Rating: 
Summary: Good if you ignore the one vital flaw.
Review: I tried to read this book a while ago having enjoyed the Lymond and House of Niccolo series', but I had a major problem - I didn't agree with Mrs. Dunnet's premise that Thorfinn and Macbeth were the same person. They did exist and were related, but it annoyed me so much, I couldn't finish the book. Other than this, it is a very well-written book, and immaculately researched (as all her books are), and gives a fascinating insight into Scotland in the Middle Ages - a much misunderstood and overlooked period of history. If nothing else, it is a refreshing look at an historical figure that has got a bad press courtesy of a certain W.Shakespeare Esq.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent story - a very different picture of Macbeth.
Review: I'm not sure how historically accurate this account is, but it paints a very vivid and believable picture of life around the turn of the last millinia in the British Isles. The story follows the epic struggle of Thorfinn - Macbeth - as he carves out an empire for himself and his family only to see it crumble around him through betrayal. Unlike Shakespeare's tale, this presents MacBeth as a hero: clever, intelligent, and even loving. His wife is a similarly strong character and has no trace of the evil conniver from the Bard's work. The descriptions of the viking and other Norse societies is quite compelling, and the story itself is enough to keep a reader rivited. It has the flavor and excitement of a fantasy novel.
About the only drawback I can think of is that it introduces a lot of characters with a lot of awkward names early on and it's easy to get confused. But persevere and the reward is worth it
Rating:
Summary: A richly textured and involving act of world-building
Review: It's easy to see why Dame Dunnett is the reigning queen of historical fiction. _King Hereafter_, standing alone from her two massive "Lymond" and "Niccolo" epics, feels nonetheless as richly textured and involving an exercise in world-building as those two celebrated series. There is something for every intelligent reader yearning for escape from the everyday: machiavellian state intrigue before there was a Machiavelli to give it a name, byzantine family sagas, friendship, honour, betrayal,terrifying battle scenes, a hero with following, a heroine worth winning, austere landscape and great bodice-ripping sex -- all told in a voice that feels ancient and timeless simultaneously. It's an other example of Dunnett's remarkable, ongoing achievement (one felt throughout popular fiction today): making Scotland sexy for a world of outlanders. This is a rare and fine British export -- Masterpiece Theatre with cojones.
Rating:
Summary: King Hereafter is a classic
Review: King Hereafter is an incredible story, following the life of MacBeth and his wife. It is written so beautifully and envokes the taste and feel of their world and allies and enemies so truthfully. The love story between Thorfinn and Groa is so powerful, and the ambition and hardship our ancestors felt makes for the best Dorothy Dunnet novel of all time.
Rating: 
Summary: A Private History
Review: Maybe you've seen the play. Macbeth is a brave and loyal Scottish general who meets three witches on the heath. Through accurate but misleading prophecies, the witches maliciously persuade Macbeth to aspire to be King of Scotland. So Macbeth assassinates "Good Old King Duncan", takes his place, commits many acts of murder and betrayal to cover his tracks, only to be quickly overthrown and killed in turn. His ultimate punishment is to die knowing that the witches tricked him.Like many of Shakespeare's characters, Macbeth is a historical figure familiar to his intended audience, but not one accurately remembered. The historical Macbeth was Earl (or to use the correct Scottish word, Mormaer) of Morey, in the far north of Scotland. Even further north lies Caithness, disputed between Scotland and Norway, and Orkey, controlled by Norway. Far from being a "Good Old King", Duncan was a contemporary, and a close relative, of Macbeth. Both their deaths were part of a long feud between two branches of the royal "derfine" or lineage. A minor character in the play is one "Caithness". His historical counterpart is Thorfinn the Mighty, Earl of Caithness and Orkney, a man with family ties in both Scotland and Norway. Most historians believe Macbeth and Thorfinn were lifelong friends and allies, and that they probably grew up together in the Scottish royal court. Now, here's where things get strange. When Dorothy Dunnet decided to write a novel about the historical Macbeth, she chose to work from primary sources, rather than rely on an existing history. (Apparently there aren't any good histories of this period, at least none written for a general audience.) While doing this research, Dunnet came to a radical conclusion: Thorfinn and Macbeth were not friends. They were the same person. This isn't as bizarre a theory as it sounds. It was quite common for Norsemen to have both traditional and "baptismal" names. And what with spotty records and carelessly written chronicles, mistakes in the historical