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The Ethical Swordsman: A Tale of the King's Blades (Tales of the King's Blades)

by Dave Duncan

Series: The King's Blades (Tales of the King's Blades 5)

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In the final adventure in the King's Blades series, one of the Blades is asked to go undercover to hunt down a possible threat to the crown of Chivial. Niall's father raised him to be a man of his word, and Niall has tried to live that way throughout his life, even during his training to become a Blade.  But things have changed. King Ambrose has died. His daughter, Malinda, is now queen and behaving suspiciously. When she makes Niall Prime of the Blades, he is asked to swear an oath to protect her--and then is made a spy.  Now Niall faces a mission that challenges everything he believes and must place his life on the line for a leader he's not certain he can trust . . . Praise for Dave Duncan  "Dave Duncan is one of the best writers in the fantasy world today. His writing is clear, vibrant, and full of energy. His action scenes are breathtaking, and his skill at characterization is excellent." --Writers Write "Duncan excels at old-fashioned swashbuckling fantasy, maintaining a delicate balance between breathtaking excitement, romance, and high camp in a genre that is very easy to overdo." --RT Book Reviews… (more)
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This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
This is a pretty well written swashbuckling type story with a little bit of everything thrown in. With that said it really wasn't my type of read so I didn't finish it. I don't want to discourage others however, I am just too picky perhaps. ( )
  suebaldwin12 | Jul 10, 2019 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
When Queen Malinda of Chivial comes to Ironhall to bind her first Blades after her accession, she only calls for half a dozen. Sir Niall, the next in line after those six, can't see why she doesn't take a score or so; there are more than enough Seniors who should have been bound long ago, if only King Ambrose had been well enough to do it. He's appalled to find out the reason: He has been recommended for a secret mission as an unbound Blade, sworn to the Queen's service but without the magical binding ritual, to spy on the Marquis of Thencaster, the Queen's closest male relative, just in case anybody's thinking of overthrowing her in favor of a man.

The great thing about the Tales of the King's Blades is that they have room for every kind of story; this one is a spy story as well as a swashbuckler, a murder mystery, and a romance that surprised me in the best way. This series is my favorite of Dave Duncan's body of work, and while this book probably isn't the best of the series, it was still rollicking good fun. ( )
  scriveling | Jun 4, 2019 |
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The King's Blades (Tales of the King's Blades 5)
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In the final adventure in the King's Blades series, one of the Blades is asked to go undercover to hunt down a possible threat to the crown of Chivial. Niall's father raised him to be a man of his word, and Niall has tried to live that way throughout his life, even during his training to become a Blade.  But things have changed. King Ambrose has died. His daughter, Malinda, is now queen and behaving suspiciously. When she makes Niall Prime of the Blades, he is asked to swear an oath to protect her--and then is made a spy.  Now Niall faces a mission that challenges everything he believes and must place his life on the line for a leader he's not certain he can trust . . . Praise for Dave Duncan  "Dave Duncan is one of the best writers in the fantasy world today. His writing is clear, vibrant, and full of energy. His action scenes are breathtaking, and his skill at characterization is excellent." --Writers Write "Duncan excels at old-fashioned swashbuckling fantasy, maintaining a delicate balance between breathtaking excitement, romance, and high camp in a genre that is very easy to overdo." --RT Book Reviews

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