Pawn in Frankincense

The Lymond Chronicles #4

by Dorothy Dunnett

'It seems to me that on the whole we run more risks with Mr Crawford's protection than without it . . .'

It is 1552 and the royal galley Dauphine, under the command of Francis Crawford of Lymond, sails the glittering but dangerous Mediterranean looking for a lost son.

Yet as the search grows more urgent, Lymond knows he is being drawn deeper into the intricate web of his enemy Gabriel, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St John, who is already weaving a subtle tapestry of revenge.

It is a journey that will lead Lymond to Constantinople and the court of Suleiman the Magnificent where a terrible game will be played with deadly and incalculable consequences . . .

'Marvellous, breathtaking' The Times

' Melodrama of the most magnificent kind' The Guardian

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Adventure, Scotland, 16th Century, Romance

486 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Dorothy Dunnett OBE was a Scottish historical novelist. She is best known for her six-part series about Francis Crawford of Lymond, The Lymond Chronicles, which she followed with the eight-part prequel The House of Niccolò. She also wrote a novel about the real Macbeth called King Hereafter and a series of mystery novels centered on Johnson Johnson, a portrait painter/spy.

Her New York times obituary is here.

Dorothy Dunnett Society: http://dorothydunnett.org
Fansite: http://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/

Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book I both loved and almost hated. I loved the book itself - clever, sharp and merciless, with the feeling of dread that kept tightening as the story unwound. And I almost hated the way it made me feel - drained, exhausted, miserable and shell-shocked. But that was so good, the way it grabbed my heart and meticulously shredded it bit by bit, and even made me stare blankly at the wall for a little while.

I suppose this book takes the idea of emotional gut punch seriously. Well done, Dorothy Dunnett. Well done. Hats off to you, ma’am.

“A long time afterwards, she was to remember what an excellent chess-player Francis Crawford was.”

—————

It’s a book about a desperate, frenetic search across the Mediterranean — from the gardens of Algiers to the brothel in Aleppo to the harem in Stamboul — for one small boy at the mercy of a sociopathic villain, with our usually unmatched tightly-strung Francis Crawford of Lymond actually outmaneuvered by that villain at what seems like every turn, with Francis’ human vulnerability really shining through the enormous strain, and the cracks in that usually infallible exterior starting to show. Plots, battles, adventures — all under the constant threat of doom. And the story of Lymond, driven to the edge of sanity, working hard to maintain that façade despite everything, with those around him coming finally to see him at least close to what he is — that’s spellbinding and devastating at the same time.

“I'm all for a level, low-pitched existence,' said Philippa. 'And when you see your way back to one, for heaven's sake don't forget to tell me.”

No, none of our characters are even close to the promise of such a mundane life. Sadly, that’s not in the cards here. Or possibly ever.
——————

While the last book was largely about responsibility, in this one it was the theme of sacrifice that stood out to me. By Lymond and for Lymond, for loved ones and for strangers, for help the weaker ones and to use the weaker ones, both rash and thought-out, willing and under duress, mental and physical.

Dunnett is not very nice to Lymond in this book. She puts him through a wringer, and the readers along with him as well. Many authors have their protagonists face terrible choices and make unimaginable decisions — but unlike them, Dunnett does not throw in a last moment reprieve. Francis Crawford of Lymond must make those choices while well-aware of the weight of the consequences, and there’s no lucky break for him forthcoming. And these decisions may actually break even him.

“Francis Crawford’s face in this fleeting moment of privacy was filled with ungovernable feeling: of shock and of pain and of a desire beyond bearing: the desire of the hart which longs for the waterbrook, and does not know, until it sees the pool under the trees, for what it has thirsted.”

The supporting cast gets stronger and more complex as well. Jerott is learning to think beyond melodrama and easy judgements. Marthe, a new addition to the cast, is a mirror image of Lymond, and it’s both scary and delightful — and there’s a certain poetry-reciting scene in the end that made me finally warm up to her so much. And Philippa Somerville slowly makes a journey from a stubborn kid to a young woman who resembles her level-headed practical mother with a backbone of steel — although she still has a lot to learn. Francis Lymond touches their lives in many ways, sometimes like a hurricane, but in his wake there’s something new that is forged in their characters, and in his as well.

“Leaving him was less like leaving even the most simple of her friends in Flaw Valleys, and more like losing unfinished a manuscript, beautiful, absorbing and difficult, which she had long wanted to read.”

It’s the first book by Dunnett to which I can give full marks without any hesitation, so it’s a landmark moment here. The previous books were really good, but this one is in the league of its own.

Now on to discover whether Francis Crawford of Lymond realizes that despite his scary intelligence and a chess master mind (shut up while I tear up just a bit) he’s still able to fool himself:

“This time, no trace of hesitation was visible. 'My love is given to no one,' said Lymond. 'To neither man, woman or child. Duty, friendship, compassion I do owe to many. But love I offer to none.”

Pffftfffft, Francis. You have, and you do, and you will.

5 stars.
————

Buddy read with Nastya and Stephen.

——————
Also posted on my blog.

——————
Recommended by: Nastya

[Marquise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lymond Chronicles had a very rough start for me, very rough; not so much for the usual reasons as for the protagonist character himself, and I was highly sceptical of the day I’d adore the series ever arriving. Like it, maybe. Love it, unlikely. Yet that day has arrived, and after "Pawn in Frankincense," there’s a place for Francis Crawford of Lymond and Sevigny in my very short list of favourite literary characters.

Narrator: She didn't see the fall from grace coming either, which was a long time coming and finally landed flat on her head in 2023.

[Melindam · Rating 5 out of 5]

ETA on 1st (and last!!) re-read.

Crushed and heartbroken as I was after having read this the first time, it was nothing compared to reading it with already knowing what was going to happen. But I was overconfident and Dunnett threw it back in my face all right. You deserved it, Melinda and this may take your literary hubris down a notch or 100.

I've learned my lesson now: no matter how many times I may reread the Lymond chronicles in future, my heart cannot handle rereading this one ever again.

---------------------------

‘You have read in the Qur’ân,’ said Salablanca softly.
Lymond looked up. ‘I have read. It is wise.’
‘It is wise. It says, You have the appointment of a day from which you cannot hold back any while; nor can you bring it on before it is time.’




My GR Friends Nataliya, Algernon (Darth Anyan) and Nastya were absolutely right in claiming that much as the Lymond Chronicle Books are a league of their own within the historical fiction genre, Pawn in Frankincense is a league of its own within the series. (I am infinitely grateful that their reviews started me on the perilous path of reading these books. Whether I will be able to forgive them at the same time for making me an addict remains to be seen.🥰🤭)

So far this instalment has been the uncontested peak for me too.

It is the Sultan Suleiman of the series: "the Magnificent, King of Kings, Sovereign of Sovereigns; Commander of all that can be Commanded, Sultan of Babylon, Lord of the White Sea and the Black Sea, most high Emperor of Byzantium and Trebizond, most mighty King of Persia and Arabia, Syria and Egypt, Supreme Lord of Europe and Asia, Prince of Mecca and Aleppo, Possessor of Jerusalem and Lord of the Universal Sea."

