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The House of Niccolò #8
Gemini
Scotland, 1477: Nicholas de Fleury, former banker and merchant, has re-appeared in the land that, four years earlier, he had brought very close to ruin in the course of an intense commercial and personal war with secret enemies—and, indeed, with his clever wife Gelis.
Now the opportunity for redemption is at hand, but Nicholas soon finds himself pursuing his objectives amid a complex, corrosive power struggle centering on the Scottish royal family but closely involving the powerful merchants of Edinburgh, the gentry, the clergy, the English (ever seeking an excuse to pounce on their neighbor to the north), the French, the Burgundians. His presence soon draws Gelis and their son Jodi to Scotland, as well as Nicholas's companions and subordinates in many a past endeavor—Dr. Tobias and his wife Clémence, Mick Crackbene, John le Grant, and Andro Wodman among them. Here, too, Nicholas meets again with others who have had an influence, for good or evil, in his King James III of Scotland and his rebellious siblings; the St. Jordan, Simon, and young Henry; Mistress Bel of Cuthilgurdy and David de Salmeton; Anselm Adorne and Kathi his niece. Caught up in, and sometimes molding, the course of great events, Nicholas exhibits by turns the fierce silence with which he masks his secrets, and the explosive, willful gaiety that binds men, women, and children to him. And as the secrets of his birth and heritage come to light, Nicholas has to decide whether he desires to establish a future in Scotland for himself and his family, and a home for his descendants.
Gemini brings to a dazzling conclusion Dorothy Dunnett's House of Niccolò series (synopsized in this volume), in which this peerless novelist has vividly re-created the dramatic, flamboyant world of the early Renaissance in historical writing of scrupulous authenticity and in the entrancing portrait of her visionary hero. Now, in a book infused with wit and poetry, emotion and humor, action and mystery, she brings Nicholas de Fleury at last to choose his heart's home, where he can exercise all his skills as an advisor to kings and statesmen, as a husband, a father, and a leader of men—and where, perhaps, we will discern a connection between him and that other remarkable personality, Francis Crawford, whose exploits Lady Dunnett recorded so memorably in The Lymond Chronicles.
Now the opportunity for redemption is at hand, but Nicholas soon finds himself pursuing his objectives amid a complex, corrosive power struggle centering on the Scottish royal family but closely involving the powerful merchants of Edinburgh, the gentry, the clergy, the English (ever seeking an excuse to pounce on their neighbor to the north), the French, the Burgundians. His presence soon draws Gelis and their son Jodi to Scotland, as well as Nicholas's companions and subordinates in many a past endeavor—Dr. Tobias and his wife Clémence, Mick Crackbene, John le Grant, and Andro Wodman among them. Here, too, Nicholas meets again with others who have had an influence, for good or evil, in his King James III of Scotland and his rebellious siblings; the St. Jordan, Simon, and young Henry; Mistress Bel of Cuthilgurdy and David de Salmeton; Anselm Adorne and Kathi his niece. Caught up in, and sometimes molding, the course of great events, Nicholas exhibits by turns the fierce silence with which he masks his secrets, and the explosive, willful gaiety that binds men, women, and children to him. And as the secrets of his birth and heritage come to light, Nicholas has to decide whether he desires to establish a future in Scotland for himself and his family, and a home for his descendants.
Gemini brings to a dazzling conclusion Dorothy Dunnett's House of Niccolò series (synopsized in this volume), in which this peerless novelist has vividly re-created the dramatic, flamboyant world of the early Renaissance in historical writing of scrupulous authenticity and in the entrancing portrait of her visionary hero. Now, in a book infused with wit and poetry, emotion and humor, action and mystery, she brings Nicholas de Fleury at last to choose his heart's home, where he can exercise all his skills as an advisor to kings and statesmen, as a husband, a father, and a leader of men—and where, perhaps, we will discern a connection between him and that other remarkable personality, Francis Crawford, whose exploits Lady Dunnett recorded so memorably in The Lymond Chronicles.
702 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2000
69 people are currently reading
880 people want to read
About the author
Dorothy Dunnett
35 books859 followersDorothy 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/
Her New York times obituary is here.
Dorothy Dunnett Society: http://dorothydunnett.org
Fansite: http://www.dorothydunnett.co.uk/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
November 19, 2010
WHAT a family. Good God. Dorothy Dunnett is really quite the master of genetic complication. What is it that Philippa says in The Ringed Castle ... "I didn't know another permutation in breeding was possible."? Oh Philippa. With Dorothy Dunnett it is always possible.
This is without question the best historical fiction I've ever read. Perhaps the narrative is less tight here in the final book than in some of the others, but that's a trifling quibble only. The twist alone makes me want to reread the entire series right now. Which I could not because obviously I had to reread Lymond, in familial context, considering the family tree-revealing payoff at the end. I can't believe I didn't notice the lack of surname. And what a perfect title. I could go on and on about all the twinning.
Onto the requisite comparison between Niccolo and Lymond. Lymond's position in my heart is sacrosanct, but I find Niccolo more impressive as a literary achievement considering the sheer vastness, extraordinary detail, and the deftness with which she places him into so many real historical settings with real historical figures. I mean, just look at the character lists.
Niccolo's series-long journey - the building of his "house," the gaining of the high ground - somehow feels more substantial than Lymond's. But the Lymond plots are not hampered by a silly crutch like Nicholas' divining, which I never considered more than just a weak, cliched device. However, the supporting characters - both allies and enemies - in Niccolo are much more fully realized and interesting (but then we have two more books to get to know them). There is one clear exception, of course. Philippa Somerville has got to be one of my favorite fictional characters of all time - her character development through the 6 Lymond Chronicles is enormously well-done. Gelis and Katelinje only combine to approach what is best in her, though I think that is part of the point - Nicholas' arc directs him toward many different forms of love, and Lymond's toward one great all-consuming, "Mon chois est fait, aultre ne se fera" love in Philippa.
