Dave DuncanReviews

This book was really fun. More of a traditional knights and kings story. I loved the main concept of the blades and their bindings to their ward. How those bindings ruled them even if the ward they were chained to was unjust. The book had a great pace and the main character, Sir Durendal, was easy to root for.
I will be reading the next in the series.

‘Mother Of Lies’ is the sequel to ‘Children Of Chaos’ and the final book in this two book series. Spoilers are inevitable if you haven’t read ‘Children Of Chaos’. so do that first.
The world of Dodec is a dodecahedron with twelve flat faces. Everyone has sworn allegiance to a single god or goddess according to their desires. Mayn is the goddess of wisdom and her followers are seers. Ucr is god of prosperity, followed by merchants. There are thirteen gods in all, helpfully listed in the preface along with major characters.

Fierce warriors from the Vigaelian face of Dodec invaded the Florengian face about sixteen years ago and conquered all before them. The doge of Celebre, the richest city in Florengia, was forced to hand over his children as hostages to Stralg Hragson, bloodlord of the Heroes of Weru. They were taken back to Vigaelia and their stories are told in book one. At the end of which they have been reunited and are making their way back home with Saltaja Hragsdor, Mother of Lies, in hot pursuit.

While they were gone, many on the Florengian face joined the Heroes of Weru and learned to fight. By dedicating themselves to Weru, god of storm and battle, they gain the power to ‘battleform’ into huge, deadly animals. Then they turned on the invaders and almost defeated them, but at great cost. Most cities are devastated. Celebre is still intact but the old doge is dying and there is much contention over who will succeed him. His legitimate children are on the way from Vigaelia, but no one in Florengia knows it yet. Dantio is a seer, Orlad a warrior and daughter Fabia a powerful sorceress who, like Saltaja Hragsdor herself, is secretly allied to the death goddess Xaran. The doge’s wife Olivia has a bastard son by Stralg Hragson, the result of rape, who thinks he should be heir. Marno Cavotti, the leader who has fought for years to liberate his homeland, might have his own ideas about that and he has an army.

As in ‘Children Of Chaos’, the story is told from multiple points of view, a different character every chapter. Each chapter starts with the character’s name in block capitals starting a sentence. ‘MARNO CAVOTTI heard the warbeasts’ fury as he dived from the parapet.’ This deft technique reminds you of the varied cast and helps you follow the story. There’s a lot to be said for clarity in commercial fiction writing. The yarn moves at a ripping pace and is sufficiently intriguing to keep you turning pages.

I enjoyed the book but not quite as much as the first one, perhaps because the children of Celebre started out quite helpless there and grew stronger through their trials. Here they are already formidable. Even so, it’s a fine tale with several twists and a neat resolution. Dave Duncan’s plotting reminds me somewhat of Kevin J. Anderson but he has more likeable characters and his prose style is smoother. He departed this vale of tears before I discovered him but left over thirty books in his wake so if you like this series, as I do, there are plenty of other books available.

All good fantasy books start with a map and a list of characters, including gods and ‘Children Of Chaos’ is a very good fantasy. The world is a dodecahedron where every individual has sworn allegiance to a single god or goddess, there being thirteen to choose from. These range across the usual attributes of wisdom, health, prosperity, war and so on. Two faces of the dodecahedron feature in this story, the Vigaelian and the Florengian, separated by frozen mountains which few have ever crossed.
In the prologue of ‘Children Of Chaos’, Stralg Hragson, bloodlord of the Heroes of Weru from the Vigaelian Face, crosses the icy mountains and slaughters all before him. The doge of Celebre, a wealthy, civilised town in Florengia, is forced to hand over his wife, three sons and a baby daughter as hostages to Stralg. The brown-skinned Florengians are helpless before these huge, blue-eyed devils, devotees of the war god Weru, who shape shift to become huge animals for battle.

Florengia defeated, it’s the children’s story next. Years pass. Lord Dantio, the eldest son, has vanished and no one knows his fate. Benard Celebre, only eight years old when taken, is now a sculptor in the city of Kosord but has some magical skills that enable him to rescue a beautiful lady from his nemesis Cutrath Horoldson, the satrap’s spoiled son. Orlando, three when captured, has no memory of his childhood and has become Orlad Orladson, keen apprentice warrior in the Werist cult that rules the world and conquered his homeland. Meanwhile, the baby is now known as Frena Wigson and believes herself to be the daughter of a rich merchant in the city of Skjar.
The Florengian hostages have all grown up and we follow them as they learn about their heritage, decide what path to pursue and cope with the many challenges of living under a ruthless tyranny. The Werists rule. The price paid for their battle prowess is that they slowly turn more bestial each time they revert back to human form. They used to be mercenaries for whichever city could pay them but, united under Stralg Hragson, to conquer and rule instead. In this they were helped by the Witnesses, seers who know what is happening nearly everywhere. They used to be neutral but were terrified into serving the Werists. There are other gods and goddesses with many followers who have different abilities, none spectacular, though. This isn’t one of those fantasies where withering blasts of energy are exchanged by glowing eyed mages in robes. It’s subtle.

