Queens' Play

I bumped my initial 4-star rating to 5, since this book was still making me think, and shake my head in wonder, several days after I finished reading it.Francis Crawford of Lymond has been summoned by the Dowager Queen of Scotland, who is temporarily living in France with the 7 year old Mary Queen of Scots, to come to France to protect the young queen from an unknown person who is trying to assassinate her. The Dowager Queen, an experienced and canny old politician, thinks she knows exactly how [...]

It is funny that I know that there are four more books left, and I know some history about Scotland, but I am still chewing my finger nails off anticipating the worst outcome possible. Ahhh, it must be a great a book. Dorothy Dunnet, you have an amazing writing style.

Me, after A Game of Kings: “Can I shoot him, preferably with a harquebus, please? Lymond is so insufferable!”Me, after Queen’s Play: “Can I have him, preferably scantily dressed, please? Lymond is so entertaining!”That could comprise my whole review of Dunnett’s series in a nutshell, were it not for: a) I am bound to a compromise to review, and b) I’m likely to regret this fangirly statement in a few years, when old and toothless. I don’t believe I’ve had a sharp turnaround of [...]

new word I've learned from this book: An ollave of the highest grade is professor, singer, poet, all in the one. His songs and tales are of battles and voyages, of tragedies and adventures, of cattle raids and preyings, of forays, hostings, courtships and elopements, hidings and destructions, sieges and feasts and slaughters; and you'd rather listen to a man killing a pig than hear half of them through. After the epic struggle to clear his name in Scotland, you would think Francis Lymond deserve [...]

I said on twitter that I am smart enough to read Dunnett, but just barely. She layers intrigue and action with some beautiful language but I was often forced to go back and reread several pages because i missed something vital; she doesn't hold your hand and warn you when something major is coming up.I still can't help but seeing Lymond as a historical Bugs Bunny with more at stake. He is in and out of every situation, changes personas like hats, and is good at everything. More importantly, he n [...]

Second reading June 2016 via audio book, as with TGoK made me love it even more!original review:I still think Francis Crawford of Lymond, the Master of Culter, is basically Lord Flashheart from Blackadder in subtler guise. But now, now he actually seems even more over the top than that.In Queens' Play, the second of the six Lymond Chronicles, Lymond is amuck in France at the behest of the Scottish Dowager Queen Mother, Mary de Guise, whose seven-year-old daughter Mary, Queen of Scots, is being r [...]

It is two years since the close of The Game of Kings and someone is planning the murder of young Mary Queen of Scots, and Mary of Guise summons Francis Crawford of Lymond to France to stop the murderous plot. Francis comes in disguise as a member of the entourage of a Prince of Ireland, and the game is on. Thady Boy Ballagh nee' Lymond charms the decadent French court with his wit, sarcasm and music as Dunnett slowly unpeels the layers of her tale with plot twists and surprise turns around every [...]

Frustrating, absorbing and intensely emotional, I can't stop thinking about this bookLymond is back, this time in France, hanging out in disguise in the most extravagant and decadent court in 16 c Europe, trying to protect the young Mary queen of scots. The story starts with a bang, there are many twists and turns and Dorothy Dunnett had me wrong footed right form the start. Fans of the main character may be a little disappointed with the first half of the book as Lymond is deep in disguise and [...]

I didn't need to swallow this whole It was a reread, for Pete's sake. I could have taken my time and savored every delicious, brilliant word. But there's a point in every book of this series where I feel like I'm strapped to the saddle of a runaway horse, hurtling helplessly toward the conclusion, with no chance of stopping or slowing until I've arrived, breathless, bleary-eyed, and shaking, at the last page. This series is like nothing else I've ever read (which is saying something). Thank God. [...]

Queens' Play, in which young Francis Crawford of Lymond continues in a much more visible manner the dramatic self-flagellation which was mostly hidden in the first book, The Game of Kings, is a highly satisfying book. Dorothy Dunnett, through her tortured too-brilliant Lymond, leaves gilded bread crumbs for us to follow through a labyrinthine plot.Part of the fun of reading Lymond is being as amazed at his language as everyone but his mother is in the book. I do not recommend reading this for th [...]

Full disclosure. I ignored a total of 17 phone calls while reading this book, 6 of them from friends and 11 from my boyfriend, who is still sulking. I stayed up until 4 in the morning for two nights in a row to finish. I literally unplugged and carried the laptop with me into the bathroom (I had an ebook version) so that I could continue, reading unabated, while flossing and brushing my teeth. A third of the way through, I ordered books four and five from , an unprecedented show of confidence in [...]

I read this book while I was studying "court culture" at university and imagine my astonishment when I realized that the over-the-top court events that Dorothy Dunnett describes in such detail actually happened. I literally found only one error in her description of Mary Queen of Scots' wedding which is like one-tenth of the errors I usually find in historical fiction. If you want to know what court life was like in the 16th century and don't want to slog through letters, ambassador's notes and [...]

I was expecting to like this more than I did. But it moves right along, and Frances Crawford of Lymond is quite the fellow. 3.2 stars.

Book 2 of the Lymond Chronicles is set almost entirely in France, at the extravagant and cultured court of Henri II. Seven year old Mary Queen of Scots is betrothed to the Dauphin, and the political situation appears relatively stable. However, a series of peculiar accidents make Mary's mother, the Queen Dowager of Scotland, fear for her daughter's safety. She asks Lymond to infiltrate the French court in disguise, but can offer him no protection if he is caught, as she cannot be seen to distrus [...]

