Ahoy there me mateys!  These delightful novellas take place in the World of the Five Gods from the trilogy of that name.  That said, ye do NOT have to have read the trilogy first, though I did.  Book one of the trilogy, curse of the chalion, is one of the best fantasy books I have ever read and I really enjoyed the remaining two.

Early this year I was thrilled to find out that the Penric and Desdemona novellas were being republished in a two-book omnibus set.  The first omnibus contained novellas 1 - 3 in the internal chronological order not publishing order.  This review is for penric's travels which contains the novellas 4 - 6.  Minor spoilers from the blurbs be used so read at yer own peril . . .

Penric’s Mission

I adore Penric and Desdemona.  In this novella, Penric has been working with his demon (a combination of twelve female personalities inside of him) for over a decade. It was so enjoyable to see that Penric and Desdemona's relationship has matured and that their friendship and caring for another is stronger than ever.  Penric is on secret mission to Cedonia for his employer.  What surprised me about this story is how quickly everything went wrong and the volume of trouble that Penric gets into.  I also loved the addition of Nykis.  She is a strong-willed woman whose brother, Arisaydia, is involved in Penric's troubles.  I loved watched the three interact.  This was an intense little story and I was constantly wondering where it would go next.  The small cliffhanger ending made me want more.  Luckily the omnibus has more of the story.

Mira's Last Dance

This picks up where the previous one ends and is mostly set in an interlude stop in the town of Sosie.  The delays are unwelcome for the characters but completely welcome for me because this novella gives the reader more insight into an aspect of Desdemona called Mira.  Mira has an unique set of skills that didn't get called on in the previous Penric novellas.  I adored watching all the women in this book deal with Penric.  This novella doesn't further the plot a whole bunch but certainly gives insight into the characters.  It was so much fun.

The Prisoner of Limnos

This installment sees Penric and gang back in safe territory for a small breather until Nikys learns that her mother has been taken hostage.  Penric and Nikys set out to rescue her from a woman's only religious island.  It was delightful.  I loved the surprise characters.  I loved that there was a character that was an albino who wasn't evil.  He is wonderful in fact.  I ended up really enjoying how all three novellas were part of a larger story arc.  I can't help but want more of Penric's earlier life and to see the parts that have been skipped.  Arrrr!

Side note:  I thought that I had finished the series after reading both omnibuses.  Turns out there are three other novellas!  One takes place between novella three and four.  The other two take place after the events at the end of the second omnibus.  I will have to track these down.