‘Children Of Chaos’ doesn’t stick to one main character but shifts point of view to cover all the children. The chapters begin with the name of the point of view character centred in large type and stick to that person. Multiple point of view switches don’t aid strong reader identification and some sages say you should have one central character but this can be too limiting in a big epic fantasy.

The rich background is put over slowly in the course of events and the characters grow on you as the story progresses smoothly to a satisfying stage post. Not the end as there’s a sequel, ‘Mother Of Lies’ which I’ll be reading soon. Note that this is only a duology, downright petite for a modern fantasy epic. Dave Duncan is new to me but a well-respected author in the field, I gather, and alas has departed this veil of tears albeit, at a ripe old age. I really enjoyed this one, looked forward to the sequel and will seek out his other works in future.

I would not consider myself a huge reader of the Fantasy genre. I do read it but it's not my main go-to. But if I had to say, Dave Duncan's The Guided Chain is definitely in my top-five Fantasy novels. I hold a serious affection for that book and I admire the world-building and magic system of the larger King's Blades series.This book (first of a new series) is a juniorization of the previous and having nothing against YA, I dived in. At least it was a fast read and I have sated my completist tendencies. Moving on...

Fast paced ending to the trilogy. I love the cleverness of this series.

Good plot and interesting premise, but didn't have any likable characters and was a bit slow at the start.

Lots of intrigue, strong main character, interesting world, plot twists, and moral dilemmas with no easy solution. Great, fast paced story.

This is the second or third time I read this, and I remember this being my favorite of the series. It is interesting reading it as an older wiser person. The ending is quite a bummer, but I love how these books don't pit good versus evil, just flawed humans versus flawed humans. Now I have to go read the last one in the series, because I forget exactly how the brilliance is executed.

I first read this book when I was a teenager, and had re-read most of Duncan's stand-alone novels a couple years ago, but was confused because I swore there was one that had a scene with the Minotaur and a labyrinth. Apparently it was this one, and I had inadvertently skipped it. The story is engaging and fast paced, the character's aren't really likable, it is a bit more vulgar than I remembered it (though everything may have gone over my head before), it was different to read it as a mother, being more familiar with Greek mythology added an extra bit of understanding. I like how Duncan intertwines history and mythology throughout his books, and it has been fun to re-read them now being able to recognize the references.

Dave Duncan recently passed away, which made me very sad. In honor of him, I decided I would reread this series, as I think it is the only one of his older series's that I have not reread, mostly because this one is so memorable (whereas typically I forget a lot of what I read). The magic system, and even the plot, in this series, is one of the most clever I have ever read. Granted as the first book in the series, this book is mostly setup for the rest of the story, so I feel bad for the other reviewers who gave up on it, but I can kind of understand their frustration.

To add to my enjoyment I am reading/listening to a biography on Winston Churchill which takes place in the same time and place as our main character Edward Exeter. Leaves me wondering if Churchill was actually a stranger... ;)

Well this book was a surprise to me -- I like medieval fiction, I like mysteries, I like magic, so you'd think I'd be all over it, but that combination is so rarely done well, and so rarely believable. This book is A on all counts. Believable reconstruction of medieval life, of the tensions between the Normans and the British peasantry, of the mistrust of people with physical impairments, of the time period all across the board. Duncan has also created a believable magical system within that framework (be still my heart) and a compelling main character with a reasonable sleuthing method to boot. I will be watching this series with bated breath, eager for as much as he cares to write.

Advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.

Oh, this series! While the interminable wait for the next Dresden files book continues, at least there are some other kickass enchanters to follow, like Durwin, in 12th century England. Book 2 continues a strong start, fleshing out more of the setting (Lincoln, this time, and the outskirts of Oxford) and introducing several indomitable female personalities of the time period, and a dastardly satanic cell. Wonderful, and I can't wait for the next one. I do think it's hilarious that Durwin is constantly pointing out how his deficiencies have led to disaster, and then completely triumphs in the end, but I find it endearing rather then annoying that he has a sense of his own fallibility. Really hoping that the lovely Lovise and the plucky Eadwig continue to be central to future adventures.

Advanced Reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.

You really must read all 3 books in the series to have the full experience. The second book had me confused so I had to google it to discover that Duncan had written himself into a corner and figured out a way to recon things and sort it all out in the end.

