The Prisoner of Limnos by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Prisoner of Limnos (2017 print, 2018 audio) is another of Lois McMaster Bujold’s PENRIC AND DESDEMONA novellas. It is a direct sequel to Mira’s Last Dance, so I’d recommend reading that (and its prequels) first.
Penric and Nikys, the widow Penric is in love with, are safe at court in Orbas when Nikys gets an encrypted letter stating that her mother has been taken prisoner by political enemies in Cedonia.
To his delight, Nikys comes to Penric for help, and the two set off for Cedonia to bust mom out of jail. This will involve Penric dressing up like a woman (again), using his chaos magic, working with some of Nikys’ family and retainers, and confronting Desdemona’s fear of heights. Also, there’s some gorgeous scenery, as you can tell from the book cover shown here.
Similar to the other PENRIC AND DESDEMONA novellas, The Prisoner of Limnos is one chapter in Penric’s story. It’s uncomplicated, linear, and tightly focused. There’s not much here to surprise or intrigue the reader, there are no grand battles or mind-blowing ideas.
However, there are Bujold’s intelligent and witty characters, and it’s always pleasant to simply watch them try to get through their difficult lives and listen to them interact with each other. If that’s what you enjoy about this series, I feel certain that you’ll be satisfied with The Prisoner of Limnos.
I’ve mentioned many times that the audiobooks, narrated by Grover Gardner and produced by Blackstone Audio, are fabulous. These stories are simple and unchallenging, but they are so pleasant to listen to. I look forward to each one. The Prisoner of Limnos is 5.5 hours long.
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