This is without question the best historical fiction I've ever read. Perhaps the narrative is less tight here in the final book than in some of the others, but that's a trifling quibble only. The twist alone makes me want to reread the entire series right now. Which I could not because obviously I had to reread Lymond, in familial context, considering the family tree-revealing payoff at the end. I can't believe I didn't notice the lack of surname. And what a perfect title. I could go on and on about all the twinning.
Onto the requisite comparison between Niccolo and Lymond. Lymond's position in my heart is sacrosanct, but I find Niccolo more impressive as a literary achievement considering the sheer vastness, extraordinary detail, and the deftness with which she places him into so many real historical settings with real historical figures. I mean, just look at the character lists.
Niccolo's series-long journey - the building of his "house," the gaining of the high ground - somehow feels more substantial than Lymond's. But the Lymond plots are not hampered by a silly crutch like Nicholas' divining, which I never considered more than just a weak, cliched device. However, the supporting characters - both allies and enemies - in Niccolo are much more fully realized and interesting (but then we have two more books to get to know them). There is one clear exception, of course. Philippa Somerville has got to be one of my favorite fictional characters of all time - her character development through the 6 Lymond Chronicles is enormously well-done. Gelis and Katelinje only combine to approach what is best in her, though I think that is part of the point - Nicholas' arc directs him toward many different forms of love, and Lymond's toward one great all-consuming, "Mon chois est fait, aultre ne se fera" love in Philippa.
June 20, 2025
The final book in Dunnett's huge 8-volume second series and the one that makes overt connections between this and her first (which takes place later chronologically). There is so much that is impressive here: Dunnett's research, her ability to make the past feel and sound vivid and alive, her handling of multiple complex threads, her ability to get beneath the economics, trade and politics of the period that is rare in historical fiction, her sophisticated writing.
However, I have misgivings over this series too: as it progresses, characterisation seems to fall by the wayside. We keep being told that Nicholas is a charismatic genius who no-one can resist but telling me repeatedly doesn't make me believe it. We saw and felt that magnetism personally with Lymond - here, not so much. Similarly, other characters become walk-ons: Julius has some kind of presence as do the St Pols, but Gelis has been gelded and is now only a wife and mother - again, we keep being told that she's respected as a businesswoman in her own right but whatever she does is off-stage. Ditto Kathi - and I've never felt we got to know people like John le Grant or Tobie who have been there since book 1 and are now supposed to be part of the extended 'found family'.
That said, there are some big set scenes . The politics, at last, becomes more accessible as it concentrates on the fragile throne and fraught relationships amongst the young Stewarts, with great storylines for Johndie Mar and Albany, set against an appearance by Richard of Gloucester, later Richard III.
But more and more I've been resistant to the way this series only really exists to lead, teleologically, to Lymond. Too many characters, whose surnames have been hidden, turn out to be ancestors to characters we know and I was distracted by tracing lineages and family trees as, often, the characters' presents were less interesting than the fact they are to generate important personages who drive the Lymond series: .
This is compounded by the occult strain which emerged in The Unicorn Hunt where Nicholas was revealed to have supernatural powers. This has led to his visions from the future that he can't understand but which we recognise as scenes and emotions from Lymond - this finally gets discussed by Dr Andreas here and suggests a vague sort of reincarnation plot that, again, makes this series a sideline to Lymond.
At least this final book, operating on a narrower canvas than the last three, is more focused than some of the unwieldy last few volumes. There are some satisfying tying up of ends as Nicholas and family are settled in Scotland while maintaining links to France. It's a little too neat but we also get glimpses of what will be Midculter, St. Mary's, and Sevigny.
I don't know - I've struggled through some of this series, while still finding enough pleasure to not want to abandon it. Personally, I find the urge to retrofit it to Lymond ends up making the books cumbersome, a bit irritating (all those hidden surnames and genealogies) and leaches some of the life that might have been there if all these characters could have lived their own lives rather than being tied to a foregone history. It's also a puzzle as to what happens to the bank and trading company which is nowhere in sight by the time we get to the baronial Crawfords of Culter. The stitching together of an 8-volume prequel to an existing series feels like a sentimental inability to let go on the part of the author - I'd have expected something more rigorous from Dunnett.
Many thanks to Nastya, Mel, Alex and Ryan for your company and wit on this epic journey!
However, I have misgivings over this series too: as it progresses, characterisation seems to fall by the wayside. We keep being told that Nicholas is a charismatic genius who no-one can resist but telling me repeatedly doesn't make me believe it. We saw and felt that magnetism personally with Lymond - here, not so much. Similarly, other characters become walk-ons: Julius has some kind of presence as do the St Pols, but Gelis has been gelded and is now only a wife and mother - again, we keep being told that she's respected as a businesswoman in her own right but whatever she does is off-stage. Ditto Kathi - and I've never felt we got to know people like John le Grant or Tobie who have been there since book 1 and are now supposed to be part of the extended 'found family'.
That said, there are some big set scenes . The politics, at last, becomes more accessible as it concentrates on the fragile throne and fraught relationships amongst the young Stewarts, with great storylines for Johndie Mar and Albany, set against an appearance by Richard of Gloucester, later Richard III.
But more and more I've been resistant to the way this series only really exists to lead, teleologically, to Lymond. Too many characters, whose surnames have been hidden, turn out to be ancestors to characters we know and I was distracted by tracing lineages and family trees as, often, the characters' presents were less interesting than the fact they are to generate important personages who drive the Lymond series: .
This is compounded by the occult strain which emerged in The Unicorn Hunt where Nicholas was revealed to have supernatural powers. This has led to his visions from the future that he can't understand but which we recognise as scenes and emotions from Lymond - this finally gets discussed by Dr Andreas here and suggests a vague sort of reincarnation plot that, again, makes this series a sideline to Lymond.
At least this final book, operating on a narrower canvas than the last three, is more focused than some of the unwieldy last few volumes. There are some satisfying tying up of ends as Nicholas and family are settled in Scotland while maintaining links to France. It's a little too neat but we also get glimpses of what will be Midculter, St. Mary's, and Sevigny.
