The Lymond Chronicles (The Game of Kings is the first in a series of six historical novels) is intelligent, witty, romantic, and filled with mystery much like the hero, Francis Lymond of Crawford. The writing style is dense and the plot labyrinthine but I've read this series more than once and always, always find it a rich tapestry of history, mystery, and romance. The series only gets better after the first book, where Dunnett's writing style and oblique intellectual references lighten up considerably.
An intrigue at sixteen marks Lymond for a traitor and an outlaw in his native Scotland. The novel opens after five long years of bitter exile. Lymond is incredibly intelligent and talented but apparently also quite devilish and nearly soulless. Many fear him, and he trusts no one. As Lymond intrigues and machinates through the political turbulence of 16th century Scotland and searches for the one man who can help him clear his name the question is, is Lymond traitor or patriot? Series listing:
1. The Game of Kings
2. Queens Play
3. The Disorderly Knights
4. The Pawn in Frankincense
5. The Ringed Castle
6. Checkmate
A series I was saddened to see come to an end.
An intrigue at sixteen marks Lymond for a traitor and an outlaw in his native Scotland. The novel opens after five long years of bitter exile. Lymond is incredibly intelligent and talented but apparently also quite devilish and nearly soulless. Many fear him, and he trusts no one. As Lymond intrigues and machinates through the political turbulence of 16th century Scotland and searches for the one man who can help him clear his name the question is, is Lymond traitor or patriot? Series listing:
1. The Game of Kings
2. Queens Play
3. The Disorderly Knights
4. The Pawn in Frankincense
5. The Ringed Castle
6. Checkmate
A series I was saddened to see come to an end.
Helpful Score: 6
Do be aware that it has dialect that can be hard to plough thru.
Helpful Score: 5
I really wanted to read this book. It sounded great. I hated the language, tough read. Turend out to be more work than pleasure. Recommend you skim it in a book store or library before ordering to see if it is you type of book.
Anne Todd O. (forestguardian) reviewed The Game of Kings (Lymond Chronicles, Bk 1) on + 88 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
First book of the great Lymond series. Loved them all. A friend bought me the first one and I was hooked.
Helpful Score: 2
Not an easy read but really good....
Helpful Score: 1
In 1547 Scotland has been humiliated by an English invasion and is threatened by machinations elsewhere beyond its borders, but it stil is free. Paradoxically, her freedom may depend on a man who stands accused of treason. He is Francis Crawford of Lymond, a scapegrace nobleman of crooked felicities and murderous talents, possessed of a scholar's erudition and a tongue as wicked as a rapier. In the Game of Kings this extraordinary antihero returns to the country that has outlawed him, to reddem his reputation even at the risk of his own life.
Great condition!
