
Gilded Chain
A Tale of the King's Blades, Book 1
No se pudo agregar al carrito
Add to Cart failed.
Error al Agregar a Lista de Deseos.
Error al eliminar de la lista de deseos.
Error al añadir a tu biblioteca
Error al seguir el podcast
Error al dejar de seguir el podcast

Compra ahora por $24.95
-
Narrado por:
-
Austin Vanfleet
-
De:
-
Dave Duncan
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. Yet destiny has many strange and inscrutable plans for the young knight - for a mission, a contest, and, perhaps, a treasure await him in a faraway land. But he soon finds himself enmeshed in treason and foul intrigues, compelled to betray the king he had hoped to serve.
The Blades have ways to protect their own, but death and madness haunt the path to salvation - and few ever return unscathed.
©1999, 2019 Katanji Arts Inc. (P)2019 Katanji Arts Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...




















Las personas que vieron esto también vieron:


Dave Duncan is excellent!
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Love and Time
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
El oyente recibió este título gratis
Strong character, well-developed concept
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
El oyente recibió este título gratis
Austin Vanfleet does a great job with his performance.
I immediately started listening to the second book and it too was done very well.
I'm looking forward to listening to the entire series.
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.
Fantastic Fantasy series
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
El oyente recibió este título gratis
Spectacular is not a strong enough word!
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
El oyente recibió este título gratis
PLOT SUMMARY
This story starts with a young boy who's family brings him to Ironhall, where the King's Blades are trained to become the finest warriors in the world, being magically bound to their charges when they graduate. The young man takes the name of Durendal, the name of greatest hero in the history of the Blades, and a huge legacy to live up to.
We then switch to the POV of the kingdom's Chancellor, Lord Roland, as he sits in his office, running the day to day operations of the kingdom. When his biggest rival for power, the king's private secretary, comes in with an order removing him from office, Roland is relieved, thinking he can finally retire and spend time with his wife. Of course, its not that easy, and he is about to be arrested. Fortunately, Roland was gifted a King's Blade to bond to him as a guard, so he avoids being arrested, as any Blade is worth a dozen guardsmen. He heads home and apprises his wife of the situation.
Durendal, if you couldn't guess, is also Lord Roland, and the book switches between the two viewpoints, going back in the past for various important parts of his life, and then switching to the issues going on in the present. We see how, after his training, Durendal is bonded to his first charge, a spoiled noble who's gifted a Blade because his sister is the king's mistress. We get to see what the magical bond means, since it allows a blade to go without sleep for long periods of time, and forces them to defend their charge's life at all cost, including allowing them to fight long past injuries that would kill a normal fighter.
We get to see Durendal caught up in a scheme by his charge to betray the king, and his bond forces him to go along, to eventual tragic consequences. This leads to Durendal being bonded directly to the king, and joining his household Blades. Rising though the ranks, he is tasked with a mission that takes him for years away from the kingdom, tasked with bringing back a Blade that has supposedly been made into a gladiator slave in a distant land. This mission has a direct tie in to the end of the book, since what they find there will have dire consequences 30 years in the future.
Upon returning, Durendal continues to rise in the ranks until he is eventually Blade commander, until the night the king is magically attacked by disgruntled magician's guilds, and Durendal saves the king's life, and is rewarded by being made the king's new chancellor. The years pass by and we get to the present, where we find that the king is finally dying, but something tied into that long ago mission is afoot, and will have horrible consequences for the kingdom, and possibly the world, if the king and his secretary aren't stopped from recreating what Durendal discovered all those years ago and thought he'd stopped then.
CHARACTERS AND WORLD BUILDING
While this book is very plot driven, the characters are surprising well rounded, especially Durendal and the King. Durendal is by every measure a fantasy hero of the old school, fearless, skilled, ruthless when necessary and a ladies man, and yet he also has flaws and blind spots you don't expect in such a traditional type character. His failures are as much a part of his character building as his many successes. The king is very much in the mold of King Henry VIII, starting out a vigorous, brash and energetic king, then getting fat and impatient with dissent as he gets old. He even alienates his daughter/heir. The secondary characters are given some love, especially the various Blades Durendal works with over the years, each given their own personalities, not just roles they play to move the story.
The world building is solid, with the kingdom being pretty well described and populated, with the magic being fairly low key, but powerful in its way. The foreign locations are fairly well written, and you get a good feeling for the larger world, and the kingdom's place in it.
NARRATION
The narration is fantastically handled by Austin Vanfleet. He makes me think that every fantasy novel should be narrated with a scottish accent. He has such a good voice, with a smooth voice that creates many different voices for the various characters, giving them each their own unique life. His narrative pacing is some of the best I have ever heard, never dipping into a monotone, and really immersing the listener into the story. I will be happily reviewing more of his works in the coming months.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is the kind of traditional fantasy that could be seen as old fashioned, since the protagonist is not some shades of grey antihero, but is very much a hero. However, he is a flawed hero, making him much more than a two dimensional cutout, and the story is so well told that it keeps the reader engaged, with twists and turns that keep you guessing. I suspect this book will appeal to a wide range of fans, from teens to fans of old school pulps.
One of my favorite fantasy tales.
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
El oyente recibió este título gratis
This audio was given to me free and I voluntarily gave this review,
Wow
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
El oyente recibió este título gratis
The story mainly follows Durendal(Roland) who starts off at the school for Blades and is one of the best students to ever come out of the school. The story follows him on many adventures and there are quite a few twists and turns along the way. Durendal is an extremely good person, brash and very likeable as a Hero. There is a lot of action and adventure as well as much intrigue in the book which kept me thoroughly engrossed and entertained throughout.
The narration by Austin Vanfleet was great and I really enjoyed his accent and felt it fit the story quite well. Overall I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to reading other's in the series.
"Please note I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review."
Great Fantasy novel
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
Haven't finished
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.
One of Duncan's Best
Se ha producido un error. Vuelve a intentarlo dentro de unos minutos.