The Physicians of Vilnoc
core novella 2020 World of the Five Gods
Record
| First published | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novella |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.30 (4,924 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| Page count | 126 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9781645240211 |
| Internal chronology | 11 |
Synopsis
When a mysterious plague breaks out among the soldiers at the army fort guarding the city of Vilnoc, Penric is called back into medical service, setting aside his usual sorcerous duties to help contain the outbreak. Working alongside an apprentice physician, he must draw on both ordinary medicine and his demon Desdemona's uncanny knowledge to identify the disease's source before it spreads further through the garrison and the surrounding town. The investigation becomes personal as the sickness begins to reach into Penric's own household, threatening people close to him and raising the stakes of an already urgent search. Racing against the disease's advance, Penric must balance careful diagnosis with the practical demands of a military fort under strain, uncertain whether the plague is a natural occurrence or something more deliberate.
Where it sits
- Universe: World of the Five Gods
- Series: Penric & Desdemona core; position 8 of 16 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
Notes
- From the series record (Penric & Desdemona): 16 novellas (2015-2026); publication order diverges from the author's own stated internal chronological order (recorded via internal chronology). Set roughly 150 years after The Hallowed Hunt and roughly 100 years before the Chalion novels. Classified Core Canon (not Expanded) because the novellas are marketed/sold as their own numbered series, are narratively load-bearing rather than side content, and the Hugo voting body treated them as full constituent parts of the universe when awarding the 2018 Hugo Best Series to the whole World of the Five Gods.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Penric & Desdemona: position 8 of 16: previous The Orphans of Raspay (2019) · next Masquerade in Lodi (2020)
- Internal chronology, within World of the Five Gods: position 11 of 19: previous The Orphans of Raspay (2019) · next The Assassins of Thasalon (2021)
Sources
← World of the Five Gods dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.