Queens' Play (Lymond Chronicles, 2)

Rating:
Summary: Stunning.....enough said.
Review: Once you start with the Lymond series, you will either find it too difficult to follow and will put it down, never to pick it up again, or.... you will sink into the most intricately drawn picture of a fictitous character ever attempted. Once in, you'll never want to leave. You will be shocked by many things Lymond does, but you will find that you will understand in the end. You will also never meet greater evil than in this series - and I can't even give you the name of the character, since that would spoil the moment. Rarely do I sit up straight and experience a sharp intake in breath while reading a description of an event - you will do so every 20 pages or so. Don't be fooled into thinking the Niccolo series will satisfy the longing for more of this series that you will experience - but you have 6 books to keep you happy for a while. Please - try the Lymond series, if hooked, you'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: The court of Henri II as you never imagined it
Review: QUEEN'S PLAY was the first Lymond book I read--stumbled across it at the public library about 20 years ago. I then had to ransack the rest of Washington,DC's branch libraries to get my hands on the other books in the series, and ever since, Dorothy Dunnett has been my favorite historical fiction writer. She is not for the faint-hearted: you must be literate (in several languages if possible)and well read in history of the period if you are to appreciate the books to the fullest. Or, if you come "cold" to the book, the kind of person for whom a novel opens a door through which you begin to learn about the real contemporary history. Her characters are so well-educated and well-bred that I have no problem picturing them at the various European courts where Mrs. Dunnett places them. Modern politics seem very dull indeed in comparison (Tony Blair vs. Mary Tudor!) Mrs. Dunnett writes a beautiful, lush English--one of my major fantasies is inviting her to tea in ! order to find out if she's anything like one of her creations.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the Most Romantic Love Scene in All Literature...
Review: You can admire Dunnett's wonderful Lymond Chronicles for many reasons, yet for me, the most powerful aspect of this particular book was Lymond's tenderly passionate, infinitely soulfull, romantic interlude with a cunning dark haired beauty. This is Lymond at his most elegant and most intimate. I love the intellectual challenge of these books. I adore the heart pounding action. I only wish there were more scenes like this one; yet I suspect that this is precisely the reason why this passage was so very special ... and, aruably the most romantic love scene in all literature.

Cheryl Lee