Customer Reviews

To Lie with Lions (House of Niccolo/Dorothy Dunnett, Vol 6)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an amazing series. At times I think the history is the best part of it - you must stop to check up on Trebizond, or Cyprus, try to untangle what Brugges is, figure out the connection between James III of Scotland and the later Jameses - the 15th century springs to life in Dunnett's hands. And besides the history, Dunnett creates incredible characters, with Nicholas at the center, complex genius that he is. (In what guise does Nicholas live today?) Kathi Sersanders, the lively spirit who best understands him, represents the best of us, admiring and loving, and his son Jodi seems as familiar as all of our own children. Dr Tobias, the doubting and brilliant foil of Nicholas, is a magnificent creation, (and another way to represent the reader at his/her best). Okay, so it's a (long long long) soap opera, but you just can't go wrong: at the end you have Nicholas and his loyal band to dream of, and nearly a whole century of history that you never knew existed. Sign me up for the Dorothy Dunnett tour of the world!

As with all Dorothy Dunnett's books, you need to start at the beginning of the series. If you don't, then "To Lie With Lions" won't make much sense. The personalities with their rich background and convoluted associations won't have any context and the threads that weave backwards, forwards, will just be a tangled mess. But....read in sequence, the unbelieveable complexity, the mystery, the totally involving history of the characters springs to life. I guess it doesn't happen to everyone who reads Ms Dunnett's books - but for me she is numero uno and a lifelong love.

Dorothy Dunnett has been described as the greatest living historical novelist. Maybe she used to be. The author has always had a penchant for melodrama, a penchant which marred her earlier series, the Lymond Chronicles...but this book has gone seriously around the bend. Ms. Dunnett has a forceful prose style, a sure ear for dialogue, a keen descriptive eye and a masterly handle on her characterizations. Her plots are another matter. In To Lie with Lions, the hero, Nicholas de Fleury, survives (purely by luck) at least three separate attempts on his life. His wife and toddler son survive similar attacks, and, again purely by fortuity, Gelis barely escapes seduction by the King of Scotland in a medieval hot-tub (but hey, what's a little serendipity among friends). If all this weren't enough, it seems that Gelis, after having slept with Nicholas' father, after having claimed that Nicholas' son was not his, after having become an agent for his enemies and having conspired for his total financial ruin, was not doing all of this (as had earlier been claimed) for retribution in the belief that Nicholas had seduced and betrayed her sister. No...now it is revealed that Gelis actually felt inferior to her sister and did not think that she could keep Nicholas' love and interest unless she showed him that she was smarter than he was (a real genius, this girl). And then, after betraying the poor lovestruck lunatic in every way possible, she decides that Nicholas is the one who's gone too far (!) because he bankrupt the treasury of Scotland (and incidentally won their little game). She then goes off in a huff to cherish her moral superiority (I bet that'll show him). I've got to admit, I'll probably read the next one, but after this, I don't much care.

I was a bit disappointed with the previous two novels in the series, because I found them a bit to unplausible, but this book is a stunner!! We finally find out the result of the five year feud between Nicholas and Gelis, and the ending is still a cliff-hanger, but it does explain a few things.and gets us hyped up for the seventh book in the series. Ms. Dunnett is an excellent author. Yes, the history is good, but don't get into this series just for that. It's entirely too complicated and the continuous plot is a brain stretcher. I found that I actually started to like Nicholas in this book, and I really haven't before. He is a brilliant manipulator, and his long term planning is incredible, but he is human after all. His friends and acquaintances are just as interesting. I love Tobie and was glad to see him back. He is such a foil for Nicholas and is almost like his conscience. Katelejna is wonderful, and we see more of her. I can't wait to read the next book.

I have now read all of the novels in Dorothy Dunnett's Niccolo series, and like all of the others To Lie with Lions is a great read. I read it over a long weekend, and even with its 626 pages, I had to keep reading until I completed the book as I became more and more interested in what would be the conclusion to the long struggle in which Niccolo and his wife were engaging. But the problem I have is with the apparent conclusion to this relationship. The section is rushed and does not appear to follow logically from all that has been presented before; the motivations and rationalizations of the characters seem incomplete and somewhat illogical. I could present specific details, but I do not want to give away too much of what happens. Dorothy Dunnett is an excellent writer; her set-piece scenes, some of which were mentioned in the Kirkus review, are as well-written as anything I have ever read. The problem is in the psycholgy presented in this closing section. I hope she clarifies the internal and external relationships of her characters in the book to be published later this year. Even with these criticisms, the book is still very much worth reading and savoring. It could just have been one of her very best, worthy of the best of the genre and possibly even surpassing it.

I love this series. But I just cannot be very positive about this book. It has more than normal of Dunnett's confused and overly complex passages. And after fighting with the book it seemed nearly all the way, Iceland offered potential for another of Dunnett's amazing climaxes. But without giving anything away, all I can say is I found the ending to be just completely wrong. Completely out of character, completely without any sense, completely incomprehensible. What a place to leave us. Well, Dunnett has taken us on the emotional rollercoaster before. Has she just delayed the conclusion to the next book... I'll be reading it as soon as she has it ready.

This is the sixth book of the Niccolo series. Here, the plot centers on the center of Europe: The Duke of Burgundy and the King of France and the King of Scotland: Nicholas serves them all to achieve success for his grand plan.

The competition between Gelis and Nicholas continues, only this time she lives with Nicholas in Scotland and their son, Jodi. Living together does not mean the race is over, only that it intensifies. The outcome will soon be revealed!

In this chapter, the author continues her description of Scotland, but also of Greenland and the great market for Cod that exists between this country and the great Hanse Merchants of Germany. Once again, Nicholas is able to beat his competitors and gain more wealth.

More descriptions of new places, new people and customs and all told with incredible with and knowledge.

I can't wait to read the seventh chapter....

Not since I was a child gobbling every book in sight have I been so involved in a series. I read straight through the series during August and September and then finally emerged for air.

I found the tale engrossing, entertaining, and complex and am ready to start on the Lymon series.

If you love well written historical fiction, then Dorothy Dunnet's House of Niccolo series is the one for you. This particular volume takes place in Scotland in the mid 1400s and continues the adventures of our protoagonist Niccolo. I don't want to give any of the story away - but lets just say that in this volume we see our hero in a less than heroic light as many of the events of the previous volumes come to a head.
Excellent writing, unbelievable research and stellar characters make this one of my favorite series. Read them all!

Have just finished the sixth volume of Dorothy Dunnett's House of Niccolo series, and I'm going through withdrawls. An accomplished portrait painter, she paints a vivid, detailed, portrait of Europe at the birth of the Renaissance. Set thirty years before Columbus sails, this series is packed with complex compelling characters, cut-throat political intrigue, pageturning action, witty dialog and narrative, and one of the most unique love stories ever to grace a novel. I heartily endorse all of the books in the series, and anything else the author writes. To Lie with Lions is the sixth episode in the life of Nicholas de Fleury a true Renaissance man. A former dye shop apprentice, he has used his genius ,charm and bravado to accumulate wealth, respect and a loyal following of friends and associates. He also makes deadly enemies. Traveling from Edinbourgh to Byzantium, Africa to Iceland; he takes advantage of every opportunity he can devise, to outmanouver the competion. He is driven by personal demons to succeed at all costs. To Lie with Lions was slightly less satisfying than some of the others in the series, so I rate it a nine. I'm hoping that with the re-release of the author' s earlier series, that perhaps the earlier volumes of this set will also be re-published as they are difficult to get. I await with bated breath the next installment in this series.