Lois McMaster Bujold is sending Penric and Desdemona back to an earlier chapter in their partnership. Testimony of Mute Things, a fantasy mystery set in the World of the Five Gods, is getting a signed hardcover from Subterranean Press. The publisher lists the edition for January 2027. The novella first appeared as an ebook in October 2025, and the audiobook is already available.
The collector’s edition was announced October 19, 2026. Subterranean Press said the book was already at the printer and that work had begun on a print edition of Darksight Dare, another Penric and Desdemona novella. Publisher announcement
A Temple meeting turns into a mystery
Learned Penric and Desdemona, the chaos demon who shares his body, accompany Princess-Archdivine Llewen of Martensbridge to a Temple conclave in Occo. The border town is disputed, and the gathering brings old grievances and new intrigues into the same room. The investigation gives Penric and Desdemona a problem that takes judgment as well as magic.
Occo is the part of the setup that interests me most. A Temple meeting gives people a reason to speak carefully, and a disputed border gives them a reason to remember the same history differently. If you liked the way an investigation exposes the workings of an unfamiliar society in The Tainted Cup, Bujold’s premise offers a similar appeal on the scale of a novella. Read our Tainted Cup review
Where Testimony of Mute Things fits in the reading order
It’s the 15th Penric and Desdemona novella by original publication order. In the characters’ timeline, Bujold places it after Penric’s Fox and before Masquerade in Lodi. That makes it the fourth stop on a chronological read. Bujold’s reading-order note
If you’re new to the series, start with Penric’s Demon to see how Penric and Desdemona end up sharing a body. The collection Penric’s Progress contains the first three stories in the sequence above, so you can go straight from that collection to Testimony of Mute Things.
Hardcover, ebook and audiobook availability
| Format | What to know |
|---|---|
| Signed hardcover | Subterranean Press lists a January 2027 release window, with 1,250 signed and numbered copies at $48. The edition runs 216 pages and features dust jacket art by Lauren Saint-Onge. |
| Ebook | Released October 23, 2025, through Spectrum Literary Agency. |
| Audiobook | Blackstone Publishing’s unabridged edition is narrated by Grover Gardner and runs just under five hours. |
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Ready to follow Penric and Desdemona to Occo? Find Testimony of Mute Things on Amazon.
- Start with the story of how the pair met. Find Penric’s Demon on Amazon.
- Read their first three adventures together. Find Penric’s Progress on Amazon.
For more investigations with a magical twist, browse 10 murder mysteries set in fantasy worlds.
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