Pawn in Frankincense: The Lymond Chronicles Book Four

Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett. Before George R. R. Martin there was Dorothy Dunnett PERFECT for fans of A Game o.
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In that game's final move, which is played inside the harem of the Topkapi palace, Lymond will come face to face with his most implacable enemy and the dreadful ambiguities of his own nature. Read more Read less. Add all three to Cart Add all three to List. Some of these items ship sooner than the others. Buy the selected items together This item: Ships from and sold by Amazon.

Customers who viewed this item also viewed. Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Book Two in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles. Book Five in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles. Book Three in the legendary Lymond Chronicles. The Game of Kings Lymond Chronicles, 1. Book Six in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles. The Dorothy Dunnett Companion. Sponsored products related to this item What's this? What Once Was True: An Irish WW2 Story.

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Lymond..i think (:

A feel-good Irish springtime read. This book with transport you to beautiful Ireland, and immerse you in the lives of people you'll find hard to leave. For fans of Maeve Binchy. Vintage June 24, Language: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review.

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There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. Dorothy Dunnett's character Francis Crawford is a very addicting individual. This story outlines his pursuit of two lost children whose fate is in the hands of the evil Graham Reid Mallet, whom we have met previously. Dunnett's historical veracity and vocabulary are astounding -- so much in this one about Turkey and Islam.

I love the education I receive in reading her work. Because this is my fourth book in the series, I have finally learned not to pass judgment on Francis' actions, because there are always many layers to the story that Dunnett reveals in a strategic and sometimes provoking way. I do have to say that this installment in the Lymond Chronicles was pretty brutal. They all are, in their way, but especially this one. I know Francis has to make difficult decisions to promote the greater good, but sometimes, wow.

Last Act In Palmyra. The Lions of Al Rassan. Seven Stones to Stand or Fall. The Slow Regard of Silent Things. The High Mountains of Portugal. The Last Light of the Sun. What Remains of Heaven. Even Dogs in the Wild. Rather Be the Devil. Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade.

The Stone of Farewell. Where the Dead Lie. The Story of a New Name. The Cross and the Curse. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows. To Lie with Lions. Well, I have my answers now spoilers ahead.


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Lymond has matured since the earlier books: Matched with an opponent who is equally brilliant and far more ruthless, weighed down by his sense of duty, Lymond pushes himself to the very edge of physical and emotional endurance. Drained by opium addiction and deprived of the objective self-control he has taken for granted, he is reduced to his raw essence.

And yet everything he does is still focused on the well-being of those he has appointed himself to protect — a decision parodied and perverted by the extraordinary game of live chess at the end of the book. The choice he has to make in that game is the bitterest and bleakest of any so far; for his sake, I can only hope there is nothing later to equal it.

His companions are given their own space to develop. Take Jerott, for example, to whom I was fairly indifferent in the last book. Here he becomes an unexpectedly sympathetic character, as he wrestles with the emotional complexities of leaving the Order of St John for the real world. His turmoil actually provides some of the lighter moments in the book, as he more than anyone else suffers from the remarkable similarity between Lymond and the mysterious Marthe on whom more soon. I hope he finally manages to figure out what he really wants from life.

She is probably the character who develops most over the course of the book, because she has the intelligence to make the most of the opportunities available to her in the harem. Striving to improve herself, both in mind and body, Philippa also takes her first steps in the political game, without ever losing her humanity. Philippa becomes a wife without a husband, because Lymond has no intention of returning to Scotland, and yet it also gives her independence. Under rather different circumstances, Lymond claims in this book that he has never yet loved anyone.

I wonder how true that is: I imagine he and Philippa would do rather well together in the long run. But there are two books left. All things may change. And so to Marthe, who intrigues me. The relationship is left unclear: Certainly Lymond and Marthe are much more alike — although I marvel at the fact that two children can be raised apart and yet have the same character, the same education and the same store of cultural references.

Pawn in Frankincense, The Lymond Chronicles Book Four by Dorothy Dunnett

Marthe has evidently been trained very well, but by whom, and for what purpose? At the moment, I pity her. She is as bright and curious and talented as Lymond and yet it seems the world has never given her the chances he has had to shine, simply because she is a woman.