I don't know - I've struggled through some of this series, while still finding enough pleasure to not want to abandon it. Personally, I find the urge to retrofit it to Lymond ends up making the books cumbersome, a bit irritating (all those hidden surnames and genealogies) and leaches some of the life that might have been there if all these characters could have lived their own lives rather than being tied to a foregone history. It's also a puzzle as to what happens to the bank and trading company which is nowhere in sight by the time we get to the baronial Crawfords of Culter. The stitching together of an 8-volume prequel to an existing series feels like a sentimental inability to let go on the part of the author - I'd have expected something more rigorous from Dunnett.
Many thanks to Nastya, Mel, Alex and Ryan for your company and wit on this epic journey!
May 13, 2009
Ah. You know that moment when you read the last page of a book, and you gently close it (or, uh, switch off your electronic reading device of choice) and you breathe out a long breath and you just have to sit there for five or ten minutes smiling and not thinking much, but just quietly hanging on to the last threads of it? Yeah.
So that's the Dunnett, then. These last two books aren't perfect -- Gemini, in particular, spends a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on petty politics that I just didn't care about – but man. This broke my heart in the very best way. Particularly as the last two books are all about building what I found lacking in this series previously, as compared to Lymond. Nicholas makes a home at last, and a family, and permanence, and country, and a holding center. And then at the very last, ah. Francis Crawford, there you are.
Yes.
So that's the Dunnett, then. These last two books aren't perfect -- Gemini, in particular, spends a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on petty politics that I just didn't care about – but man. This broke my heart in the very best way. Particularly as the last two books are all about building what I found lacking in this series previously, as compared to Lymond. Nicholas makes a home at last, and a family, and permanence, and country, and a holding center. And then at the very last, ah. Francis Crawford, there you are.
Yes.
October 1, 2023
Ottavo volume della “Saga di Niccolò”, questo “Gemelli” pubblicato nel 2000 da Dorothy Dunnett [1923-2001] rappresenta l’ultimo tassello dalla grande saga nell’Europa della seconda parte del XV secolo ed è prevalentemente ambientata in Scozia dove alle vicende private, familiari, politiche e commerciali del protagonista si innestano quelle storiche di quella nazione ove in seno alla famiglia reale trovano sfogo rivalità insanabili tra il re James e i suoi fratelli Alexander e John che saranno causa di un intervento armato inglese nel suolo di Scozia che rischierà di mettere fine all’indipendenza del Paese.
Racconto perfetto nel suo svolgimento e nella rara capacità dell’autrice di amalgamare la realtà storica con le vicende dei suoi personaggi immaginari, quest’ultimo capitolo della lunga saga non perde il confronto con i precedenti ed anzi, con il venire a capo degli intrighi e dei misteri rimasti in sospeso nei libri precedenti, regala una lettura di rara intensità narrativa e di grande godimento, sfiorando la perfezione.
Racconto perfetto nel suo svolgimento e nella rara capacità dell’autrice di amalgamare la realtà storica con le vicende dei suoi personaggi immaginari, quest’ultimo capitolo della lunga saga non perde il confronto con i precedenti ed anzi, con il venire a capo degli intrighi e dei misteri rimasti in sospeso nei libri precedenti, regala una lettura di rara intensità narrativa e di grande godimento, sfiorando la perfezione.
June 8, 2024
Reread- magnificent. A more mature series than Lymond, it’s a psychological journey of a damaged brilliant man and woman who need to resolve childhood trauma. The historical facts are amazing, the scope of travel that Nicholas does is far reaching, even to the magical city of Timbuktu.
January 30, 2025
4,33 stars
Will try to gather thoughts later.
Will try to gather thoughts later.
September 19, 2023
‘A confused King and two rudderless Princes, adrift in a world which they hardly seemed to realise was splitting apart.’
The eighth and final instalment of the House of Niccolo series opens in Scotland in 1477. After four years, Nicholas de Fleury, former banker, traveller and merchant has returned to the land he almost ruined during his private war with his secret enemies and his wife Gelis. His friends hope that he has come to make amends for the past while his enemies simply want him dead.
The history, the intrigue and the politics during the reign of King James III provides a colourful and intricate setting for Nicholas de Fleury to uncover the truth about the past. Scotland’s own internal political instability is compounded by events in Burgundy, England and France adding layers of complexity to the story. While fact and fiction can be easily distinguished, if you try, the world of ‘Gemini’ is dominated by Nicholas de Fleury as the story moves inexorably towards its conclusion.
This is the third time I’ve read this book since it was published in 2000. Like so many other fans of the series, I eagerly awaited this instalment and then devoured it in days. Like others, I have mixed feelings about the ending: after seven books we each have our own preferences for the eighth instalment. If you enjoy historical fiction set in 15th century Europe and you are not familiar with this series, be warned. It is complex and at times convoluted and confusing. The characters have lives of their own, and the story can become both addictive and infuriating. But above all, it can bring great pleasure while bringing aspects of the 15th century to life and introducing one of the most engaging heroes ever to spring from the pen onto the page. Enter the world of Nicholas de Fleury – but whatever you do, start at the beginning.
‘Looking backwards makes for poor steering.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
The eighth and final instalment of the House of Niccolo series opens in Scotland in 1477. After four years, Nicholas de Fleury, former banker, traveller and merchant has returned to the land he almost ruined during his private war with his secret enemies and his wife Gelis. His friends hope that he has come to make amends for the past while his enemies simply want him dead.
The history, the intrigue and the politics during the reign of King James III provides a colourful and intricate setting for Nicholas de Fleury to uncover the truth about the past. Scotland’s own internal political instability is compounded by events in Burgundy, England and France adding layers of complexity to the story. While fact and fiction can be easily distinguished, if you try, the world of ‘Gemini’ is dominated by Nicholas de Fleury as the story moves inexorably towards its conclusion.