And I am running out of adjectives to describe it properly. It is an oppulent, grandiose 16th century Odyssey of a man and his companions through Europe and the Levant with enriching, captivating and brilliant storytelling.

I was practically holding my breath the whole length of 532 pages, sometimes laughing, mostly crying, but all the way possessed and at the end feeling emotionally and intellectually exhausted.

And while this was the usual outcome of the previous 3 Lymond novels as well, this time it all took impossible dimensions.

A I mentioned before, at this point I simply cannot write proper reviews. I will read the last 2 books and then will reread them all some time (most probably next year already), before I attempt to come up with something that will resemble a review as such.



--------------------
Original, gut reaction.

OH MY GOD!

Dunnett has just reached out of the book and tore my heart out!

Will try to add more thoughts later... still in this decade ... or century.

[Algernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have run out of stars to award and out of superlatives to describe how awesome this historical epic by Dorothy Dunnett is. The previous three books were all five stars for me, but Pawn takes the game to a whole new level of emotional turmoil. Gone is the playful, mischievous tone of the youthful Francis Lymond. Gone is, for the moment, his political ambition to make a name for himself and to prop up his beloved Scotland teetering monarchy. This time it's personal!

- 'I wish to make my fortune with you.’
- ‘Well, you can forget about that, for a start,’ said Francis Crawford. ‘And if your place in Paradise has been written, then for God’s sake hang on to it. Because we’re going in the opposite direction.'

Note : may contain spoilers from this point forward about events and characters from the previous volumes. I recommend reading the books in chronological order.

>>><<<>>><<<

His Nemesis, Graham Reid Mallet, has been thwarted in his plans to take over the mercenary company Lymond has created and forced to run away. But he has promised revenge and the lynchpin of his dirty plans is Khaireddin, an innocent child unknowingly fathered by Lymond in one of his past affairs. The child is hidden, kidnapped and then moved from one city to another all along the Arab controlled part of the Mediterranean coast, leading Lymond and his companions on a wild goose chase fraught with peril - the roadway to Hell alluded to in the above quote. The title of the fourth novel references Khaireddin as the pawn in this latest game of deadly chess Dorothy Dunnett is constructing, with frankincense as the symbol of Oriental mysteries. But there is a remark by Jerott Blyth that I found more relevant and with a deeper reach into Lymond motivations:

You summon and you throw away. You treat love like a bird for the table ... Like a pawn, now in frankincense, now discarded and thrown in the dirt. You don't know what love is, either of you. And God help us and you, if you ever find out.

I see it as a comment on Lymond's previous game-master role, his intellectual detachment and his ruthlessness in following his plans, as opposed to those driven by their emotions, by their passions. In the beginning of the series Lymond was indeed more than a bit annoying in his multiple accomplishments and arrogant superiority. Chapter by chapter we watch now as he struggles to maintain his cool exterior demeanour while Gabriel strikes indiscriminately at the people around him. When the control slips, Lymond is deadly, and towards the end of the novel he will sacrifice his own health and sanity to put a stop once and for all to Gabriel's power plays.

Lymond was too near the edge: too near the limit of the drug: the place where, driven beyond their means, first the body relinquished the race; and then the mind. Madness cometh sometime of passions of the soul, as of business and of great thoughts, of sorrow and of too great study, and of dread.

The amount of suffering Lymond is forced to go through is staggering, eclipsing often all other considerations about the wealth of historical detail in the novel and the clever plot twists or reversal of fortunes for the secondary characters. I know now how some of the other readers were pushed to throw the book at the wall in anger at reading some of the most painful scenes in the novel. I really wanted Lymond to get back together with Oonagh O'Dwyer, as I believed she was strong and smart and a good choice for a lifelong partner for our hero, out of the several women offered as possible candidates. Her gruesome fate might be a clever move in the economy of the chess game the author is playing with us, but I could have done without the pain and the sorrow of losing her. Later, even her death pales in comparison with the actual chess game using human pawns that is played between Lymond and Gabriel in the Top-Kapi palace.

I have become familiar enough with Mrs. Dunnett style to recognize the building blocks of her grandiose structures. The books share a basic similarity of plot and characters, yet within these boundaries there is always a sense of wonder and plenty of surprises to keep the reader guessing at the final resolution. For example, Jeroth Blyth returns as the hero's sidekick - the slightly naive and good intentioned youth who needs to have his eyes opened and his illusions dispelled. He is joined in the role of revealing Lymond's character indirectly by Phillipa Somerville, very young but not exactly naive, a practical no-nonsense girl that stubbornly goes her own way, and provides some of the lighter, wittier conversations in the novel:

'It seems to me,’ said Philippa prosaically, ‘that on the whole we run more risks with Mr Crawford’s protection than without it.'

Another recurring theme is the murder mystery, investigative angle, as some of the new characters have hidden agendas and one, a traitor in their midsts, is actually sabotaging the whole endeavour. Two strong women characters are introduced as important players in the game : Marthe, a mysterious adventuress that has an uncanny physical resemblance with Lymond, and Guzel - the very ambitious mistress of the Berber corsair Dragut Rais. Of the new male characters two stand out : A French naturalist studying the Arabian culture and Mikal, A Pilgrim of Love. The pilgrims were wandering minstrels reciting Persian love poetry, a fascinating aspect of the Ottoman Empire culture that usually gets ignored in the accounts of wars and atrocities.

There is that which melts the soul in a young deer walking impulsively, in trust, in grace and in courage. I have opened the book of love ... I read and write in it. Thou, too, shalt read.



The third recurring element is putting Lymond on trial towards the end of the novel, inviting the reader to sit and judge the morality of his actions and the lessons to be learned from his mistakes. It sounds a bit didactic, but in practice it is one of the most passionate moments of each novel, as well as the most revealing in terms of the actual motivations of the secretive Lymond. He rarely talks about himself, and we have to rely on witness accounts and indirect proofs to know what goes on inside his head, so when the mask is lifted it is worth noting:

It isn't that music doesn't matter: the reverse, as it happens. So my defences against it are very strong. Can you understand that?

I extrapolate this declaration to his interest in Scotland and to his love life. He hides his true feelings because they are the most important part of his life, not because he is cold blooded or incapable of commitment.

The amount of historical research that went into the novel is amazing. It is so well integrated into the actual plot that you don't notice the difference between real historical figures or events and the fabricated ones. The struggle for control of the North African coast towns, the visits to the Greek Island or to Smyrna and Aleppo, the final stay in Istanbul at the court of Suleiman the Magnificent make this volume the most cosmopolite and colourful in the series, justifying the exclamation of one of the journeymen:

Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage!

