“Lymond is back.”

These are the first words of the first book, The Game of Kings, by Dorothy Dunnett’s in her series, The Lymond Chronicles.  I’ve not read any of Dunnett’s novels, and back at the end of August I mused on whether I should get stuck into her books.  The response was tremendous and very encouraging – thank you.

So today, which happens to be International Dorothy Dunnett Day (IDDD), organised by the Dorothy Dunnett Society – I shall embark upon reading the saga.

I previously asked for your advice on whether I should dive in and immerse myself in the books, or take it at a more leisurely readalong pace. There was plenty of interest in reading along, but many of you recommended plunging into the books.  I would usually take the plunge route, not being good at restraining myself, so I’ve come up with a middle path which allows for some concentrated reading, but also comes up for breath …

The first book has four parts of roughly 190, 90, 90 and 200 pages (in my edition), so I propose to simply split it in half and read the first 2 parts this month, and report back on around December 10th, then to read the latter parts over Christmas and report back on around January 10th, so we have two hearty chunks of just under 300 pages each.

My friend Claire (@clairemccauley) has lent me a copy of the first Dorothy Dunnett Companion, so I shall be dipping into that too as needed for reference, and may report back on it in a separate post. I also intend to tweet my thoughts as I read along – see @gaskella.

My fingers are crossed that I’ll love it and will want to carry on with Queen’s Play and the rest of the series at a similar rate of pages to read each month. Please feel free to readalong with me (and Claire).  I’m really looking forward to it, and what better way to celebrate my 750th post than starting a readalong.

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I inherited/borrowed my copies of the books. To explore further on Amazon UK, please click below:
The Game Of Kings: The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett – Print on demand, s/hand copies available.
The Dorothy Dunnett Companion
by Elspeth Morrison – O/P but s/hand copies available.

8 thoughts on ““Lymond is back.”

  1. Teresa says:

    Hooray! I’m so excited to delve into these books again. I’ve just ordered copies of the Lymond books that I don’t have (numbers 1 and 2), as well as a copy of the companion, so I do intend to join in at some level, probably just shooting for a post around the time you finish the book. And I think Jenny will join in, too, as we’ve both been eager for a reread of these for a while.

  2. Lisa says:

    I don’t know if I’ll be reading along – I feel sometimes like I know the Chronicles by heart – but I’d love to follow your reading.

  3. Helen says:

    I would love to read the Lymond Chronicles again at some point but I’m currently in the middle of Dunnett’s other series, the House of Niccolo, and will concentrate on finishing those first. I’ll be interested to see what you and the other participants think of The Game of Kings, though!

    • gaskella says:

      I was torn between saying – let’s all just read it and get together at the end, or splitting into chunks… I’m useless at small chunks – but for me reading it in two parts will work well as there are so many other books I’m committed to reading at the moment. Hope you enjoy it however you read it!

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