The Orphans of Raspay

A Penric and Desdemona Novella in the World of the Five Gods (The Penric & Desdemona Series, Book 7)

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

When the ship in which they are traveling is captured by Carpagamon island raiders, Temple sorcerer Penric and his resident demon Desdemona find their life complicated by two young orphans, Lencia and Seuka Corva, far from home and searching for their missing father. Pen and Des will need all their combined talents of mind and magic to unravel the mysteries of the sisters and escape from the pirate stronghold.

©2019 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Excellent adventure

A high-energy, high-jeopardy adventure. The plot is very strong, with twist after twist, and none really seeming unearned. The character development is less central to this than to other novellas in this series, but is still well-handled and important.

Highly recommended.

You're in for a real treat!

It's always a good idea to check in on Penric and Desdemona from time to time, and see what they've been up to! As I had suspected it would be, this was a really fun story! Penric has been captured by pirates ☠, and is being held (we assume) for ransom. Once he's dropped into the hold of the pirate's ship, he meets up with two orphaned sisters, and despite his own shaky predicament, he absolutely knows that he has to save them too! As a servant to the Bastard God, even unarmed, Penric and Desdemona (the demon that rides within him) make a formidable fighting pair, inspite of Penric's rather slight stature.
If you don't already know it, Lois Mcmaster Bujold and Grover Gardner make a very formidable pair as well! Grab yourself a copy today, or if you've never read/listened to anything in this series, get the first book "Penric's Demon" to see where it all started. You're in for a real treat either way! 😊👍

Love it’s all there is…

The overall story was enjoyable to listen of all the love, power and money different people controlled. And yes the love between the girls and sorcerer were tested and fell in unusual situations.
Are the beginning chapter was confusing. It quickly became more understandable with the strange words and actions.
I would definitely recommend the book to others who like fantasy.

The Bastard uses Penric to answer prayers

Set in the World of the Five Gods, I really enjoy this series of Penric and his mostly helpful demon Desdemona, who is a collective of the 12 women he has previously inhabited. Des allows Penric to do magic, so he is considered a sorcerer which comes with amazing pros and deadly cons. He is a Quintarian, serving the fifth god, the Bastard.

Set 13 years after being inhabited by Desdemona, in this story Penric’s ship is overrun by pirates and he is single-minded in trying to escape and go home to his wife Nikys. Trouble is, he’s compelled to help two young sisters find their father. Of course, he doesn’t find out why until the very end.
My takeaway on this book is don’t let YOUR mind paralyze you with fear. Keep moving forward; keep trying to find a way to get out of a bad situation to get home. If you can help someone on the way, even better.
Gardner is an exceptional narrator.

Some interesting concepts

Some interesting concepts explored on both a political and personal level. Loved Desdemona and I am jealous.