The Prisoner of Limnos

Our protagonist,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 carrying the spirits of 10 different women and for good measure two animals as well. The spirits he carries vacillate 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 abilities as a physician,scholar and practitioner of magic he has the combined knowledge/guidance of his passengers. This makes Penric a person to be reckoned with. A previous adventure involved a clandestine mission that went seriously awry. Imprisioned he managed to escape and save a couple of innocents as well. By the time they reached safety he had fallen in love with the more innocent of the two. As his latest escapade opens Penric has just received a third letter from his superior suggesting that it would be best if he stopped stalling(busy wooing said innocent) and come home post haste with an 'or else' understood. Responsible thoughts fly out his head as a knock at the door with a request from his sweetie sets him off on another grand adventure, more innocents to succor, bad guys to overcome-you know the drill. Fairly standard plot devices prove that its the quaility of the writing more than the originality of the plot that brings the bacon home. Lois McMaster Bujold delivers the skilled writing that brings this novella home. Adding in a good sense of humor and a kind heart merely deepens the smile I got from reading this. A delightful entry in my favorite of her many series.

The Prisoner of Limnos is several books into the Penric & Desdemona series, which I mostly enjoy. I’ve read it via audiobook twice now & liked it much better on the second pass. My initial dismay was that it felt less expansive than some of the other installments. Penric need to rescue his potential MIL from an island nunnery type place. The whole book is just going to, accomplishing, & leaving the rescue site which had some major deception, minor drama, and a couple of exploding pigeons (??). The first time thru, I thought there would be more to it. The second tome thru, I realized there was more emotional connecting & jockeying & relationships being explored instead of meeting odd demons in hillside skirmishes. I liked it better the second time thru when I could better appreciate how much cooperation had to happen to get everyone out.

I like it, I recommend it, but it still felt a little thinner than some previous installments somehow so I’m sticking with 4 stars.

The Deus Ex Machina of the elder son ruined the plot. It may have been better to leave Penric as the prisoner of Limnos. The character of Penric would then have been developed further as he would have to negotiate with Desdemona on an escape plan.

The disadvantage of this change of plot would have broken the romantic development. The romance seemed too contrived given the characters.

Even if there was meant to be a literal Deus Ex Machina, there was no reason for intervention by either by the Goddess or the Bastard. Nor was there any consequence for the intrusion of Penric into the sanctum of the Goddess. The rules of this universe seemed to be broken.

I am not often writing book reviews, in part because what may be true for one may not be for another, and in part because it is presumptuous to comment on an author's work, especially from the perspective of a lay buyer, and especially on a highly acclaimed author. We are not book critics, the lot of us giving stars here. I do take the risk here because the book is worth it.

I would very much recommend you give this story a try, regardless of your previous experience with this author or the lack thereof. There are quite a few comments so far which state that The Prisoner of Limnos is not a good starting point for the Penric series (Penric being the center figure). I would disagree. As one who has previously jumped mid-series in the Vorkosigan saga (by the same wonderful author) I can tell you that it doesn't diminish the pleasure of reading it one bit!! if you don't have any previous knowledge of the characters or the events. If anything, it amplifies the awe and wonder when you keep discovering more.

On The Prisoner itself: a treasure. If you love thoroughly built characters and wit, it is for you.