This is the third time I’ve read this book since it was published in 2000. Like so many other fans of the series, I eagerly awaited this instalment and then devoured it in days. Like others, I have mixed feelings about the ending: after seven books we each have our own preferences for the eighth instalment. If you enjoy historical fiction set in 15th century Europe and you are not familiar with this series, be warned. It is complex and at times convoluted and confusing. The characters have lives of their own, and the story can become both addictive and infuriating. But above all, it can bring great pleasure while bringing aspects of the 15th century to life and introducing one of the most engaging heroes ever to spring from the pen onto the page. Enter the world of Nicholas de Fleury – but whatever you do, start at the beginning.
‘Looking backwards makes for poor steering.’
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
May 3, 2016
As always when I finish a Dunnett book - and particularly so with the last of the series - I want to go back and read all the clues I missed, immerse myself still in the world of the past that has now fallen into clearer detail with the revelations of the final few chapters. But the books - while absorbing - are too large an undertaking to casually re-read. Dunnett's fondness for her native Scotland does bleed through this book and the links to Lymond become clearer and more insistent but it doesn't detract. If anything, it all becomes a little more real, the stakes a little higher because everything matters a little more. The plot is still slightly overcomplicated but unlike earlier books, most details are now explained, a traitor unmasked and motivations laid out.
I adore this series but I'm always hesitant to recommend. You have to like historical fiction without requiring traditional epic romance (although Nicholas' marriage is one of the best depictions of a real, complicated relationship I've ever read in historical fiction) or dragons. You have to be willing to read through a welter of detail that is all correct but may not make sense without an in-depth knowledge of the time and place the story is set in. But if you meet that criteria, you come away with a richer knowledge of that time and place and desire to know more and a heart desperately hopeful that after all the trauma and personal growth and self-imposed duty the House of Niccolo and the Kingdom of Scotland can find peace, prosperity and happiness. And at the end of the day, when you have hopes and dreams for the characters that run well beyond the time period of the tale told, surely you have to say that the author has succeeded.
I adore this series but I'm always hesitant to recommend. You have to like historical fiction without requiring traditional epic romance (although Nicholas' marriage is one of the best depictions of a real, complicated relationship I've ever read in historical fiction) or dragons. You have to be willing to read through a welter of detail that is all correct but may not make sense without an in-depth knowledge of the time and place the story is set in. But if you meet that criteria, you come away with a richer knowledge of that time and place and desire to know more and a heart desperately hopeful that after all the trauma and personal growth and self-imposed duty the House of Niccolo and the Kingdom of Scotland can find peace, prosperity and happiness. And at the end of the day, when you have hopes and dreams for the characters that run well beyond the time period of the tale told, surely you have to say that the author has succeeded.
January 24, 2011
Was; and is; and will be.
What more could you want from the last book of a series if not a final like this? During this long journey with Nicholas I always tried to imagine what would happen next, how it would end up for this guy that from being a dyer makes his way in the world until he gets to own a bank, a trade network and a dense array of friends and enemies. Probably what made me fall in love with Dorothy Dunnett lies in her ability to surprise, to let me open-mouthed to contemplate the pages, going back to look for those clues, scattered nearly so well as to escape attention, which in hindsight give a whole new meaning to the story.
SPOILER ALERT!
The first half of the book runs slow, preparatory; we follow Nicholas in his attempts to remedy his past actions and eventually build a life together with Gelis, his son, and the ones that have always been close to him; but the last half is a storm in full, it hits you and overworks you, and makes you almost lose your breath. The death of Simon and Henry, the revelation of who Julius really is and how he has always plotted and hampered Nicholas, are the parts most exciting and loaded of the entire series. The ending left me well, a bit with a bitter taste, and a bit with the joy of seeing Nicholas finally happy and find there, among the pages, another memorable character, Francis Crawford of Lymond.
What more could you want from the last book of a series if not a final like this? During this long journey with Nicholas I always tried to imagine what would happen next, how it would end up for this guy that from being a dyer makes his way in the world until he gets to own a bank, a trade network and a dense array of friends and enemies. Probably what made me fall in love with Dorothy Dunnett lies in her ability to surprise, to let me open-mouthed to contemplate the pages, going back to look for those clues, scattered nearly so well as to escape attention, which in hindsight give a whole new meaning to the story.
SPOILER ALERT!
The first half of the book runs slow, preparatory; we follow Nicholas in his attempts to remedy his past actions and eventually build a life together with Gelis, his son, and the ones that have always been close to him; but the last half is a storm in full, it hits you and overworks you, and makes you almost lose your breath. The death of Simon and Henry, the revelation of who Julius really is and how he has always plotted and hampered Nicholas, are the parts most exciting and loaded of the entire series. The ending left me well, a bit with a bitter taste, and a bit with the joy of seeing Nicholas finally happy and find there, among the pages, another memorable character, Francis Crawford of Lymond.
August 7, 2013
Having visited Bruges in June, I set myself to re-read the entire House of Niccolo series from beginning to end. They're long books, and there are eight volumes, so it took me six weeks to read them. I was so swept along by the power and scope of the series that I didn't want it to end. It takes us from Bruges all through the trading world of the 15th century - the Black Sea and Trebizond, last outpost of the Byzantine empire, Caffa, Poland, Muscovy, Iceland, Egypt, Africa and the glories and dangers of Timbuktu, Cyprus, Rhodes, Italy, France, Germany and Austria and of course Scotland. Fabulous stuff - like a huge and absorbing tapestry written in prose dense with allusion. I recommend the two Dorothy Dunnett Companion volumes that go with this series and the Game of Kings series - which I plan to re-read next year.
August 20, 2018
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3037201.html
I was thoroughly satisfied with the climax, set mostly in Scotland, over a longer period than any of the previous books. This novel is particularly tightly crafted into the historical events of the reign of James III, and occasionally it creaks with effort, but generally the personal drama of Nicholas and his extended household and possible family meshes pretty seamlessly with the Scottish court politics of the time. There are, as I expected, some pretty brutal deaths of leading figures from the previous books, hidden secrets involving the twins of the title, and a major betrayal which I should have seen coming after the events of Caprice and Rondo. Some day I shall sit down and read the whole sequence of 8 books and 6,000 pages in one go.