The politics are also spot on, although they feature mostly in the final chapters, being overshadowed for most of the novel by the personal duel at a distance between Lymond and Gabriel. But I checked out on the internet and there are some fascinating articles about the succession fights and the harem rivalries in the later years of Suleiman reign. Roxelana, the Hurem Sultan, is a fascinating figure that inspired many romantic poets and writers beside Dunnett.

I also have some more personal reactions from the novel. I have been to Turkey recently, and two of my most memorable experiences have been a Sufi ceremony with music, prayer and rotating dervishes at a 13th century caravanserai, and a visit to the Byzantine water cistern in Istanbul. Both are included in the text. The Bektashi creed is a variant of mystical Sufism, more poetry than dogma, still active today despite persecutions by the mainstream imams:

I have put five things into five things. Having all, I have put knowledge and wisdom in hunger; do not search for them in satiety. I have put riches in contentment with little; do not search for them in avarice. I have put happiness in knowledge. Do not search for it in ignorance.

This is not the only example that I have come across in Islamic teachings that strongly contradict the image of the murderous fanatic. On the contrary, the Ottoman empire has been historically more tolerant of alternative belief systems than their Western counterparts.

And here's how a visit to the catacombs is described in the book:

He [Jerott] stood in a limnophilous palace of marble whose faint columns, rank upon rank, marked the darkness like runes and upheld, with their ghostly carved capitals, the winged vaults of the ceilings which spread, mottled with moisture, far over his head. Its carpet was water: water which ran green and icy and clear under his feet and licked and floated and sucked at the white marble pillars in their dim and motionless rows: a forest rooted in foam. A forest a thousand years old.



I've read about Dorothy Dunnett fan clubs who meet annually in locations described in the books. I know if I ever get to visit / revisit myself some of these places, I would look for the shadows of Francis Crawford of Lymond and of his companions.

Book five coming up soon!

[nastya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buffy Summers : This is how many apocalypses for us now?
Rupert Giles : Oh, uh, well... six at least... Feels like a hundred.
Buffy Summers : I've always stopped them... always won.
Rupert Giles : Yes.
Buffy Summers : I sacrificed Angel to save the world. I loved him so much. But I knew... I was right. I don't have that anymore. I don't understand. I don't know how to live in this world, if these are the choices... if everything just gets stripped away. I don't see the point. I just wish that... I just wish my mom was here.
[pause]
Buffy Summers : The spirit guide told me, that death is my gift. I guess that means a Slayer really is just a killer, after all.
Rupert Giles : I think you're wrong about that.
Buffy Summers : It doesn't matter. If Dawn dies, I'm done with it. I'm quitting.

This could've been Lymond.

[Mona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick Plot Summary

Lymond has vowed to rescue his illegitimate son from the Ottoman Empire where the child was born after Oonagh O'Dwyer, the child's mother was abducted and enslaved by the Turks. Lymond has never set eyes on the boy.

Lymond is accompanied in this perilous journey by a couple of his old companions, Jerrott Blyth,
Archie Abernethy, and Philippa Somerville (who he allows along very reluctantly, as he knows the Levant is especially dangerous for young girls). There are several new characters in his company, including the mysterious, beautiful, and bitchy Frenchwoman Marthe, who is accompanies her uncle, Gaultier, to care for the elaborate spinet topped by gems and a mechanical clock, to be presented to the Sultan as a gift from the King of France.

Lymond is travelling as the Special Envoy of France, and briefly becomes ambassador.

Suspense and Plotting Amazing

Dunnett really outdid herself here with creating suspense and a genuine sense of peril.

Every time Lymond and his friends turn around they're in peril. Then, the peril gets
ratchetted up even further.

Of course, overcoming one dangerous obstacle after another is par for the course in all
volumes of The Lymond Chronicles.

But it was even more pronounced here.

This happened for several reasons.

1. Lymond was dealing with his most dangerous and ruthless adversary yet, and that
adversary has plenty of allies.

2. Lymond, for various reasons, makes uncharacteristic mistakes. For example, he's usually
much more astute about who to trust than he is here.

3. For Foreigners and "unbelievers" in the 16th century Ottoman Empire of Suleiman the Great, there was always danger. The Empire was an Islamic theocracy, and non-Muslims were always in more peril than Muslims.

4. The convoluted conspiracies within conspiracies, always a feature of Dunnett's books, are more intricate here than ever. Sometimes I couldn't entirely make sense of all the threads.

Beautiful Writing

This volume contains some of Dunnett's most gorgeous prose. Dunnett's writing is so vivid, and she evokes the time and place with striking and unique imagery using all five senses.

Also, the writing is somewhat more accessible than in previous volumes, although it's still
peppered with untranslated phrases in Turkish, Arabic, French, Latin, etc.

The frustrating The Dorothy Dunnett Companion was actually more useful here than in past volumes, perhaps because I found this website in which indexed which phrases "Companion" actually references: Companion Entries for Pawn in Frankincense . But, as usual, there were still some untranslated Latin phrases, and little info for Scots dialect, although this website is helpful for that: https://dsl.ac.uk. (Sorry, this link won’t work in the Goodreads app, so you may have to cut and paste it to access that website, Dictionaries of the Scots language).

Here's just one example among many of the brilliant descriptions of 16th century Ottoman Istanbul:

The kiosk of Suleiman the Magnificent was three-sided, its marble sides inlaid with jet and porphyry and jasper and arched with legends in silver; its coloured windows laced with wrought gold. Inside, over all was the deep Indian yellow of leaf gold in shadow. Hangings of silver tissue, dimly sparkling on silver gilt columns; an icy crust of carved stucco; an enamelled glint of white and emerald tiling; a ceiling deeply inlaid and gilded, supporting a crystal-paned lantern of silver, its rim set with turquoise and opal. From the open, third side, a carpet of embroidered carnation satin led to a low dais, whose own carpet was worked in silver, turquoises and orient pearls. On it sat enthroned the master of all this magnificence: Suleiman, by the grace of God King of Kings, Sovereign of Sovereigns, most high Emperor of Byzantium and Trebizond; most mighty King of Persia, Arabia, Syria and Egypt; Prince of Mecca and Aleppo; possessor of Jerusalem: Sultan Suleiman Khan, the Shadow of God upon Earth.

Emotionally Draining

What was difficult about reading this book was less the writing (which was the main impediment in previous volumes) than the emotionally draining nature of the story.

Dunnett compels the reader to deeply connect with the characters. The problems facing the our characters are in many cases very difficult situations with no clear solutions.

And Lymond, in particular, is faced with some terrible choices.

But all the characters endure a lot of hardship. Philippa, Marthe, and Jerrott all suffer in different ways.

Jerrott is literally driven to drink when he falls in love with Marthe, who treats him horribly. Jerrott seems to have a pattern of being drawn to difficult, charismatic people who mistreat him.

Lymond himself is rather nastier than usual for much of story. There are various reasons for this, including his stress about the nearly insurmountable obstacles he faces in this mission.

I'll not say more to avoid spoilers.

