Dorothy Dunnett fans discussion
Lymond Chronicles
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The Game of Kings discussion beginning on December 14, 2010
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The other little word that gives a clue is 'It had *dropped*' i.e. come from higher. Never got that until reading your post. The wonder of DD and my obtuseness. We get just as caught up in Ls speechifying just like Ls friends and enemies
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I did get that third or fourth time through. I've read this one more than the others. And the more often I read it, the more awed I am with her subtlety and plotting.
It is truly awesome to see DD's immaculate language and meticulous work appreciated with this degree of attention! You people are a joy, new readers and old.
Gracie wrote: "Katherine, I just love your taking the definition of Olla Podrida that one step farther (I am stealing the idea and putting it in my notes)...."Gracie, I had meant to respond earlier but it slipped my mind until now. Steal away. :) That's what we're doing here, sharing so that we can individually better understand these complex books and thus more fully enjoy them.
I'm behind the posted schedule again, I'm somewhere in the beginning portion of The Play For Gideon Somerville. Due mostly to my overly ambitious habit of reading too many books at a time, six presently. Soooo, rather than change the schedule again I'll simply just try to remember to post where I'm at in the reading at the beginning of a comment. Hopefully that will work okay for anyone reading along.
Hey guys in the interest of saving me from rereading GoK right now (don't try too hard I really want to) Can you guys keep your eyes peeled for any thing re: Frogs or Mice, Your eyebrows raise??? What could she be referring to or has she gone off the deep end???I noticed 2 things while I was searching out exact locations for the poems from The Lymond Poetry I noticed multiple references to Frogs and when Lymond sings The Ballad of the Frog and the Mouse he stops very abruptly and with anger. Why I ask myself (and you)??? Anyhoo I've found a couple of references in the early part of the book to frogs but I'd bet not all of them so keep your eyes peeled please.
So far I've found pg 15 - Mungos hse in Gambit pg 57 - Lymond and Richard with the messenger Bannister,pg 82 - L and Christian at the island , pg 404,405,406 - L and Kate. Some are just references to L singing to Christian (which is on pg 69) but not all. The page numbers are from the Vintage Trade pp edition.
Gracie wrote: "Hey guys in the interest of saving me from rereading GoK right now (don't try too hard I really want to) Can you guys keep your eyes peeled for any thing re: Frogs or Mice, Your eyebrows raise??? W..."Gracie: I'll make this vague to avoid spoilers; my guess would be, look no further than the song he was asked to play for You Know Whom, in the aftermath of the incident caused by the old Roman ditch...
OOOPS I forgot spoilers, mea culpa mea culpa mea a 1000 culpas ....The thing is, it's, frogs at least, mentioned before the original performance and it's mentioned after more than once. The later all refer back to the singing for Christian but why does she bring it up so much? DD's pretty good at clues; if it's there, there is a reason. But then again not??
I am still puzzled why Lymond breaks off 'violently as death' (pg 69)???? Oh well I guess I'll have to read GoK again - oh the pain, oh the strain (giggle).
This kindle search function is going to cost me money, I know it, especially since the money's in my pocket now but earmarked for mundane things .
Was it one of you lovely people who told me that you could search inside books on Amazon? If so thank you A LOT!!I tried it for another cause and by golly it works!! I'm off to Amazon, right now do so for frogs and mouses.
I'm sleep deprived so my mind is in full silly mode so...wouldn't it be nice if someone was Italian so we could talk about the Roman ditch with one letter changed. someone slap me and send me to bed.
Bad Gracie, on her way to Amazon
Mod
Gracie wrote: "OOOPS I forgot spoilers, mea culpa mea culpa mea a 1000 culpas ....The thing is, it's, frogs at least, mentioned before the original performance and it's mentioned after more than once. The lat..."
Would that be page 69 of the original hardback (US) or some later edition? I only have the old one upstairs...
I have a bunch of versions but when I give page numbers I always mean the Vintage Trade paperbacks that came out in the late 90s. Those seem to be the copies that a lot of people have. Page 69 is Part 1 The Play for J Crouch; Chapter 2 Blindfold Play; section 4.The collecting of editions is a bit of a game that some on line play except it is not a game. We just can't resist a DD when we see it. The game is listing our copies and laughing at ourselves.
I still have my original yellow paperbacks from the 80s, they're crumbling and kept in ziplock bags. Can you imagine how many copies people who've been reading Lymond from the 60s, have gone through. It boggles the mind.
Gracie wrote: "I have a bunch of versions but when I give page numbers I always mean the Vintage Trade paperbacks that came out in the late 90s. Those seem to be the copies that a lot of people have. Page 69 is P..."House too crammed with books for multiples. I love my hardbacks. I read these, originally, as library books. Acquired the selection I have, vol. by vol. Used; a few are the hardback reissues from Britain. Bought Niccolo/King Hearafter on release/hardbound.
For Niccolo, often bought the Brit. 1st release, then switched to the US one as they were bound sturdier/had better paper. I'm a nut for quality, not first issue.
Wish I could get the rest of the mysteries. Only have one, bought hardback, new.
Any dup. copies I gave away as I found the original editions. THOSE hold up.
Thanks for pegging that ref. If I can steal time from today, I will try to look it up.
Part Two: The Play for Gideon Somerville2. Irregular Partie Between Two Masters
I still find the scene at the Ostrich Inn where Lymond and Mat wrestle for the "girls" and the say-so of the piper simply hilarious. The din must have been head-splitting as bagpipes were never meant to be played indoors.
No wonder Molly loves Lymond, aside from his generous gifting of jewels, there's probably an entertaining diversion whenever he's around. Boring he is not.
Part Two: The Play for Gideon Somerville3. Another Royal Lady Enters the Game
Enter Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox... (I keep thinking that some kind of eerily tinkling but oh so ominous music should be playing in the background.)
"...my imitation queen; my past, my future, my hope of heaven and my knowledge of hell..." Oh my! At this point we're obviously meant to wonder if ice does truly flow through her veins or... is it simply a ruse?
To my memory this is the closest DD comes in GoK to a soap opera cliffhanger.
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Sandra aka Sleo wrote: "Katherine, I just noticed that Mary Zorro is missing. Do you know what happened to her? Apparently she's deleted her membership? And all her posts are gone?"Sandra, there was a problem/glitch and MaryZorro deleted her membership not realizing that all she had posted would also be deleted. She has rejoined as Zorro. Right now she's focusing on getting through the Pulitzers and is active with "Tackling the Pulitzer Prize Winners" here on Goodreads. I assume she'll be back at some point to discuss DD since she loves the books.
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This is a great thread! Already it's been so enlightening. I'll be checking back here as I read my first foray into the Lymond Chronicles. Yay!!
Well, we have three arrows. The first frees the papingo from its bonds, the second kills it, the third hits Richard who is standing at the base of the papingo pole. What I didn't pick up on the first time was that Andrew Hunter disappeared suddenly from the group and rushed his way to high ground behind the crowd. Because of the timing it's clear he didn't shoot the first arrow. Questionable whether he shot the second. Most likely did shoot the third arrow. I quote from 2. Check and Cross Check: "For the arrow which struck Richard came from a great distance and had to fly over many heads to an almost invisible mark. Unlike the first two it was not faultless. It had dropped, losing power, and had torn its way across cheek and ear to bury itself beside the collarbone." The italics are mine to show there's a difference between the first two arrows and the third.