It was slow in the beginning with a long build-up and lots of politics. But the last quarter of the book had lots of action and ran headlong to an ending. It felt rushed after the slow pacing of the beginning.

This book is from the point of view of the princess, who happens to be a legitimate heir to the throne. She goes through many tribulations. I confess I slowed my reading toward the end because I was afraid things would turn out badly, (Game of Thrones made me distrustful to authors). I won't tell any spoiler, you'll have to find out for yourself how things turn out for Princess Malinda.

I recommend all 3 books in the series. I love the concept of the Blades and the magic system that Duncan created. I'd love to play a roleplaying game based on these books.

I enjoyed this book. It wasn't quite the page-turner that the first book was. It started slow and had more political machinations for the first half of the book. The second half picked up. The beginning was necessary since there was a lot of new worldbuilding. This time we learned a lot more about the Baels, their culture, the geography of their lands--the Fire Lands due to the volcano Cwicnol which figures prominently in the story.

Once again the magic system is very interesting. I didn't see the twist close to the end coming at all. After reading the first book, there are pieces of this one that fill in and enhance happenings in the first one. I can see already that this will be the case with the third book as well.

I stayed up late to finish the book because I really couldn't put it down by then.

I really enjoyed this book. I picked this up and the other 3 in this sort-of trilogy at a flea market. I'm glad I did. How did I not know about Dave Duncan until now?

The worldbuilding is very interesting with magic that requires an octagon and chanting and other things. Although it's possible there are scrolls and perhaps quicker ways to cast certain spells, but that wasn't detailed in this book.

Boys are accepted and trained in swordsmanship of varying kinds, along with hand-to-hand fighting. I assume they learn other things like how to read and write. They move up the ranks and when the king is ready, they are magically bound to him as his protector. Sometimes the king will grant one of his "Blades" to a court favorite. This makes for some interesting situations since the Blade must protect his ward at all costs, even if the ward is planning treason. It puts the main character, Durendal, into moral corundums.

The story bounces back and forth in time, which some may find disconcerting. But it acts as a sort of post-shadowing. You know something is coming up eventually but you aren't sure how you will get there.

I think this would be a great premise for a movie or TV show. And definitely would make a great plot of a roleplaying game like Dungeons & Dragons.

I can't wait to read the next book.

PS: Each of these 3 books can be read on their own, but apparently they are best when you read al three. Duncan has also written some other books that take place in this world as well. He is a hidden gem.

Written well.

Narration: Passable

This story was billed as a stand-alone part of a larger series and it seems like it lives up to that promise (which is good, because I have not read any of the other books). The Norse World Building was actually pretty decent; how it was done much less so ... To start with, there was a crap ton of talking and very little action in the beginning (Elevating the art of Info Dumping to a ridiculous level). Unfortunately, the narration actually made this worse. Then after introducing the main characters in part 1, the story then dives down a rat hole with some dude named Gerard (its was not clear to me that the next 11 freaking chapters were a flashback from a POV that was not really a character in the story ... Who does that?)... regardless, Gerard seems to be there just to give some overly detailed background that served no purpose that I could detect. Sometimes more is not better.

It was not until half way through the book that the flashbacks end and we finally get to the actual story. Fortunately, although I was tempted, I had not abandoned the book. This is where the story finally gets interesting (feel free to skip Parts 2 thru 5 ... you won't miss much). The story then picks up with Raider and Wasp on the run trying to piece together exactly who the bad guys are and why (this was the story that I was expecting). It's a fair story that includes individual conflict and some simplistic political intrigue, but using 'magic' to solve most of the mystery with a ghostly soliloquy seems a bit lazy to me. Add to that a ridiculous ability to get the bad guys to admit their wrong doing at sword when they pretty much know that they won't survive the encounter (like a bloody TV show where we get a confession as soon as the bad guy is arrested). Still, it would have secured 3 stars if not for having to suffer through the first half of the book.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#feeaudiobookcodes #audiobookboom

This is the first Open Road Media book I didn't care for. When I started reading, I thought it would be yet another Dystopian novel and Irona would overthrow the empire somehow. In a way, Irona believes this of herself as well, but that's not what happens at all. Perhaps that's the point of the story; not everyone is capable or even wants to start a revolution. The problem with that is it makes for a yawn of a story.

I was interested in how Irona began working within the system she had hated all her life, but I continually wondered where the story was going and why I should care. By the 75% mark, I began to dislike Irona, and by 80%, I was thoroughly bored but determined to finish the book. It wasn't until I had only about 5% left that I finally found out where Irona fit in the grand scheme of things. She is the hero of the story, just not in the way you would think, and getting there made the book seem much longer than it is. On top of that, the author uses rape as a signifier of true evilness, and I'm a firm believer that there are better ways to write evil without having to resort to sexual assault. While the one rape scene wasn't exactly disturbing to me, it may trigger others, and it certainly wasn't necessary.

