The Disorderly Knights

The Lymond Chronicles #3

by Dorothy Dunnett

This third volume in The Lymond Chronicles , the highly renowned series of historical novels takes place in 1551, when Francis Crawford of Lymond is dispatched to embattled Malta, to assist the Knights of Hospitallers in defending the island against the Turks. But shortly the swordsman and scholar discovers that the greatest threat to the Knights lies within their own ranks, where various factions vie secretly for master.

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

503 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

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 4 out of 5]

Dorothy Dunnett’s historical fiction novels in the Lymond Chronicles series are not easy and leisurely reads. They make you work for it, thrown into the thick of things in the tumultuous 16th century, with no concessions to the reader — and it’s quite a pleasure to get to the end of each one and realize that despite all the hard work of careful, attentive reading - or maybe precisely because of it - you truly had a great time with it.

“Don’t build up another false image. I may be the picturesque sufferer now, but when I have the whip-hold, I shall behave quite as crudely, or worse. I have no pretty faults. Only, sometimes, a purpose.”

With this book it feels like Dunnett really hit her stride. Her writing seems effortless and more relaxed, her characters feel alive and real, and she is now very good at balancing the complexity of plot and language with showing off her erudite nature while avoiding the smugness. It’s complex and complicated, but no longer frustratingly so, and the language is less ornate and more satisfyingly crisp.

“Dear me,’ said Lymond mildly. ‘I am being taken to an unfortified island, where half the defenders and most of the defence fleet are missing, to lay down my life in defence of an Order incompetently if not culpably led, wholly divided among itself, given over to fighting for secular princes and entirely denuded of money with which to pay me for my services.”

In this tome, fresh after rescuing young Mary Queen of Scots from a few attempted assassination attempts, Lymond sets out for Malta and Tripoli, now on the collision course with not only the invading Turks but also with the stagnating Order of St John of Jerusalem’s leadership — and that’s only a detour until we are finally back in Scotland and engaging in high -stakes mercenary training among conspiracies and politics and dangers. It is such a welcome shift from the stifling French Court of the second book, really.

“A great Church and a race of defenders had come to bless the peasants and noblemen of Malta, who possessed a rock and the language Christ spoke. Bitterly silent both about the privileges they had lost and the laws they were now to fulfil, the Maltese were apt to recall that the Church was already theirs long before the knights came; and that before the knights came, they had no need of defenders.”

When you write your protagonist to be a true Renaissance man, you run into the danger of making him too hyperpowered, too peerless, too much of the unmatched grandmaster on the chessboard of life. In the first two books of Lymond chronicles, Dunnett was flirting with the danger of making her character Francis Crawford of Lymond, the Comte of Sevigny, he of strikingly good looks and unmatched physical prowess, of unparalleled knowledge of every obscure fact and unerring political intrigue, of cold intellect and irresistible charisma be the Superman of the 16th century despite his tender age of mid-twenties. But in The Disorderly Knights Dunnett finally introduces a worthy foil even to the seemingly superhuman Francis Crawford, someone who finally takes Francis down a notch and makes him seem more human than he has been in a while. And that’s refreshing, bringing a renewed sense of danger as Lymond quite a few times ends up if not way over his head then at least up to his chin in serious trouble, and has real reasons to be actually worried.

The Disorderly Knights reminded me a bit of the first book in the series, The Game of Kings. Not only do we come back to Scotland (after a detour to Malta and Tripoli) but we also get to observe Lymond through the eyes that don’t see him in a good light, through someone who worships not Lymond but his rival. But by now we, the seasoned Lymondites, know enough to not prematurely infer his motives from his actions, as one needs to be a hundred steps ahead of the game to be qualified to make assumptions here. We trust Lymond, and he does not disappoint.

“Oh Christ, Jerott, you’ve got one hero too many already. Stand on your own feet, Brother. It’s good for the soul.”

It’s a book about the dangers of blind hero worship — but unlike the previous volume, Lymond is not the shining one on the pedestal. It explores how easily people can be swayed by charisma and confidence and the right language, and it’s indeed a bit unsettling. It’s a book about the dangers of zealotry and bind questioning obedience. And it’s a book full of political intrigue and manipulation, with a side of religious fervor and hypocrisy and elaborate warfare.

It’s a delicious story, basically, and I plan to see it through to the end.

(And I’m a bit worried that even in the end Lymond will not be suited to the life of peace and music and love and 2.4 children with a brilliant partner, despite my most fervent hopes. I’m a bit worried for him, really).

4 stars.

————
My reviews of the first two books in the series: The Game of Kings and Queen’s Game.
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Buddy read with Nastya and Stephen.

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Also posted on my blog.

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me over a month to work my way through this third novel in Dorothy Dunnett's challenging Lymond series. It's lengthy and complex historical fiction novel, and there were more than a few detours for me along the way (I was easily distracted by other books in the early stages, but that was my fault as much as this book's). But once again, as the story started moving toward its climactic scenes, and events got more and more exciting and gripping, and the pieces started to fall into place and answers to surface, I was totally sucked in.

It's the 1560's, and Francis Lymond, who is too talented and observant for his own good, is sent by the King of France to the island of Malta, which is in the control of the religious order of the Knights of Malta. Immediately he's surrounded by political and religious intriguing for power, which takes a break (or does it?) when the island is attacked by a Turkish force. From there the action moves to Tripoli (more battles and intrigue, and a truly nail-biting scene with attempting to defuse a bomb) and then back to Scotland, where Lymond forms a private army and continues his life-or-death battle with an opponent who is subtle beyond belief.

The sometimes excessive flowery language and use of random and obscure quotations (more often than not in a foreign language, untranslated of course; Dunnett isn't one for coddling her readers), which was a major issue for me in the first book and somewhat less in the second, has been toned down a lot, making this book much more readable. This is still a challenging read, however, with lots of different personalities to keep track of, political and family conflicts to understand, and layers of complexity and deception to unravel. It challenged my brain, and occasionally frustrated me, but in the end I can only say that this was incredibly awesome.

Content notes: Fair warning: There’s a significant subplot involving a promiscuous and devious teenage girl that’s seriously off-putting to our modern view. It makes some sense in the end, but it was rough sledding.

Also, huge spoilers in the discussion thread below, mostly unmarked. Read the thread at your own risk.

[Melindam · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As for the Cross … my habit is to fight for the Saltire.’

"The trouble about Mr Crawford,’ said Kate, ‘is that he puts up with his enemies and plays merry hell with his friends." (Perfectly put, dear Kate!)

Imperfect, yet mercilessly magnificent!

After finishing this book and thinking of it and Francis Crawford of Lymond, the lyrics of one of my favourite songs by Imagine Dragons kept repeating in my head as for me it seems rather fitting:

"Falling too fast to prepare for this
Tripping in the world could be dangerous
Everybody circling, it's vulturous
Negative, nepotist
Everybody waiting for the fall of man
Everybody praying for the end of times
Everybody hoping they could be the one
I was born to run, I was born for this
Whip, whip
Run me like a racehorse
Pull me like a ripcord
Break me down and build me up
I wanna be the slip, slip
Word upon your lip, lip
Letter that you rip, rip
Break me down and build me up
Whatever it takes
'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do whatever it takes
'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains
Whatever it takes
Yeah, take me to the top I'm ready for
Whatever it takes
'Cause I love the adrenaline in my veins
I do what it takes"

Once again, or maybe by Book 3 I can say "as always", Dunnett takes no prisoners. She is uncompromising and implacable in her demands from the readers as well as from herself and Lymond. You cannot read these books with half a mind or heart, you have to give them your all and be there 100% all the way.

Reading them is like holding several ticking bombs in your hands at the same time. You know that they are going to explode in your face and tear you to pieces, the only question is where and when, but you keep on reading, because you are under a spell and cannot stop!

At this point I am not even trying to write proper reviews. I think I will only attempt doing so once I read through the whole series and then reread them all once more.

[nastya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t build up another false image. I may be the picturesque sufferer now, but when I have the whip-hold, I shall behave quite as crudely, or worse. I have no pretty faults. Only, sometimes, a purpose.

If you say so, Lymond…

The third part in the magnificent adventure series, this novel takes us to the Mediterranean, the home of the Knights of St. John and the place of a few epic battles between Christendom and Islam. And then back to Scotland to the web of conspiracies and superb theater. At this point of the series Dunnett goes into high gear and we get the most intense novel yet. That is before the next one.

The writing is assured and controlled in this one, which makes it an easier read compared to the first novel. But don’t worry, the complexities and meticulously crafted layers are still there. And I must admit, it was so much fun on this re-read to notice little crumbs and hints that are planted and that would be crucial for solving puzzles the next books will bring.

And even though we lost some important characters, we met a few new and important ones that we will follow till the end of the series.

Ok, now I need to talk a little about villains.

Apparently, I didn’t enjoy our two baddies the first time around. Don’t know what has changed, I couldn’t have changed myself that much in half a year, but regardless, I enjoyed them both so much. Sometimes you need a tortured conflicted villain, but at other times when your hero is a Superman-Gary Stu type, the hammy “muahaha, I’m so evil” villain just suits the story.
I’m with Buffy here.



But alongside all this delicious craziness, the theme of unity and humanism is strong in this one. Lymond is against zealots of any religion, he always there to remind about the barbarity of the Christiany in the 16th century.

Centuries ago, appealing for a new Crusade, the cry had been “Dieu le veut!”—God desires it. But which God? Francis Crawford inquired pensively of each silent street of closed doors. For if your Moslem is also devout and self-denying, loyal and fervent, courageous and tolerant, and believes that to dispatch a Christian in battle will send him straight to the Red Apple of Paradise, then in the forthcoming attack, with no professional, no ideological flaw on both sides, sheer weight of numbers must tell.

He is humanist.

“Zest and power and exhilaration may spring from so much that is far from divine. Faith in one’s cause, one’s leader, one’s love would equally do.”

And Dunnett keeps musing on the question of what makes a nation and nationalism.

A common danger might do such a thing, except that the nation was too weak to resist one. A great leader might achieve unity—but he must be followed by his equal or fail. A corporate religion might do it, but where did one exist which some foreign power had not seized and championed already?

But we are still infants, where emotion finds outlet in force and force is met by emotion, and people cannot conceive of themselves even yet as nations instead of as families…and certainly not as a brotherhood of nations, when even sister religions bring their armies against one another….

And this is the first time our golden boy, who is always ten steps ahead of everyone, is scared.

Of course I loved it

[Algernon (Darth Anyan) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear me, said Lymond mildly. I am being taken to an unfortified island, where half the defenders and most of the defence fleet are missing, to lay down my life in defence of an Order incompetently if not culpably led, wholly divided among itself, given over to fighting for secular princes and entirely denuded of money with which to pay me for my services. Where are Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude and Justice? Where are the the Eight Beautitudes of that proud White Cross? Where are the Crusaders of Yesteryear, chaste and highborn, dying in virginal joy for their wovs?

The third outing of Francis Crawford of Lymond takes him to Malta, last refuge of the once powerful Order of the Knights Hospitaliers, now torn apart by internal struggles mirroring the larger conflict in Europe between the powerful monarchs of Spain, France, England, Germany (Heir to the holy Roman Empire), the Italian city-states and the Papacy. Instead of pulling together in one direction, the knights are separated into factions formed around their national origins. From this situation the big winner is the Ottoman Empire who steadily gains ground in the Mediterranean and along the North African coast, with the aid of Barbary corsairs.

The metaphor of the chess game is still the foundation on which the plot is built, with a new game starting, introducing new pieces ready to be sacrificed, raising the stakes to higher levels of complexity and danger. Another returning element is the murder mystery angle, as Francis Lymond is sabotaged every step of the way by a secret opponent. The identiy of this adversary is not as skillfully veiled as in the previous two books, but that's OK because for once we are dealing with an enemy as intelligent, as strongly motivated, as driven and as ruthless as our nominal hero. It is a duel of titans that starts rather innocuously with heated philosophical, religious and moral debates and finishes with barred steel clashes in earnest, as entertaining as an Errol Flynn classic movie but a lot more disturbing in terms of emotional torment Once again it is not the Kings in this deadly game of chess that fall, but the innocent pawns - the young and earnest Will Smith of Buccleuth, the beautiful and depraved Joleta, a small child born to Oonagh in the harem of pirate leader Dragur Rais. Dorothy Dunnet once again manages to wreck havoc with the
readers emotions, cutting down beloved characters in their prime .

- I hope we all strive for perfection. Shoddy work earns no miracles, surely. But we are human. We can achieve so much only. With our knowledge of divine grace within us, we may become more than human, that is all.
- Why ascribe it all to Divinity? Zest and power and exhilaration may spring from much that is far from the divine. Faith in one's cause, one's leader, one's love wil equally do.
- All these things are fallible.
- Of course they are. But are the channels of Holy Church immune to error? Her priests, her offices, her very tenets are subject to doubt. Her interpreters are only human, and most souls, however aspiring, follow the human instrument, not the belief.

This is an example of the kind of verbal skirmishing Lymond engages in as he tries to remain a free agent while his loyalty is courted insistently by the Knights of St. John, the Queen Regent of Scotland, the King of France and the Turks. Sir Graham Reid Malett, better knows as Gabriel, a Grand Cross of Grace in the Order, is the most persuasive and articulate of them all, and he is not above using his own sister, the breathtakingly beautiful Joleta, as an instrument of temptation. The passage is also an apt illustration of the underlying humanist nature of Francis, who puts his trust easier in human nature rather than in some abstract Divine Force.

Speaking of Francis, he is both a chameleon, presenting a new aspect of his personality in each novel, and consistent in his proficiency at everything he sets up to do. In the first book he was the young, tempestuous second son fighting to clear his name of slander, a fun loving, raucous, exuberant and morally flexible rascal. In the second book he was the gallant knight defending the life of his infant Queen, putting his own life on the line while also being the soul and inspiration of wild parties and wicked pranks. In this third guise he is a lot more tempered, keeping the wilder part of his nature under strict control, cold blooded and grim, abandoning laughter, music, drinking, wenching in order to become a leader of armies at a still very young age. He starts by leading the defense of Malta, Gozo and Tripoli against the Ottoman fleet, with mixed succes, and in the second half of the novel he moves back to Scotland in order to establish his own mercenary company at St. Mary : an elite trupe of soldiers led by a core group of talented Renaissance men, not only warriors, but architects, lawyers, poetsmerchants, etc..

Brute force is the most saleable commodity in Europe today. In six months mine shall be in the market, washed, sorted and trimmed, and priced accordingly.

The St. Mary captains provided me with the first small grumble about the series: they were introduced too abruptly, out of thin air, already familiar with Francis and apparently with background stories I should recognize easily. Instead I struggled for a long time to differentiate between them and to keep track of what is the particular talent of each one of them. They are: Jeroth Blyth, Graham Reid Malett, Lancelot Plummer, Fergie Hoddim, Randy Bell, Alec Guthrie, Hercules Tait, Adam Blacklock, Salablanca the Moor, Archie Abernethy. For what is worth, it gets easier as the story progresses, especially when you get to the fourth and fifth volume in the series. (yes, I read them already, I'm behind in reviewing the books)

A divided nation; a divided God; a land of ancient, self-seeking families who broke and mended alliances daily as suited their convenience, and for whom the concept of nationhood was sterile frivolity .. what could weld them in time, and turn them from their self-seeking and their pitiable, perpetual feuds?
---
I thought to repay a debt by giving my own land for a few months the security it had lacked for forty years .. But we are still infants, where emotion finds outlet in force and force is met by emotion, and people cannot conceive of themselves yet as nations instead of as families ... and certainly not as a brotherhood of nations, when even the sister religions bring their armies against one another.

The intention behind the formation of the company is a noble one, as seen in the quotes above. The political spectrum in the XVI Century Europe is still primarily feudal, with kings often having less actual power than their nominal vassals, without standing armies (with the exception of the Turks, which might be one explanation of their succesful campaigns). Soldiers were amateurs, farmers called up by their landlords in times of trouble, or knights more interested in personal feuds than in defence of the nation. Lymond sets up to remedy the situation and his boot camp recruits are so brilliantly succesful in policing the troubled border between Scotland and England that the higher powers decide they cannot allow an unaffiliated private army to roam their lands. Both the Queen Dowager and the Knights of Malta plot to remove Lymond from the command of the company and to appropriate the men for their own interests.

In this way the novel weaves together the personal struggle between Lymond and his archenemy with the larger issues of Europe in its moment of transition from small barons to centralized power. I will direct my final remarks at the personal level instead of the grander picture, as I find my fascination for Lymond unabated at he end of these three books. Dunnett prefers to let the image of her hero develop indirectly, through the eyes of his anturage and through the results of his actions instead of letting him explain his reasons and motivations plainly.

You draw your strength from the Devil to seduce men. - this exclamation comes from Jeroth Blyth, a young Knight in the order and the third incarnation of the innocent accolite that falls under Lymond's spell.

He regards boredom,I observe, as the One and Mighty Enemy of his soul. And will succeed in conquering it, I am sure - if he survives the experience. - this from the Chevalier de Villegagnon, another Captain from Malta impressed by Lymond frantic energy and reckless abandon to the moment of action.

The trouble about Mr. Crawford is that he puts up with his enemies and plays merry hell with his friends. - this from Kate Sommerville, a rare disinterested friend of Lymond, painfully watching as he destroys his health and his peace of mind in trying to bring down a ruthless adversary.

I said in a previous review that Francis likes to keep the cards very close to his chest and to hide behind a confusing barrage of obscure poetry and misdirecting classical quotes. The instants where he lets the mask drop and bares his soul are rare as diamonds and come unfortunately in moments of great stress and pain:

What does anyone want out life? What kind of freak do you suppose I am? I miss books and good verse and decent talk. I miss women, to speak to, not to rape, and children, and men creating things instead of destroying them. And from the time I wake until the time I find I can't go to sleep there is the void - the bloody void where there was no music today and none yesterday and no prospect of any tomorrow, or tomorrow, or the next God-damned year.

