Caprice and Rondo: House of Niccolò Series, Book 7

You might think at the end of 3,500 pages that you've had enough of Niccolo and co., and you'd be right. This book provided me with the closure I needed to look back positively on the time I spent on the series, some of which was maddeningly spite and revenge driven, to the near exclusion of the positives of the ambience and atmosphere of the period and the venues. This volume's setting is familiar if you've read the other books, and Dunnett does a good job of tying things up, while reserving some surprises. All in all, it lets you get on with your life!

This volume takes the reader on another wild ride, but at it's culmination, you begin to understand how Niccolo is finally maturing, recognizing not only his heavy responsibilities, but accepting that what he truly wants is to be loved & accepted by those he loves -- AND to share that love in their presence. It was a very satisfying read, even as you naturally dread the series coming to an end with the final volume, "Gemini". I will be keeping this series, along with "The Lymond Chronicles" & it's a shame that Dorothy is no longer alive & still writing for us! We are so grateful for the gift of her talents. .

Very easy to fall into these books and not want to surface until they are completed. Book seven in the Niccolo series and for this reader Caprice and Rondo may well be the most satisfying in this excellent series so far.The plots are complex, intricate the characters deliciously flawed and vivid. All are brought to life on the page by an extremely gifted storyteller. Most of all, for this reader at least the books are rollicking good reads. Could not recommend more highly.

The Niccollo Series by Dorothy Dunnet is historical fiction at it's best. The series begins in Bruges in 1460 and goes just about everywhere you can imagine. The writing is superb and the characters are vivid. Read it only if you want to be consumed for a long time.

Dunnett does it again in volume 7 of the House of Niccolo. My only caveat is that at some points the whys & wherefores of the action is difficult to follow. However, that allows Dunnett to move quickly into another scene. She closely follows the historical timeline for the period as Nicholas moves from place to place, influencing the events of the age.

Riveting series with the ongoing plot saturated with Renaissance history, but perhaps slightly more melodramatic than I'd like. So many supportive exotic characters were a challenge to keep straight. All seven books were hard to put down.

Like all the books in this series, Caprice and Rondo was excellent. If you're just discovering Mrs. Dunnett I would suggest reading the Niccolo Rising series first and then the Frances Crawford of Lymond series even though the Lymond books were written many years before the Niccolo series. For anyone who loves history and who wants a great read buy the whole series and get started..

I was nearing the end of my umpteenth re-reading of the House of Niccolo Series, and halfway through this particular book, when I made a trip to Scotland, so I downloaded a copy to my Kindle and took it along. I have Dunnett in HB, PB, and now Kindle – don't leave home without it!

High adventure. High Romance. Lovely prose, character development, historical settings.Some advice. This is part of a series of 8 books. The story arcs etc move seamlessly from one book to the next, and from time to time quotes and phrases used in later books refer back to earlier volumes. You won't lose out if you are reading out of sequence but really to get the best out of the series start at the first book. Also you might find a dictionary occasionally helpful - when did you last come across the word "ounce" as a name for a snow-leopard? Also note that all these books have five star ratings except for one at the end where coffee had been dropped on the cover!

This is the seventh and last but one novel in the House of Niccolo-series, and as all preceding six novels it is intricate, demanding, learned, meticulously researched, beautifully written, and absolutely mesmerising because - lest it be forgotten amidst all the glorious details and intricate plots of these books - Dorothy Dunnett is first and foremost a consumate storyteller.Apart from O'Brian's Aubrey & Maturin-novels and The Flashman-books by MacDonald Fraser (which are both very different, but in their own right as good) there is no other novelist that succeeded in so completely capturing my attention for months on end, and made me feel afterwards as if I had been living in the Middle Ages. I cannot recommend these books enough, they provide immense pleasure upon first reading them and are so rich and detailed that you can easily read them again and again and again...

Second-last book in the House of Niccolo series. Nicholas has assumed yet another identity - Cola - at the start of this one and has cut himself off completely from his wife and family. While following his adventures and drinking bouts from Danzig and through Europe, further details of his background and previously unconfirmed information about his abusive upbringing are revealed. This is the only book in the series, apart from Niccolo Rising, when Nicholas was known as Claes, where the reader gets some insight into the person who is (now!) Nicholas de Fleury. We're allowed a bit closer to the man.

The next book in the House of Niccolo series. If you haven't read any others you needstart at the beginning and read them in order. If you have, this continues the saga of Nicholas Van der Poele and his rise to power and riches. As ever Dunnett's style and feeling for period put you right into the latter half of the fifteenth century. So rich are the characters and so detailed the background that you don't so much read this story as live it. If you like historical novels, I cannot recommend this book too highly. If you have never tried reading historical novels start with this series - you won't be disappointed!

I am enjoying this whole series for the second time. However I think that this particular book is not up to the standard of the previous ones in the series, and while the historical detail is excellent, the details of the wars in Western Europe between different factions and rulers, are becoming a little tedious. And I think it is time for Nicholas and Gelis to sort themselves out! I cannot remember much about the final book, but from what I do recall it is better than this one. However it is important to read them all, and in sequence, or you are likely to get confused.