Desdemona is kind of a Guile hero, quiet, savvy, powerful and watchful, but used to being, well, used for her powers, while Penric is what TV Tropes would probably call “ Good is Not Dumb.” The two of them together are terrific, as Penric is determined to treat Desdemona as a being with feelings and preferences, and Desdemona has no idea what to make of that. The best reason to read this story is Penric and the demon, whom he names Desdemona. The demon has its own personalities, and each person has added languages, skills, experience, and memories, all of which the demon carries forward to Penric. Meanwhile, Penric has to figure out what to do with the demon, who contains 13 different identities, the left over lifetimes of the people within whom the demon has lived. It’s a novella, so the story moves along rapidly as people plot against Penric because they want his demon. Turns out the woman is a sorcerer, and when he asks how he can help her, she accepts his help and presto! The demon that lives in her jumps to Penric upon her death. This causes no shortage of logistical, theological, familial, and political problems because having a demon makes one a powerful sorcerer in this world, and Penric has exactly zero training in that department.

The plot is simple and complicated: Penric is a good-hearted dude on his way to his betrothal when he stops because a woman is dying in the road. Adding it to my library on a whim yielded four hours of deep relaxation in Beltway traffic (not an easy feat), on my patio while cross stitching (pretty easy) and while cooking (always good). I read this novella about two years ago, had fond memories of it, and then spotted the audio version.

Penric’s Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold