kittenscribble (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kittenscribble) wrote2006-09-18 03:08 pm
kittenscribble) wrote2006-09-18 03:08 pm
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On having read Queen's Play by Dorothy Dunnett
The second of the Lymond Chronicles is nowhere near as annoying as it could have been. The book that preceded this one, The Game of Kings, unleashed Francis Crawford of Lymond upon an unprepared world. Readers (specifically, me) were confused and taken aback by Lymond's polyglot erudition, his constant references to obscure literature, and his seemingly endless skill in all sorts of armed and unarmed combat, not to mention his near-godlike powers of manipulation over others. He was too perfect, and even when Dunnett had him publicly humiliated at the end of the first book, it didn't quite feel like enough. Besides, he bounced back; Dunnett clearly loved him too much to break him completely.
But aside from her main character, Dunnett's writing style is wonderful. Her conversations are effortless and easy to follow (when not sprinkled with quotations in Latin or French, not to mention the ever-present Scots), and her characters (excepting Lymond) are generally believable. Once I had recovered sufficiently from the first book, I braced myself against Lymond's inevitable pedantry and began the second.
Queen's Play opens with the Dowager Queen, who asks Lymond to spy for her at the French Court. Attempts had been made on the life of Mary Queen of Scots (six years old at this point, and unbearably cute). The Dowager suspects that certain members of the French Court may disapprove of Mary's engagement to the Dauphin, and Lymond is to conduct an undercover investigation.
Lymond, being Lymond, can never do anything without being in the spotlight. As Thady Boy Ballagh, a disreputable Irish bard, he immediately captivates the entire court with his drunken over-the-top antics and formidable lyre-playing skills. (Yes, Lymond's skillset also includes singing and playing the lyre, better in fact than the court musician to the King of France. Strangely, no one questions this.) To immediately draw attention to oneself would seem to run counter to the entire concept of being undercover, and indeed he is recognized almost immediately by select parties.
Conspiracies unravel in layers as the book goes on, and many characters turn out to be not quite what they seem. The plot is quite riveting as Lymond brilliantly saves young Mary from one murder attempt after another (and evades some attempts on his own life as well). The supporting cast is quite good too, and I can definitely sympathize with their exasperation with Lymond in his various guises.
One good aspect of Lymond's being undercover is that he does not drop quite as many overly-literate witticisms, which means that a lot of the book is more reader-friendly than The Game of Kings. The fact that the story takes place in France instead of in Scotland is also helpful (Agatha Christie, among other Brit authors, got me used to seeing the odd French phrase embedded within English prose).
Since Lymond does a lot of singing while entertaining the French Court, I recognized some of the musical material (my madrigals group does mostly stuff from the sixteenth century) and even found myself nitpicking details (such as: since when is Palestrina sung in the vernacular, by one man on a lyre? I thought he specialized in polyphonic choral arrangements in Latin). See, when an author is as fearsomely knowledgeable as Dunnett seems to be, one does get quite a thrill out being able to nitpick her.
All in all, quite a good read, much more fast-moving than the first book. The plot is complex and exciting, and the characters have believable motivations. Although Lymond continues to be irritatingly good at everything he does, Dunnett provides plenty of other details to distract the reader. Definitely looking forward to reading the third.
But aside from her main character, Dunnett's writing style is wonderful. Her conversations are effortless and easy to follow (when not sprinkled with quotations in Latin or French, not to mention the ever-present Scots), and her characters (excepting Lymond) are generally believable. Once I had recovered sufficiently from the first book, I braced myself against Lymond's inevitable pedantry and began the second.
Queen's Play opens with the Dowager Queen, who asks Lymond to spy for her at the French Court. Attempts had been made on the life of Mary Queen of Scots (six years old at this point, and unbearably cute). The Dowager suspects that certain members of the French Court may disapprove of Mary's engagement to the Dauphin, and Lymond is to conduct an undercover investigation.
Lymond, being Lymond, can never do anything without being in the spotlight. As Thady Boy Ballagh, a disreputable Irish bard, he immediately captivates the entire court with his drunken over-the-top antics and formidable lyre-playing skills. (Yes, Lymond's skillset also includes singing and playing the lyre, better in fact than the court musician to the King of France. Strangely, no one questions this.) To immediately draw attention to oneself would seem to run counter to the entire concept of being undercover, and indeed he is recognized almost immediately by select parties.
Conspiracies unravel in layers as the book goes on, and many characters turn out to be not quite what they seem. The plot is quite riveting as Lymond brilliantly saves young Mary from one murder attempt after another (and evades some attempts on his own life as well). The supporting cast is quite good too, and I can definitely sympathize with their exasperation with Lymond in his various guises.
One good aspect of Lymond's being undercover is that he does not drop quite as many overly-literate witticisms, which means that a lot of the book is more reader-friendly than The Game of Kings. The fact that the story takes place in France instead of in Scotland is also helpful (Agatha Christie, among other Brit authors, got me used to seeing the odd French phrase embedded within English prose).
Since Lymond does a lot of singing while entertaining the French Court, I recognized some of the musical material (my madrigals group does mostly stuff from the sixteenth century) and even found myself nitpicking details (such as: since when is Palestrina sung in the vernacular, by one man on a lyre? I thought he specialized in polyphonic choral arrangements in Latin). See, when an author is as fearsomely knowledgeable as Dunnett seems to be, one does get quite a thrill out being able to nitpick her.
All in all, quite a good read, much more fast-moving than the first book. The plot is complex and exciting, and the characters have believable motivations. Although Lymond continues to be irritatingly good at everything he does, Dunnett provides plenty of other details to distract the reader. Definitely looking forward to reading the third.