I think the emotional anguish of reading this prevented me from giving it five stars.

Not the least of that is the suffering of the small children in the book. One endearingly calls Philippa “Fippy”. So it’s heartbreaking to see what this small boy endures. The kids are innocent and helpless victims of the adults’ machinations. It’s the saddest part of the book.

Audio Reader

Scotsman David Monteath is generally a good audio reader. But his French pronunciation is at times
appallingly bad.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy smokin' story! I nearly had a heart attack several times and if I hadn't been at work, I would've sobbed my eyeballs out.

And of course, now I can't stop, so planned November reads??? Bye-bye! This series is absolutely wonderful.

Why are people surprised that Lymond loves? Of course he does -- so intensely he just can't show it.

I can't say anything at all without it being a spoiler...Lymond takes a gift to Sultan Suleiman in Istanbul from the King of France chasing his bastard son before the baby is murdered by the totally evil Graham Mallett. As always we see him through everyone's eyes but his. New characters and old, ever fascinating and richly drawn. Incredible detail of the riches and cruelties of the Islamic countries of that time. The looting of Hagia Sophia, the maze of the Seraglio where the harem is kept, the polishing of Phillippa - his old friend's daughter from previous books. All of it fine, beautiful, terrifying, and achingly sad.

11/17/10 I'm adding this bit from a blog post that was lifted by someone else in a yahoo group devoted to Dorothy Dunnett because it so much says how I feel/felt about these boooks: Unfortunately the 'lifter' didn't give a source so I can't either. But anyone who grows to know and love Francis Crawford of Lymond will be able to relate.

“It’s a good thing she’s dead.” It was my friend Nora on the phone. Not hello, Penelope, this is Nora, how are you? Just “It’s a good thing she’s dead, or I’d kill her.”

I’d bugged Nora to read the Lymond Chronicles, raving that it was the most intense reading experience of my life. Now Nora had just finished book four, Pawn in Frankincense. She was crying, she was raging, and she wanted nothing better than to throttle Dorothy Dunnett. I knew how she felt.

Lymond is my favorite sort of hero: the tormented mastermind. He is a poet, musician, mathematical genius, and the greatest military mind of his day. He is witty in at least a dozen languages. He is also so racked by self-loathing that he repeatedly tries to goad otherwise nice people into killing him. He commits appalling acts for reasons that may become clear only hundreds of pages later into the story. Which brings me back to Nora’s phone call. Dunnett inflicts some cruel sucker punches on her readers. This is embarrassing to admit, but at one
point, I screamed “Traitor!,” threw the book across the room, and began wailing in grief. My bewildered husband tried to comfort me, saying “But it’s only a story.” Only a story? For the past six weeks, it had been my life.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY GOD MY HEART. I just....WHAT. SO UPSETTING. Every book I think it can't possibly get worse and then it DOES. And every book I think I can't possibly love this book series more and I do.

I think it's been years since a book has made my cry uncontrollably like I did reading this one. So heartbreaking and yet so good.

The plot is crazy as usual and this book, like the third, was action packed pretty much from start to finish. All the new characters were great, especially Marthe, who is badass. All the characters are so well drawn and developed and feel so much like real people. Also they are awesome. (Lymond! Phillipa!) I missed the Crawford family but if I had my way these books would be all Crawfords having fun times instead of being emotionally destroyed.

I'm so afraid of the terrible things that I'm sure are to come in the next book. But I feel like starting it now. SO GOOD AND YET SO UPSETTING.

[Kate Sherrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

The character of Philippa Somerville pretty well stole my heart in the second half of the prior Lymond novel, The Disorderly Knights, as I watched her turn from passionate Lymond-hater to grudging Lymond supporter largely via her well-developed sense of fair play. You've got to enjoy any character who can not only admit she's wrong, but take all the necessary steps to redress the wrongs she's done in thought or deed. Philippa is, in other words, a character with character. And she's not even a grown-up yet as that novel ends!

In Pawn in Frankincense, she is still quite young* but that doesn't stop her doing exactly what she wants, which in this case is to take off in search of Lymond that she might continue to make up for her earlier bad opinion of him by helping him in his current quest in a way that, she has decided, only she can. Even though she really doesn't know nothing about nursing no babies, as it were.

Babies? Yes, babies. For it turns out that Lymond is a daddy, having apparently fathered an illegitimate son on the lovely but perhaps slightly foolish Oonagh O'Dwyer in between bouts of derring do back in Queen's Play. Which son, partly through Oonagh's own questionable choices and partly through the machinations of Graham Reid Mallett, revealed last novel as the Moriarty to Lymond's Holmes, has been hidden away somewhere in the Ottoman Empire (!) and, as Pawn in Frankincense opens, is basically being used as the titular pawn by Mallett. Lymond, of course, claims not to care all that much about a mere by-blow but he'll be damned if anybody gets used as a human shield by his enemy. Philippa, though, dear Philippa, is not fooled, and bullies her way onto the team solely by means of her advanced emotional intelligence, even though she has no idea how she can really be of help. So she just starts learning stuff along the way. Like, oh, Arabic and Turkish, for a start. Go, Philippa, go!

Meanwhile, another remarkable woman has shown up on the scene, the fabulous and enigmatic Marthe, who is attached to Team Lymond as the assistant to the builder of the world's most expensive spinet, which TL is charged with delivering on behalf of the King of France (remember, Lymond's prior exploits on behalf of the current Queen of Scots who is also the Dauphine of France have landed him a French title even though he's Scottish) to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Thus giving TL the perfect cover for looking for the baby McGuffin.

But back to Marthe. Marthe, Marthe, Marthe. She is blond and blue-eyed and comes off as kind of cold hearted and genuinely doesn't care if other people think poorly of her and devastatingly cunning and intelligent and manipulative and cynical and... sound like anyone we know? I mean, Sebastian and Viola called, they want their bit back, amirite?

No, seriously, amirite? Because all we get are hints that somehow, this French woman with a French name might possibly be, somehow, rather closely related to Lymond. Whom, by the way, she cannot stand. Um, wow. Just wow.

And it all ends, bizarrely and very excitingly, in a live chess (but not Doctor Who live; in this case, live means "people used as pieces" not "currents of electricity running through the pieces") game deep in the seraglio of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. And things get tense and tragic. And also weirdly satisfying in a way I totally did not see coming.

I now already want to go back to the first book and read all these again -- and I'm not even finished with the series!

The blurb for the next Lymond novel, The Ringed Castle, indicates that his next adventure is largely in Russia. But with things as they've ended here, I cannot imagine how that's going to come to pass. But I don't have to. The brilliant, the wonderful, the mind boggling Dorothy Dunnett done it for me.

*But turns out to be not quite as young as I've been thinking. Lymond speaks of her and treats her as younger than she is for a variety of good, if irritating, reasons, and since a lot of the fun of reading these books is being misled by Lymond, well, there you go. At any rate, as becomes clear in this novel, Philippa is 15 going on 16, so probably newly nubile, and given the adventures she has, it's probably just as well that most everybody believes she's still a kid -- though, of course, the concept of the teenager had a few centuries before it really became a thing. As such.