He had become a soldier not out of passion for fighting, but out of necessity. He covers his hearts with the heaviest plate armour after seeing his best friends hurt as a result of his actions. He remains romantically unattached, despite the powerful women gravitating around him: Ooonagh, Joleta, Phillipa. He is a 'philocalist' by his own admission (new word I learned here), a man whose greatest passion is to be found in books and music, avenues mostly denied him by outside circumstances and self-imposed loyalties. His exuberant nature escapes from time to time from his rigid control, providing yet again some of the funniest and most memorable set pieces in the book: a flock of sheep chasing the English raiders away ( On the day that his grannie was killed by the English, Sir William Scott the Younger of Buccleuch was at Melrose Abey, marrying his aunt. ) ; a night chase to defuse a bomb in the citadel of Tripoli, an irreverent Border trial of Scottish lairds, etc. - a remainder that the series is also a ton of fun, a rollercoaster ride, an irreverent look at historical figures.

conclusion: no sign of slowing down or fading interest in the continuing saga of Francis Crawford of Lymond. Best historical novel since sliced bread or whatever. Book four, here I come!

[Roman Clodia · Rating 5 out of 5]

And this is where, to some extent, the series really starts to hang together inextricably. The first two books are important, but from now on each volume leads straight into the next, and I can only imagine the painful frustration of readers following the series when it was first published and they had to wait years for the next installment.

Opening in Scotland prior to Queen's Play, we see Lymond first in his home setting, restless and increasingly powerful, before following him to Malta where he fights for the Knights of St John against the Turks before his own personal story (carrying on from Queen's Play) takes central stage for a bit.

Back in Scotland, Lymond creates his own mercenary army but finds both it and his own leadership increasingly undermined.

'Knights' amps up the power of Dunnett's writing, especially in the last quarter. Lymond is a hero that we don't always understand, and this book shows him, ostensibly, at his worst - but there's always another story or another way of seeing things.

Dunnett never shies away from killing off main and much-loved characters but the two deaths here are especially distressing for me. And make sure you have the next volume (Pawn in Frankincense) ready because this one really ends on a cliff-hanger!

[Danica · Rating 4 out of 5]

MUCH TOO LENGTHY THOUGHTS:

Well, I seem to have been properly sideswiped by this one. or perhaps the more accurate verb would be trounced. trammeled. shebanged. My sleeping habits these past few days have been nothing short of atrocious. Even as I type this I am thinking of throwing aside my laptop and making a dive for Pawn in Frankincense, lying but a few feet to the right of my itchy fingers. (I suppose I should be grateful there is no title in this series called The Fianchettoed Bishop, because book 3 has enough of the religious zealotry and evilly cunning dudes scheming death and warfare and spit-roasted babies to last for the rest of the series. And I do hope it does.) I think I prize the earlier books more for their depictions of character interactions, which feel slower and deeper and more mysterious than the relationship development you get in DK, because rather than sitting the characters down and setting them to brooding and Having Feelings (cf. nol), Dunnett effectively hands everyone guns and fires the beginning volley. To great effect: the need to know what happens next becomes something like a physical compulsion. I HAD to keep reading through the last 100 pages. During the whipping scene I was sitting at the Korean restaurant during lunchtime with my mouth slightly open and a piece of seaweed hanging out of it. I'm not kidding, I even got a piece of tofu stuck in my craw.

My earlier complaints are put to rest, at least for the duration of this book. Mostly I couldn't predict what would happen next, although sometimes I did (e.g. totally called the reason for Joleta's surprise appearance in Lymond's room). And it was epic. Oh, was it epic. And some scenes, like the aforementioned one, scorchingly intense.

Still, the effect is strangely two-parted. On one hand, I am amazed that Dunnett is able to so completely enthrall a jaded reader such as myself; and yes, pretentious though that may sound, I feel qualified to say so because I've read so many damn books, and it gets harder and harder to completely suck me in, to knock me onto my butt with something I've never seen or felt or been made to feel before. Always, there is a stupid little voice piping up in the back of my head, saying things like "But that plot turn was badly handled!", or "This character could use a little bit more meat here..." (IT'S LIKE HAVING BHARATI MUKHERJEE HANGING OVER MY SHOULDER WITH HER DESSICATED HAIR AND HER YAPPY LITTLE DEVIL DOG FOR ALL THE REST OF MY READING DAYS. BANISH THE THOUGHT.) But maybe, maybe, the problem is that all the books I've been reading are too, well, same-y: contemporary literature, written by writers schooled to write in certain ways. And certainly not in the glinting, intricately embroidered, pillowy-plush sentences that Dunnett is so skilled at unfurling, billowing, over her entranced readers:

"Between the palaces of the knights and those that served them; the convents, the elegant homes belonging to officers of the Church and the town; between the bakehouse and the shops of the craftsmen, the arsenals and magazines, the warehouses, the homes of merchants and courtesans, Italian, Spanish, Greek; past the painted shrines and courtyards scraped from pockets of earth with their bright waxy green carob trees, a fig, a finger of vine, a blue and orange pot of dry, dying flowers and a tethered goat bleating in a swept yard, padded the heirs of this rock, this precious knot in the trade of the world. Umber-skinned, grey-eyed, barefoot and robed as Arabs with the soft, slurring dialect that Dido and Hannibal spoke, they slipped past the painted facades to their Birgu of fishermen’s huts and blank, Arab-walled houses or to sleep, curled in the shade, with the curs in a porch."

I just want to rub that sentence all over my body. Okay.

On the other, I still miss a certain depth of character intimacy and relationship development. Richard nursing Lymond back to health. Thady Boy and Robin Stewart on the clock tower. Lymond and the little Queen jesting about turnips. Instead, we get Lymond directing all after masterfully revealing the machinations of the most vile gorgon to ever blight the surface of 16th century Scotland and everyone meekly doing as they're told because, duh. Lymond=genius. There's not much time left after the revelations of evil-doings and harlotry and political intrigue and nonstop action and also SWORDFIGHTS (FYI not as good as the Richard-Lymond showdown. true fact.) and OSHIT EVILLEST VILLAIN EVA!!! for quiet looks to be exchanged between Lymond and Jerott which simultaneously telegraph compassion, pain, understanding, resentment, and love all rolled up into one smouldering synaptic exchange.

But, you know, I have a feeling that that's coming up. :D

Spoilery thoughts:

+ I know the ending was supposed to be horrible, and I did feel sickened by the casualties and Joleta and Gabriel's very staged performance before the legions of St. Mary's, BUT I ALSO LOL'ED WHEN GABRIEL WAS LIKE, "I spit upon your grave! May your son's putrefying corpse boil over with maggots! And now I vault over pews and run away, glinting evilly, MWAHAHAHAHAAHAHHA!" lolllll. Over the top.
+ Holy shit guys. I LOVE RICHARD AND SYBILLA OKAY. I love the part where Richard slams his hands down on the roundtable gathering and in answer to Lymond's request for help is like "NO >:E" and when Lymond closes his eyes in anguish jolts him back to earth by adding "NO, WE MUST HUNT HIM DOWN RIGHT NOW!!". Also love how Sybilla's opinion is the only opinion that makes Lymond seize up and, looking shiftily from side to side, inch towards the nearest exit. My heart squeezes from my adoration of the Culters. Squeeeee.
+ Speaking of Richard: his honesty = Lymond's inability to tell the truth to exculpate himself from blame makes for a great dramatic device. This has happened at least twice by this point. Interestingly, the reader gets put in the same position.
+ Jerott Blyth is pretty cool, but I have a feeling he becomes a fuller character in later books, since the treatment of the tragic death of his fiancee is mentioned about three times and then is dropped completely in favor of Antics. I like how he trails around after Francis for most of the book though, muttering under his breath and darkly massaging the pommel of his sword. Oh wow that sounds perverted. MOVING ON. It's interesting that Lymond swears to himself that he'll get Jerott out of this safely, and interesting that he reacts in such a way to Jerott's request to stay, since the book doesn't really provide firm reasons for why he'd feel that way. Although god, I still love this scene. So much tension. So many feelings. Jerott being all woobie-eyed and beseeching and Lymond's reaction. as;skgjsaklsgjlaskgja.

"They ask more than anyone can give,” said Lymond, his manner suddenly altered, and got up. “Is this true? You see beyond Gabriel’s shadow to the ideal of the Order? And beyond mine to ... what I mean to do, rather than what I do?" He smiled, though not with his eyes, and coming forward, stood with Jerott in the doorway. "You will find your place, Jerott. Good luck. And God speed you to France."
He did not touch the departing man, nor did his eyes have in them any of Gabriel’s lucent candour; but Lymond’s voice was as Jerott had rarely heard it, pared of all mockery, and a little of the warmth he was suppressing, despite his effort, showed through.
And for some reason, this brought Jerott’s whole mechanism for speech, emotion and deed to a shuddering halt. He stood, his stomach turning within him, and heard Lymond add, his voice cool once more, "How unimpeachably shifty it sounds. What a fate for the tongues of the world, that after Gabriel all that is true and simple and scrupulous should sound like primaeval ooze."
It was then that Jerott took heed at last of the knot in his belly and the ache in his throat, and announced, regardless of every plan he had made, "I should like to stay. May I?"
"Oh, God, Jerott," said Francis Crawford, and the blood rose, revealingly, in his colourless face. "Yes ... but ... oh, Christ I’m glad; but if you touch my back once again you’ll have to see the whole bloody thing through yourself."

