★★★☆☆ Honorable Mention
(High Fantasy; Five Gods) Penric helps investigate the murder of another sorcerer, whose demon must still be somewhere near the scene of the crime. (37,395 words; Time: 2h:04m)
This story absolutely requires the reader to have already read "Penric and the Shaman."
"Penric's Fox," by Lois McMaster Bujold [bio], published on August 15, 2017 by Spectrum Literary Agency.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2017.571 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: The plot is clean and simple: Penric and his companions find the killer and bring him to justice, while saving the demon for future work. Narration is transparent and the dialogue is spot-on.
Con: The story is very simple, with a single plot line and no surprises. There are no moments of tension, and the characters (except for Penric) are undeveloped (unless we remember from Penric and the Shaman). There’s no emotional release at the end.
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Lois McMaster Bujold Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: The plot is clean and simple: Penric and his companions find the killer and bring him to justice, while saving the demon for future work. Narration is transparent and the dialogue is spot-on.
Con: The story is very simple, with a single plot line and no surprises. There are no moments of tension, and the characters (except for Penric) are undeveloped (unless we remember from Penric and the Shaman). There’s no emotional release at the end.
Other Reviews: Search Web, GoodReads.com
Lois McMaster Bujold Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
This one's missing the "Five Gods" label/tag that the rest of the series has.
ReplyDeleteFixed, thanks for the heads up.
DeleteI agree with the rating but it is a good 3-star story.
ReplyDeleteI agree - It is a simple story and readers do need to read the previous story "Penric and the Sharman".
As for tension - I was very worried that the temple would take a short-cut to get their demon back, or the fox would be killed by whoever killed the priestess. So there was tension for me.
Bujold's writing is always excellent. I should probably up this to Honorable Mention.
Delete