The Orphans of Raspay

A Penric and Desdemona Novella in the World of the Five Gods (The Penric & Desdemona Series, Book 7)

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

When the ship in which they are traveling is captured by Carpagamon island raiders, Temple sorcerer Penric and his resident demon Desdemona find their life complicated by two young orphans, Lencia and Seuka Corva, far from home and searching for their missing father. Pen and Des will need all their combined talents of mind and magic to unravel the mysteries of the sisters and escape from the pirate stronghold.

©2019 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

The Bastard uses Penric to answer prayers

Set in the World of the Five Gods, I really enjoy this series of Penric and his mostly helpful demon Desdemona, who is a collective of the 12 women he has previously inhabited. Des allows Penric to do magic, so he is considered a sorcerer which comes with amazing pros and deadly cons. He is a Quintarian, serving the fifth god, the Bastard.

Set 13 years after being inhabited by Desdemona, in this story Penric’s ship is overrun by pirates and he is single-minded in trying to escape and go home to his wife Nikys. Trouble is, he’s compelled to help two young sisters find their father. Of course, he doesn’t find out why until the very end.
My takeaway on this book is don’t let YOUR mind paralyze you with fear. Keep moving forward; keep trying to find a way to get out of a bad situation to get home. If you can help someone on the way, even better.
Gardner is an exceptional narrator.

Pen and the Pirates...Des and the Daughters

A lovely story of Penric's adventures, continually being thwarted by all that goes on. The two sisters (daughters to someone) are an excellent addition to the plot. This is one of the best of the series. Well-plotted, well-narrated. Excellent writing and world-building.

Another fine adventure for Pen and Des

Penric and his constant companion, inside his body, the demon Desdemona have been around for some time. In a previous story there was some discussion of how the pair could take care of a pirate attack. However, when the attack takes place, at night just as a storm is ending, they have no warning. It seems that there are other victims of pirates in need of help. Two young girls, whose mother has recently died who were previously captured by the pirates during their search for their father.

Lots of troubles and an eventual happy ending in this 7th installment in the adventures of Penric and Desdemona. The novella can stand alone, but I do find that reading or listening to the series in internal chronological order, starting with Penric's Demon makes the experience richer. As does eventual reading the three full length novels set in the same World of the Five Gods, but in different localities and time periods.

Bujold has produced a thought provoking and enjoyable fantasy universe.

Excellent adventure

A high-energy, high-jeopardy adventure. The plot is very strong, with twist after twist, and none really seeming unearned. The character development is less central to this than to other novellas in this series, but is still well-handled and important.

Highly recommended.

An unfortunate shallow disappointment

Unfortunately it reads more like fanfic than anything else, although there are a few humorous points of narration, there is again seems to be absolutely no character growth for Penric.
I find most unfortunate is that the author created this very interesting world, and a character with so much potential, and then simply refuses to explore it at any depth.
He has supernatural powers but somehow doesn't use them for 3/4 of the book, because "reasons".
Then, at the point of complete dismay and utter hopelessness, he is saved by deus ex machina intervention, which is absolutely ridiculous.
There is a reason that authors do not use this type of plot device much anymore, at least those with a mediocre understanding of plot construction and story development. It leaves the readers disappointed and lacking any real fulfillment of plot.
It also seems she has no problem at all the slavery, as she basically gives the slavers get off free, only having to agree to some nebulous 'deal' or whatever. I'd have burned them all to ash.
And frankly at the end it sounds like she's making more arguments for slavery than against.

Love it’s all there is…

The overall story was enjoyable to listen of all the love, power and money different people controlled. And yes the love between the girls and sorcerer were tested and fell in unusual situations.
Are the beginning chapter was confusing. It quickly became more understandable with the strange words and actions.
I would definitely recommend the book to others who like fantasy.

You're in for a real treat!

It's always a good idea to check in on Penric and Desdemona from time to time, and see what they've been up to! As I had suspected it would be, this was a really fun story! Penric has been captured by pirates ☠, and is being held (we assume) for ransom. Once he's dropped into the hold of the pirate's ship, he meets up with two orphaned sisters, and despite his own shaky predicament, he absolutely knows that he has to save them too! As a servant to the Bastard God, even unarmed, Penric and Desdemona (the demon that rides within him) make a formidable fighting pair, inspite of Penric's rather slight stature.
If you don't already know it, Lois Mcmaster Bujold and Grover Gardner make a very formidable pair as well! Grab yourself a copy today, or if you've never read/listened to anything in this series, get the first book "Penric's Demon" to see where it all started. You're in for a real treat either way! 😊👍

Some interesting concepts

Some interesting concepts explored on both a political and personal level. Loved Desdemona and I am jealous.

Pirates and adventure

This story is set in the world of the five gods 13 years after Penric joined with Desdemona. Lois McMaster Bujold does it again, mixing action, adventure, and humor. Orphans and pirates. The only detractor from these novellas is that the stories are over way too fast. Grover Gardner's narration was wonderful.

Satisfying story

I really enjjoyed revisiting the world of Penric. The story was not predictable. I had more than a few laugh out loud moments in the last chapters.