Residue of childhood affection? Pity for the guy because he's spent his life in unknowing worship of unmitigated evil? A simple yearning for friendship? Desire for eye candy*? (If I had to guess I'd cast my vote for door 4 3, actually.)
+ Joleta freaked me out, man. I know you've said that you hate what happens to her, Nol, but I can't imagine lovely fanfic. At first she was hilariously naughty, oh, shooting the horse, oh, haha, hilarious, and oh, now she's gone and got the baby drunk, haha, what a darling girl, let's braid her hair and give her cuddles, BUT THEN she becomes SINISTER and MENACING and CRAZY. I have problems with the way promiscuity=bad in this book, so it's not like I think that b/c she had the temerity to have sex with men THEREFORE SHE DESERVES TO DIE, but her complicity in her brother's plots weren't exactly. you know. fraught with guilt. If anything she just seemed like she was deriving way too much unhinged enjoyment from lying and killing things (Sybilla's cat ;_______;).
+ In contrast, Philippa Somerville = AW YEAH.
+ How impressive that Dunnett is able to tie this roil of plots and subplots into a unified whole? Very.



*words or phrases used to describe Jerott Blyth: handsome; magnificent; beautifully built and hard as iron; magnificent eyes (twice); handsome, smouldering knight that Francis always dragged around with him; curling raven hair and hawk nose; beautiful young man

[xebec · Rating 5 out of 5]

ok here is my review for this book



in helpful illustrated form

[Mona · Rating 4 out of 5]

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

The usual wonderful stew of a Lymond Chronicles book

This was the usual brew of vivid and original writing, hilarity, fun, a wealth of historical details rooted in the five senses, compelling characters, hair raising danger, tragedy, betrayals, treachery, drama, a convoluted and twisty story, and frustration that I've come to expect from the wonderful (and at times annoying) books of the The Lymond Chronicles.

The books get easier to read, but not easy

My Goodreads friend Nataliya, who introduced me to these books was right when she said the books get easier to read as the series progresses.

That is not to say even this book was easy reading. It wasn't. Dunnett's writing is peppered with unusual words (even neologisms), Scots dialect, Latin and French poetry (Lymond loves to quote both), Italian, Arabic, Spanish, and in this book, Maltese, as part of the novel takes place in Malta.

The capricious 'help' from the The Dorothy Dunnett Companion

As before, The Dorothy Dunnett Companion, was nearly useless, except for occasional help with French and Latin phrases (and though my French is imperfect, I know enough to know that at least one translation of a French poem was inaccurate. The author of "Companion" probably lifted the translation from some reference book and called it "research", without checking it).

"Companion" has just about no explanation of Scots dialect. Maybe the author of "Companion" assumed that only Scottish people would read Dunnett's books.

So I had to spend a lot of time doing online research as I read. Sometimes I just gave up, as online information isn't so good for anything before 1980.

A Great Resource for the Scots Language

I did find the following website, which was really helpful for Scots dialect:

https://dsl.ac.uk

However, it seems as if links outside Goodreads no longer work, at least not in the iOS Goodreads app. So you’ll have to copy and paste the URL to reach the website, Dictionaries of the Scots Language.

Story Summary

So much happens in this book, it's difficult to summarize.

Lymond, as usual, falls into a pit of trouble. He sometimes exacerbates it with his infuriatingly high handed, arrogant, detached, aloof, and sarcastic manner. His reputation for loose living also gets Lymond in trouble. However, many of the problems aren't caused by Lymond. But Lymond always attracts chaos. In part because he prefers dealing with difficult situations to boredom.
(It's hinted that perhaps the powers that be want him out of Scotland for a time, as he's been a bit of an embarassment to the French court).

Lymond is recruited by the Noble Order of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John, ostensibly
to help protect their headquarters on Malta from a possible Turkish invasion. Lymond agrees to go, probably because he knows that his one time lover Oonagh O'Dwyer is on Gozo (an island near Malta).

Meanwhile, in Scotland, there's an ongoing blood feud between the Kerr and Scott families that causes a lot of trouble (and is also quite funny at times).

The Knights and their retinue reach Malta. But the Grand Master of the Order, Spaniard Juan de Homedes, is a corrupt, arrogant, duplicitous, and malicious old man who's already stolen most of the Order's money and is wrecking the Order from within. (In fact, the Order seems to be a hive of dysfunction, political infighting, backstabbing, and incompetence). So there is nothing left for the defense of Malta, Gozo, and Tripoli from the Turks. The Grand Master also refuses to send enough of his knights to adequately defend these places (including the Maltese city of Mdina, to which he dispatches a handful of knights to thwart a major Turkish incursion). The Grand Master claims not to believe that the Turks will attack Malta or anything nearby. The Sicilians, who have promised reinforcements, send two hundred resentful and frightened Calabrian shepherd boys who
don't know the first thing about fighting.

So Lymond's in a situation that's a complete disaster. The Turks take Gozo and capture Oonagh. And everything else devolves from there. Lymond and Knight of St. John Jerrott Blyth heroically save Tripoli from an even worse disaster.

After the Turks take Tripoli, Lymond escapes only because he has had previous dealings with Anatolian corsair Dragut Rais, who works for the Turks and likes Lymond.

After all their heroic work to stave off the Turks, the Grand Master effectively throws out the handful of knights he's sent for the defense by closing off the harbor. (So he gets rid of some of his enemies at one blow).

Many of the knights of St. John (including Blyth) follow the charismatic Graham Reid Mallett ("Gabriel"), Grand Cross of the Order, back to Scotland. The Knights adore Gabriel. Gabriel's beautiful and apparently innocent sister Joleta, raised in a Maltese convent, was at Flaws Valley (home of English woman Kate Somerville and her daughter Philippa) and is now staying at Midculter, home of Richard, Sybilla, and Mariotta Crawford. So Gabriel's stated purpose for visiting Scotland is to see his much loved sister.

Lymond starts a school on his own property for training a company of mercenaries. It's called St. Mary's after the Keep (castle) of that name. He hand picks his students, a diverse bunch (a lawyer, a doctor, etc.). My favorite was Adam Blacklock, the disabled artist. Adam is humble, quiet, a very perceptive orbserver, and a talented artist. Under Lymond's tutelage he also becomes an extremely good fighter. The students also include Gabriel and his contingent of Knights of St. John.

Lymond is quite successful at training warriors. But the company is undermined by political difficulties, excacerbated by the Knights of St. John. Many of his students hate him. People are betraying him and backstabbing him.

Anyway, of course, there's lots more trouble for Lymond (and for his supporters), although he eventually succeeds in getting himself out of it. This includes a very acrimonious split with his brother, Richard.

Religious and Spiritual Hypocrisy

I think Dunnett has an ax to grind about religious and spiritual hypocrites. She certainly doesn't
spare the Knights Hospitaller from her scorn.

I can't say I blame her, as I've encountered lots of hypocrites in real life, and I'm not fond of them either.

But even Lymond, famously unreligious, kneels in prayer in the last scene of the book. So Lymond, though he dislikes hypocrisy is not opposed to spirituality. He just keeps his beliefs to himself, instead of imposing them on others as the Knights of St. John and in particular Gabriel, are inclined to do.

Or, perhaps where the monstrous Gabriel failed to convert him, the revelation that he has a son ironically does.

Lymond, like Gabriel, is often not what he appears to be. Although in Lymond's case, he is often better at the core than he seems.

Funny Scenes

There are many quite funny scenes. My favorites were, I think, the 800 sheep with helmets (impersonating a nonexistent Scottish militia) and Buccleuch's exposure of the dozens of Kerr illegitimate children at the March meeting.

Also this: ���Wat Scott of Buccleuch!” shrieked his wife. “After all the contumaceous language that dirled in my ears and the ears of your poor innocent bairns from cockcrow to compline, is there a wee naked dirty word on the face of the earth that’s no acquent wi’ Buccleuch?”

And this: “Wat, Wat!” said Lady Buccleuch with reproach. “You’re affronting Sir James. It’s a perjink, weel-conducted March meeting we’re off to attend, not a brothel.”

The Dowager Queen

I think the Dowager Queen is getting worse. As they say, power corrupts.

In the scene depicting Lymond's audience with Mary of Guise, her treatment of Lymond is very nasty and high handed, considering she owes the life of her child (and maybe herself) to his heroism.

Gabriel and Joleta

I cottoned on pretty early to the fact that Gabriel and Joleta were not the saints that they pretended to be (and so successfully convinced others they were).

In part, this was because of some spoilers I inadvertently stumbled on online.

