Dunnett, Dorothy - The Game of Kings

[oyceter]

I took a very long while getting into this, which was mostly my own fault -- it's a bit hard falling headfirst into Dunnett's labyrinthe plot when you read the book in vast intervals. The plot's still not very clear in my head.

It's funny because I began wondering what all the fuss was about Lymond. I could intellectually note everything that would have made him very appealing to me, but I had already heard so much about him via LJ that he had some pretty high expectations to live up to. But then, gradually, Dunnett kept revealing lines Lymond would not cross, and that, coupled with the sheer ruthlessness of him had me quite in his thrall by the end of the book. *wibble* Especially that scene when he and Richard duel. *wibble*

I spent a long time trying to decide if I generally liked the women in the book or not, and what I thought about the fact that certain women were just pure beyond reckoning. I also found it interesting that one of the big things against Lymond was his willingness to use women ruthlessly. I'm still not quite sure what I think.

I very much like Sybilla though. She is cool. I don't particularly like Mariotta, although I wibbled at the scene with her and Richard. Ditto Will Scott (minus the wibbling)... I can't decide if I want to hit him over the head for extreme vacillation or dubiously like him for the end. I am also quite fond of Richard just because everyone likes Lymond better than him, it seems, and I feel bad for him.

I also very much liked Christian Stewart, despite the fact that she became the sort of symbol of goodness and purity to the point in which Lymond will not have her reputation sullied for anything. I was quite traumatized when she died and I realized I wasn't reading fantasy, so really, there was no way she would be brought back to life a la Gandalf.

So. On to the next book!

ETA:
tenemet's review
rilina's review
inklings_lj's GoK entries
rachelmanija's first impressions, first 150 pgs, complete review
loligo's spoilery review and non-spoilery review

Comments

[oyceter]

I probably would have been head over heels for Lymond a few years ago, but I think I've read too many romance heroes by now.

But Richard, trying to apologize to Mariotta and stand up for his brother, *wibble*

[oracne.livejournal.com]

Richard's life is a constant annoyance because of his gorgeous brother being a pain in the...ahem.

[oyceter]

LOL! (good, I take it this means Richard is in all the other books? I checked the character list for Queen's Play, and it didn't have Sybilla, which made me sad.)

[cofax7]

I met Lymond first when I was 13. I'm warped for life. On the other hand, well, I don't seem to mind so much. Yes, he's self-absorbed and self-aggrandizing and melodramatic and abusive. But...

::sigh::

I'm such an over-romantic sap for the broken heroes. And Lymond is so very broken.

[oyceter]

Mmm, broken heroes.

I really wish I had "met" this series earlier on! Of course, I would have also probably gone insane without anyone to squee to ;).