[Supriya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have NEVER read poetry so obscure that Googling it doesn't turn up at all. I can now paraphrase the Koran's injunctions on left-handed people, recite the names and succession of upto ten of the 16th century Grand Masters of the Hospitaller Knights, use the word 'corybantic' in conversation, and probably even play a little bit of chess. And for all that, my god, the book still took my heart out and ate it. I hate Lymond. HATE him.

Oh Jerott Blyth, I love you, though.

[Danica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oooooh boy. I feel like I'm at the top of a rollercoaster's first, steepest drop. Here I go.

Edit: ARRRRRGH SO FUCKING GREAT.

EXTREMELY LENGTHY THOUGHTS TO COME LATER.

Edit the second:

I could not stop reading this book. Stayed up until 4 am on a weeknight again, then proceeded during the next day to read it in the bathroom, over a breakfast of oatmeal, and in the car, while waiting for traffic lights to turn green. Seen by the lucid light of day this fixation seems a little overwrought. Why am I weeping on the airplane with the wadded up ball of my Southwest complimentary napkin affixed to various parts of my splotchy, streaming face? Why, pray tell, am I contemplating the idea of purchasing all eight of the Niccolo books new, off of Amazon.com?

But man oh man, this one hit all of my buttons. Like ALL of them. Continent-spanning action: check. Dazzling descriptions of exotic locales: check. Political intrigue: check. Massive emotional stakes: check. Gorrrrrrrgeous, mind-expanding writing: yes! Requisite writerly showboating which in the past has availed itself to cheetah hunts, rampaging elephants, moonlit rooftop races, epic castle sieges, and other carnivalesque riots of activity, but now expands its scope to include, um, gymnastics performed atop galloping horses?: yup. Main character, through no small devising of his own, WRITHING IN HELLISH AGONY (and if you read this series you will understand why this is a source of jolly good fun rather than an indication of my own severely unbalanced mental state): check. Complex, pivotal, nuanced girl roles: uh huh. Adorable kid-mommying scenes that made my ovaries squirm: check. Tension between main character and his dedicated captain/brooding Christian knight/loyal friend so thick you could stand a spoon in it: awwww yeah.

Longer thoughts continue here:

http://rondaview.livejournal.com/1229...

[Misfit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pawn in Frankincense opens up shortly after the end of The Disorderly Knights, as Jerrott and Philippa track down Lymond on his search to find Francis' child, stolen by renegade Knight Graham Reed Malett and hidden somewhere in the heart of the Ottoman Empire. Francis uses his position as an emissary of France delivering gifts to Suleiman the Magnificent as an entrée into the mysterious world of the east as he and his companions continue their desperate search for Lymond's son. However, the deliciously evil Graham's schemes lead them on from one false lead to another, as the web is spun to bring Francis and troops further into Graham's evil web. Nothing and no one is as they seem, and the author throws many red herrings and surprises into her tale and eventually we discover that there are two blond, blue eyed children being sought. One child is Francis', who is father of the other?

Although separated, Lymond and his followers all end up in Constantinople, as Graham's plots come to fruition and Lymond, Jerrott, Archie and the mysterious Marthe with the striking resemblance to Lymond begin the fight of their lives in a real life chess game with deadly consequences for any who are "captured", and Francis battles to maintain his wits against the deadly addiction Graham's schemes have unknowingly afflicted him with.

As with the first three books in the series, Francis Crawford is a fascinating hero, and is as suave, debonair, flawed and fascinating as only a 16th Century version of James Bond could be. This book is filled with non-stop action and suspense and ends with quite a big surprise of a cliffhanger which will send the reader reaching for the next book in the series, The Ringed Castle (Lymond Chronicles, 5). A solid five stars and my favorite so far in the series.

[Giki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fourth installment of the Lymond chronicles – I would advise reading the other 3 first, especially disorderly knights as you might be a bit lost otherwise. If you haven't read them yet then don't read this – or any other review – There will be spoilers.

At the end of 'disorderly knights' Philippa prevents Lymond from killing Gabriel in order to spare the life of a child, Gabriel escapes in the confusion and lures Lymond onto the depths of the Ottoman empire.
It is no problem for the gloriously feisty Philippa to convince first Jerott and then Lymond that they really need to take a 14-year-old girl along as they try to resolve the problems that she has caused.
Jerott is a man who needs leader he can worship like a god. He found that in Gabriel and even when the truth began to come out he would not give up hope that he could somehow be saved until the bitter end. Now he has transferred his allegiance to Lymond things are more complex, he knows Lymond is flawed and will always challenge his faith and loyalty, but still he follows passionately.
They are joined by Marthe – a grumpy clock maker whose origins are shrouded in mystery but who bears more than a passing resemblance to Lymond.

As the chase around the Mediterranean develops it becomes clear that things are never straightforward, Gabriel holds all the cards and the others must follow the game he has devised. Only Phillipa has a clear sense of purpose, she knows what she must do and does not flinch when sacrifices need to be made.

This is a fantastic story, A cleverly constructed puzzle, It draws you in through many layers and builds to an ending that twists and turns into a knot of emotion and drama. As you would expect if you have read the previous books, it is shocking and challenging, bad stuff happens, good people cause pain, suffering and death by their actions, and no-one is truly good anyway. , difficult choices must be made and innocence must be sacrificed for the greater good. Of course Lymond is arrogant, rude and controlling, he is a driven man on a single-minded quest to destroy his enemy.

I felt actually pretty ill after the end of this book. I had to spend a couple of days in bed. I think I had a bug but can't rule out that it might have been psychosomatic.
I still recommend reading this book – I can't wait to read the next but I dread to think what horrors the author has in store for the main characters.
I love this series and this has been my favourite book so far

[Dogbite Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the tension mounted to what I still consider, nearly half a century later, the most electrifying scene I have ever read, I was startled to realize my hands were sore from gripping the book so tightly.

It was 4:00 A.M.

The Lymond Chronicles are a staggering achievement by a towering intellect that will never be surpassed. The greatest historical fiction ever.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evil matters. So does love. So does pity. My pilgrim,’ said the Dame de Doubtance gently, ‘you have still three bitter lessons to learn.’

The penultimate scene of The Disorderly Knights foreshadows the age-old ethical dilemma that one is devastatingly confronted with in this, Pawn in Frankincense: When does the greater good outweigh the good of the individual? When it is a matter of life or death, how does one choose the sacrifice, and how will one live with the consequences of the decision?
Francis Crawford of Lymond’s hand is stayed by the redoubtable Philippa Somerville just as he is about to execute the malevolent and malignant Graham Reid Malett a.k.a. Gabriel. In the devastating scene Malett has shockingly revealed that Francis has a baby son who is under his power and if he dies, his son dies. Nevertheless, Francis, knowing the depth of threat Malett represents to the world is determined to carry through killing him after besting him in mortal combat. He is willing to sacrifice one child (Is GRM even telling the truth?) to save thousands.