But I also was coming to that conclusion anyway, because I've had such people in my own life, unfortunately.

The play acting of both the Reid Malletts rang very false to my ears. They were laying it on just a little too thick.

So I was not caught by surprise by the plot twists involving Gabriel and Joleta.

The Reid Mallett siblings were likely psychopaths or sociopaths.
The were evil people with no consciences who used their magnetism, beauty, and charm to blind others to their nasty deeds (which included multiple murders).

The difficult people in my life were narcissists, not psychopaths, and (as far as I knew) not murderous. But they were not the nice people others saw them as. They used subtle emotional manipulation and cruelty as their tools.

I was surprised by the revelation that Gabriel was his sister's lover, although I shouldn't have been.

Part of the way Gabriel undermines Lymond's authority at St. Mary's is to constantly praise Lymond. In the TV show (not the books) "The Expanse", the character Camina Drummer remarks that her subordinate Ashford, who's trying to undermine her command of her space ship so he can replace her as captain, constantly praises her, never criticizes her to others. So this is an interesting tactic used by those who wish to subsume the authority of their superiors. Probably because it makes the underminers look deceptively good, disguising their actual intention to wrest power from those who have it.

Lymond's Exposure of Gabriel

Lymond, as usual, got the correct measure of both Gabriel and Joleta very quickly.

But he held his tongue. He knew very well that he would not be believed or supported if he exposed them too soon for what they were.

Timing is everything in such situations.

He even uses himself as (literally) the whipping boy to show his men at St. Mary's exactly who the supposedly sainted Gabriel really was--insane and power mad.

Lymond is extraordinarily persuasive in getting support against the dangerous monster Gabriel, once the time is right, at both the meeting called by Lymond at Boghall, Jenny Flemings home; and at St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. where Lymond takes sanctuary from his pursuers. But then, Lymond's persuasiveness and eloquence are some of his many talents.

I can tell you from experience that it's nearly impossible to get people to believe that such people are not what they appear to be when their masks are removed. I've stopped discussing the narcissists who were in my life because generally people aren't interested, don't care, don't want to hear about it, or don't believe it. So Lymond's ability to show others the true Gabriel and Joleta is pretty amazing.

One example of what Lymond was up against was that some observers persisted in believing that Lymond used Joleta as a shield against Gabriel's lethal blow, when in fact the opposite was true.

Concluding Scene

The scene in St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, where Lymond takes sanctuary from his pursuers, the French and Knights of St. John led by Gabriel, was a trifle too contrived for my taste. And Philippa grabbing Lymond's knife so Gabriel could escape seemed a silly deus ex machina from Dorothy Dunnett.
There was entirely too much soap box speechifying from both Lymond and Gabriel.

The scene was certainly dramatic, though.

Terrific Book

Overall I enjoyed this a lot, despite whatever minor quibbles I have that make this a bit less than a 5 star read. Dunnett's inventiveness, humor, wonderful writing, vivid characters, and fantastic story telling shine here as usual.

Audio Reader

Scotsman David Monteath is a good reader for this series. I have to complain, though, that both here and in the last book, he really played fast and loose with the text. He made so many mistakes that it didn't seem as if he was really paying attention to what he was reading. I really wish audio narrators would read the text as it's written. Isn't that what they're hired to do?

[LeahBethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put down The Disorderly Knights. The reading went a bit smoother and faster than the previous two novels and as always, Dorothy Dunnett had me on the edge of my seat for the last 20% of the book. The main character, Francis Lymond, had some moments that seemed to be completely out of character but all was made clear by the end. I'm looking forward to the next book!

[Stephanie Ricker · Rating 5 out of 5]

2024: I didn't realize until coming to Goodreads to write this review that I finished this reread almost exactly 12 years to the day after reading it for the first time. My somewhat pretentious review below still stands, although sadly in the intervening 12 years, I had forgotten corymb and firlot all over again; calyx stuck with me, though, for some reason. Most surprisingly, I had managed to COMPLETELY FORGET the identity of the villain for this novel until I was more than halfway through--like, not even a whisper of a suspicion left to tug at the back of my brain--at which point everything came back to me in a flash, but jeez. I was definitely due for a reread.

This book truly is superb, though, and I almost enjoyed my plot amnesia because it was almost like discovering it all over again for the first time. Flawlessly executed twist upon which all other twists should model themselves.

2012: I think the Dunnett obsession grows very slowly, but once it’s upon you, you don’t have a hope of escape. This book was bloody brilliant. Dunnett’s writing is so intelligent, I feel somewhat like a little kid sitting at the adults’ table, only understanding about half of the conversation. She uses words that even I’ve never heard of--that sounds terribly arrogant of me, I realize, but it’s a fact that I rarely run across a word I don’t know. “Corymb,” “calyx,” “firlot”…I had to look all of them up. Her books are so full; this one was just over 500 pages of tiny print, and each line is so filled with meaning that it takes considerable digesting. I liked this third book the best so far, probably because I found it the easiest to follow in terms of the history and politics of the time. I still gave myself whiplash several times as I sat up in shock as I got a hint of certain twists. “She wouldn’t…surely…would she?” Oh, she did. Dunnett is a sadistic genius. In every book, she manages to make you absolutely hate the hero, and that takes some doing: we’re conditioned to like the protagonist. But in every book, she still manages to make me despise the hero and love him all over again by the end. She takes characters I thought I loved and turns them into villains. She delights in killing off lovable characters, but she somehow always ends up having such good reasons for doing so. I haven’t run across a writer who can so consistently break my brain in the best of ways in a long time. In summation, I cannot recommend her work highly enough. If you don’t like it at first, please stick with it and give it a good, long chance; it’s worth it!

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the first two books of the Lymond Chronicles, but when I began to read this book I couldn’t help thinking that those books were laying foundations and that this book would be where she really hit her stride.

It was wonderful to be back in Scotland with familiar characters from the first book who I had rather missed in the second. The opening sequence moved from Will Scott’s wedding to a skirmish with English border raiders and then back to the wedding party again. It and it was vibrant, it was colourful and it was a joy to read.

That set the scene perfectly.

In the first part of the book, Lymond was drawn into the cause of the Knights of Malta, as they struggled to defend their island home from the Turks. There was intrigue, because it was clear that there were more than the stated reasons the invitation extended to Lymond, and for his accepting that invitation. This early part of the story set in Malta and Tripoli, evoked those places wonderfully well. It was perfectly executed, it was immaculately written; there were some wonderful moments, there were some significant plot developments; and yet it was only setting the stage for events that would unfold back in Scotland.

Lymond was charged with creating a new military force for Scotland; its objective to break the cycle of clan warfare so that all of Scotland’s forces could be set against the English. Among the company is a group of refugee Knights of Malta, led by Sir Graham Malett, known as Gabriel, who is set on creating a religious force and making Lymond part of that force.

That’s as much as I want to say about specifics of the plot; because there is such clever and effective sleight of hand, because my understanding of events shifted, and because if you have read this book you will know and if you have you should read and you shouldn’t know too much before you do.

The depth and the complexity of the characterisation is extraordinary; and a cast populated by fictional characters and historical figures lived and breathed. I have come to love many of them – Janet Beaton and Kate Somerville are particular favourites – and the death of one early in the story made me realise how very real this world and the people who moved through it have become to me.

There would be other deaths and some of them broke my heart. Most were dictated by the real history that is missed so effectively with fiction, and others I understood served the unfolding plot.

I reacted more emotionally to this book than others; and fortunately there were scenes to inspire laughter, anger and joy as well as grief.

Two new characters – a man and a woman – became central to the story. They were both quite unlike anyone else in the story, they were psychologically complicated and interesting, and they brought much colour and drama.

The success or failure of this book though, rested firmly on the shoulders of its central character. I am still drawn right in with his charisma, his manifold talents, and the evolution of his character and his story.

There were times when he seemed to have matured, but there were times when he seemed childishly, foolishly reckless. I would come to understand his reasons, that there were times when he had to position himself and play a part, but there was something there that came from character rather than pure necessity.

Certain things within the Crawford family that I had observed before were emphasised in this book, and I am very curious to find out more.

There were not as many set pieces as I expected in this book, but I didn’t miss them because there was so much that was rooted in character and history, and because I saw that much of what had happened before was building the story arc that would grow through this book.

I loved one scene that I haven’t seen mentioned much; an extended scene that had echoes of something the happened at the very beginning of the first book.

The finale was a tour de force, an extended set piece rich with colour, drama and emotion that set things up perfectly for the next book and the books to come after that.

I love that the thee books in this series have been distinctive but they have also been worked together to reveal different aspects of a character and to move his story forward.

I know that I will come back to them again and see things that I missed reading them for the first time, but now I have to get back to ‘Pawn in Frankincense – the fourth book – and find out what happens next.

[Kate Sherrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, Lymond, Lymond, how I do want to love thee. And every book you almost, almost talk me out of it. Every book you look guilty as hell of whatever crimes most have all of Scotland/France/Malta/Wherever up in arms, and every book you turn out to be, well, I'm trying not to spoil anything here, but there are three more books in this series, so certain truths are probably pretty evident, even to the kinds of people you're so very, very good at fooling...

