Where It Ain't Great But I Still Like It

Castle Dangerous by Walter Scott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This isn't as good a book as most of Scott's novels, but it's still fun to read.

This was his last novel, written when he wasn't in good health and had trouble doing as much research as he usually liked to do. As a result, it's shorter and less complete, with an ending that could have been elaborated on to make it more satisfying. (I so often lament wordiness by 19th Century writers, but the ending of this was abrupt.) I'm sure, if he had had more energy, Scott would have given the ending of the novel much more attention, tying up more loose ends and giving us more time to savor the good parts.

Still, it's pretty fun. Intrigue in a Scottish castle under English occupation... patriots preparing for an attack... a beautiful young woman, an heiress, traveling in disguise... Lots to like. But it hurt the story, IMO, that the author couldn't account better for the main character putting herself into such danger, disguising her identity long after any good reason for it, running away from actual rescuers, when she could have at any time announced to her lover or his officers just who she was without any harm. The reason given was far too slight to account for it, making the plot unusually shaky.

If you enjoy the cadences of Sir Walter Scott's language or are a completist when it comes to this author (me... me, also...), you should go ahead and add this to your TBR pile bookcase library. Otherwise, make sure you've first looked into his more fully realized novels, because he's got plenty of 5-star books.

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