The Unicorn Hunt: Book Five of the House of Niccolo

Very few books have fascinated me as much as Lady Dunnett's two historical series. She is one of the greatest historical fiction writers of our age.

In this book, set between October 1468 and February 1471, our hero Sir Nicholas De Fleury appears to have designs on the kingdom of Scotland under the reign of King James III. Friends, foes and business rivals alike have different plans for Nicholas. As does his wife Gelis: the one enemy he cannot face directly. Nicholas is as brilliant and dangerous as ever, but no longer as joyous. Driven by a range of motivations, he undertakes a series of journeys which range across Europe and the Levant. Along the way, he makes a number of discoveries, learns some painful truths and is forced to confront all manner of demons. This richly layered story is told against the backdrop of the complicated politics, religious issues and trade of the times. Underlying it all is the enigma that is Nicholas himself: a complex contradiction of strengths, weaknesses and at times suprahuman brilliance. This is the fifth in the eight book series: House of Niccolo. I would strongly recommend anyone reading these novels to read the series in order. The plot and character developments build progressively and are interrelated. Jennifer Cameron-Smith

This literate and witty historical novel is the fifth volume of Dunnett's epic "The House of Niccolo." It continues to follow the fortunes, machinations and torments of Nicholas vander Poele, the former Flemish apprentice who rose from the troubled circumstances of his birth to become a wealthy banker and knight. As the story opens it is 1468 and Nicholas is in Scotland, newly married but without his wife. He has renounced claims of kinship with his father and enemy, Simon de St. Pol, and is now calling himself de Fleury, after his mother's family. His presence in Scotland is puzzling to his partners in his Venetian bank as affairs elsewhere need tending and Nicholas seems to be diverting vast resources to building a new trading empire in Scotland. But Nicholas is plotting. Having learned on his wedding night that his bride, Gelis van Borselen, is pregnant with Simon de St. Pols' child - probably in revenge for Nicholas' secret siring of Simon's son with Gelis' sister - Nicholas has designed an elaborate scheme for his own revenge. Amid scenes of royal pageantry, jousting and sumptuous feasting, Nicholas appears a mysterious figure, taking water while others drink wine, remaining on the sidelines while others display their skills, dressing always in black - the world's most expensive dye. But one winter night he takes advantage of the of the confusion of a royal hunt to have Simon abducted, terrified, humiliated and delivered to him at the salt works - a dark, hot factory of bubbling cauldrons and immense furnaces where an exhausting battle of wills, wit and strength ensues. This deadly and vividly visceral struggle is interrupted before its conclusion and Nicholas is forced to leave Scotland to attend the death of a friend. All this less than a quarter way into the book. And it's only part 1 of Nicholas' scheme. Still to come is a trading journey to the east and numerous tests of will with Nicholas' wife as well as the complications of secondary characters, one of the most interesting of which is Katalijne, a 14-year-old, sharp-witted girl of many talents. All of Dunnett's characters are as complex and fore-sighted as her plot. The dialogue is witty and the atmosphere superlatively described. Although the novel stands alone, some of the motivations may be clearer to those familiar with earlier volumes. A synopsis of these precedes the narrative.

In this book of the Niccolo Series, we are introduced to the race set by Gelis and Nicholas to outsmart eachother. It was started by Gelis, trying to avenge her sister's death, but Nicholas understands he must do this to try and win her heart for good. She claims she is carrying the son of his archrival, Simon de St. Pol. He decides to travel to Scotland to find the truth. At the same time, he finds Scotland a great market to increase his fortune.Pursuing Gelis, Nicholas has to find out if the child is finally born and what sex it is. Once he finds out, Gelis hides once more from him. They travel to Cairo, the Sinai Desert and end up in Cyprus once more. The book closes on the Carnival in Venice and a new discovery for Nicholas.In this book we are newly introduced to Dorothy Dunnett's best: Scotland. She can present the atmosphere and living customs of the time with incredible clarity and knowledge. The people, the rulers, the history, the places, everything is depicted with accuracy and made very interesting.I have also enjoyed and learned a lot by this book. Be it about European history as well as middle eastern. I am on my way to reading the sixth book...

After the compartively linear plotting of Scales of Gold, Dunnett's back to her wonderful tricks in this book. Niccolo and friends (and enemies) continue to tear about the known world, making modern day travelers envious (altho we do wind up in fewer dungeons than the resilient). This volume starts in Scotland, but the ferment in the Eastern Mediterranean is still the focus of the plot. Dunnett has an amazing ability to weave intricate plots, then resolve or dissolve them within a few paragraphs, leaving the reader breathless. She continues to capture the essence of each country that Niccolo explores. Her descriptions of Cairo can serve as a guide for modern travelers -- having visited Cairo a year ago, her descriptions of medieval Cairo evoked memories of the khans and citadel.