The Prisoner of Limnos

Penric is torn between his love for the curvaceous Nikys, formally Madame Khatai, who adamantly refuses to depart Vilnoc in Orbas, and the imperative summoning-home of his temple superior in Lodi across the sea.

This fraught emotional suspension is punctured by Nikys, bearing a cryptic letter, relating the imprisonment of her mother on the island of Limnos. Of course, Penric, being both Penric and Desdemona, the temple demon who shares his life, as he shares her dozen lives, does not hesitate, but immediately seeks resources to travel to rescue, his superior’s orders notwithstanding. Travel is complicated by the need to be incognito, occasioning both exhaustion and complex disguise work.

In his expectedly perverse way, the Bastard God involves himself, influencing events and outcomes. Ms. Bujold manages to make this a source of amusement. As with all the Penric novellas to date, the protagonist finds him/herself in terrifying circumstances making knife-edge decisions. The world of the five Gods has become richer with every one of this fine author’s visits to it. I urge you to find, acquire, and read all of the series immediately.