Until today, the lowest rating I've given to an Open Road Media book was three stars (The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson). This one gets two stars. It just didn't have enough good storytelling for me to give it three. If you enjoy epic Greek or Roman style settings or political stories, and you don't take issue with sexual violence, maybe check Irona 700 out from the library and give it a chance. I wouldn't pay money for this book, though.

Duncan, Dave. West of January. Del Rey, 1989.
Dave Duncan was a Scott who specialized in writing sandal and sword fantasy, but in West of January he built a world without fantasy elements. Human colonists have settled on Vernier, a planet that is barely habitable. The planet’s diurnal rotation is just slightly faster than one of its trips around its primary. A Vernier day-night cycle is about two hundred years long. The result is that the sun seems hardly to move in the sky. The population crashes almost to extinction when caught in a summer noonday. It is not surprising then that much of the technology is lost and that culture has fragmented into nomadic bands and people burrowed in odd ecological niches. Over the years, the population has also developed distinct racial types. Our hero, Knobil, racially different from his group, grew up in a nomadic herding culture in an area that resembles the Eurasian Steppes. When his father is killed, he is exiled and begins a globe-spanning adventure that reminds me of the explorations of Richard Francis Burton. There are many twists and turns along the way with a quite satisfying surprise at the end.

Urgh. The first 2/3, wonderful, as enjoyable as the first book. The last 1/3 was almost torture.

Authors: it is Incredibly Annoying when your characters keep themselves apart from one another because of Mysterious Reasons they won't tell one another Or Even the Reader. Nobody likes this. It is not clever, it is not suspenseful, it is not exciting, it is just Tedious.

So 5 stars for the 1st third, 5 stars for the middle, 2 stars for the last third, averaged (5 5 2 = 12, / 3 = 4).

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!

Weird book. I was very enthusiastic about his Man of his Word series (and am enjoying, not quite as much, its follow-up), so I thought I'd try this other work. The first book is very strange. Almost nothing happens, and it takes a while to have this not-a-lot happen. It's like watching a movie where midway through you realise you've seen as much of the set as you ever will, because they simply don't have the budget to tell a larger story ... except this is a book, so his budget is unlimited, so I don't understand his choice to tell such a small, constrained tale.

The world is weird, as well. It's very small, with no sense of how people in that community could sustain themselves economically, so it's just not believable. The majority of the characters have to abide by a set of arcane sutras (it would be like having to have an advanced contract law degree just to be able to figure out how to ask a neighbour for a favour, or invite someone to a tea party), it's kind of ludicrous. Ultimately, I don't think I quite picked up what he was throwing down.

Especially, I think, the world is so strange that it's hard to get a sense of how one should be feeling about it. If you hear that John fell off the Empire State Building, you know that's horrible and unlikely to end well ... but if you hear that John fell off the Ashakin, you have no idea if that's good or bad or immaterial, because you don't know if the Ashakin is two inches high or two miles. You need a context to appreciate what's going on, and Mr. Duncan's world is just too odd to ease us into usefully.

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, I'm a bit more ruthless.

The premise of this book is so interesting. An area in Africa suddenly appeared thirty years ago that challenges the laws of physics, and no one knows how or why. And surely people have set up a profitable business around it. There are people who want to go to Sungoback, and one and all have their own reasons for going.
The book starts slowly. The characters are introduced and they spend some time in Xanadu, a luxury resort, before their journey. The journey itself seems very brief compared to the preparations. The travelers find out the secret of Sungoback in the end. The ending was very rushed. It felt like a rug had been pulled under my feet.
The author died before the publication of this book. That might explain why this book did not reach it's full potential.
Thank you LibraryThing and Five Rivers Publishing for a copy of this book.

I want to give it five stars

But there are some truly egregious proof reading errors. At least twice ‘dave duncan’ appeared in the text randomly.

Truthfully, this has a flow and pace that shows mastery of the art of fiction writing. A murder-mystery with fantasy elements, I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

This is well worth the price. I will pre-order the next book.

Been a long time

The King’s Blades were outstanding reading back when and the world they inhabit remains fascinating. The uncertain and hidden nature of magic in their world, coupled with their dashing heroism, makes for a fun read.

I want to give it five stars

But there are some truly egregious proof reading errors. At least twice ‘dave duncan’ appeared in the text randomly.

Truthfully, this has a flow and pace that shows mastery of the art of fiction writing. A murder-mystery with fantasy elements, I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

This is well worth the price. I will pre-order the next book.