The Bookwyrm's Review of The Gilded Chain by Dave Duncan

Author: Dave Duncan

Length: 432 Pages/ 13 Hours, 33 Minutes (Audio)

Publisher: Harper Collins

Release Date: September 1, 1999/ November 4, 2019 (Audio)

Narrator: Austin Vanfleet

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Tales of the Kings Blades, Book 1

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Amazon Link

While I usually review indie authored fantasy, I still have a huge collection of older traditionally published fantasy and sci-fi. This includes most of the books in The Kings Blades series, the first of which, The Gilded Chain, I'm reviewing here. The recent release of the audio version really piqued my interest, so here we go.

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.