It is very intriguing. And yeah...just what we both need: More books.
I just saw a book series rec at an LJ friend's entry. I know you like saga books and so do I. This one sounds very good.
I have a recommendation for you: A series of 6 books called "The Lymond Chronicles", by Dorothy Dunnett. Follows the life and career of the Crawfords, an aristocratic family in Scotland. The stories span Europe and the UK from Henry the VIII's reign through to Elizabeth, with stops at the Crusades, the seraglio of Topkapi, the France of the DeGuises and the Tsars in Russia, and Dunnett mixes fictional characters with actual folks (e.g., Nostradamus) It's not a bodice ripper - it's an incredibly sophisticated look at the politics and religion of the times. But it IS sexy and funny and exciting and addictive.
I ordered the first three from amazon.com, used copies for only one cent apiece. O^0 If they're good, I'll let you know and will probably loan my copies to Georgia. The best family sage series I've read have been recommended by her, starting with Outlander.
Oooo! I have actually read or listened to all 6. They are not quick, easy reads. Particularly the first one. My friend, and the founder of the OBC, just published a Guide than gives history, explains quotes and more. If you are interested, the link to purchase is here: http://lymondguides.blogspot.com/
Also, there are Lymond Chronicles threads at the OBC and quite a few fans there if you want to discuss the books. I'm not the biggest fan, but we are hoping to do a group reread with the help of the Guide and I think I'm likely to love it more with discussion and a second time through when I'll likely catch more of the allusions (and there are MANY!).
I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on Lymond. Our reread might start in the new year, so then I might have more to say than I do now with my poor memory.
Oh great, you're familiar with these books. I received an email today that the three I ordered have already shipped. Thanks very much for the link to the guide. I'll probably get that, too. I love my Outlander companion book. I only wish Diana would update it.
I bought it directly from the author for a signed copy (since she's a friend) and the price was as expected, but I used a gift card I received as Volunteer of the Year back in May and hadn't used yet, so it's all good.
Here is a link to someone's blog devoted to pics relevant to the Lymond series. Thought you might find it interesting/useful: http://lymondchronicles.tumblr.com/?og=1
I'll be very curious to hear your thoughts on the Lymond books. Several friends raved about them to me, but despite trying at least 3 times, I couldn't get more than about 30 pp into the first one.
If you don't read the first book, do subsequent books make sense?
Sounds like "Pillars of the Earth." That is one of my all-time favorite books (Ken Follett is a favorite author), but I know quite a few people who thought it was too slow getting out of the gate and gave up on it. I begged and pleaded with one of my best friends to try again. She did and ended up loving it, too.
As for the Lymond books, since so many people have liked them, I'll definitely give them a more-than-fair shot.
I have that icon, too. It says all anyone needs to know about me. :>)
I never tried any of the subsequent books, so I don't know. My problem wasn't that it was slow, I just found the writing incredibly irritating and willfully opaque.
The first book is decidedly the toughest. Dense, too many allusions, too many other languages without translations. If I didn't have a cheering squad of people who love the books and whose opinions I respect I would have given up.
That said, I am still not nearly as big a fan as several friends, but the later books did get easier (although I didn't love the second as much for different reasons) and I think they are very good books.
As I mentioned to Yeux above, a friend has written a Guide to help with the first book and we plan a group read and discussion, so if you are interested and need a little moral support, you are welcome to join. I think we'll start in the new year.
Thanks for inviting me. It's certainly worth a try. Will you add me to the list (nutmeg3 at livejournal dot com) and give me a heads up once you've picked a start date? I'll get it for my Kindle (because I have no idea where the paper copy is) and probably buy your friend's guide, too.
Hi nutmeg! Glad you are interested in the group read. That will actually be on a different board, the Outlander Book Club, (http://outlanderbookclub.freeforums.org/index.php), where we mostly focus on Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (which Yeux highly recommended to me years ago which prodded me to try it since I'd heard about it before but hadn't gotten to it), but also has sections for other books/series, including a Dunnett section. The author of the guide is the founder of the OBC. You do need to register at the OBC and post an intro in order to be allowed to post yourself, but you don't have to include anything too personal or detailed and it's a very nice board with lots of interesting discussions, IMO. [Just so you know, I am a mod on that board, so I'm probably a little biased, but there is basically no flaming and plenty of thoughtful discussion, so I think it really is a very nice place. You can read some threads yourself to decide whether you want to register.]
I will keep a note to myself to let you and Yeux know when we have a start date in case either of you would like to join us.
I just saw a book series rec at an LJ friend's entry. I know you like saga books and so do I. This one sounds very good.
I have a recommendation for you: A series of 6 books called "The Lymond Chronicles", by Dorothy Dunnett. Follows the life and career of the Crawfords, an aristocratic family in Scotland. The stories span Europe and the UK from Henry the VIII's reign through to Elizabeth, with stops at the Crusades, the seraglio of Topkapi, the France of the DeGuises and the Tsars in Russia, and Dunnett mixes fictional characters with actual folks (e.g., Nostradamus) It's not a bodice ripper - it's an incredibly sophisticated look at the politics and religion of the times. But it IS sexy and funny and exciting and addictive.
I ordered the first three from amazon.com, used copies for only one cent apiece. O^0 If they're good, I'll let you know and will probably loan my copies to Georgia. The best family sage series I've read have been recommended by her, starting with Outlander.
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Also, there are Lymond Chronicles threads at the OBC and quite a few fans there if you want to discuss the books. I'm not the biggest fan, but we are hoping to do a group reread with the help of the Guide and I think I'm likely to love it more with discussion and a second time through when I'll likely catch more of the allusions (and there are MANY!).
I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on Lymond. Our reread might start in the new year, so then I might have more to say than I do now with my poor memory.
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Here is a link to someone's blog devoted to pics relevant to the Lymond series. Thought you might find it interesting/useful: http://lymondchronicles.tumblr.com/?og=1
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Sounds like "Pillars of the Earth." That is one of my all-time favorite books (Ken Follett is a favorite author), but I know quite a few people who thought it was too slow getting out of the gate and gave up on it. I begged and pleaded with one of my best friends to try again. She did and ended up loving it, too.
As for the Lymond books, since so many people have liked them, I'll definitely give them a more-than-fair shot.
I have that icon, too. It says all anyone needs to know about me. :>)
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That said, I am still not nearly as big a fan as several friends, but the later books did get easier (although I didn't love the second as much for different reasons) and I think they are very good books.
As I mentioned to Yeux above, a friend has written a Guide to help with the first book and we plan a group read and discussion, so if you are interested and need a little moral support, you are welcome to join. I think we'll start in the new year.
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I will keep a note to myself to let you and Yeux know when we have a start date in case either of you would like to join us.
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