Demon Daughter

January 13, 2025
Bujold’s 13th Penric and Desdemona fantasy (after Penric’s Labors) takes the series in a more introspective direction as, for the first time, she places her two leads in conflict with each other. Temple sorcerer Pen and Des, the chaos demon with whom he shares a body, are called to help when an apparently possessed young girl, Otta, washes ashore in a nearby fishing village. After Pen, Des, and Pen’s wife, Nikys, determine that the child is indeed hosting a very young demon, they face a multipronged quandary. It’s unknown whether anyone else on Otta’s father’s ship survived and, if so, whether they’ll claim a child with a demon. Temple policy is to bring uncontrolled demons before a Temple saint, who will decide whether to remove it or leave it with the host. While Pen and Nikys grow fond of Otta, Des begins to care for the young demon, putting them at odds. “You think you’re taking an adopted child to be cured of a disease,” Des argues, “but I would be taking an adopted child to be executed.” Seeing these two at cross-purposes puts a fresh twist on Bujold’s formula, allowing her to reveal new sides to each character. This works well as a quiet interlude between the action of previous volumes and the adventures that await.