My Goodreads review: The Assassins of Thasalon

The Assassins of Thasalon by Lois McMaster Bujold

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'm always a little apprehensive when a series known for shorter works (novellas, in this case) produces a full-length novel. The two forms are significantly different, and stretching a novella's worth of plot over more pages isn't always satisfying.

In this case, I shouldn't have worried. Bujold uses the extra length well, allowing for some much-needed world-building in the Pen & Des universe. The divine magic system based on Temple (or not!) sorcerers and their ride-along demons is explained in some detail, as Pen acquires an unexpected apprentice & must deal with her training . . . as well as with some very nasty abuses of this type of magic. Court intrigue plays a larger role than in previous Pen tales -- there's room for that here, too -- and several interpersonal loose ends from previous installments are woven together into a satisfying, though not entirely surprising, conclusion.

Five stars for delivering in full what Bujold's readers come to her work expecting.




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