I was thoroughly satisfied with the climax, set mostly in Scotland, over a longer period than any of the previous books. This novel is particularly tightly crafted into the historical events of the reign of James III, and occasionally it creaks with effort, but generally the personal drama of Nicholas and his extended household and possible family meshes pretty seamlessly with the Scottish court politics of the time. There are, as I expected, some pretty brutal deaths of leading figures from the previous books, hidden secrets involving the twins of the title, and a major betrayal which I should have seen coming after the events of Caprice and Rondo. Some day I shall sit down and read the whole sequence of 8 books and 6,000 pages in one go.
June 18, 2011
I have finished re-reading The House of Niccolo series and now I am so sad. I am going to miss Claus/Niccolo/Nicholas/Nicol/etc., the brilliant, tough, resilient, tender man who I have come to love, as I love few characters in fiction. This novel was so intense, bringing to an end (most of) the mysteries of Nicholas and his life. We find out who the ultimate betrayer-of-trust of these books, how Nicholas comes to stay in Scotland with his family, how the machinations of politics and war bring the Scots together. The series built my knowledge of history, time and place, character development, and more...the most brilliant set of novels I have ever read.
Now, on to the Lymond Chronicles...
Now, on to the Lymond Chronicles...
June 30, 2008
I'll make a proper review later on, but right now I'm just wishing that another 8 volumes had been written, because I'm finding it a bit hard to let go. Brilliant series, historical fiction at its best, and just as good as Lymond in my opinion.
February 5, 2023
Uh huh, sure, I can cope. This is fine, everything is fine. Recovery first, then hopefully a review.
__
I don't think this review is going to be very coherent!
I raced to the end of this series. I was somehow desperate to get to the resolution for Nicholas.
I loved Nicholas as a character from the start. Because we start with him so much younger and unformed than Lymond, it was so exciting to have a main character who wasn't a complete mystery, keeping his cards close to his chest, but instead his development was the point of the story. Because I liked him so much, I struggled all the way through when everyone else was so hard on him and cautious and seemed to like punishing him so much. I don't know if I was a bit blinkered about that, but it did make me frustrated with almost all other characters.
My two biggest issues were 1) Gelis and 2) did he 'ruin' Scotland?
1) Gelis's behaviour was honestly not really explicable to me and not particularly forgivable either. Maybe I need to re-read the earlier books to get a better sense of her but also, I just don't think DD spent that much time on her, comparatively speaking, so I'm not sure how much it would help. I kind of wanted Nicholas to move on from her and their war in The Unicorn Hunt and To Lie with Lions just super aggravated me. And then the resolution, ultimately, was that she had to accept his superiority, which was kind of annoying even if true. I was kind of back on board with the relationship by Gemini but that was with some serious side-eye and forcing myself to let it go.
That said, on letting it go, it was lovely to have a whole book of Gelis and Nicholas working together.
2) Did he ruin Scotland? Really? No one seemed to notice. Considering there was then an entire book of punishment, I kind of wish I understood what happened there.
In terms of resolution, I did think Gemini did an incredible job of tying things together. DD is just such a master of referring back and forward to small and big things and making everything feel incredibly significant. I loved how it was tied to the Lymond books in the end.
My only complaint was the Simon and Henry aspect which as well as being tragic was also the one bit where the worst bit of revelation that had been building for 8 books was suddenly averted and I don't think there was any way for that to not feel like a cop out. Also because of all the other action, there was not that much time to see the affect it had on Nicholas. The same with the death of little Margaret. That was clearly devastating for Kateljine and Jodi and we didn't see much beyond the immediate aftermath.
But all round a phenomenal series that I can't wait to re-read at some point and also will probably send me right back to re-read Lymond as well. Yay.
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I don't think this review is going to be very coherent!
I raced to the end of this series. I was somehow desperate to get to the resolution for Nicholas.
I loved Nicholas as a character from the start. Because we start with him so much younger and unformed than Lymond, it was so exciting to have a main character who wasn't a complete mystery, keeping his cards close to his chest, but instead his development was the point of the story. Because I liked him so much, I struggled all the way through when everyone else was so hard on him and cautious and seemed to like punishing him so much. I don't know if I was a bit blinkered about that, but it did make me frustrated with almost all other characters.
My two biggest issues were 1) Gelis and 2) did he 'ruin' Scotland?
1) Gelis's behaviour was honestly not really explicable to me and not particularly forgivable either. Maybe I need to re-read the earlier books to get a better sense of her but also, I just don't think DD spent that much time on her, comparatively speaking, so I'm not sure how much it would help. I kind of wanted Nicholas to move on from her and their war in The Unicorn Hunt and To Lie with Lions just super aggravated me. And then the resolution, ultimately, was that she had to accept his superiority, which was kind of annoying even if true. I was kind of back on board with the relationship by Gemini but that was with some serious side-eye and forcing myself to let it go.
That said, on letting it go, it was lovely to have a whole book of Gelis and Nicholas working together.
2) Did he ruin Scotland? Really? No one seemed to notice. Considering there was then an entire book of punishment, I kind of wish I understood what happened there.
In terms of resolution, I did think Gemini did an incredible job of tying things together. DD is just such a master of referring back and forward to small and big things and making everything feel incredibly significant. I loved how it was tied to the Lymond books in the end.
My only complaint was the Simon and Henry aspect which as well as being tragic was also the one bit where the worst bit of revelation that had been building for 8 books was suddenly averted and I don't think there was any way for that to not feel like a cop out. Also because of all the other action, there was not that much time to see the affect it had on Nicholas. The same with the death of little Margaret. That was clearly devastating for Kateljine and Jodi and we didn't see much beyond the immediate aftermath.
But all round a phenomenal series that I can't wait to re-read at some point and also will probably send me right back to re-read Lymond as well. Yay.