And a child’s voice, echoing his in turn said, “No!”... No, Mr. Crawford!” cried Philippa forbiddingly, and ducking under the snatching arms that tried to prevent her, she ran forward…..sinking on her knees she shook, in her vehemence, Lymond’s bloodstained arm…There is a baby. You can’t abandon your son!” …Philippa Somerville, who believed in action when words were not enough, had leaned over and snatched the knife from Lymond’s left hand.

It is enough. Gabriel escapes back to the Ottoman Empire as, thanks to Lymond, he is persona non grata anywhere in Europe. There, in this book, he will betray his brothers, the Knights of St. John, and abandon all pretense of Christianity. He will successfully consolidate the power he craves under Suleiman the Magnificent while planning the entrapment and downfall of Lymond using his son as a pawn in the game.

The final scene in the preceding book has Lymond in front of a church altar vowing to find and save his lost son while somehow destroying Gabriel. Pawn in Frankincense is his quest.

We start out in Baden, in the Swiss Confederation, where Philippa, accompanied by Lymond’s sidekick, the usually very confused Jerott Blythe, has snuck away from her mother Kate and tracked Lymond down. She has come, she says, to look after the baby once he is found. One may ask, how could Lymond agree to take a 15 year old schoolgirl, the daughter his one of his closest friends, on such a treacherous journey?

As I have said before, and am now saying for the last time, I cannot tell you with what awe my family and friends, not to mention yours, would receive the idea that I should ship a twelve- year- old girl along the Barbary coast——’

Not surprisingly (if one has gotten to know her) Philippa prevails. And thank God for it. She provides the only safe haven and flashes of light in a book full of tension, fear and horror. Somehow, we know that she will always be all right. She is a master of "the feat of keeping her head, her reason and her sense of the ridiculous amid conditions of civilized lunacy." Not that she doesn’t have a difficult journey. At one point, Lymond decides he must place killing Gabriel over finding his son and sends Philippa back home. He thinks. Philippa decides to continue the hunt virtually on her own and ends up entering the Sultan’s harem to protect the toddler (because of course she finds him) from the cruel tentacles of Gabriel. As she writes to her mother, Lymond’s good friend,

Dear Kate. As you will see from the address, I am staying as a concubine in the harem of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, son of Sultan Setim Khan, son of Sultan Bayezid Khan, King of Kings, Sovereign of Sovereigns; Commander of All that can be Commanded, Sultan of Babylon, Lord of the White Sea and the Black Sea, most high Emperor of Byzantium and Trebizond, most mighty King of Persia and Arabia, Syria and Egypt, Supreme Lord of Europe and Asia, Prince of Mecca and Aleppo, Possessor of Jerusalem and Lord of the Universal Sea….There are two hundred and ninety- nine other girls here: but no one else from Northumberland. Tell Betty I have the dearest little black page.

We meet and continue our acquaintance with many intriguing characters, some fictional, some not. Some lovable, some not. They include Marthe, a young woman who could be Lymond’s twin. But that’s impossible. Isn’t it? We learn there are two supposedly indistinguishable babies in peril, the other one being Gabriel’s own son from an unspeakable union. At times it seems we are in a retelling of the Odyssey, at others, Raiders of the Lost Ark, LadyHawke, or an Errol Flynn pirate movie situation. Even once, a very strange romantic comedy fake marriage, one bed trope. At one point, horribly, Sophie’s Choice came to mind.

Dunnett’s books are very cinematic thanks to the lush realism of her descriptions. She is merciless with what she puts Lymond and those he cares for through and they will not emerge triumphant unscathed. In one of the last chapters, I was physically trembling as I read. I love Dorothy Dunnett, but thanks to this at times painful book, I kind of hate her too.
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings....

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please, do me a favor, and block off a significant portion of your day to finish this book ALONE. I had a busy week, and ended up only having time to read on the bus. When it got to that scene I was finding it difficult to breathe, difficult to continue reading without shaking and crying, and I had to take breaks from the scene to breathe and look out of the window so I wouldn’t throw the book across the crowded Ride On bus and break down into tears. On the walk from the bus stop to my building I actually told myself I had to be as strong as Philippa / Marthe, and I held my head up high with watery eyes and braved the five-minute walk without having to stop and cry. As soon as I was alone in the bathroom, the intense emotions took their toll.

What a beautiful book, though! Dorothy paints an exquisite background for us, as we go baby hunting all across the Mediterranean and end up within the gorgeous Topkapi Palace in Stamboul / Istanbul / Constantinople. It was such fun to imagine the city in all her splendor under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, with Rustem Pasha as the Grand Vizier.

We are in Jerott’s head for a lot of Pawn in Frankincense, and . . . Phillippa’s!! Phillippa comes along for the ride, and we love that don’t we? She is so identifiable, and she made the book fun with her letters back to Kate and her sweet, enduring innocence. Dorothy has created a handful of the strongest female characters that I have ever encountered in fiction, and Phillippa is our strong little pre-teen/teenager (who ends up proving herself beyond anything I would have imagined). For about a week I was convinced that I would name my first daughter Phillippa, but I’m starting to rethink that. It’s kind of a horses’ name, isn’t it?

Lymond has so many feelings! We never see them, but in this book we certainly do. I felt like I actually knew what was going on behind those cold beautiful blue eyes for awhile there. Oh my, and Marthe, and the poetry! Ohh, and this book is so gay! Much gayer than the last (some of it is only there if you notice it… not super obvious, but some of it is pretty blatant). And Phillippa in the Harem! Scandalous!

I was looking forward to witnessing an Oonagh-Lymond conversation in the first half of the book, and that was cruelly denied to me by Gabriel. We did pick up another badass female king-maker of sorts, though, which is Guzel / Kiaya Khatun. We also get Mikal, as one of my new favorite minor characters!

In conclusion: Lymond’s parent(s) were fucking around, what will Kate say when Phillippa comes home bahhhh, and will Marthe actually be kind to Jerott??

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was gripping, if sometimes painful, reading. As other reviewers have mentioned, a 5 star rating feels inadequate. At this point, I'm certain this is the best fiction series I have read. Ever. Bar none.
Great characters. Ripping story. Fantastic writing. The historical elements are meticulously researched, yet woven into the stories perfectly. The books get rave reviews from virtually all readers. Many reviewers mention reading the series multiple times. I expect I will do so also. I am extremely perplexed as to why they are not widely known, and not nearly as widely read as they deserve. I recommend these books for anyone who enjoys fiction. If you are considering starting the series, try to do so when you have some time to read. Or, prepare to stumble sleepily through your days. I assure you, you will not put these books down and go to sleep at a reasonable hour.
I am eternally grateful to goodreads reviewer extraordinaire, Lightreads, for bringing these novels to my attention.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

5+ stars. An amazing read: gorgeous, riveting, heartbreaking. The first two books in this series are very good, but the third and fourth are among the best books I’ve ever read.

