Masquerade in Lodi

A Penric & Desdemona Novella in the World of the Five Gods

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 4 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

Bastard’s Eve is a night of celebration for most residents in the canal city of Lodi - but not for sorcerer Learned Penric and his Temple demon Desdemona, who find themselves caught up in the affairs of a shiplost madman, a dangerous ascendant demon, and a very unexpected saint of the fifth god.

This novella falls between Penric’s Fox and Penric’s Mission in the internal chronology of the Penric & Desdemona tales.

©2020 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing

I love this series!

If you haven’t sampled the stories of Penric and Desdemona yet, dive in anywhere and then catch up from #1. Lois McMaster Bujold is a word artist unmatched and my family and I have adored every series she’s written over the years. Each are great on their own, but then the real fun enters as you put all the books in order and put the puzzle together. Lois (being Lois) isn’t writing this series in order which is great fun. Each book is only a novella to boot, so the stories are relatively short and to the point.
Lois, you have our thanks for the years of entertainment that remain timeless in their own worlds. We look forward to whatever you decide to share with your fans next. You’re a gift to book readers everywhere!

Even better on reading the second time

This time I savored the writing, the lovely images, and the author's insight into humanity. Also humor. The author is so brilliant. I'm fortunate to have found her, and to get lost in her magic.

Strong on personality and world-building

The personality of the characters was well-drawn, which I always expect from Lois McMaster Bujold. Well-written--of course, and plotted. It didn't grab me and hold me like others in the series. Interesting expansion on what we know of demons.

A high caliber disappointment

After the initial set-up, the plot became more predictable than a Scooby-do episode. The writing and narration were excellent, like past stories. Penric and Desdemona were still engaging.

Masquerade In Lodi.

Penrick and Desdemona are becoming two of my favorite protagonist in Lois McMaster Bujold‘s fantasy world. The material where she gets her ideas fascinates me but her five God’s world is absolutely delightful.

Interesting take on unconscious bias

This tale is a great exploration of unconscious bias, that gets even better the second time you read it. This is the only story where I've consistently wanted to shake Pen for being so pig headed. Still a good read, of course.

Not a stand-alone…

Narrator was great! Seems like a very interesting and well written series, but I just couldn’t get into it; it relied too much on knowledge of prior events which I did not have. Assuredly not a stand-alone work, which would have been nice to know before I spent a credit on it!

light, easy read.

Narrator did a great job. this book relied on the preceding books for the main character's persona.

Great addition to the Oenric and Desdemona series

As always, an interesting story line, some humor, some seriousness, plenty of life lessons. Grover Gardner is an excellent storyteller with good voices and perfect cadence; he adds to my enjoyment of the story.

Really a fun read.

Nice Novella. Keeps very much in the humor of the rest of the series.

Grover does a great job brining these already interesting characters to life.

Pity about the narrator. Like the author

Like the author, but I’m not desparate enough to listen to an irritating, out-of-date narrator.