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Being a Lois McMaster Bujold fan i grabbed this on publication. The Penric novellas are set in the world of the Five Gods, though a few hundred years before the events in (my all time favourite book) The Curse of Chalion. Penric shares his being with demon, Desdemona, which is, after some twenty-plus years a comfortable working relationship. It makes him a Temple Sorcerer, and he's frequently called in to solve some demonic dilemma or ethical quandary. This time he's called to a fishing village where a six year old girl has washed up on shore, imbued with a very young demon which is currently setting fires all over the village. Deemed dangerous, the villagers imprison the child down a (dry) well. Enter Pen and his wife Nickys who set about training the child in how not to set her surroundings on fire, and from there her training continues. Pen and Nickys take in the child (and the demon) but the time is coming when they have to take her to the saint and let the god decide whether the demon stays or goes. Though the child once wanted the demon gone, she's not so sure now. Des has firm views, which puts her at loggerheads with Pen. This is a low-stakes, but engaging story and I was fairly sure where it was going to end up. That's not a problem - it's the journey to the conclusion that counts. Feb. 13th, 2024
Being a Lois McMaster Bujold fan i grabbed this on publication. The Penric novellas are set in the world of the Five Gods, though a few hundred years before the events in (my all time favourite book) The Curse of Chalion. Penric shares his being with demon, Desdemona, which is, after some twenty-plus years a comfortable working relationship. It makes him a Temple Sorcerer, and he's frequently called in to solve some demonic dilemma or ethical quandary. This time he's called to a fishing village where a six year old girl has washed up on shore, imbued with a very young demon which is currently setting fires all over the village. Deemed dangerous, the villagers imprison the child down a (dry) well. Enter Pen and his wife Nickys who set about training the child in how not to set her surroundings on fire, and from there her training continues. Pen and Nickys take in the child (and the demon) but the time is coming when they have to take her to the saint and let the god decide whether the demon stays or goes. Though the child once wanted the demon gone, she's not so sure now. Des has firm views, which puts her at loggerheads with Pen. This is a low-stakes, but engaging story and I was fairly sure where it was going to end up. That's not a problem - it's the journey to the conclusion that counts. 
Another full length outing for Murderbot. Read in chronological rather than publication order, this follows on from Murdewrbot #6, Fugitive Telemetry. Murderbot, the rogue SecUnit is now effectively 'owned' by Dr Mensah as a way to preserve its autonomy. It's on a mission with Mensah's family members and colleagues, Thiago, Mensah's bother in law, Amena, Mensah's sort-of daughter, and Drs Arada, Oversee and Ratthi. Their ship is attacked by a hostile vessel crewed by grey humanoids. The others escape, but Murderbot and Amena are taken on board the hostile. Then it gets complicated. Murderbot discovers that the hosatile ship is actually ART, the AI of which is Murderbot's friend from a previous book, now severely compromised, maybe even dead. Alien remnant tech is involves and even when Murderbot rescues and reboots ART, the deadly remnant tech, not to mention ART's missing human crew have to be found. Murderbot is its usual snarky self, baffled by human emotions yet beginning to experience something similar itself. The ending set things up for a new phase in Murderbot's life. The reader is Kevin R Free