Reading: Penric's Demon (193/365)

I've been meaning to read Lois McMaster Bujold's series of novellas set in the same pseudo-medieval world as The Curse of Chalion for ages, but it took listening to an interview with her on the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books podcast a few weeks ago to prompt me to decide that I didn't need to finish reading the Vorkosigan novels first and unearth the copy of the first in the series, Penric's Demon, I bought four years ago from the depths of my kindle.

Penric is the nineteen-year-old son of a family of minor provincial nobility. Having accepted that the family's fortunes don't allow him to pursue his ambition of studying at university, he is about to be betrothed to a local girl when he stops to assist an elderly lady who appears to be unwell. It turns out that the lady is a sorcerer, possessed of - or maybe by - a demon which confers magical powers, and when the demon passes to Penric from the dying woman, his life is changed forever.

This first novella covers the immediate aftermath of Penric acquiring the demon and coming to terms with what that means for him. It does feel like it's mainly stage-setting, but it's entertaining and surprisingly touching in places, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.