record are all too common. But is it plausible? Darned if I know. I've studied just enough historiography to convince myself that I'm just not qualified to form an opinion. It is true that few, if any, professional historians accept Dunnet's theory. But I'm not one to argue from authority. Besides, I like stories that begin with a "what if". Well, not all of them. "What if" fiction is tricky to write. It can easily degenerate into a endless, dreary didactic exercise as it struggles to convince the reader of its premises. And in fact, many of the dialogues in King Hereafter read like arguments in a grad school seminar. Sadly, the novel doesn't even do a very good job of advocating the Thorfinn-is-Macbeth theory. Quite the contrary: about halfway through, you find Thorfinn/Macbeth completely neglecting his duties as King of Scotland to pursue a lengthy and bloody struggle with his nephew Rognveld for control of Orkney. As this feud goes on, the actions of Thorfinn and Rognveld become less and less plausible, and it becomes harder and harder to accept that one man could have been so involved in the politics and warfare of two completely separate realms. Summary: it doesn't entertain, it doesn't educate. It just propounds a pet theory at excessive length, very unconvincingly.
Rating:
Summary: A big, fat, crackerjack historical novel about Macbeth
Review: My first Dunnett, and a crackerjack. OK, a big, fat crackerjack historical novel about 11th century Britain, specifically on the life of the historic King Macbeth, who ruled Orkney and northern Scotland 1040-1058. For good measure, we get Lady Godiva, too. Plus Duncan, Malcolm, and Duke William waiting for his Big Moment, over there in Normandy.
Google for a fine, short review by reliable Danny Yee: "King Hereafter is a dark and sombre work...and at near nine hundred pages not one to be tackled lightly. It is, however, a rewarding feast for those who like solid historical fiction."
Nice background for the book at dorothydunnettdot)co(dot)uk/dunnettqa5.htm
She read some 700 books for KH! And compiled "145 interlocking European family trees, laid out in miniscule writing on a piece of wallpaper 20 feet long." Now, that's research!
Anyway, it's reassuring that the historical background is as good as she could make it, plus it's a ripping (hacking, stabbing, disembowelling...) good yarn. Boy, Britain went seriously downhill, in the civilization dept., when the Romans left. Positively *medieval* back then <GG>.
Happy reading!
Pete Tillman
Rating: 
Summary: I suffered, but the minute I finished I wanted to start over
Review: My librarian friend, and a rabid Dorothy Dunnett fan, recommended this book to me. I am a teacher, and Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's plays that I frequently teach, so right off the bat I was interested. She warned me, however, that the first 50 pages or so were tough going. Well, truth be told, I absolutely suffered through the first 250 pages. It was only stubborn determination that kept me going. The plot was not too confusing for me (though it is pretty cryptic sometimes). The cast of characters was not too broad (though there are lots and lots of people to keep track of). It wasn't even that the writing style was too dense (though it is laid on rather thickly). I think what frustrated me was that nothing ever seemed to get anywhere. Here I was, putting in all this hard work to read carefully, and I felt very little reward as far as rising action is concerned. This is not to say that nothing ever happened. On the contrary, lots and lots happens in this novel. Rather, all these events kept accruing, but they never seemed to coalesce to form a big picture. It was almost potboilerish. I felt it was not worth the time and energy. But then I came to the last 150 pages or so. Man! Things started rolling. I flew through to the end. And here's where the book's seductiveness (or my illness) becomes apparent: the minute I finished this book, I felt compelled to pick it up again and start reading from the beginning. I reread the first chapter, and the difference in my reading experience was incredible. I forced myself to put the book down because school was beginning in two weeks and I had to do all the planning I had neglected because I was reading King Hereafter, but I think that next summer, I may begin with this one. Having slogged through it once, I now have the big picture in mind, and this knowledge opens a whole new level of appreciation for all the miniplots that happen along the way. Is this book worth the trouble? I'm afraid the answer to that will vary from individual to individual. For me, I'd have to say, "Yes." I think about this book and its characters frequently. It lives in my imagination. I cannot say the same for so many of the books I read. This one has staying power. That said, I don't think I will venture into any of the other Dorothy Dunnett books. Macbeth is special to me, but I wouldn't want to expend this kind of labor on characters and events that hold no significance to me already. So be warned: King Hereafter is no easy read, but it does offer plentiful rewards to those dogged enough to stick with it.
