ejopet's review against another edition
"Ye murdering cur.... You'll end this night--"
"I know. Flensed, basted and flayed, and off to hang on a six-shilling gibbet--keep your distance--but not tonight.["]
It took a while for me to warm up to this book. Or rather, it took me a while to warm up to Lymond:
1) He comes across very smug. He always has a witty retort (or many), and he never seems fazed by anything (for the first half of the book or so).
2) He's very educated, but educated by the standards of 16th century Scotland, which means: Latin and French phrases and references to people and art I've never heard of (e.g. Roger Ascham). Not to mention, he has a circuitous way of speaking, so I had to read closely to figure out what he meant. This all meant that whenever he was present, I had the beginning of a headache, and was usually confused.
But I kept reading, because Dunnett's prose is gorgeous, and because I was charmed by the other characters. I loved the relationship between Richard and Mariotta (even when both of them are acting like idiots). I loved Christian Stewart and Sybilla. I loved Agnes Herries (side note: I need more media that so perfectly captures the surreality of being a teenage girl, living half in stories and half in the real world).
And then, subtlely and then all at once, Lymond captured me. It started with the first conversation that he doesn't come out the victor of, with Margaret Lennox. Then he ends up in worse and worse positions, until we can see beneath the self-possession and self-conception. By the end, I was totally invested in whatever happened to him.
I really recommend this book, though it is dense. I never quite got all the English Lords sorted out, and the politics was sometimes beyond me. I strongly recommend the ebook version, because I was constantly searching to remember which place is Heriot or Hexham or Annan--I would have been lost without it. But the personal (and sometimes very funny) moments and rich characters make up for any confusion.
chrstn's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Intricate politics, intriguing characters, a bit of a mystery, family drama, and phenomenal prose. I would highly recommend immersion reading. The emotion the narrator injects into each voice was incredible. Each character leapt off the page, but let’s be clear - he could never have done such a great job had Dorothy Dunnett not written so thoroughly and so well.
jce's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
saluki's review against another edition
5.0
Scotsman master Francis Crawford of Lymond has just become one of my favourite fictional characters of all time!
Historical fiction is not usually a subgenre I favour but I'd been intrigued about this series for years. The dangerous and bloody political turmoil and military manoeuvres of sixteenth century Scottish, English and French history is accurate. Add to this a protagonist with a tongue as sharp as his sword, and Dunnett's ease with biased narration as facts slowly come to light, and life on the edge for Lymond with enemies at home and abroad, and I couldn't stop reading and thinking about the clever plots, counterplots and foils, each chapter cleverly structured around the game of chess, the game of kings.
Apart from the obvious themes of patriotism, loyalty & betrayal, it's the characters and relationships that are keenly felt. No cardboard characters here... everyone individually realised through dialogue, action and gesture. After every hint, or every full reveal, for protagonist and antagonists, I found myself loving Dunnett's skill more and more.
I did find the book difficult to adjust to in the beginning but was soon swept into the story. There is a fair amount of archaic vocabulary, references to classic literature and poetry, and foreign language. Luckily I understood most French but not Italian and Spanish and I didn't bother to try translating those parts. Still, most phrases scan be surmised by the context. I did find myself googling a fair amount of Gaelic words and phrases which added an extra enjoyable layer, for me. This is definitely one of those books that would benefit a reread and I'm sure it's one I'll return to in future.
Also, I'm relieved to see the cover redesign for the kindle editions. The original paperbacks have a romantic look to them and this book is not romantic in the slightest.
Simply, blown away on all levels. Can't stop thinking about it. Who knew historical fiction would become one of my most favourite reads of all time? Certainly not me. One I'll be recommending.
Think I need a little time to digest what I've read before starting the next book but I'm going to read the rest of the series before I read anything else!
katpiercefield's review
5.0
This book is on my "fire shelf", along with the rest of the Lymond Chronicles...meaning, if my house was burning down and I only had time to save a few books, these would be among them. They are without question some of the best books I have ever read. I return to them on a periodic basis, and loan them to friends hoping that they will experience the same joyous explosion of delight I did on my first encounter with Ms. Dunnett's splendid writing.
They are a challenging read, but absolutely worth the effort. Having Elspeth Morrison's Dorothy Dunnett Companion would have been a great asset, and to anyone starting the series now, I recommend you have a copy of that on hand. Then prepare to laugh out loud, weep, and be seduced, beguiled and captivated by Francis Crawford and his world.
They are a challenging read, but absolutely worth the effort. Having Elspeth Morrison's Dorothy Dunnett Companion would have been a great asset, and to anyone starting the series now, I recommend you have a copy of that on hand. Then prepare to laugh out loud, weep, and be seduced, beguiled and captivated by Francis Crawford and his world.
cluckingbell's review
4.0
Need to reread the first half, as, overwritten as it may have been, the audiobook reader didn't do Lymond's dialog justice and there were a lot of characters to keep track of...
nbcknwlf's review
I love historical fiction but could not get into this. Maybe I’ll try again later.
unbyronically's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
akemichan's review
4.0
Questo è un libro difficile da leggere.
Intanto per lo stile (non sono riuscita a trovarlo in italiano, quindi non so come sia la traduzione, ma in inglese è molto pesante), per le continue citazioni letterarie, le frasi buttate lì in altre lingue.
E poi per la trama, che inizia più o meno in mezzo all'avventura, riempiendoti di nomi (storici e no) e fatti e passando così velocemente da una scena all'altra che ci vogliono almeno duecento pagine per orientarsi, e anche lì non è subito chiaro perché le azioni di Lymond sono raccontate a sprazzi e rivelate solo man mano.
Però, paradossalmente, questi sono i pregi del libro. Lo stile ti fa immedesimare nell'azione, un'azione che parte involuta e poi si riavvita su se stessa fino ad arrivare a un finale in stile "giallo" dove finalmente la verità viene alla luce (e io sono felice che ci sia stato lo spiegone finale perché temevo di essermi persa dei pezzi con tutto quello che è successo!) e le fedeltà restaurate.
Per quanto sia stato pesante leggerlo, ne è valsa la pena.
Intanto per lo stile (non sono riuscita a trovarlo in italiano, quindi non so come sia la traduzione, ma in inglese è molto pesante), per le continue citazioni letterarie, le frasi buttate lì in altre lingue.
E poi per la trama, che inizia più o meno in mezzo all'avventura, riempiendoti di nomi (storici e no) e fatti e passando così velocemente da una scena all'altra che ci vogliono almeno duecento pagine per orientarsi, e anche lì non è subito chiaro perché le azioni di Lymond sono raccontate a sprazzi e rivelate solo man mano.
Però, paradossalmente, questi sono i pregi del libro. Lo stile ti fa immedesimare nell'azione, un'azione che parte involuta e poi si riavvita su se stessa fino ad arrivare a un finale in stile "giallo" dove finalmente la verità viene alla luce (e io sono felice che ci sia stato lo spiegone finale perché temevo di essermi persa dei pezzi con tutto quello che è successo!) e le fedeltà restaurate.
Per quanto sia stato pesante leggerlo, ne è valsa la pena.