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| The Game of Kings (Lymond Chronicles, 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Dorothy Dunnett
Publisher: Vintage Books
Category: Book
List Price: $16.95
Buy Used: $1.94
You Save: $15.01 (89%)
New (50) Used (113) Collectible (3) from $1.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  118 reviews
Sales Rank: 37335
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 543
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.1 x 1
ISBN: 0679777431
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780679777434
ASIN: 0679777431
Publication Date: April 29, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Standard used condition.
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Queen of the Genre August 16, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
You have to want Dorothy Dunnett. Really want her. Because she doesn't make it easy. She throws quotes at you in Greek and Latin and French and German and Italian and Spanish and doesn't supply you with translation. Which makes the first 100 pages of this book a bear.
Bear with it, though, because once you're in, you're in for six books and the most wild, romantic, painful, exciting ride of your literary life. I have never felt an emotional punch the like of hers.
This book is the introduction to Francis Crawford of Lymond - scoundrel, rogue, and wit. He typifies everything that is bubbling in the Renaissance - a restless spirit, trying to find a new way through the world. Outlawed from the word go, we're never sure what side he's on, which is as it should be. He is his own man. A man any of us would loathe, and yet follow into Hell.
There's a similar character in The Master of Verona, based on both historical fact and Lymond - Cangrande della Scala. Once you've finished the Lymond Chronicles, check that out, too.
For those struggling with the foreign language quotes August 10, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
in this outstanding series, there's help available. Check out the two volumes of the Dorothy Dunnett Companion, which has translations and sources of all the quotes and music references, bios of historic characters involved and lots more, for both the Lymond and Nicolo series.
But these are great books even without, though I confess to knowing enough of Latin, a couple of Romance languages and German to have gotten by with all of them back when they were first published. But don't let that stop you enjoying these outstanding history based novels. The Game of Kings is an all time favorite of mine. The Lymond Series especially has borne up well under repeated readings over 4 decades.
And don't miss the standalone novel about Macbeth, King Hereafter, reputed to have been Dunnett's own choice.
The finest work of historical fiction ever June 1, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I first read this book in the late 90s, and ravenously consumed the rest of Dunnett's work.
She masterfully reveals her characters and her plot over time in words and actions which, assuming you catch nuance, is absolutely enthralling. As a reader, things that you thought you understood about her world are completely undone and recast. Heroes are villains, criminals heroic. Love and loyalty are wrapped in ambivalence and disregard. Apparent happenstance is revealed to be meticulously plotted and controlled by her genius protagonist. It is a challenging read, and not for the lazy minded, but I have never read anything more rewarding.
The Thinking Woman's Historical Novels May 15, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I am on my tenth read of Dorothy Dunnett's novels collectively known as The Lymond Chronicles. They have everthing historical novels should have, but tenfold. The Game of Kings is the first, and can be read in isolation quite satisfyingly (Dunnett has a special talent for really satisfying endings). But why stop there. I encourage you to read the entire series, over and over again. They are never boring and for the enquiring mind there is always something new to learn with each reading. And Francis Crawford of Lymond is the hero to end all heroes. What more could you ask for??
My 2 on reading Dunnett January 17, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
You have to be comfortable with ambiguity to live in a world where the characters understand the nuances of what's going on but you, the reader, don't. You have to get to the last 20 pages of volume 6 and then a lot makes sense--a wonderful example of retrospective understanding! Then you're going to want to start the whole thing over again, immediately!
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