Hero worship.It's the only oozing emotion I seem able to inspire.Lymond certainly does inspire for all his many talents, his swashbuckling and his wit. Yet, essentially, we find Lymond physically and mentally wreaked many times, reduced to self-loathing. It's stated by one female character that Lymond has no capacity to love but Dunnett skillfully shows in little snatches that perhaps Lymond loves too hard. He certainly loves his seven year old queen Mary of Scots. Hence to France, in disguise, [...]

An excellent read. I have a trove of phrases lodged in my head, examples of Dunnett's extraordinary word-smithing ('the impacted rooftops of Blois. like some dental nightmare'). I liked this complicated story very much, but not quite as much as the first in the series, which may have been in part because I had no guide. I wish someone would hurry up and publish one, because it was difficult, and annoying, reading along knowing I was missing clever details capable of astonishing me with their cle [...]

It's strange, for me, to read a book that I don't completely understand. I think if I immersed myself in the history of Scotland, England, and France during the reign of Henry II of France, I might just get it. As that will not happen, I'm happy to sit back and enjoy the story, even if only on a superficial level. Dunnett's word choices astound me. Her ability to write, as an individual would have spoken so long ago, is at times difficult to read, but worth it.

The joy to read a book by someone who is clever and witty. Yes, the fact that the main characters address each other often in Renaissance quotes, refer to Greek and Latin and that large passages are in untranslated French do not deter me from this book. I also have to look up words which does not happen to me normally. The books bewitch me like hardly any other. Firmly living in the 16th century now.

Great way to learn history!

Bailed on this one because I've got too many books I'd rather be reading than this one!

readathon17: A book that takes place before 1800RTC

Another reading 15-19 July 2016This book contains a number of memorable scenes (for me) in Lymond's life and development.Under duress, he is sent to France to maintain the safety of the young Queen Mary at the court of Henri II, but he is disguised as the Ollave, Thady Boy Ballagh, of Phelim O'LaimRoe, Prince of Barrow. Someone is not only trying to kill Mary, but Phelim too (a case of mistaken identity) and their journey is fraught with danger.The intricateness of the puzzle that is Robin Stewa [...]

Having swallowed two of Dunnett's in a matter of weeks, some thoughts following on my review of A Game of Kings.The world-building remains spectacular, even more so in the second book than in the first. The court of Henri II of France appears as one of the wonders of early early modernity. From the modernity side, it's equipped with a startling array of cosmopolitan beasties (lots of elephant action, and at one crucial juncture, a cheetah) and the beginnings of a reliable explosives culture. Fro [...]

It is inevitable, I think, to read two books one after another and to compare them. This is a vastly different book to the first in the series. It is vastly more accessible; the very dense prose, polyglot quotes and unexplained references are in the main absent; the plot is rather evident; and many of the political minutiae are carefully and thoroughly explained in expository paragraphs, occasionally an explanation from Lymond to someone else, but often in the guise of some character's internal [...]

It took me an entire week to negotiate this installment of the Lymond Chronicles, as I am almost entirely occupied with writing my PhD thesis at the moment. It made a very pleasant respite, though. As with the previous book, Lymond spent a great deal of time disguised, foiled plots, enthralled men, women, children, and exotic animals, and narrowly escaped death (in this case by fire, poison, debauchery, horse-related misadventure, elephant-related misadventure, explosion, and execution by breaki [...]

This series is the most difficult thing I've ever had to read in English, it's definitely not something to be read after a hard day's work - and that is what I love and hate about the book. The complexity of the narration, the characters, the languages and the allusions make it quite a challenge, though after the Game of the Kings this one is easier as I know some of the characters and what to expect of them, at least. Although saying "what to expect" is an exaggeration as the plot and the chara [...]

Hooo, boy. The first book in the Lymond series, although confusing as hell, ended up being very exciting and satisfying. This one was very disappointing. There are dozens of characters, English, Scottish, French and Irish, none of whom can can speak in simple, declarative sentences, and all of whom have dark, mysterious motives and back stories. And then there are paragraphs of densely allusive descriptions that display the author's truly dazzling command of European culture and history. Did I s [...]

I very much liked the first book but the second installment took this series into fave/rec territory as me. Everything clicked into place.There's a lot to love - especially the tension and intrigue, the constant surprise, and of course Lymond himself. For me, the amazing set pieces were the best. Big scene after big scene that were truly a rollercoaster to read. I also feel like part of the reason I liked this one so much was because I was more familiar with the French setting than Scotland, the [...]

In this second book of The Lymond Chronicles, Francis Crawford is asked to protect a very young Mary Queen of Scots from assassination.Many of the characters from A Game of Kings are again present in this book along with a new cast of unique and varied characters.Francis Crawford is again indefatigible as he cuts a swathe through the French Court in his quest to unmask a murderer close to the throne.A rich tapestry of politics and intrigue with a larger than life, although vulnerable main charac [...]

I'm afraid I slogged through this one. Francis Crawford of Lymond is still driving me crazy, and the setting of this particular adventure (the royal French court) included a bit to much depravity for me (although most of it is very subtle). Will I keep reading? Maybe. The swashbuckling is all very exciting, and I like historical intrigue. But please tell me that Lymond gets more humble and less infuriating in books 3 through 6.