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  • The Game of Kings

  • Book One in the Legendary Lymond Chronicles
  • Written by: Dorothy Dunnett
  • Narrated by: David Monteath
  • Length: 21 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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The Game of Kings cover art

The Game of Kings

Written by: Dorothy Dunnett
Narrated by: David Monteath
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Publisher's Summary

In this first book in the legendary Lymond Chronicles, Francis Crawford of Lymond, traitor, murderer, nobleman, returns to Scotland to redeem his reputation and save his home.

It is 1547, and Scotland has been humiliated by an English invasion and is threatened by machinations elsewhere beyond its borders, but it is still free. Paradoxically, her freedom may depend on a man who stands accused of treason. He is Francis Crawford of Lymond, a scapegrace nobleman of crooked felicities and murderous talents, possessed of a scholar's erudition and a tongue as wicked as a rapier. In The Game of Kings, this extraordinary antihero returns to the country that has outlawed him to redeem his reputations even at the risk of his life.

©2010 Dorothy Dunnett (P)2019 Random House Audio

What the critics say

“[Lymond] is arguably the perfect romantic hero.” (The Guardian)

“Vivid, engaging, densely plotted.... Dunnett is a master of suspense and misdirection.” (The New York Times)

“Ingenious and exceptional...its effect brilliant, its pace swift and colorful and its multi-linear plot spirited and absorbing.” (Boston Herald)

What listeners say about The Game of Kings

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Superb rendition of a great story!

The Game of Kings is the first of a six-volume series known as The Lymond Chronicles, which I have just recently finished reading. It is superb dense storytelling in an amazing period of European history - 1547 - 1558. I very much wanted to hear this audiobook, enfleshed with Scottish and English voices, and absorb the storytelling by listening to it. At the same time, I felt some trepidation, for this is an exceptional series of books with astoundingly vivid and historically detailed writing and I didn't want to be disappointed, by hearing a mediocre rendering of Dorothy Dunett's first novel. I was not disappointed. It was superb.

I was deeply appreciative and fully engaged. David Monteath did a magnificent job narrating this tale.
Bravo! Bravo! Bravissimo!

As another reviewer commented, I will also be listening to the entire series. Thank you.

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