Lois’s answer to “All of the Murderbot novellas are very good - recommend. I'm thoroughly enjoying a re-read, buildin…” > Likes and Comments

For keen readers, it's an advantage of self-publishing that completed fiction can reach them so quickly. Going the traditional publishing route seems to take so long!

There may be some readers who are sick of the whole subject of contagious diseases and don't want to read more about it. I can understand that, but I took to this story well enough. It's the odd one out: the other Penric stories are either adventures involving travel, or crime mysteries. This one's a medical mystery, and Pen and Des have to work harder than usual to combat it.

Apologies if that intro didn't make much sense, I thought I'd posted it in reply to another question to you about Murderbot.

Your comment about the "unfortunate coincidence of subject matter and timing" is an answer to my wondering how recent the inspiration for the story was - I wondered whether a story with a hard won solution was an optimistic response to recent events. Certainly I took heart from it, so thank you.

I'm sick of isolation and viruses, but I enjoyed Physicians very much! It's always a joy to get a new Bujold book - I've read my others (and I have them all, starting way back when the SFBC first offered them) so often that I nearly know them by heart.