Rating:
Summary: King Hereafter
Review: The historical Macbeth tries to build a kingdom in eleventh-century Orkney and Alba.
Dunnett's writing, as ever, is beautiful, and as usual she portrays a striking and conflicted character mostly through the eyes of others. I found the politics in this book extremely complex and hard to follow, despite having some knowledge of the time period, and that combined with periodic lulls in the plot meant the book took me over a month to finish, when I normally read a book in a few days. Several of the plot sequences, such as that with Thorfinn (Macbeth)'s lover and rival Rognvald, and the penultimate battle for Alba, are active, intense and moving, but long stretches of not-so-gripping material divide them. Some of the characters, such as Thorfinn, his wife Groa and Rognvald, are brilliantly drawn, but others, such as the legion of clerics, are too numerous for this reader, at least, to relate to. Here and there, characteristically for Dunnett, moments of humor enliven the text.
I liked the book very much but I found it perhaps more difficult than it had to be.
Rating:
Summary: Not her best, but still quite good....
Review: There are some reviewers here who question critically whether Dorothy Dunnett has accurately identified the historical MacBeth in her novel, King Hereafter. Need I point out the irony? Whether MacBeth was Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney, or Duncan, King of Alba, or someone else entirely, has little to do with the value of this book - a work of historical fiction. After completing Dunnett's 8-volume House of Niccolo, I quickly added her to my list of favorite authors. At first impression, her writing style could be called cryptic, even disjointed, her cadence unfamiliar. Her research is impeccable and without some foreknowledge of the period setting, Dunnett's density and detail may frustrate the reader. An 8-volume work affords the reader much time to become acquainted with author and subject. Not so, in the single-volume King Hereafter. One must have some experience with Dunnett or truly be a fan of the age and genre to rejoice in this tale of MacBeth. Yet, one need not rejoice in a book to find it, in the end, a worthy read. If the reader can navigate the obscure asides in which she clearly revels, become comfortable with her unique rythym, Dunnett's King Hereafter will engross and enchant, will certainly educate, and provide it's consumer much pleasure. A rousing 11th-century tale of royal intrigue, power politics, romance, and wry humor spanning the breadth of medieval Europe, King Hereafter easily merits 4 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Not her best, but still quite good....
Review: There are some reviewers here who question critically whether Dorothy Dunnett has accurately identified the historical MacBeth in her novel, King Hereafter. Need I point out the irony? Whether MacBeth was Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney, or Duncan, King of Alba, or someone else entirely, has little to do with the value of this book - a work of historical fiction. After completing Dunnett's 8-volume House of Niccolo, I quickly added her to my list of favorite authors. At first impression, her writing style could be called cryptic, even disjointed, her cadence unfamiliar. Her research is impeccable and without some foreknowledge of the period setting, Dunnett's density and detail may frustrate the reader. An 8-volume work affords the reader much time to become acquainted with author and subject. Not so, in the single-volume King Hereafter. One must have some experience with Dunnett or truly be a fan of the age and genre to rejoice in this tale of MacBeth. Yet, one need not rejoice in a book to find it, in the end, a worthy read. If the reader can navigate the obscure asides in which she clearly revels, become comfortable with her unique rythym, Dunnett's King Hereafter will engross and enchant, will certainly educate, and provide it's consumer much pleasure. A rousing 11th-century tale of royal intrigue, power politics, romance, and wry humor spanning the breadth of medieval Europe, King Hereafter easily merits 4 stars.
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