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This gets five stars just for the sheer, bonkers brilliance of it. Caprice and Rondo sees the redemption of Nicholas, and the culmination of the psychological and emotional build-up that's been six books in the making. It's got Dunnett's trademark mix of complex, elliptical prose, political and economic intrigue, and a vast array of characters—but also an array of revelations and intrigues that makes the Lymond books seem almost tame in comparison. The first couple of secrets revealed made my eyebrows rise, but after a while you just have to go with it, because it's so entertaining. I mean, what other historical fiction series is going to display this command of pre-Renaissance literature while still having one of the villains try to assassinate the hero using a swarm of vicious attack bees? Wonderful. (

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siriaeve | Jun 14, 2009 |

I find that the 7th book in the House of Niccolo is as wonderful and exciting as the first. When I finish the 8th book, Gemini, I know I will feel as though I have lost a friend and a witty companion. Most books have one highlight, climax, etc., while this series has many mini-climaxes and one huge one near the end. Almost like making love. (

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lorraine731 | Dec 21, 2008 |

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Series (with order)

The House of Niccolo (7)

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People/Characters

Nicholas de Fleury

Important places

Danzig, Poland

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0375706127, Paperback)

With the bravura storytelling and pungent authenticity of detail she brought to her acclaimed Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett, grande dame of the historical novel, presents The House of Niccolò series. The time is the 15th century, when intrepid merchants became the new knighthood of Europe. Among them, none is bolder or more cunning than Nicholas vander Poele of Bruges, the good-natured dyer's apprentice who schemes and swashbuckles his way to the helm of a mercantile empire.
Winter 1474 finds Nicholas exiled in the frozen port of Danzig, Poland. His Machiavellian exploits in Scotland have cost him friends and family--not to mention countless riches. As the ice melts, temptations arise. Will he assist the Muslim Prince Uzum Hasan against the Turks? Will he lose himself among the secret, scented gardens of the Crimea in the arms of a close friend's bride? As Nicholas pursues his future, his estranged wife, Gelis, seeks the truth about his past, only to discover the secret identity of his latest comrade in arms--a tantalizing ghost from the past poised to deal him the crowning death blow.
Shimmering with detail, alive with intrigue, Caprice and Rondo is Dorothy Dunnett's quicksilver evocation of a world where joy is fleeting, love is unexpected, and truth the rarest commodity of all.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:12 -0400)

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