Review: THE RINGED CASTLE (LYMOND CHRONICLES #5)

by Dorothy Dunnett




I’ve never been so ashamed in my entire life, but I’m giving only four stars to one of Dorothy Dunnett’s books. The universe, I guess, is about to collapse because doing this is something I’d never thought possible. But this is my opinion: it is still an excellent book, but it is clearly the weakest in the series so far, and while the character work and prose are as brilliant as always, the plot failed to capture me completely. And I think I know why. Which book could ever be able to fulfill the immeasurable expectations that Pawn in Frankincense, this embodiment of perfection, gave me? Which storyline could ever be able to top Lymond’s hunt for Gabriel and the sheer epicness of its climax, the chess scene? Which book could offer higher stakes? None can.

This is still brilliant, but not as intriguing as the others. Especially the Russian setting failed to enchant me, I never could make myself really care for what happened there. The second part was better, and I love the dialogues between Lymond and Philippa with all my heart, but still: It didn’t blow me away as much as the others did, so consider it as the huge build up for the final book, nothing more. Oh my, how I long for Checkmate. How I want to and don’t want to read it at the same time because I don’t want this series to end… it’s gonna be my christmas project, I think. Anyway, this one gets four very stellar stars, but it fails to capture the brilliance of the four prequels.