Testimony of Mute Things

A Penric & Desdemona Novella

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

A contentious Temple conclave brings sorcerer Learned Penric and his demon Desdemona, in support of his superior Princess-Archdivine Llewen of Martensbridge, to the disputed Carpagamon border town of Occo. There, the uncanny pair will tangle with dangerous new intrigues and old histories, that will test their magical skills, their wits, and their hearts.

©2025 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2025 Blackstone Publishing

Wonderful return to an earlier Pen & Des before the 4th book

Another murder mystery, mixed with a visit to another town where Pen’s boss at the time is one of 3 arbitrators for temple disputes. It jumps back in time after Penric’s Fox (book 3) and before Masquerade in Lodi (book 4). Wonderful story as always.

Another wonderful novella of Penric and Desdema

I love these little chunks of life of Penric and Desdemona and the world of lay dedicates. Who knew that the Church could be so deadly? Perfect Christmas present, a nice shall I say cozy read. Grover Gardner is the perfect reader for this series. Highly recommend.

A Bujold novella is always a pleasure.

One of the best pieces of worldbuilding, characterization and sheer fun in fantasy. I love Penric and Des, plus all the rest of the wonderful cast.

Short, humorous, character focused, novella

The first book of this series was a short introduction and I was not sure about listening to the others.
Even the second book did not sell me completely, but the third book got me hooked.
These are all short, humorous, character focused, novella set in a fantasy universe.
I really like Rex Stouts Nero Wolfe series and have listened to them all.
This series scratches the same itch for me as Nero Wolfe does.
Each makes me smile, holds my interest, and I end up happy.
Penric plays the role of Archie as the narrator and the stories take a back seat to the characters.
Penric is often solving a mystery or dealing with a situation.
The prose in both series are excellent with lots of wit and humor.
There is little action, or drama, or suspense. What action there is, is generally cute in some way.

The outstanding by narration by Grover Gardner (one of my favorites) is a huge plus.

Well done!

I like how Lois tied in the initial meeting of Master Stobrec to Penric that is mentioned in Penric’s Mission, and foreshadowing how he will ultimately get to Adria. As usual totally loved it!