This one took me a long time to finish, because nearly every time I picked it up, I backed up to re-read the previous chapter just for the thrill of reliving it. At one point, after a particular reveal, I considered starting the whole thing over again just to watch for the clues.

Here Lymond, that epitome of a tortured hero, travels the Mediterranean coast in pursuit of his infant son, who was stolen away before Lymond knew of his existence. In his party is Jerott, the bitter former Knight of St. John: “Once I loved a girl and wished to make her my wife; and once I loved a man and wished to make him my leader. I shall never do either again.” Also traveling with him is the redoubtable young Philippa Somerville, who is determined to find the child: “He’ll never know, if we’re quick, that nobody wanted him….”

Lymond’s arch-enemy matches him for brilliance and resourcefulness, and is inevitably one step ahead. He strikes at Lymond viciously but indirectly: at his child, his friends, his reputation, his sanity.

In addition to being brilliant, Dunnett’s prose is a little more accessible in these later works. I understand probably 90% of what Lymond says, as he spouts somewhat less of the “luggage of poetry” he carries.

I can’t recommend these books enough to those who like dense historical fiction with more than a bit of high drama. The first book requires some perseverance, certainly, but it’s rewarded.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I keep changing my mind about which of these books is my favorite. This one comes up more often than others, though, so I think this may just be It. (For the curious, the books in order of quality (generally) go: 4, 3, 6, 1, 2, 5.)

In this book, Lymond finally squares off with Gabriel. Of course, there are plenty of enigmas, traps, and red herrings along the way, before everyone finally ends up in Istabul (Byzantium, Constantinople, or Stamboul, depending on where and when you are in the book.)

This features one of the best exchanges between Lymond and young Philippa (Lymond: "The coast is a jungle of Moors, Turks, Jews, renegades from all over Europe, sitting in places built from the sale of Christian slaves. There are twenty thousand men, women and children in the bagnios of Algiers alone. I am not going to make it twenty thousand and one because your mother didn't allow you to keep rabbits, or whatever is at the root of your unshakable fixation."
"I had weasels instead," said Philippa shortly.
"Good God," said Lymond, looking at her. "That explains a lot.)

Anyway, this book is wonderful. It has all the humor, wit, adventure, and depth of character that marks this series. Plus, it features Philippa taking a course in Running to Seed, and a death scene that ties only with the one in Lions of Al-Rassan for the most likely to break your heart. There's also a very cute scene with a couple of kids (baby goats).

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading for the third time. My god. Just as obsessed as the other times. Still finding clues and more meaning. I’m bracing myself and mentally bracing myself for all the emotional reactions. Outdone by no other book except Checkmate.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

May I consider this fourth of the six books that make up Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles to be the beginning of the second of two acts?

I ask because the last book finished on a cliffhanger, and because I see parallels between this book and the very first book in the sequence.

They are both stories of quests, but his time the field of play is much wider and the stakes are much, much higher.

The narrative moves across Europe and North Africa; beginning with a remarkable scene in Switzerland where much is not as it seems, and then on to France, Algiers, Djerba, and finally the grand and great city Constantinople, where scenes played out that left me emotionally drained,utterly lost for words and desperate to know what would happen next.

The journey through this series of book is for the faint-hearted; but for those prepared to commit time, heart and intellect, they are richly, richly rewarding.

The quest in the first book was to find justice and the right place in the world; while the quest in this book is to find an infant, hidden away far from the place he should know as home, and in the power of a ruthless, devious and very clever enemy.

I’m trying not to say too much for anyone further back in the series or contemplating reading in the future, but I really can’t write about this book without referring to particular names and situations.

The ostensible reason for Lymond’s journey is to deliver a gift from the King of France to the Sultan in Constntinople; but the deeper reason is to rescue the child – complicated by the fact that there are two children, one his and one his enemy’s, and that he has no way to tell them apart – and to destroy that enemy.

The travelling party includes Philippa Somerville, who is set on looking after the child; Archie Abernathy; Jerrott Blyth, from the company formed at St, Mary’s; the maker of the spinet and the young woman who is his apprentice. Along the way the party will fracture, shining a different light on to familiar characters and illuminating new ones.

I knew that many readers love Philippa Somerville, and in this book I thought that she came into her own as a principled and strong-willed young woman, and I found that I loved her too. Jerrott Blyth became a complex character with a life and a story of his own, moving forward from the shadows in the last book. I came to love Archie Abernathy, and I wished I could spend more time with him and learn more of his back-story. I can’t help feeling there are volumes and volumes of history and biography that I would so loved to read that Dorothy Dunnett distilled to create her books.

There are some exceptional women in this series of books, and the young woman apprentice is as exceptional as any of them. I can’t say that I liked her, but I was intrigued by her and it was clear that she was significant for the thread that has been running throughout this series of books: the mystery surrounding the Crawford family and the possibility that a greater power than the enemy being sought is weaving an elaborate plot around Lymond.

I found a great deal to think about, I found a wealth of wonderful plot twists, some of which I saw coming but many of which I did not. I was pleased with some of the things I spotted, but I suspect that I am being cleverly managed by the author. When I read the first book in this series I wrote that it was lovely to be able to listen to someone so much cleverer than me, who was so articulate, who had so much to say about a subject that she loved, and that still holds true.

The evocation of places, of events, of cultures, continues to be vivid, deep and complex,

The thing that made this book distinctive for me was the use of perspective – most of the story is told from the perspective of Philippa Somerville or Jerrott Blyth. That illuminated their characters, and it also held Lymond at a distance so that much of his character remains in shadow.

I could see that he had matured since the earlier books, that he took responsibility for his companions in a way that he hadn’t often before, and he had no ready answer when he was asked if the object of his quest justified the price that he and others were paying. The price that he paid was highest of all, and the choice that he was forced to make in the grand set- piece of this book – a live game of chess – was utterly devastating.

The story went on a little too long for me after that, but I understood that there had to be a return journey, that pieces had to be put on place for the next book.

The consequences of what Lymond went through in this book – and of what he and others learned – have still to play out.

One side of the story seems to have played out in this book, but another side – the deeper story, I think, is coming to the fore.

As is another exceptional woman.

I’m not sure that I’m ready to be so close to the end of all of this, but I have to press on with the next book ….

[Elizabeth]

WAAHHH! Definitely the most readable of the Dunnett books so far, but what an emotional roller-coaster. I got kind of fed up at the end of Lymond's complete lack of resource against his enemy... It just all seemed so damn pointless and unfair. And actually, having finished it, I'm still not sure what the *point* of the whole search was, apart from turning Our Hero into an emotional and physical cripple. OK, so he gets to kill Gabriel, but even the Mean Old Omniscient Narrator says that the killing meant nothing, given the state of mental collapse that Lymond's in by the time he gets to do it.

