false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181485529m/1158037.jpg 270537 4 A marvel of storytelling and historical imagination, <I>Gemini</I> just may be Dorothy Dunnett's pièce de résistance. This culminating installment of the House of Niccolò series is set in Scotland in 1477--and more specifically, in the world of international trade and commerce, which can deal fatal blows to those unfamiliar with its intricacies. When Nicholas de Fleury returns to Edinburgh after a four-year absence, speculation runs rampant about why he closed all his ventures in Scotland and deserted his friends. Struggling to fend off various assassination attempts, Nicholas rejoins the fledgling court of young King James III. Yet he soon discovers that the squabbles between the monarch and his double-dealing siblings are no less dangerous than the intrigues he has left behind. Dunnett recounts the whole story with typically ornate and pungent prose, and delineates her massive cast of characters with a Holbein-like attention to physical detail.<p> Nicholas in particular is a splendidly rounded creation. And by placing him at the center of her sprawling narrative, Dunnett helps us to navigate the many convolutions of the plot. Her female characters, too, are distinctive. However, it is the sheer breadth of Dunnett's ambitions that takes the breath away, along with her exhilarating set pieces: <blockquote> The sword point bit into his cloak and grated across the cuirass underneath, bringing the swordsman close for a moment, his face blank with surprise. Nicholas kicked him under the chin, so that he blundered back and hit someone else, while Nicholas dragged out his own sword. The horse wasn't his, but it was a powerful beast and alarmed enough to be ready to rear. Nicholas wrapped the reins around one wrist and hauled, using the bit to drag the horse threshing onto its haunches, and then allowing it to plunge forward again. </blockquote> En garde, Dunnett fans! Those who have made the long trek with our sword-brandishing hero will find this a perfectly orchestrated finale. <I>--Barry Forshaw</I> 5879204 book 2000 Gemini (The House of Niccolo, #8) total:234|5:139|4:62|3:23|2:10|1:0| 234 1032 300 9 3 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 05:01:41 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 13:40:09 -0700 2009 Gemini reads a little too much as if it is a 700 page long epilogue to the Niccoló series, especially in the middle of the novel when Dunnett is working hard to make her narrative fit with historical fact, and everything seems to drag a little. It's much more episodic than the ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 15:21:11 -0700 2009 Tue May 12 20:12:27 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 11:11:38 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 19 11:25:47 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 23 18:15:21 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 23 18:15:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Nov 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 09:24:22 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 01:25:09 -0800 2009 1

I'm a bit sad I've finished the books, and a bit glad as well, because well written as it is, Gemini almost feels like a coda to the first seven books. And all the political going-ons we...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Feb 22 16:50:51 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 23 08:52:28 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Thu Aug 09 09:04:34 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 09 09:07:26 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Sat Jun 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 18 14:30:53 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 03:12:12 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Thu Jun 19 08:59:47 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 19 09:13:35 -0700 2008 dorothy dunnett are my absolute favorite. nothing different to say about them; together, they will take you off the planet for a full summer and just might re-direct your life, as they did mine.]]> 4 0 false false Wed Dec 02 12:37:09 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 02 12:37:09 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Dec 02 11:41:56 -0800 2009 Wed Dec 02 11:41:56 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Thu Nov 26 12:13:42 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 26 12:13:42 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Nov 24 21:24:54 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 24 21:24:54 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Nov 14 14:49:59 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 14:49:59 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 13 14:49:50 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 14:51:05 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Nov 12 05:11:12 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 12 07:10:33 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Wed Nov 11 16:58:06 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 16:58:06 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 04 12:03:36 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 12:03:36 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Tue Oct 27 06:48:55 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 27 06:48:55 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Oct 21 20:29:49 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 21 20:29:49 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1158037