Penric & Desdemona, Part 6
by Lois McMaster Bujold
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted July 23, 2025
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Along with one novel, The Adventure of the Demonic Ox is the thirteenth novella in the Penric & Desdemona series. [Links to previous reviews below.] It has been a year since the previous story, but two years in the life of Penric and his family. His wife Nikys is pregnant again, their third child to join daughter Rina (Florina) and son Wyn (Llewyn), along with their adopted daughter Otta, who was introduced two stories back in Demon's Daughter, and it has been five years since those events. It is only available as an e-book now, for either Kindle, Kobo, or Nook, but not Bookshop so far. Bujold has been releasing the e-books herself, but it is possible there will be a future hardcover release from Subterranean Press as has happened with the others. I will update if there are any changes in availability.
Penric has continued his studies of history, and of the work of previous sorcerers. His main goal is to translate as many books as possible, have them printed and dispersed as widely as possible. Due to previous problems he had experienced, he had tried to remain outside the medical applications of sorcery, even though he does teach at a physician's academy in Dogrita each summer. His daughter Rina, age twelve, has proved to be a helpful scribe in his work, but she has a few ideas for her future beyond that. Since Otta is still a student of sorcery, Penric is wary of her being able to always control her chaos demon. She has moved out of the house so as not to pose any problems for Nikys' pregnancy. Wyn has a summer job working with his uncle Ikos Rodoa (first seen in The Prisoner of Limnos), son of Nikys' mother Idrene before she became concubine to Nikys' father. Ikos is an engineer, currently working on replacing an old wooden bridge with one of stone. One day Penric's quiet study time is interrupted by Wyn bringing the news of an ox who he suspects has been inhabited by a demon.
Alas, my long hoped for Nikys-centric story still hasn't happened, but I have also wondered why previous characters have not recurred as often as expected. Several do in this story, including Kittio, son of Alixtra, a sorceress (and former assassin), first encountered in The Assassins of Thasalon. Kittio is a groom at one of the temples, not only caring for horses and carts, but also the animals used in funeral rites. He accompanies Penric and Wyn back to the bridge site, and their party also includes Otta, since Pen thinks it would be good experience for her and her own demon, as well as Rina, mainly as a companion for Otta, who is one year younger. I have mentioned several times that I was sure Pen was a very good teacher, and not just for sorcery, but also because of his encouragement of reading and study in general, even though Wyn preferred the practical applications of the engineering skills he was learning from his uncle. But he had paid enough attention to his father as regards demons and sorcery, and Pen confirms his diagnosis of a demon inside the ox. Pen suspects the demon had previously been in a bird, since the ox's weird behavior appeared to indicate he was trying to fly. They segregate the ox from other livestock, building another pen in a far corner of a field rented from local farmers. Before Pen has a chance for a closer examination of the animal, Kittio reports the ox has broken out of its pen and has run away.
Pen uses the time during their search to encourage Otta's use of her demon's Sight, as well as describing his process to the others. Wyn is not with them, having been dispatched to Pef to seek the help of the Saint Iroki, seen in two previous stories. They eventually find the ox high in the hills, but Kittio's mastiff attacks, and in the ensuing melee to get the dog away from the ox, Pen is gored by the ox's long horn. This is Pen's story of course, so we know he will survive, but that doesn't mean the situation is not dire. Desdemona frantically works from within to heal him, and in her anger she strikes out and kills the ox. As we know from previous stories, whenever a demon possessed person (or animal) dies, the demon jumps to the nearest available body. I won't say who it is this time, but the demon is small and young, and it will take a while for their influence to be felt by their new rider. Penric is the eleventh person that has ridden Desdemona, all the previous being women, with her first two incarnations being within animals. One thing I speculated at the beginning of his tale is that Des, or maybe her rider at the time, the Learned Ruschia, had chosen Penric specifically for Desdemona's new rider. Nothing of that was ever confirmed, but it has become clear that Des cares a lot for Pen, and he for her too. As awkward as it has been for him, Des has also become good friends with Nikys and Idrene, and she thinks of herself as a surrogate mother to Otta, or at least to her demon Atto. I have no idea how many more stories Bujold intends to write in this sequence, but I would not be surprised if Des chooses to die herself at the time Pen does. But she will do whatever it takes to keep him alive in the meantime.
Rina and Otta feel helpless, but at least Otta can use the Sight to observe how Des is working to save Pen. Kittio, and his dog, are sent back to Ikos's camp for workers to bring a litter to carry Pen. In the interim, Otta and Rina have to contend with wolves that come to attack them, or maybe just feast on the dead ox, and when Des and Atto use their powers to kill the wolves, vultures are the next problem. Pen is conscious, though not always lucid, but does his best to instruct Otta on what to do, and Rina absorbs all he says for her own edification. Always a diligent teacher, Pen is, no matter the circumstances. He realizes it may be his last opportunity to impart his wisdom. Rina and Otta have conversations away from him, and what they discuss turn into propositions for their future once they are all back in Vilnoc. Back home, where Nikys' third child has arrived, another girl, named Idrene Desdemona, to be called Mona. So, one more demon rider to teach, a sorceress who wants to learn medicine, and a girl not content just being a scribe. Rina has longed to have her own demon, and since she missed out this time, she wants to learn Wealdean, and travel to Easthome to perhaps become a shaman, to learn from her father's old friend Ingris kin Wolfcliff (from the second story, Penric and the Shaman). This story was more about the development of other characters beyond Penric and Desdemona, more about their growth and education, over and above any sorcery involved. I hope that continues in later stories. Whatever happens, however many stories Bujold chooses to write, I will read them. Perhaps I can add another one to this page next year, if not sooner.
Related Links:
Go back to the start of the series with Penric & Desdemona, Part 1: The first 3 novellas
Then Part 2: Novellas 4-6
Part 3: Novellas 7-9
Part 4: the novel The Assassins of Thasalon
Part 5: Novellas 10-12
A list of all my Bujold reviews
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