Philippa is wonderful. I love the way she gets to mature, and blossom, and manages to be heroic while maintaining her own femininity and character (and, despite the seraglio and the marriage, even her virginity!!!). It just about kills me who she ends up married to. I kind of toyed with the idea myself while reading, but never imagined Dunnett would entertain it as well--nay, even EFFECT it by the end of the book.

I have to say, people accuse me of needlessly tormenting my own fictional characters, but at least I don't go around cutting babies' throats. And I do try to land my favorites in situations they have a chance of recovering from eventually.

Marthe... intersex or woman??? Lymond... Did he sleep with Dragut or not? Khaireddin... How far does he take his clients? Oonagh... murder or suicide? Man, I don't know why I keep reading this stuff, it's so ultimately UNFULFILLING. A bit like being an opium addict, I suppose.

[Dee Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant! Don't expect to get anything else accomplished when you are reading this book! This was one of the most exciting and gut-wrenching stories I've ever read!

Dorothy Dunnett deserves every acclaim she has received as the best author of historical fiction.

Note: The title of the book makes perfect sense!

[Erica Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect, horrible book.

(Anyone who's read it knows exactly what I mean. For those who haven't: the structure, urgency and clarity of the previous three books can be faulted; this one, no. It's completely readable and enticing down through the part where your nails are digging holes in your palms.

I meant to say something about Lymond and point of view, and I'd forgotten that this book barely ever gets into his head either: the dreadful climax is seen from Jerott's perspective. I love Jerott, even when he's a little snot, and I adore Philippa without qualification, so having them tell most of the story is a good move. However, I think the series suffers somewhat from keeping the reader away from Lymond's thoughts. It was a technique necessary for the big reveal in Game of Kings, that became a habit, and by this point it's just silly: he's not that much of a mystery man anymore. But I'll think that over some more as I read the last two.)

[Fern Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never read anything quite like Dunnett's books before and I can't remember the last time I became so emotionally invested in a series. While you have to work at reading her books and going through the many layers to them, the hard work really pays off as they are incredible! I've got used to Dunnett's writing style now (although the number of references in French, Italian etc are reducing). I had also learnt from the previous books that it was best to find time when I could sit and read in large chunks which made this an easier read. This was the best of the series yet, although I did want to throw the book across the room several times however I would have had to immediately pick it up again to find out what happened on the page. I've still not recovered from the decision Lymond has to make at the end.

[LeahBethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm still reeling from reading Pawn in Frankincense. The last 200 pages were an absolute emotional roller-coaster. Dorothy Dunnett ratchets up the tension to where it's almost unbearable while making you work for every word. She is absolutely brilliant in her writing. There are passages between characters that I'm still not sure what in the world was being discussed with all the undercurrents and obscure implications going on (though I know all will be revealed in later books. I hope). Part of the novel takes place in Istanbul; I had a business trip once in Antalya, Turkey, and I extended my stay to tour Istanbul and western Turkey. Seeing the sights, especially the descriptions of Hagia Sophia, through 16th century eyes was fascinating. Now for a bit of easy, light reading before I delve back into the world of Lymond...

[Roman Clodia · Rating 5 out of 5]

In some ways the most gut-wrenching of this amazing series: Lymond has left behind Scotland, his family and - he thinks - his friends, for a dangerous quest to find a child in the Ottoman empire and bring him back. But there are numerous enemies, and many trails, and danger is not always where he thinks it is.

For some people Lymond might be at his most high-handed and arrogant in this book, but the revelations as they come, mount up to give us an ever clearer and increasingly complex picture of the man he is.

His choice in the live game of chess is perhaps one of the most brilliant scenes depicted in any novel and will haunt you for a long time - as it haunts Lymond and his companions for the rest of the series.

Sheer brilliance!

[Magpie Fearne · Rating 5 out of 5]

[insert gif 'everything hurts and i'm dying']

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was exclaiming and rooting OUT LOUD through the final sections of this book, which is highly unusual for me. Luckily I was alone when that happened.

This book is a big improvement over both the second book (which, although I liked it better, moved very slowly) and the third (which was a trifle too labyrinthine for me, although subsequent readings may improve that), but not up to the incredibleness of the 1st novel.

Lymond in this book goes hopping all over the Mediterranean in pursuit of his lost son, kidnapped by the intimidatingly evil Gabriel Malett, who seems to constantly be a step or two ahead of him -- as, perhaps, should be expected on Malett's home turf (he was based in Malta for much of the previous book). This leads him to a dramatic showdown with Gabriel in the presence of the Ottoman Sultana, who dictates that they engage in a game of human chess, complete with the Sultana's deaf-mutes standing by to strangle each of Lymond & Gabriel's allies(!) as they are "captured" on the board. One forgets, sometimes, that the abrupt and shocking murder of main characters is not a modern invention of George RR Martin's. Perhaps, then, it is not a coincidence that I was recommended onto this series by disgruntled followers of GRRM, who assured me that HERE was a book series with many of the same attractions, but which we can read assured that the last book is already published. Without naming names, and my count may be wrong, I believe no fewer than FOUR major characters, some having been well-established in previous series entries, are killed in this book.

Above all it was nice to have a solid ending to this book, something which the third book lacked (and I've been warned, the fifth book also does). Wikipedia at least warns that while 1 & 2 are more or less standalone entries in the series, 3-4 are tied together as well as 5-6. That assessment is accurate so far as I have read to.

[DayDreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

So so so good. The bad part of finishing it is that I can't start the next one before the end of the holidays. Or, to be on the safe side of passing my exams, before the end of January. Which sucks big time.

Still, I got to read one hell of a mind fuck, one that I need time to process properly, so perhaps it is better this way. Or that is what I'll be telling myself for the time being.

Marthe - I see in her what most people only see in Lymond - the surface. The anger, bitterness, rough edges. They are so alike, I know there is more, I just don't care to discover it.

Khaireddin - Give me thy kisses Oh, God.

Jerott - so blind when it matters. He's steadfast and reliable. And predictable, at least.

Dame of Daubtance - I don't like her. Decidedly.

The mystery: TALK BY DOROTHY DUNNETT
Saturday, 30 March 1990

One of the anxieties everybody has about Pawn in Frankincense is the identity (Thank you, Judith) of the two children and especially the child who died. I think I made it clear. I was defiant I make it clear, I may say, when I was writing Pawn in Frankincense. Harvey Ginsberg, who I mentioned , said, "You cannot say which one died," and I said, "Yes, I can." He said "No, you can't." So I didn't. By then I thought: Yes, let me, I think, made it clear. If I haven't, I'm not making it any clearer.

The whole of the Lymond series is about identity; it is about character; it is about heritage; and, yes, it is about the future. It says, if it says anything at all, that we are what we are and what we make of ourselves and what we have to hand on to future. Good and bad stock can produce indiscriminately good and bad offspring, and our environment can ruin what was potentially good. There is no place for prejudice. More than that I'm not going to spell out.