Pawn in Frankincense cover art

Pawn in Frankincense

The Lymond Chronicles, Book 4

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Pawn in Frankincense

By: Dorothy Dunnett
Narrated by: David Monteath
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audio edition of Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett, read by David Monteath.

It is 1552 and the royal galley Dauphine, under the command of Francis Crawford of Lymond, sails the glittering but dangerous Mediterranean looking for a lost son.

Yet as the search grows more urgent, Lymond knows he is being drawn deeper into the intricate web of his enemy Gabriel, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St John, who is already weaving a subtle tapestry of revenge.

It is a journey that will lead Lymond to Constantinople and the court of Suleiman the Magnificent where a terrible game will be played with deadly and incalculable consequences . . .

©1967 Dorothy Dunnett (P)2018 Penguin Audio Action & Adventure Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Suspense

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Reading the Lymond chronicles makes me live half in 16th century Europe. Wherever I am and whatever I’m doing, my thoughts turn to the characters and what is going to happen next in this dense plot. I know the books well, yet there is always something new to notice and admire. My son was about two when I first read Pawn in Frankincense and now he has his own baby son of 18 months…it makes the fate of the babies in the book even more unbearable. It is too vivid. You have to have a strong stomach for some of the passages in this work but things do get better before the end of the series. There is so much to enjoy in Dunnett’s writing; stunning descriptive passages, a glorious, flawed hero, a deep mystery running throughout the books, the evilest villain imaginable, a cast of believable and likeable support characters. These books aren’t for everyone. They are intellectually and emotionally demanding and you have to be prepared to concentrate to get what’s going on. But they are so rewarding. It’s the two words of Gaelic that will devastate.

Be prepared to have your heart broken

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Once you’ve heard and read DD’s incredible prose no other storyline will every match it.

She’s witty, dynamic and her characters will become the loves of your life.

This is my favourite book by far - maybe because the Turkish setting brings so much vibrancy and a taste for the ruthlessness of the culture in the 16th century.

In a way, these books are too good. I want more. And I’ll never find it.

Just incredible

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Dorothy Dinner is a queen of this genre and Audible has not let her down!

Fantastic

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A wonderful story, read with empathy and pace. Some pronunciations off, but overall a tribute to the book. Read and be drawn into an authentic portrait of the 16th century and all the great players of the time.

Dunnett’s unsurpassed prose and storytelling

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From assassins in Germany to rooftop chases in Algiers; Barbary pirates, Maltese Crusaders, murderous eunuchs, and treachery in the perfumed seraglio of Suleman the Magnificent, the pace never slackens. A cast of complex and fascinating characters engage upon a quest to rescue a child and halt the ambitions of an evil genius. Above all, it is wonderfully well written and the narrator does the book full justice.

Could be the best adventure story ever written

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