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Summary
Summary
Over time, many legends have emerged from the shadows of Ironhall. Now one new Blade towers above his brother in arms: Sir Beaumont. His heart is the strongest and most pure and his mind is as keen, swift, and accurate as his sword. A glorious future seems predestined for young Beau on the day he sets out in the service and company of the elderly Lord Wassail, on a mission to escort King Athelgar's chosen bride to her new home and royal wedding.
But the road is not to be an easy one, for it winds through the harsh and frozen domain of the evil Czar Igor, who cows his subjects with a steady diet of terror, brutality, and the blackest of magics. And when polite diplomacy gives way to horror and blood, Sir Beaumont becomes one of the tragedy's prime victims -- though he lives still.
Stripped of his sword and banished from the Blades in disgrace, he faces a grim future as a homeless pariah, a creature to be shunned and despised. But redemption can come from unexpected directions and in unrecognizable guises. Approached in secret by the legendary Durendal, now Grand Master of the Order, the dishonored paragon is offered one last chance to win back his weapon and his place among his brother Blades. But to do so, he must ride back through the icy gates of Hell ... to battle the Devil himself.
Author Notes
Dave Duncan was born in Scotland in 1933. He graduated from the University of St. Andrews in 1955 and moved to Canada. He worked for 31 years as a geologist in the petroleum industry. He started writing novels in 1984 and became a full-time author in 1986. He has written over 40 novels including the series The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word, A Handful of Men, The King's Blades, The Great Game, Years of Longdirk, King's Daggers, and Seventh Sword. He has also written under the names Sarah B. Franklin and Ken Hood.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Canadian author Duncan offers plenty of swashbuckling fantasy adventure in this outstanding stand-alone novel, a follow-up to the three books in his loosely connected Tales of the King's Blades series (The Gilded Chain; Lord of the Fire Lands; Sky of Swords). Set during the reign of King Athelgar about a dozen years after the action of the previous volumes, the present story follows the binding of Sir Beaumont, one of the best of the King's Blades (swordsmen) in the land of Chivial, to the aged Lord Wassail, who must escort a royal princess from the court of the treacherous and insane Czar Igor and deliver a bride to the king. Along with fellow blades Arkell and Oak, Beaumont travels a narrow path in order to keep Wassail safe. Meanwhile, Igor desires his own blade and seeks the secrets of the rituals needed to gain one, aided by vicious ensorcelled dogs and the murderous strelsy. It's up to Beaumont, now disgraced and out of favor, to retrieve and stop a missing blade, Swithin, who's bound to the czar's brother-in-law, from reaching the czar's court. Rich, evocative language and superior narrative skills lift this mix of quest, swordplay, politics, love and honor high above the usual run of genre fiction. This book can only enhance Duncan's reputation as one of the leading masters of epic fantasy. (Oct. 8) FYI: Duncan is also the author of Sir Stalwart and other titles in the King's Daggers series. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A rousing addition (the fourth) to the series, of which the first three, concluded with Sky of Swords (2000), formed a logical but not sequential trilogy; this independent and self-contained entry takes place a dozen years hence. Sir Beaumont, the finest swordsman of all King Athelgar's Blades, will be bonded (magically compelled to defend to the death) with old, unprepossessing Lord Wassail, whose sole apparent virtue is his unswerving loyalty to King Athelgar. Joining Beau will be Sir Oak and Sir Arkell, an indication of the importance Athelgar attaches to Wassail's mission. Supposedly secret (but already common knowledge in Isilond, the neighboring territory they must pass through), Wassail's mission is to proceed from Chivial to the vast, remote, frigid land of Skyrria, ruled by its maniacal Czar, Igor (think Russia under Ivan the Terrible) and bring back Czarina Sophie's young and stunningly beautiful sister, Tasha, to be Athelgar's bride. It's a daunting task: Skyrria is barbaric and impoverished, Igor cunning and paranoid (he trusts only his huge, vicious, magically metamorphosed dogs, and employs his brutal, merciless militia to extort from the rich, repress the peasants, and harass everyone in between), and the climate pitiless. Worst of all, as the irrepressible Beaumont discovers, the real reason Igor agreed to the marriage was not trade deals or fabulous gifts-but to get his hands on a Blade and learn the secrets of his making. Inventive, labyrinthine, witty, and thoroughly engaging: Duncan rarely disappoints, and here he outswashbuckles himself.
Booklist Review
The King's Blades swing on in the fourth chronicle of their adventures. Principal adventurer this time is Sir Beaumont, a paragon indeed until he is sent to escort Princess Isabelle out of Czar Igor's clutches. Unfortunately, Igor has designs on the secrets of the King's Blades as well as on Isabelle, but, of course, honor, love, and good sense dictate that Sir Beaumont defend both secrets and lady to the end. By the end, we have enjoyed a tightly written, rather Dumas-like story, lighthearted at times but never frivolous or dumb, adequately filled out by the lay, not to mention the layings, of the campaign against Igor. If Duncan hasn't already got a serious reputation for humorous fantasy and strong female characters, this book ought to cement it for him. Followers of the King's Blades will be well pleased and perhaps grow in numbers. --Roland Green
Library Journal Review
Bound by magic to serve the King or one of his chosen nobles, the King's Blades represent the epitome of loyalty and swordsmanship. Only Beaumont, once the finest Blade, brings disgrace to his calling. Duncan's latest installment in his popular "Tales of the King's Blades" series (The Gilded Chain; Lord of the Fire Lands; Sky of Swords) relates the truth behind the life and career of Ned Cookson, formerly Sir Beaumont of the King's Blades. Swashbuckling action and fantasy adventure add spice to a story of one man's struggle to find his own meaning of loyalty and courage. Recommended for most collections, particularly where the series is in demand. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
I At Bossips' Corner | p. 1 |
II The Jronhall Road | p. 17 |
III The Sport of Kings | p. 45 |
IV The Sport of Czars | p. 94 |
V The Road to Morkuta | p. 172 |
VI Journey's End | p. 219 |
VII The Stolen Blade | p. 271 |
VIII Paragon Regained | p. 310 |