The Disorderly Knights, the third in the great Dorothy Dunnet's great Lymond Chronicles, broadens the geographic, political and moral scope of our favorite Renaissance bad boy considerably. The Knights of the title are none other than the famous Hospitallers, aka the Knights of Malta -- though an argument could be made for that title also applying to a mercenary company our man forms when he finally gets back to Scotland about halfway through the novel -- and they're in a bit of a pickle, one that the King of France seems to think Lymond might be able to help them out of, or at least bear honest witness to. The King of France being something of a Lymond fanboy after Lymond's exploits last novel in defense of the six-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, who is engaged to marry the King's son. Ah, dynastic politics!

The problem the Hospitallers face is the same one they were formed to face, namely the Turk, whom they've helped to protect Europe and bits of North Africa from for a good 400 years. But as of the late 16th century, though, well, the Knights have gone a bit to seed. The Grand Master is a bit of a jerk, and a Spanish jerk at that, and the Holy Roman Emperor being Spanish as well, unseating the GM and putting an effective leader in charge is tricky, especially when the good candidates for that job are all either French or Scottish...

Really there's only one Scottish candidate, though, a man in whom our Lymond has definitely met his match. Sir Graham Reid Mallett, nicknamed Gabriel, is everything Lymond is but turned up a notch: a great big gorgeous blue-eyed blonde who is also a genius, a brilliant leader of men, a great strategist, fighter and tactician, but also a holy man, because like the more famous Templars, the Hospitallers are all warrior monks, in the service of God and the Roman Catholic Church, priests with swords. When he and Lymond meet up, the whole world seems fixed to change. Gabriel becomes obsessed with winning Lymond over for Jeebus and won't take no for an answer; Lymond, of course, is loyal only to Scotland and his family and finds religion profoundly unnecessary, if not actually detrimental to a well-lived life. But like I said, Gabriel won't take no for an answer, and soon insinuates himself into every possible aspect of Lymond's life as the duo and a small contingent of Hospitallers first fail to defend various tiny Mediterranean islands from the Turkish onslaught and then, for an encore, lose the famous stronghold city of Tripoli to the Turks. Oops.

Covered in glory like that, what can they do but return to Scotland, where Gabriel has stashed his drop-dead gorgeous sister, Joleta, whom he has already intimated is his ace in the hole (umm) as far as winning Lymond's soul for Christ is concerned, because of course Lymond will convert for the privilege of maybe getting to schtup her. Really, kind of a Lymond thing to hope to do, as Lymond has, more than once, proven that he's not above seducing the odd strategically important round-heeled woman to achieve his goals. Did I mention Lymond has met his match here? Except that now we find there are two of them!

Of course by about two thirds of the way through the novel, the reader discovers she's misread pretty much everything, because the only person better at deception and red herringry than Lymond is his creator, Ms. Dunnett. But when it's artistes like these, it's a pleasure so to be fooled.

Meanwhile, there is everything one would turn to some good historical fiction like this in order to enjoy: more amazing sword fights, sieges, battles of all sorts, border reivers and the Hot Trodd law (and lots of other weird Renaissance English/Scottish border law), sexual politics and oh, about the sexual politics...

I've not yet mentioned the women of The Disorderly Knights, apart from the sex bomb Joleta, who is really the least interesting figure in the book. Most of my old favorites are back and getting good page time, with Lymond's mother Sybilla stealing scenes as usual, but also of note are two others, who come to the fore in this novel after kind of making me yawn in The Game of Kings and Queens Play: Oonagh O'Dwyer -- former mistress of a would-be king of Ireland, who spent most of Queens Play trying to abet her man in his plots to conspire with the French and Scots to throw the English out of Ireland (we all know how well that worked), only to have an encounter with Lymond that looks to turn out to be way more important than it seemed at the time -- and Philippa Somerville, twelve or thirteen-year-old daughter of an English lord who was friendly with Lymond back in the day but who herself hates Lymond like poison and spends a lot of The Disorderly Knights just entertainingly gnashing her teeth at him until circumstances and her own sense of fair play cause her to woman up and kick about 20 kinds of ass all over northern England and southern Scotland and become my new favorite Dorothy Dunnett lady.*

So I find myself so eager to tear into the next book, Pawn in Frankincense, that I don't see any reason not to, even though lots of other good stuff beckons from my to-be-read pile. I was warned that this might happen.

*Though her presence reminds me that my other favorite bratty Dunnett tween, Lady Agnes, has disappeared completely from this narrative, and that makes me a little sad. Agnes does not hold a candle to Philippa in the awesomeness department, but she was terribly amusing in The Game of Kings and I miss her a lot.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god! What a book! There's only one problem! Now I've gotta read Pawn in Frankincense! And I'm already dreading it all being over!

Dunnett spins a wonderful, intricate, suspenseful plot. Sometimes she makes me laugh, sometimes she makes me look up words, but always she entertains me. What rewards a little work can bring. :)

This series has made me fall in love with the characters over time. The depth of character building is phenomenal. The plotting is sine qua non. The world building is impeccable. What else can I say? Just read them. It's worth it.

The The Dorothy Dunnett Companion is very helpful to those of us who can't just identify quotes and French off the top of our heads.

[Victoria (Eve's Alexandria) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gah what a nail-biting, blood-pounding, heart-breaking journey. My favourite of the series so far, by a long way.

If you like to chew on your historical fiction until your jaw aches, and if your protagonist catnip is hard-impenetrable-exterior-pained-warm-heart, then I really do recommend Lymond. And I promise that by book 3 you’ll understand what’s happening at least 75% of the time.

[Jamie Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing. Just when I think I’ve read all the really good stuff out there, I discover a series like this one. Crawford is my favorite type of dark, inscrutable hero - dangerously misunderstood and undermined by his friends to the great satisfaction of his enemies.

In the first part of the book, Crawford goes to help defend the island of Malta from the Turks in 1551. Admittedly I was only mildly entertained by this early part of the story set in Malta and Tripoli. It’s exquisitely written, and there are some great moments, but I wasn’t terribly invested in the story.

However, the second half the book is absolutely riveting. Crawford is back in Scotland training a mercenary army with the goal of providing military support on behalf of Scotland - particularly with the aim of breaking the ruinous cycle of clan warfare. Among the men being trained are a group of refugee Knights of Malta, led by Sir Graham Malett, whose openly stated goal is to recruit the humanist Crawford into his religious order.

I won’t even attempt to describe the plot because the slightest spoiler would be ruinous to the intense suspense. I will re-read this one day, however, and examine each twist and turn with the benefit of hindsight.

“A Scott, having got his bride pregnant, was apt to file her as completed business for eight months at a time.”

“What does anyone want out of life? What kind of freak do you suppose I am? I miss books and good verse and decent talk. I miss women, to speak to, not to rape; and children, and men creating things instead of destroying them. And from the time I wake until the time I find I can’t go to sleep there is the void—the bloody void where there was no music today and none yesterday and no prospect of any tomorrow, or tomorrow, or next God-damned year.”

“You had good reason to hate me. I always understood that. I don’t know why you should think differently now, but take care. Don’t build up another false image. I may be the picturesque sufferer now, but when I have the whip-hold, I shall behave quite as crudely, or worse. I have no pretty faults. Only, sometimes, a purpose.”

[Misfit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Francis Crawford of Lymond is sent by the French King to the Island of Malta where the Knights Hospitallers are threatened by an invasion from the Turks. While there Francis is caught up in the politics of the Knights, in particular one Graham Malett who the reader will discover is not at all what he and his convent raised sister are what they appear to be on the surface. As Dunnett slowly peels back the layers of her story, the reader is taken from Malta to embattled Tripoli and then back again to Scotland as Francis intrigues to discover Graham's hidden agendas. To say much more would give away the whole plot, but be prepared for some memorable moments that will stick with you for long after the book is finished. The scene with the sheep (LOL), the nail biting suspense in Tripoli as they try to defuse the flame before Tripoli is blown to bits and of course the final climax during the sword fight between Lymond and his greatest enemy.

Throughout, 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 is a complicated tale, and one that a reader has to pay close attention to, if you let your mind wander you may have to back track occasionally as I did. Dunnett is also very subtle (sometimes too much so!) and you do have to wait until the very end when all is revealed during a heart stopping sword fight in an Edinburgh cathedral, and a big surprise for Francis that will have you scrambling for the next book in the series, Pawn in Frankincense: Fourth in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles. Five stars.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lymond Chronicles demand a fair amount of effort from the reader, as the huge cast and byzantine political manouverings can be a lot to keep up with. Yet the rewards are considerable. Dunnett provides the most audacious action set- pieces (including the best duel I’ve ever read in The Game of Kings), breathtakingly exciting plot twists, as well as extremely witty dialogue and a brilliant sense of time and place. This third novel, though, took me some while to get into and had what I consider to be significant flaws. I found Lymond more trying than usual. His string of oblique and sarcastic statements, coupled with near omniscience and omnipotence, were similar to the previous two chronicles. In ‘The Disorderly Knights’, however, he is more inclined to punch teenage girls, which I object to in the strongest possible terms. This made it harder than ever to swallow all the commentary on his apparent charisma and success with women. Every character other than his mother and brother gives the clear impression of being in love with him, while periodically also wanting to murder him. Such inhuman charm suggests he’s some kind of fae. My favourite assessment of him in the whole book:

"He’s a tongue, Mr Crawford has, hasn’t he?” said Chester Herald in a pleased voice. “We found that out in France. A proper lad. And what he got up to!”
“You should see what he gets up to here,” said Jerott, bored.