March 21, 2010
This book finishes the eight volume House of Niccolo series. Dunnett wraps up all the threads and conflicts beautifully, often in surprising ways. Rather than get into the plot, though, I'm going to talk about some of my favorite characters.
Nicholas de Fleury: Dunnett's main character is utterly fascinating, thoroughly lifelike, and disarmingly likable. Even when I didn't like what he was doing or how he was behaving, I was still riveted to his story. It is the mysteries of his past and the resolution of his internal conflicts that drive the series.
Gelis van Borselen: I admired her terribly for her strength, intelligence, her courage, and her daring. Even when I didn't like what she was doing, either. She is both the perfect partner for Nicholas and a compelling individual in her own right. One of the things I liked best about Gemini was finally seeing her and Nicholas working together as the formidable team it was always clear they could be.
Anselm Adorne: One of the most honorable and competent people in Nicholas' world, Anselm is one of the pillars of both Nicholas' life and the series as a whole. The relationship between Anselm and Nicholas goes through many changes, but it is always one of respect. Adorne is a truly good and great man, and I think Nicholas learns a great deal from him.
Katelijne Sersanders: Adorne's intelligent, clever, energetic niece is another of Nicholas' best and truest friends. She is one of the few people who really understand him. She reminded me a lot of my friend Becky in a way - if this series were a LARP event, Katelijne is the person she would play.
Jordan St. Pol: He's more or less the villain of the piece, but Jordan is a great character. His motivations are complex and often hidden, he's clever and subtle, he's often cruel and ruthless, but his appearances are some of the best scenes in the series.
Nicholas de Fleury: Dunnett's main character is utterly fascinating, thoroughly lifelike, and disarmingly likable. Even when I didn't like what he was doing or how he was behaving, I was still riveted to his story. It is the mysteries of his past and the resolution of his internal conflicts that drive the series.
Gelis van Borselen: I admired her terribly for her strength, intelligence, her courage, and her daring. Even when I didn't like what she was doing, either. She is both the perfect partner for Nicholas and a compelling individual in her own right. One of the things I liked best about Gemini was finally seeing her and Nicholas working together as the formidable team it was always clear they could be.
Anselm Adorne: One of the most honorable and competent people in Nicholas' world, Anselm is one of the pillars of both Nicholas' life and the series as a whole. The relationship between Anselm and Nicholas goes through many changes, but it is always one of respect. Adorne is a truly good and great man, and I think Nicholas learns a great deal from him.
Katelijne Sersanders: Adorne's intelligent, clever, energetic niece is another of Nicholas' best and truest friends. She is one of the few people who really understand him. She reminded me a lot of my friend Becky in a way - if this series were a LARP event, Katelijne is the person she would play.
Jordan St. Pol: He's more or less the villain of the piece, but Jordan is a great character. His motivations are complex and often hidden, he's clever and subtle, he's often cruel and ruthless, but his appearances are some of the best scenes in the series.
January 9, 2013
A lot of people complain that this book is weaker than the rest of the series, but I disagree. It felt slightly 'kitchen-sink'ish when it was first published but on reading it years later, I appreciate the subtle way that Dunnett brought along the characters, with some superb writing during some very emotional moments.
I wasn't disappointed. I can't think of a time I've ever been disappointed by her historical fiction. At the moment I now have a reader's hangover, that moment when everything is done and dusted, and there's no more to read. No intricate weaving of real and fictional characters, no ruthless disposal of people because people die and not always when we want them to. No lovingly created descriptions of Scotland or Bruges or the small resting points in between.
Eventually, I will read the series again, and I will find new things. It's what she excells in doing with her writing. Expanding the horizons.
I wasn't disappointed. I can't think of a time I've ever been disappointed by her historical fiction. At the moment I now have a reader's hangover, that moment when everything is done and dusted, and there's no more to read. No intricate weaving of real and fictional characters, no ruthless disposal of people because people die and not always when we want them to. No lovingly created descriptions of Scotland or Bruges or the small resting points in between.
Eventually, I will read the series again, and I will find new things. It's what she excells in doing with her writing. Expanding the horizons.
August 3, 2011
Fantastic conclusion to the 8-book House of Niccolo series. By far one of my favorite series: extremely well-written historical fiction combined with adventure, comedy, drama, and some sort of mystery and twist in every book. It took me over a year to read House of Niccolo (and before that another 6 months or so to read Dunnett's first series The Lymond Chronicles), so for about 2 years I have been enthralled by this world that Dunnett created, about two ordinary men doing extraordinary things in Renaissance Europe (and two entirely fictional characters whose stories are intricately and expertly interwoven into historical story-lines).
November 21, 2009
Oh. I wonder if I look at a family tree with everyone in it I'll manage to make sense of it all.
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 went completely over my head.
And now? The whole series goes into my "to be re-read" pile, along with the Lymond Chronicles, for me to actually read slowly and appreciate the details. XD
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 went completely over my head.
And now? The whole series goes into my "to be re-read" pile, along with the Lymond Chronicles, for me to actually read slowly and appreciate the details. XD
April 16, 2025
I'm honestly so sad to finish this series. Best books I've ever read. Not as silly or fun as the Lymond Chronicles but truly masterpieces of plotting, pacing, character work, etc. Absolutely the best plot twist of all time.... Dunnett is a genius.
February 24, 2017
Slower than the others, but perhaps the lull before the storm, which became a maelstrom.
See my review of the entire series.
See my review of the entire series.
May 3, 2022
This was a lot. More when I can form sentences.
October 8, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in January 2001.
I found the final novel of the House of Niccolo series almost as disappointing as the one which preceded it, Caprice and Rondo. The series comes to a climax with the fifth novel, To Lie with Lions, in which the identity of the secret partner in the Vatachino trading house whose rivalry is attempting to destroy that of Niccolo is revealed. This is surprising and almost crushing; the last two novels of the series amount to around 1500 pages trying to wrench the situation round to a happy ending. Both contain new hidden enemies, but the revelations about them are not as well prepared and the repetition of the same plot ceases to be interesting, and becomes more far fetched - surely there must be a limit to the number of secrets related to Niccolo's origins.
