A review by saluki
The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett

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!