Penric and the Shaman

Lois McMaster Bujold
Completed 1/7/2026, Reviewed 1/8/2026
3 stars

This second book in the Penric and Desdemona series picks up four years after the events of Penric’s Demon.  I was rather disappointed.  I was looking forward to more interplay between Pen and Des as he learns to harness his sorcerer’s skills at the Academy as well as the evolution of communication between them.  I still liked the book but wasn’t ready for the jump in years.  

The book begins with Penric, now assigned to the Princess-Archdivine near the end of his training.  An investigator, aka a Locator, asks for the ear of the Princess.  He’s come for aid in finding a runaway shaman who has killed his best friend.  She assigns Penric and a few soldiers to Oswyl.  He questions Penric’s age and experience but acquiesces to the Princess’ wishes.  Together the posse discovers the spirits of people whose souls did not ascend to one of the five gods and the relationship between the shaman and ghosts.  Eventually, they find Inglis the shaman, but the truth about the circumstances of the death isn’t what they expected.  

The strange thing about this book is that the narrative jumps between Inglis, Penric, and Oswyl.  Each one is told in third person, so it is sometimes disruptive between sections.  This is different from the first book where it was all told in third person Penric.  I found the different narratives to be too similar to each other and was often confused about who we were following.  Within each narration, though, Bujold kept the mind frame of the character consistent.  For example, when Inglis and Penric finally meet, it is from Inglis’ POV and at first, like Inglis, we’re not sure who has entered the room until Penric introduces himself.  So small details like that were done well.  I just would have been appreciative if Bujold maybe titled the chapters with the name of the person whose POV was being told.  

Referring back again to the jump in years between stories, I was a little jolted by Penric’s gentle, generous, and controlled manner.  He’s clearly come to grips with being the vessel for a demon.  When he speaks, he sounds like a kind therapist.  Unfortunately, the banter with Des is mostly gone, so there’s very little sarcasm or inside jokes.  He occasionally addresses Des for guidance, but for the most part, Des is not a real player in this story.  

On the positive side, the story is good.  The plot is more structured with interesting things happening throughout the book.  The reader understands the journeys of the characters.  The world building is still terrific as we delve into the mechanics of shamanism in this universe.  As usual, the prose is terrific.  Keep an eye out for the amazing mega-dogs.  They’re pretty awesome.

I give this book three stars out of five.  Despite liking the story, I once again did not find it quite as engrossing as I wish it was.  I believe this series pre-dates cozy fantasy, but it does have that feel.  With the ghostly apparitions and the bloody knife (no spoilers 😊 ) however, it felt colder than most books I’ve read in the cozy subgenres.  Something still draws me to reading more of the series, so my little book club with JB will read the next two installments for the March selection.