The story this time takes place in Scotland, scene of some of Niccolo's earlier adventures. This location is necessary for the promised connection to Dunnett's Lymond series. Niccolo becomes involved in the complicated Scottish politics of the 1480s, born of the crisis caused by the incapacity of the Stewart royal family. Basically, King James III and his younger brother both have personalities in which there are strong elements of stupidity, vanity and bad temper, and difficulties between them are fertile ground for exploitation by the old enemy of England. Niccolo is still also involved in a vendetta with the St Pols of Kilmurren and another old enemy, David Salmeton, is now based in Scotland, making the already dangerous situation personally antagonistic to Niccolo.
The series draws to a disappointing end; a pity, when its first five novels are so good. Gemini is also likely to be Dunnett's final novel, and it is even given a literary introduction, as though she were already dead. The Lymond and Niccolo series will ensure that she is remembered, but not this novel itself.
I found the final novel of the House of Niccolo series almost as disappointing as the one which preceded it, Caprice and Rondo. The series comes to a climax with the fifth novel, To Lie with Lions, in which the identity of the secret partner in the Vatachino trading house whose rivalry is attempting to destroy that of Niccolo is revealed. This is surprising and almost crushing; the last two novels of the series amount to around 1500 pages trying to wrench the situation round to a happy ending. Both contain new hidden enemies, but the revelations about them are not as well prepared and the repetition of the same plot ceases to be interesting, and becomes more far fetched - surely there must be a limit to the number of secrets related to Niccolo's origins.
The story this time takes place in Scotland, scene of some of Niccolo's earlier adventures. This location is necessary for the promised connection to Dunnett's Lymond series. Niccolo becomes involved in the complicated Scottish politics of the 1480s, born of the crisis caused by the incapacity of the Stewart royal family. Basically, King James III and his younger brother both have personalities in which there are strong elements of stupidity, vanity and bad temper, and difficulties between them are fertile ground for exploitation by the old enemy of England. Niccolo is still also involved in a vendetta with the St Pols of Kilmurren and another old enemy, David Salmeton, is now based in Scotland, making the already dangerous situation personally antagonistic to Niccolo.
The series draws to a disappointing end; a pity, when its first five novels are so good. Gemini is also likely to be Dunnett's final novel, and it is even given a literary introduction, as though she were already dead. The Lymond and Niccolo series will ensure that she is remembered, but not this novel itself.
September 20, 2017
In the final book in Dorothy Dunnett's House of Niccolò series, Nicholas de Fleury returns to Scotland to try to make amends for the damage caused by his earlier actions and to safeguard his family from the enemies who have tried to kill both him and them so many times. For a while, I thought that Gemini was going to be a bit of an anticlimax to the series; several plot threads were resolved at the end of Caprice and Rondo, and Gemini is almost entirely set in Scotland, lacking the exotic locations of the earlier books. Nicholas has also changed and grown, and in Gemini is tackling the task of learning to care for people, and not just for the outcomes of his schemes. However, after a slow start, the novel gathers pace and the psychological drama is more than a match for the drama of any of Dunnett's other novels; there were just as many twists and edge-of-the-seat moments, and I found it just as hard to put down. It's a fitting end to the series, and like the ending of Checkmate leaves me wanting to go back and re-read key moments from earlier in the series in the light of the final revelations.
Fittingly, having started reading The Game of Kings on my 40th-birthday trip to Scotland, because I wanted to read something set in Scotland while I was there, I read Gemini while on holiday in Scotland once again. Three and a bit years, 14 books, at least 7,000 pages and an amazing sweep of European and Middle Eastern history in the early modern and late Middle Ages later, I can safely say that it has been one of the most intense reading experiences I've ever had. I can't actually remember who it was who made Dunnett sound intriguing enough for me to give her a try (I suspect it may have been a gestalt entity of friends and acquaintances), but it's been incredible, and in many ways I'm sorry to have come to the end. (I do still have King Hereafter to read, and will probably give the Johnson Johnson novels a try at least, but neither is going to be the same.)
Fittingly, having started reading The Game of Kings on my 40th-birthday trip to Scotland, because I wanted to read something set in Scotland while I was there, I read Gemini while on holiday in Scotland once again. Three and a bit years, 14 books, at least 7,000 pages and an amazing sweep of European and Middle Eastern history in the early modern and late Middle Ages later, I can safely say that it has been one of the most intense reading experiences I've ever had. I can't actually remember who it was who made Dunnett sound intriguing enough for me to give her a try (I suspect it may have been a gestalt entity of friends and acquaintances), but it's been incredible, and in many ways I'm sorry to have come to the end. (I do still have King Hereafter to read, and will probably give the Johnson Johnson novels a try at least, but neither is going to be the same.)
September 11, 2016
It's a slog. To be frank, if I hadn't read the previous seven (seven?) books in the saga, I would have put it down. She said it was the hardest volume to write, and I'm not surprised. Lady D feels obliged to put into the book every little thing she knows about Scotland c.1480 and (especially) Scottish genealogy. And she knows a lot. By the time it came to the Great Revelation (and there is one) this reader was, like, really? So...? It's all about Lymond, and honestly, I can't be bothered with Lymond.
But hell, she deserves respect. It's a mighty enterprise (and so is Lymond, really) and a great deal of it is very entertaining. She knows an amazing amount about the detail as well as the broad sweep of the (European history) of the time, and her knowledge (if annoyingly gnomic and nudge-nudgy*) deepens the experience and mostly helps move the tale along.
But by the time she gets to the end (and her end too, she clearly senses) she's popped most of the balloons, got the villains out of the way, resolved the great conflicts, and there's not much left but to limp to the end like an exhausted marathon runner looking not only at the finish line but also to the next race, which she has already run.
*There's a two-volume Companion explaining all the plot twists and turns and the many obscure allusions. There's even a 15th-century earworm. (The long-suffering Companion writer is Elspeth Morrison. Who is, if I am not mistaken, General Flashman's long-suffering wife. Now we know what she was doing when she wasn't cuckolding the old boy. A hundred years between her and Lady D? Well, who's to know which really came first?)
