving him an increased ability to handle the massive power his demons give him. As entry seven, The Orphans of Raspay, opens Penric is captured by pirates and saddled/opportuned with two young girls to make his efforts at escape more challenging. Standard tale made charming by Ms. Bujold’s artistry with the written word. A good hearted read that gives the same feeling as a unexpected visit from a close childhood friend, a feeling that maybe the world is a pretty good place. $3.99/book price divided by Amazon typical read time of 2 hours, 58 minutes=$1.34/average hourly reading cost

… though by the time it\’s finished the pirates wish they\’d never seen him. Desdemona is at times gleeful in serving chaos upon well-deserving targets, and at times even a voice of restraint for Penric\’s righteous fury. One of the demon\’s former possessors, herself enslaved, provides bitter warning as Penric\’s youthful-looking, exotically blond attractiveness make him all too much of a valuable prize (though I\’ll give a bit of a spoiler and reassure that nothing horrible happens in this novella). The two young girls are sympathetic and believable, neither angelic nor brats, babyish nor prodigies. I believe this is the first story in the series to spend much time in the contested archipelago, so we have a new place, as well as new people of various stripes. The story takes place over just a few days, while Penric (who was on a solo errand of duty) is eager to get back home to his quiet life and Nikys, his wife — i.e., no returning characters besides himself (and Des) are more than mentions until the end. As usual for Bujold, the editing is clean, and the last few percent are a reading-order guide to her various series.

Any and all Bujold books are buy on sight, but I almost missed this one as it seemed to come out without much fanfare, which is a pity because it\’s an excellent addition to the list of Penric novellas, set in Bujold\’s world of the Five Gods, though before Curse of Chalion (still my favourite book!). Following the events in The Prisoner of Limnos, Penric and his resident demon, Desdemona, are now married to Nickys, but in this outing are on their own. They\’ve been sent on some mission (it\’s not important) but they never get there because the ship they are on is captured by pirates. Pen is thrown into the pirate ship\’s hold where he meets two more captives, young sisters, Lencia and Seuka Corva, who are trying to find their father. Being the thoroughly honourable chap that he is, he immediately takes responsibility for them and we follow their trials and tribulations as pirate hostages and Pen\’s ill-fated attempts to escape the pirate island. This is one time when being a temple divine with a demon at his beck and call isn\’t going to help him because sailors are superstitious. He needs a ship to escape, but they would rather throw him overboard than take him to safety. Unfortunately his plan to pose as a mild-mannered scribe quickly falls apart when he has to use Desdemona\’s talents to survive and protect the children. . I read this in one gulp. Bujold is one of my favourite writers and Penric is an excellent character, especially with Desdemona chipping in with demonic wisdom. Highly recommended.

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