The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What to say about this book?  Lymond has turned himself into a cold and masterful leader after the trauma of the events of the last book.  Guzel takes him to Russia and he proceeds to become commander in chief of Tsar Ivan's armies when he's sent back to England.  The descriptions of Russia in the frozen north, the shipwreck, his struggles with Ivan and his princes - all are told with Dunnett's masterful writing, filled with terror and suspense.  I shivered from the cold.  I sobbed with the loss.  I hated Lymond while admiring his genius and hoped for him to become human again.  Meanwhile, Philippa, back in England, is growing up.  Beautiful, filled with masterful suspense, the most detailed and realistic shipwreck I've ever read, and heartbreaking as I hoped against hope that Lymond can survive and become human again.



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