I must also note that Dunnett’s sex scenes invariably contain hilariously purple prose, for example:

When, late at night, the shadow darkened the starlight behind her silent shrouds, and the door, whispering, admitted a deeper shadow, soft-footed and deft, it found her already perfect as a flower brought to its full-breathing height.

After a slow start, I did get carried away by the plot, in which Lymond decides he wants his own private army. The twist in the last third of the book is excellently done. While the action was as thrilling and impressive as ever, I can only give the novel three stars overall because I found the role of Joleta so thoroughly distasteful. This beautiful sixteen year old girl, with her ‘apricot’ coloured hair is at various times shown as an innocent child, a ‘bitch’ (several people use the epithet), a manipulative seductress, a nymphomaniac, a sadist, a victim of incestuous child abuse, and a murdered corpse. At no point does she seem like a believable person and everyone except Jerott treats her appallingly. Lymond is rude and violent, then sleeps with her under incredibly dubious circumstances. All the female characters find her tedious and spoiled, without apparently wondering why she’s like this. It’s mostly left to the reader’s imagination what Gabriel did to her in the past, but it was clearly horrific, and in the end he murders both her and her (their?!) unborn child. It surprises me to find a female author treating a female character in this fashion. I refuse to believe that the plot required Joleta to suffer as she did, without ever being presented as sympathetic.

On the other hand, I thought her brother Gabriel was handled much better. It was very satisfying when he turned out to be the true villain of the piece, although the depths of his villainy were unnecessarily hyperbolic. Did he need to be Joleta’s abuser? I think not. Overall, though, he worked very well as a dark mirror of Lymond. Both of them are charismatic and machiavellian blond men who seem too good to be true. In Gabriel’s case, his facade of piety apparently conceals absolute evil. In Lymond’s case, he can’t be bothered with a mask of politeness and would rather irritate everyone with his insouciant competence. The climactic fight between Gabriel and Lymond in St Giles’ Church is a delightful slice of pure melodrama, particularly satisfying as I regularly walk past the place. Other especially dramatic moments include Will Scott’s death (which was genuinely moving), the whipping scene, and the powder magazine fire. Dunnett is very good at fires, actually.

It might be a while before I read the next in the Lymond Chronicles as they are rich, intermittently indigestible fare. While Dunnett’s plots and action scenes are exemplary, the romance elements range from the absurd to the truly horrifying. Lymond himself can try your patience with his shenanigans; I have every sympathy for his long-suffering and sardonic mother Sybilla.

[Lucinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Complicated, like all her books. She has no tolerance for lazy readers, and the ending! I have to find the next book right now!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dunnett always toys with you and your expectation of where the plot is going. Loved it.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hunter went killing sparrows one cold day, and his eyes gave forth tears as he went. Said one bird to another, “Behold, this man weeps.” Said the other, “Turn thine eyes from his tears. Watch his hands”

--Dragut Rais--

I am currently not quite a third of the way through the 4th book in the series as I write this review of its predecessor, The Disorderly Knights. Instead of continuing to struggle to do justice to it, I am just going to keep it short. There is a lot of this review left on the cutting room floor. First of all, what they say is true. For a first time reader, Dunnett’s writing does get easier and easier to understand though no less complex in plot and character. There were less sentences that I had to try to decode and wring the meaning out of. Everything flows so much better: Less like she’s looking to punish readers with her scholarship and more like she herself is caught up in the story and having a wonderful time just telling it. Even though divided into 3 parts, it is really a tale of two countries: first Malta and then Scotland. It’s also a study of two extraordinary men engaged in a high stakes struggle of wills and cunning. And I guess to a lesser extent, for me, it was a comparison of the disparate nature of two teenage girls. And it is also a tale of two armies. And two religions.
There is tragedy and yes, there is comedy. Spanning two continents, Lymond goes through many tribulations in trying to expose and take down a powerful villain as evil as evil can be. A villain whom the world, even the good and the wise, believe to be a saint. Meanwhile, not even a handful, his family included, have total faith and trust in Francis Crawford. Not that he always deserves it. There are shocks in this book. And Terror and Horror. And then there is Philippa Somerville, who is quickly becoming my favorite fictional female character of all time. And Nicolas de Nicolay one of my favorite real historical figures that play a part in this book.


Some things that happen still don’t bear a lot of scrutiny as to what one man can accomplish or bear. She really puts Lymond through the wringer. Some scenarios beggar belief and draw one up short, and some you just have to go with, revel in, and just keep reading. One such of the latter is a flashback to an event that takes place after The Game of Kings, and before the second book, Queen’s Play, begins. It could have just been a fun, cheerworthy example of Lymond's military acumen, however implausible, meant to show Lymond’s trickiness and out of the box thinking. But I feel like it’s fair game to scrutinize because Dunnett makes it so important. Briefly, it relates how Lymond routs a small army of attacking English soldiers by fooling them into thinking, in the fog and distance, that Lymond's small number of 20 Clansmen actually number a force approaching 1000 troops. He does this by slapping shining metal helmets on 800 sheep and driving them forward into the valley where the soldiers are set to advance. It is brought up in the series time and again (even in the 4th book I am currently reading) as an example of why Lymond's services as a military leader are so much in demand. Unfortunately for my peace of mind, I got all caught up in where he got the 800 helmets. Were they friendly helmets or enemy helmets? Where were the helmetless soldiers? Did he store them up one by one in preparation for a scenario just like this, or did he steal them in one fell swoop and where did he store them? I’m sure Dunnett knows the answers, but didn’t choose to share. It wouldn’t have bothered me so much but it is a favorite set piece in the series. People have gotten tattoos of sheep and helmets and coffee mugs are available on line for £16.50.

Anyway, it’s all part of the experience, I guess. Dunnett is so brilliant one fears to question, but it’s part of the fun. These books are absolutely spellbinding. This one ends on a cliffhanger. I fear for the fates of many characters. I was so glad I could get right to the next one and didn’t have to wait. How did her readers bear it back in the day?
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings....

[Phee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was honestly not expecting any Lymond book to be as good as Game of Kings. I was wrong.

As with other Lymond Chronicles books, you really have to get about half way before you start to see the pieces coming together and start getting hooked into the plot. This one has a very slow start with Lymond in Malta and while I can see the importance of starting everything off here for the most part, I only started to really sink my teeth into the book when we got back to Scotland. Because there folks is where shit really hits the fan.

The antagonist of this book is what I’ve been waiting for in the Lymond Chronicles. An absolute match for Lymond. This ended up being a cat and mouse esq plot whilst the two characters are literally in each other’s company for 90% of the book. Though I do think the antagonist got rather uber villainous by the end, I’m talking moustache twirling, mwahaha levels of villainy. Though the fight was intense I did realise what was going to happen in that particular fight. But it still was thrilling to watch unfold as are most of the sword fights in these books. Nothing will top the Richard-Lymond fight though. That was magnificent.
The general war/battlefield scenes really aren’t my thing though. I find it hard to work out what is happening. Give me all the sword duels though.

Lymond is horrific in this one but also kind of redeemed? He has quite the reputation already. His band of rouges were notorious in book one for raping, thieving, drunken antics of all kind, general violence. In book two he had an even more lavish reputation of various nightly pursuits. In this book he takes it to new heights. There is a very dubious night of sex with one of the characters in which ends with her fainting. Her naked body bruised and bloodied after 3 hours with Francis!

“Be gentle, she said, and Lymond gripping her, shook his fair head.
With you, no, angel-sister; not with you. For what you need is a master”

When Richard finds the aftermath: “Richard found that he was not only cold, but trembling with shock, loathing and fear. ‘What won’t occur to me?’
‘That she was a bitch, Lymond said. Just a bitch who needed a lesson.”

That scene definitely made me think about the blond rouge I’ve come to love. But the situation is rather complicated for plot reasons and all gets revealed. By the end my heart is yet again bleeding for Francis so…

The Culters are one of my favourite fictional families. Richard and Francis have such a complex relationship. I think the tender, caring moments from book one when Francis was severely wounded and needed Richard to take care of him will live in my head rent free. They still clash and have one hell of a falling out over the dubious night of sex previously mentioned. But ultimately Francis has a superpower of both simultaneously annoying the ever loving hell out his big brother and making him love him more.

“The trouble about Mr Crawford is that he puts up with his enemies and plays merry hell with his friends.”

