The Ringed Castle: Book Five in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles

Most reviews of the Lymond series focus on Francis Crawford of Lymond, the enigmatic, often-tortured central character around whom all the other characters revolve. This isn't surprising because he is the central player on the stage. But my favorite character is Philippa, not just because she is genuinely good, but because whenever she enters a scene, it simply begins to sparkle.Dorothy Dunnett obviously feels a great love for Philpipa because she gives her the best lines and gave her a marvelous sense of humor. She is a wonderful character, both funny and wise. But her greatest attribute is her strong moral character, her desire to do the right thing. In the prior novel, her desire to save Lymond's son caused to her to risk everything--not everyone would become a member of a harem in an effort to save a life. In Ringed Castle, her desire to reconcile Lymond with his family causes her to place herself at great risk. With regard to Ringed Castle, I didn't find it as consistently compelling as Pawn in Frankincense, but it is still a wonderful book, particularly the haunting and tragic voyage back to England and the last 100 pages at the English court.I have a tinge of sadness in the realization that I have only one more installment to see how it all ends, to see if Philippa can ultimately tame Lymond.Luckily, this series is so strong on many levels I can look forward to many productive and enjoyable re-readings.

This book has less action in it than the preceeding novels in this series, but even so, more action than most. We see our hero making his way in an 15 Century Russia. As each book goes by I find that I have difficulty maintaining a liking for this man. He is extremely hard and bitter, and appears to have no loyalties to friendship while he tries to make his point. Even so, I find I still have to keep reading because these books are so powerful. In this book Lymond falls in love, but in true Lymond fashion, feels that he can't share this with anyone, let alone his lady love. I await with much trepidation the final installment in this series in order to find out if Lymond bears any human characteristics or not.

In Novemeber 1997 in Orinda CA, on a book tour for her latest Niccolo book, I had the pleasure to hear Dorothy Dunnett read aloud the "Revels" scene (essentially the last part of Part Three, Chapter 9 from The Ringed Castle) which is my favorite scene in the entire series. She is truly a remarkable woman, still hearty at 75, with a wit and intelligence rarely scene in real life. She told us she reads numerous (sometimes hundreds!) of history books before writing each novel to make sure that nothing in the novels contradicts anything from known history. She has created in the Lymond Chronicles the best historical fiction I have ever read, and the most compelling fiction of any genre I have ever read. When she does her book tour for the final Niccolo book in 2000, be sure to go see her--it may be your last chance to see one of the most remarkable women authors of the twentieth century.

In The Ringed Castle, Dunnett expands her screen. The 16th Century was a time when the world was tittering and swaying on the edge of a global world. Lymond, in Russia, and in his relationship with Chancellor seems to be aware of this and be reaching for something much bigger even than Russia. They both seem to be sailing into the age of Englishtment and the voyage is lethal and dangerous. Within 100 years, that complex world they know will be utterly destroyed and replaced with something much more grim. In this book Lymond finally falls in love. (I also wish Dunnett would include translations for her non-bilingual readers.) I, personally, don't think I have ever been more enthralled by a hero.

I first read this book 30 years ago & it was intriguing enough that I spent 10 years collecting the rest of The Lymond Chronicles books. Difficult to read at first, perserverance pays off. The Lymond series are not books that can be skimmed. Dunnett's style is to drop hints throughout her books that lead to later plot twists. Characters cannot be taken at face value but are developed throughout the books; her villains quite often are smiling & charming on the surface. Historically accurate, the period during which these books are set was in constant political turmoil. I remember being frustrated with "The Game of Kings" (Book 1 in the series) because I couldn't keep up with the many political alliances. The Lymond Chronicles is my favorite historical series & I've read all the books a number of times. Francis Lymond is the most intense, intriguing, engaging character I've met