Showing results by author "Dave Duncan" in All Categories

Having just finished five years of training to become deadly "blades", the finest swordsmen in the land, Wasp and Raider, refuse to bind themselves to the king during the graduation ceremonies, and become outlaws and head for the dreaded "Fire Lands" to redeem themselves in battle.

As unwanted and rebellious boys, they find refuge in Ironhall.... Years later, they emerge as the finest swordsmen in the realm - a magical ritual of a sword through the heart binds each to his ward - if not the king himself, then to whomever else the monarch designates - with absolute loyalty. And the greatest Blade of them all was - and is - Sir Durendal. But a lifelong dream of protecting his beloved liege from enemies, traitors, and monsters is dashed to bits when Durendal is bonded till death to an effete noble fop at his king's orders.

For 15 years the truce has held. Swordsmen of the Tryst of Casr have kept the peace and extended the rule of law over half the World, but now sorcerers have started killing swordsmen again, and swordsmen traitors are aiding them. Shonsu-who was Wallie Smith before he became a swordsman of the seventh rank and liege lord of the Tryst-must once more gird on the seventh sword of Chioxin, and this time he rides out to fight the war that he hoped would never come.

Inos, the late king's daughter, had been kidnapped through the magic casement even as the Impish legions overrunning her tiny kingdom were storming the castle tower. Now she was a prisoner in a desert land ruled by a dockside whore with a talent for magic and a passion for politics. She little dreamed that the loyal stableboy Rap had jumped through the casement after her. But no one really knew how the magic worked, and Rap found himself not in a desert, but in the steaming jungles of Faerie....

The Goddess had rescued Wallie Smith from certain death, endowed him with a magnificent new body, and gifted him with the legendary Sapphire Sword of Chioxin. She asked only one service in return...So Wallie became the Goddess' champion -- and promptly found himself on the losing side in a battle against magics far beyond any the priests of the Goddess could hope to summon.

Queen Inos was badly shaken. Loyal, trustworthy Rap, who was supposed to have died, appeared to her. With this as a sign, Inos knew that she would serve her people, no matter what. But Rap was alive, and he would do whatever he could to help, even as his life took a turn for the worse....

When the Council of 10 takes the seer Nostradamus into custody, suspecting him of poisoning a friend of the prince, his young apprentice must unravel a web of magic and murder if he is to have any future of his own.

Wallie Smith had been dying on another world when the Goddess transferred his mind to the body of the barbarian swordsman Shonsu. Then She gave him the great, magical Sapphire Sword of Chioxin and sent him on a mission. All he had to do was to lead the arrogant band of swordsmen to destroy the sorcerers and their Fire God. Now Wallie discovered that he'd already tried it - and been hopelessly defeated.

Princess Inos lived an idyllic life in her fathers' sleepy, backwater kingdom, and she was best friends with her childhood companion, the stableboy, Rap. But when a prophecy seemed to say Inos should be married, she was exiled to the Impire to learn to be a lady. She was far away when Rap's magical talents began to emerge, and it was he who told her of the fate awaiting them both.

Wallie Smith can feel the pain. He goes to the hospital, remembers the doctors and the commotion, but when he wakes up it all seems like a dream. However, if that was a dream how do you explain waking up in another body and in another world? Little Wallie finds himself in the physique of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by both an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess and a voluptuous slave girl. Is this a rude awakening or a dream come true?

Rigel has always known he is not quite human, but the only clue to his origin is the otherworldly bracelet he has worn since childhood. His search for his parentage leads him to the Starlands, where reality and fantasy have changed places. There he learns that he is a human-starborn cross, and his bracelet is the legendary magical amulet Saiph, which makes its wearer an unbeatable swordsman.

Sir Rhys, Sir Sharp, and Sir Trusty - three of the world's greatest swordsmen - are released from the Royal Guard in their 20s with no pension, no job, and no money. Rhys' father is the great Blade hero, Sir Spender, who finds himself in the same predicament. Spender knows of a fabulous treasure that was lost more than 30 years ago and thinks he knows where it may be. Why shouldn't the four of them go and look for it?

The loyal stableboy Rap had fought through hell and high water to rescue Inos, his queen. But once he did, he found that she had already married the accursed Sultan Azak, who had despoiled her beauty. As Inos follows her destiny, and Azak his, Rap awaits his fate at the hands of torturers....

Thirty years ago, a terrifying anomaly known as Sungoback appeared over North Africa. Two hundred miles wide, the mysterious zone manifests as a pillar of darkness during the day and as a pillar of light at night. There is no telling what secrets it holds inside, as it defies science and destroys technology. Entering Sungoback is considered tantamount to suicide since most who do so are never seen again. Now, nine strangers are headed to Sungoback. Each has their own motive for risking everything to enter. They should hope they don't all share the same fate inside....

King Henry is dead; Richard the Lionheart now rules England. The new king does not believe in magic, and is interested only in a crusade to recapture Jerusalem. But his crusade soon stalls, and while he is away, his brother, John, and his supposed ally, Philip of France, are conspiring to steal his kingdom. Richard's mother, Queen Eleanor, sends Sir Durwin, Enchanter General of England, out to Palestine, where he must convince the skeptical king that a loyal magician can be a valuable aide. Meanwhile, King Philip has turned all of Europe into a trap for Richard.

The old Imperor was dead at last. His popular soldier grandson, known as Shandie, had succeeded him... Hadn't he? No, he hadn't. The man who sat the opal throne was not Shandie, but an illusion created by the mad dwarf, Xinixo. Year after year he had stealthily been enchanting sorcerers, turning them into loyal minions. Now, wielding their combined power, he was irresistible. He ruled the Impire, so he ruled the world. He would continue to rule it for centuries.

Well met, traveler! Since you are going in my direction, why don't we walk on together for a while? If luck is with us, perhaps we shall overtake Omar before nightfall, if that pirate of an innkeeper spoke true.

The world was desperate. Since the empire had fallen a hundred years ago, Gwin and her people had nearly given up hope that the Renewer would come. Gwin had lost everything. Her husband was killed in one of the wars. Her children died of Star Sickness. Even her work at the hostel was in jeopardy because the politicians had it out for her. The cursed Gwin, therefore, had nothing to lose. When she took in the girl, a survivor of the Star Sickness, it was a dreadful crime.

King Henry, campaigning in France, receives a muddled warning of a treasonous conspiracy in Lincoln Castle, his great fortress in the center of England. His enchanters report that the letter contains both truth and lies, but cannot determine which is which. Putting little stock in the warning, he sends an eager young knight to lead a troop of men and investigate, and since the letter includes hints of magic, Henry orders him to enlist the help of Durwin, the young Saxon whose education he has been financing these last two years.

Paranoid but almighty, the sorcerer Xinixo had seized control of the Impire. But ruling the imps and most of the world was not enough. He would never feel safe until he was universally loved, so he would smash everything and then rebuild the whole world in his own insane image. Who could resist him? King Rap of Krasnegar and Shandie, the rightful Imperor, were still at large and determined to resist the evil, however slender their chances. Their one, faint hope was to enlist the help of the remaining free sorcerers of the world, those not already spellbound by Xinixo.