Sybilla is an amazing character too. She’s the only one who makes Lymond pause. The only one who’s opinion of him really matters to him. I think if she ever truly disowned him, it would ruin him. She really loves him even with all his flaws.

The twists were insane. A mixture of ones that were easy to spot and others that completely passed me by in the moment. Sometimes Francis will do something and I’d stop and think. Hmm, why would he act this way? Then you realise that all will be revealed in good time and then the grand reveal starts and your like HOLY SHIT!!

The deaths were hard to swallow in this. I wasn’t expecting them and they were definitely emotional. Dunnett is not afraid to hurt these characters. I see a lot of pain in the future for these characters. The ending reveal and how it is going to change Francis and his actions in the future. I am wounded by this book and I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the trauma doesn’t even start yet. So I need to start putting up the guard around my heart. I already feel sick.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a long time since I’ve read books that make me jump up and down with excitement, or throw the book away from me in anger. I was shaking, overcome with emotion, as I read the final scenes of Disorderly Knights. Dorothy has such a gift for story-telling and character development. It is hard to believe that with a three-page character list at the front of this book, I have a firm grasp of each personality (which is not due to any lack of complexity).

I knew, from Game of Kings and Queen’s Play, that Dorothy had produced the hero to end all heroes (despite a few definite character flaws and a sometimes questionable set of morals, we love Lymond, don’t we?) – but in Disorderly Knights she also hands us the villain to end all villains. Oh my god this man will send shivers down your spine (but of course, discovering that he’s a villain takes the whole book…. Dorothyyy).

Dorothy’s play with good and evil in this book is perfect. We must understand the intricacies of religious tension in 16th century Europe, and in the first half of this book we are in Malta battling the Turks in the 1565 Siege with the Knights Hospitaller (do not even get me started on Dorothy’s historical accuracy).

As a last, quick side-note – Oonagh is the strongest female character I’ve ever encountered, Phillipa creates all sorts of trouble but I adore her, Kate breaks my heart, Sybilla is amazing (I love the Cutler family interactions in general), and Joleta… there is too much to say about Joleta I can’t even get started.

I defy anyone who can put down this book during the last 100 pages.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously amazing. I loved the first book and liked the second but this one was possibly my favorite. This might have to do with it involving more familiar characters and thus requiring less confusing set up than the previous two.

These books are wonderful and really reward close reading. The historical details are amazing. I just finished and immediately put my bookmark in the next book.

What really pulls the books, though, are the amazing characters. Lymond is so likably flawed and a fantastic antihero. The whole Crawford family are pretty much the most awesome people to exist. Phillipa is wonderful, Oonagh is one tough cookie and the Scotts continue to be lovable. The fact that the book can be full of so many characters that it makes my brain hurt, and yet they all manage to feel real and well defined is amazing. I think I could literally gush about these books forever but I need to start the fourth one already!

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dunnett's endings are crazy good.

[Giki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third in the Lymond chronicles series. If you have got this far then you have probably read and enjoyed the first two books. You will be just as frustrated, disappointed, shocked and annoyed by this glorious book as you were by the previous 2. I kind of despise myself for being so consumed by these books, but like the addict I am, I dived straight into the next one after finishing this.

The book opens in raucous style with Will Scott marrying his auntie in the middle of a border raid. After France, for political reasons best instantly forgotten, Lymond is required to travel to Malta to assist the knights of St. John in the defense of the Island against the Turks. His decision to go is definitely not in any way influenced the fact that a certain Oonagh O Dwyer has taken up residence on the nearby Island of Gozo.

Throughout the early part of the book I feel Lymond is like a frustrating shadow – always somewhere else – his story told, as usual, though someone else eyes, but we seem more distant from the action and the sparkling wit than in previous books. The language has changed also, gone are the over complex, obscure, multilingual references in everything Lymond says. Perhaps he learned in France, just how irritating everyone else found that. I kind of miss it, it was part of the rhythm of the reading, you can skim over, ignore what you don't understand, or you can rub away and reveal the gems underneath.
Lymond has changed too, he is sober for one thing, and appears competent and in control, at the peak of his powers. Trying to build for the future. Taking responsibility for his own actions and the consequences they might have. He seems to have leaned from O'Liamroe's painfully spelled out lesson on leadership at the end of the last book.

And then he does something. Something so despicable, unexpectedly cruel, selfish and ill-timed that there can be no going back, there can surely be no redemption now. I felt nauseous with the force of it, as if I, in admiring so much this book and being so engrossed in the reading of it, was somehow partly culpable for the shocking transgression. The author's skill is such that I hardly notice the writing, the way she leads us into this trap, this is fiction after all, but the emotion is visceral.

This book is wonderfully well written, intelligent, shocking and irreverent – the author is in complete control at all times. She has a wonderful talent for historical description, her descriptions of the people and places of 16th-century Scotland, that I vaguely remember from my dull dry high school history lessons, are wonderfully evocative and alive with atmosphere. I know how it feels now, to stumble around the night time streets of old Edinburgh, and what dangers may lurk around every corner.

Read this book – there is good stuff here. Expect to work for it, but it will be worth it in the end.

[Dillwynia Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a little conflicted about this book in the Lymond series. I loved much of it in retrospect but there were a good 200 pages of this 590 tiny print book that bored me to tears. I'm hoping it was just me being tired rather than the novel itself.

At heart this book is about a psychopath, except it will take you close to 90% before you discover this & then all the previous actions & comments make perfect sense. Before then, Lymond is truly annoying & a shit at baiting an honest and honourable man. There will be incidents that seem to be overexplained and narrated, which once again, at the end prove necessary for you to believe in why our "man" is a psychopath.

The historical aspects are beautifully done as always by Dunnett: the insidious infighting of the Spanish & French that weakens and destroys the St John Templars of Malta, the unrest within the Arabic world as the Ottomans gain power & territory, and the intrigue that surrounds the Scottish court as this small country is being played with master players of the French & English royalty - are juggled and captured in a way that entertains AND instructs.

So in construction we have the scene set in the shorter 1st two parts, along with a big slab of history; in the final longest Part, we are reading a mystery. For those coming after me, this is really really important. Stick with it & enjoy the fun at the end. In someways it felt like two separate novels with a common link; so along with all the mystery, the historical references and me being rather overworked as I read this, it was all too confusing & frustrating. However, this lazy weekend has finalised the read & I now respect the mastery that I have come to know Dunnett. I'm really keen to get the next one, as from the title I suspect it is a carry on from the latter events in this novel.

[Lorena Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a roller coster this book. The first third of it is fast paced, brilliantly described, luxurious imagery. We get to see Lymond growing up, maturing, and trying to make up for his past errors. The beautiful landscape of Malta, Tripoli, Gozo is the setting for the meeting with an astonishing new character, Sir Graham Red Mallett, and you better remember his name.
Back to Scotland, where Lymond engages in building his own superb mega elite army, and the spyral down begins again. So much. You get to really hate this part. I mean HATE IT. You even get to hate Lymond. I don't think I will able to reconcile with this new layer of him, the man is brilliant, excel at everything, but he's so flawed at the same time. And maybe his virtousism is his worst enemy. Up until 80% questions pile up until it's unbearable. But then the last 20% is full speed, free fall, you cry, you scream, you hit your head against the wall. And this huge, heart breaking ending, which sets in motion events for the next book. Maybe I should note that in a rare treat, I got to guess the ending, and even then, it was magnificent!

[Trin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aww yeah. This is where the series really gets cracking. Suddenly we have:

--An ongoing plot!
--More recurring characters!
--Philippa (Philippa Philippa Philippa!) getting to do stuff!
--Another goddamn badass sword fight!
--LYMOND'S NEMESIS!

We also have:

--Lymond DECIDING ONCE AGAIN NOT TO SIMPLY TRUST PEOPLE LIKE HIS OWN MOTHER AND BROTHER AND TELL THEM WHAT THE FLIP IS GOING ON AND ASK FOR HELP UNTIL LIKE PAGE 400 JFC FRANCIS...but that is more of a feature than a bug. (Oh, Lymond.)

It's a wild freaking ride -- it really does fly by in comparison to Queens' Play. And you can see Dunnett enjoying herself, and sneaking in all kinds of clever hints and jokes just for herself -- or those who have the foreknowledge that, with these twisty-turny books in particular, can only come from rereading. How delightful.

Now if only I hadn't left the next volume at work, so I could ill-advisedly begin reading it right now, at 11:47 p.m. on a Sunday!

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent much of this book going "Something feels off with Gabriel, but I don't know why..." And then it all fit together. This was a brilliant book exercise in "show, not tell" as you can tell from Dunnett's descriptions that Gabriel is not what he claims to be, yet she still manages to hook you into him with other words. Brilliance. Of course, I'm also someone who suffers mightily when stories feature betrayal by a trusted person so it was only at the point when Jerott knew the truth that I was able to actually -enjoy- the book.

Edit Jan 2017: In my first reread of the book, it was amazing to pick up on all the small moments and comments that pointed to Gabriel's true character and Lymond's plans. But it was still incredibly difficult to get through. Just trust your brother already, Richard!