Caprice and Rondo

This book is such a pleasure to read!
It is well written, clever, and keeps moving through the trials of the divided House of Niccolo, from Bruges to Tabriz. Nicholas has reinvented himself at the beginning and continues to do so under stress until nearly the last page, goaded by those who both understand him and have found him useful. All of the deep historical detail is folded in as part of the plot and never seems like any sort of info dump.

Phew, the journeys Dunnett takes me on…

Objectively, this book is too long for the story it is telling, Yet I am here for every page.

After the emotional and moral disaster of the previous book, Nicholas is lost, reeling, cut off from friends and family. There is interesting character development for our Nicholas. Perhaps it is about becoming more mature. There are some things that this book kept bringing up: being a “sheltering tree” for your loved ones and the dying inside that happens when you deny love. I liked that!

Once again, since I have no desire to talk about the plot, let’s have some highlights, thoughts, and whatnot. (The plot is both meandering and exciting, especially in the last 20%.)

✨ We go to Poland and Danzig. show more We go to Crimea. We go to Tabriz. There is definitely not enough Poland, Crimea, and Persia in my historical fiction, so I am loving Dunnett for the settings, as usual. Her descriptive writing is great.

✨ So many of the characters are trying to stop Nicholas from being his own worst enemy (here is a parallel to Lymond Chronicles, by the way). Ludovico da Bologna has been here for many books, but I especially liked him in this one: ”God doesn’t sell forgiveness, neither do I.”
Kathi is such a shining star:
”Kathi said slowly, ”Is that why you do what you do?”
”What do I do?”
[…]
”Commit perpetual follies, to deserve perpetual punishment?”

✨ Gelis and Tobie trying to uncover the secrets around Nicholas’ birth and origins is yet another echo of Lymond Chronicles. Some of my buddy readers had issues with the recurring things. I do love the feel of book series connected in many intricate ways, though. And the scene with Gelis and Tobie meeting Nicholas’ maternal grandfather is so emotional and riveting that I didn’t want to leave that chapter.

✨ Thankfully, Gelis becomes a normal character again, since the stupid, stupid game ended in the previous book. I loved her running the business. Go, badass Gelis. I am slightly more Team Gelis now, and it’s a nice feeling to have.

🤷‍♀️ Nicholas and Gelis: I am not in this series for the main couple, that much is obvious. ”Whatever came to them both, they were together.” It’s a bad sign when this reader does an eyeroll here, instead of going ”awwwww”. I did like their communication in a tight spot. They are a good team. They should go pirating together. Preferably in the Caribbean, but this is the wrong century, so Mediterranean will have to do. Then Nicholas can say ”Date stones!” to Gelis at the right moment, Gelis will go badass, and this is when I will say ”awwww”.

🏰 Sometimes I wished there was more politicking in this book, and less character development drama. Because Dunnett does this so well: ”Predictably, the King of England went on to voice his surprise that a few Swiss and the little Duke of Lorraine should so concern (he did not say frighten) his brother-in-law. The Duke replied. He spoke very good English.”

👺 The villains:
David de Salmeton is uninteresting and is just being villainous. Also, he is mostly not there. He appears a couple of times, does some mustache-twirling, then he is off again, and everyone is waaaaaaiting for him. Sorry, this does not tickle my book villain bone.
Anna: I think Dunnett decided that there is a Milady missing in this series. Anna had her moments, but her character arc is vile, vile, vile. Also, Milady would have Anna for breakfast without any trouble, just wondering about the taste being slightly off.

😎 There are meta moments when characters rebel against the author’s design: ”My divining seems to tell me that however much I strive, the future cannot be altered. And I don’t wish to believe that.” Is Dunnett winking at me? I believe she is.

The ending is a nice setup for the next book! show less

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 show more assassinate the hero using a swarm of vicious attack bees? Wonderful. show less

For the first 300 pages of this 550 page brick, the book was fine. 3 stars kind of fine.
Was I bored and annoyed? Only a few times.
Did I love it? Also only a few times.

I was very excited to see how everyone was faring after Nicholas was ousted from his own bank at the end of book 6. Nicholas doing god knows what with Pauel Benecke and Gelis visiting the three remaining parts (Bruges, Venice and the mercenaries) were some of the things that I liked the most.
The majority of the book takes place in two entire separate plots. Gelis, Jodi and the entire business occupy themselves with the various wars. Meanwhile Nicholas goes East with two travel companions I did not care much for. Neither Ludovico or Anna warmed to me much and while I loved show more the descriptions of the Mongol influenced people, whatever scheme Nicholas was concocting didn’t grab me.
I liked the life updates on Jodi and Kathi, and the interactions between Gelis and the bank far more. I did not have a Gelis and John le Grant friendship on my bingo card but I am here for it.
I guess that after 6 books, I’ve a much clearer image of the Burgundy-France-Scotland-Italy side of the story and a much greater attachment to all the characters and stakes on that side of Europe. Everyone I know and care about is there, except Nicholas and Julius.

While a few loose ends were cleared up, I felt like those 300 pages were mostly set up. (The Ochoa-Benecke-Crackbene connection was nice though)
The first 60% has no mention of Henry’s parentage, which is a sword of Damocles bound to fall at this point. I was checking my watch, wondering when the Riberac-St Pols would appear with yet another assassination plot. Time’s ticking guys! You only have one book left to meet your ends.
And what happened to the Vatachino? Gelis didn’t fully bankrupt them so they’re still around. And when will the Scottish king find out how Nicholas played him? Find out next time, I suppose.

As for the other 250 pages, I read those in one day with an excitement I missed since the first few books. 4 stars for sure.
Gelis was getting the band back together and Nicholas got some much needed growth! There was finally some backstory to Nicholas, and some insight into what made him the guy he is. After 7 books, my man deserved it.
And he made up with Gelis. I might actually believe that they’ll happily grow old together, certainly there’s no one better suited for Nicholas OR Gelis around. I am glad that their personal character arcs went the way they did. The fact that it took nearly three sometimes arduous books for them to reach this point gave their reconciliation some weighted pathos. And I’m not immune, in fact it made me glad I stuck with this series through book 5 and 6. Good for Jodi too.
I also think they can plot world domination together if they set their minds to it, hopefully that’s gonna happen in the finale. show less

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2907300.html

Seventh volume in the series of eight about the life of medieval merchant Nicolas de Fleury (who has many other names), this one set in Poland, the Crimea, Moscow, Flanders and a brutal climax at the Battle of Nancy, and tying up some loose ends which had been dangling since the very first book. There is a pretty chilling scene with Nicholas and his estranged wife held prisoner together on a barge in the Flemish fog, threatened by an enemy who has only been recently revealed to the reader as such; the Genoese colony on the Crimea is vividly portrayed in its last days. Less hard work than some of the earlier books; I read it slowly because I did not want to put it down.

It is now the winter of 1474 and Nicholas de Fluery is still married to Gelis. While they are still somewhat estranged they still partner to raise their son, Jordan. Their biggest problem is Nicholas keeps wracking up the enemies, making it difficult to protect his wife and son. He's off in Poland questioning his next moves while Gelis is digging up the dirt on Nicholas's past. Does this new information hurt or help her marriage?
In this particular installment of the House of Nicollo series, puzzles are the underlying theme.
I have to admit, I am getting a little sick of Nicholas. He has switched allegiances so many times even his friends do not trust him. His relationship with women is getting tiresome as well. The good news is that show more someone within his circle betrays him badly enough that it leads to the reconciliation with Gelis. By the end of Caprice and Rondo they have joined forces to support one another. show less

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.