104. The Game of Kings

By Dorothy Dunnett
Rated:  At least 10 Stars on a scale of 1/5
From: Library Interlibrary Loan
Version:  Unabridged Audio CD'

Listening to this audio version has been a delightful experience.  I have learned that I must read way too fast because by listening I am forced to the slower pace of the person who is reading it and I am finding all sorts of details that my eyes had apparently skipped over when I first read, and then re-read this series. 

I don't think it would matter how many times you read these books, there would be some new for you there every single time. There are subtle little insights into characters and their motivations scattered everywhere. Dorothy sure packed a heck of a punch on her old Olivetti typewriter. 

I have already ordered Queen's Play in the same format from Interlibrary Loan.  But I don't think the last two books in the Lymond Chronicles have been recorded so I guess I will have to read Ringed Castle and Checkmate with my own little eyes.

Synopsis

The Game of Kings: First in The Lymond Saga.

It's August 1547, and unrest in Europe is rife. Scotland, nominally ruled by 4 year old Queen Mary, is heaving with intrigue - and hot gossip. The notorious rebel, Crawford of Lymond, is rumoured to be back in Edinburgh. The city is sealed, but such things never worry 'Lymond'. As usual, he leaves a characteristic trail of hue and cry, vanished contraband, and a drunken sow.

Infamous for his ingenuity, Lymond has his own plan, starting with setting fire to his brother's castle and purloining his mother's silver. Stories about him abound, agreeing only that he's not a man to sit idle. With Europe recently unbalanced by royal deaths, he'll take a hand in The Game Of Kings.