tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738174603029644797.post3712857531531224363..comments2024-03-22T15:53:38.589-07:00Comments on Kate of Mind: Dorothy Dunnett's RACE OF SCORPIONSKate Sherrodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706419613939420574noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738174603029644797.post-80926989426518457812014-01-27T10:36:02.071-08:002014-01-27T10:36:02.071-08:00There much I liked about RoS but in my first read ...There much I liked about RoS but in my first read of the series I was getting antsy at this point. I mentioned in an earlier comment that the series' was structured with what appears to be a 3-part prologue. The first three books, especially SoTR and RoS, put Claes in an enclosed world, an isolated environment, a petri dish, where he can learn some hard lessons and wriggle out of an impossible situation. He is not yet large enough to wrestle with kings and best them -- the most he can get right now is an uneasy draw.<br /><br />I assure you that all the lessons Claes has learned in Bruges, in Trebizond and in Cyprus, come to bear when he re-enters the great world at large, which starts with Scales of Gold, still probably my favorite overall book in the series.<br /><br />Upon re-reads, I enjoyed RoS much more on its own merits -- The Naxos sisters, the moth scene, Famagusta, the seductive violence of Zacco. I even loved the opening sugar/snow ploy. I agree that as you are getting through this for the first time, you must be impatient for Claes to start showing something more for all this troubles.Z. Mullshttp://zmulls.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738174603029644797.post-71346215769842856082014-01-25T01:16:11.649-08:002014-01-25T01:16:11.649-08:00maybe as a mere male, I don't drool/fantasize ...maybe as a mere male, I don't drool/fantasize over DD's Heroes, AND I am not a royalist, but I like how Niccolo 'coped' with fortune and infamy ( well FFJ had it in for me). The 'Naxettes' don't get a mention or TGWTWL, both remarked upon in WG. Mike Brain.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738174603029644797.post-91103304590683098172014-01-23T07:42:13.604-08:002014-01-23T07:42:13.604-08:00This was the weakest of the series (so far! Still ...This was the weakest of the series (so far! Still have 2 to go). Mostly because I found the pace slower than usual. There was a point there when I was almost got (the blasphemy!) bored. But then the moth scene happened and it restored my faith in DD all over again.<br /><br />My thoughts: http://thesleeplessreader.com/2012/01/06/race-of-scorpions-the-house-of-niccolo-3-by-dorothy-dunnett/Alex (The Sleepless Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03083761152675156469noreply@blogger.com