But hell, she deserves respect. It's a mighty enterprise (and so is Lymond, really) and a great deal of it is very entertaining. She knows an amazing amount about the detail as well as the broad sweep of the (European history) of the time, and her knowledge (if annoyingly gnomic and nudge-nudgy*) deepens the experience and mostly helps move the tale along.
But by the time she gets to the end (and her end too, she clearly senses) she's popped most of the balloons, got the villains out of the way, resolved the great conflicts, and there's not much left but to limp to the end like an exhausted marathon runner looking not only at the finish line but also to the next race, which she has already run.
*There's a two-volume Companion explaining all the plot twists and turns and the many obscure allusions. There's even a 15th-century earworm. (The long-suffering Companion writer is Elspeth Morrison. Who is, if I am not mistaken, General Flashman's long-suffering wife. Now we know what she was doing when she wasn't cuckolding the old boy. A hundred years between her and Lady D? Well, who's to know which really came first?)
December 11, 2018
I've spent the past 14 months reading this series steadily, which given my recent complaints about brick-sized genre novels should be taken as high praise.
It's deeply absorbing, though requires high cognitive load from the reader. Preternaturally intelligent and ruthless characters are constantly engaged in layers upon layers of political, mercantile and personal manipulation and covert aggression, all told in very limited third-person so that you never even fully know what the current point-of-view character's motivations are, in intensely detailed historical settings all over the known (at that time to Europeans) world. If I've given most of the books four stars it's because there's always about 15% of the plot I simply can't follow.
I will admit that by the end, the revelation of ever more vengeful estranged family members was beginning to strain plausibility. I also struggled with a sense that some characters seemed to exist to revolve around Niccolo, as if he was the protagonist not just outside the fourth wall, to the reader, but inside as well - characters rearranged their own lives and fates to intervene in his life and moral development.
Nonetheless I was very fond of him, and can't quite believe my relationship with him is over. I enjoyed his arduously earned happy ending a great deal - and what an exquisitely, torturously long romance arc! Writers should all aspire to be such utter bastards with our characters' hearts.
I look forward to reading Lymond eventually, but I need a rest first.
It's deeply absorbing, though requires high cognitive load from the reader. Preternaturally intelligent and ruthless characters are constantly engaged in layers upon layers of political, mercantile and personal manipulation and covert aggression, all told in very limited third-person so that you never even fully know what the current point-of-view character's motivations are, in intensely detailed historical settings all over the known (at that time to Europeans) world. If I've given most of the books four stars it's because there's always about 15% of the plot I simply can't follow.
I will admit that by the end, the revelation of ever more vengeful estranged family members was beginning to strain plausibility. I also struggled with a sense that some characters seemed to exist to revolve around Niccolo, as if he was the protagonist not just outside the fourth wall, to the reader, but inside as well - characters rearranged their own lives and fates to intervene in his life and moral development.
Nonetheless I was very fond of him, and can't quite believe my relationship with him is over. I enjoyed his arduously earned happy ending a great deal - and what an exquisitely, torturously long romance arc! Writers should all aspire to be such utter bastards with our characters' hearts.
I look forward to reading Lymond eventually, but I need a rest first.
December 14, 2019
It took me two and a half years to finish this series, and since the books cover twenty-five years or so, I feel as though I've been with these characters for decades. I miss them already. I finished Geminithe day after Saint Nicholas Day--if I'd known I was so close, I would've hustled and finished it the day before just for the poetry of the thing! As it was, I blazed through the last 70 pages in a tense, nail-biting reading session, afraid of what Dunnett was going to pull out at the end. There was a fair bit of mayhem and gasping, although it wasn't as bad as I feared it might be. I had half-suspected the main twist, but then again, by that point, I was half-suspecting everyone, so I don't think I should get much credit for it. Everything did tie together in an exceedingly reasonable way, though, and I was grateful for that. I also loved the nod to the Lymond series, which I've read just enough of to know when it's being referenced, thank goodness. While the political back-and-forth was a bit much in this book, I'm still rounding up to five stars for the immense feeling of love and accomplishment I felt upon finishing this series.
Overall, a fiendishly difficult, frustrating, mind-stretching, absolutely wonderful series, and one I will no doubt be reading again one day.
Overall, a fiendishly difficult, frustrating, mind-stretching, absolutely wonderful series, and one I will no doubt be reading again one day.
June 29, 2011
phew, I made it to the end! Like many other reviewers, this book felt like a coda to the first 7 books of the series. It just didn't have quite the energy and the drama, which could have been higher given the plot, just wasn't. It was nice to see how Nicol functioned when he was supported and open. I liked seeing him with his son(s). However, I can also see why when she finished the Lymond Chronicles, she didn't do this. The ending was much less dramatic than the LC. Which was good, since now I can actually let go of the series and get back to doing something else with my evenings!
October 30, 2011
Nicholas has been eliminating or neutralizing all the threats to his family. He is now free for the dangerous negotiations between vacillating James III of Scotland and vindictive Edward IV of England. But the deaths of people Nicholas loves indicates that someone within his own company is making a climactic effort.
On a second read, I knew of disasters to come, and approached my reading with fear. I had forgotten with what sweet balance Dunnett approached her people's lives in GEMINI, so I spoiled my own experience. Dunnett's final book is a masterly weave of loves, companionships, and betrayals.
On a second read, I knew of disasters to come, and approached my reading with fear. I had forgotten with what sweet balance Dunnett approached her people's lives in GEMINI, so I spoiled my own experience. Dunnett's final book is a masterly weave of loves, companionships, and betrayals.
July 30, 2012
This series nearly lost me after the ending of Book 4 and during the tedious Books 5 & 6. It ended fairly well, with an expected, but not predictable Dunnett plot twist to cap it off. Overall, I prefer the Lymond Chronicles to this series. It was interesting to see how the two series connects, although I had to look up online the exact connection.
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