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Sky of Swords : A Tale of the King's Blades Mass Market Paperback – September 4, 2001

by Dave Duncan (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 91 ratings
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The mightiest swordsmen in the relm, are bound by magic to defend their noble wards...to the death.

The King's Blades

The unloved child of the unscrupulous King Ambrose,Princess Malinda learned at an early age to fight for what was rightfully hers. Now, with the Kings abrupt death, civil war has become her grim destiny. Making her uncertain way through the blood labyrinth of schemesand betrayals, Malinda can trust none but the Blades of the Royal Guard. But the Blades themselves are in grave peril. And the young Queen faces the most crucialdecision of her life: a choice that will either redeem her kingdom from chaos...or bring ultimate destruction down upon it, her Blades, and herself.
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  1. Book 3 of 8
    Tale of the King's Blades
  2. Print length
    480 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Harper Voyager
  5. Publication date
    September 4, 2001
  6. Dimensions
    4.19 x 1.2 x 6.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0380791285
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0380791286
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sturdy characterization and gripping suspense. . . .A tale of royal treason, murder, and magic". -- Publishers Weekly

From the Back Cover

The mightiest swordsmen in the realm, they are bound by magic to defend their noble wards . . . to the death.

The unloved child of the unscrupulous King Ambrose, Princess Malinda learned at an early age to fight for what was rightfully hers. Now, with the King's abrupt death, civil war has become her grim destiny. Making her uncertain way through the blood labyrinth of schemes and betrayals, Malinda can trust none but the Blades of the Royal Guard. But the Blades themselves are in grave peril. And the young Queen faces the most crucial decision of her life: a choice that will either redeem her kingdom from chaos . . . or bring ultimate destruction down upon it, her Blades, and herself.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Voyager (September 4, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 480 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0380791285
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0380791286
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.19 x 1.2 x 6.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 91 ratings

About the author

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Dave Duncan

Dave Duncan

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Dave Duncan was a prolific writer of fantasy and science fiction, best known for his fantasy series, particularly The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word, and The King's Blades. He is both a founding and honorary lifetime member of SF Canada. Dave passed away in Oct 2018, leaving behind his wife of 59 years Janet, three children and four grandchildren. Visit his website www.daveduncanauthor.com

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
91 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Captain
5.0 out of 5 stars Dave Duncan, the best fantasy author you've never heard of
Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2010
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Include me among those who can't believe they've never heard of Dave Duncan until recently. His Reluctant Swordsman books were recommended in a fantasy discussion here, and since they were not all available at the time, I started with The Gilded Chain. And couldn't put it down. What a great story! Durendal is one of my favorite characters now. I've now read Lord of the Fire Lands and Sky of Swords, and they were all fabulous, full of action, court intrigue, complex stories that can be read as stand alones but should be read in order. The characterizations are wonderful, fully realized people who you can believe may have existed in this marvelous and magical world. The concepts of honor and loyalty predominate, something that always appeals to me in a fantasy story.

The discrepancies were curious at first, and unlike other reviewers, I had no idea how he was going to resolve everything as he promised in his forwards. But he did, and it was satisfying and imaginative.

I rank Dave Duncan with my favorite fantasy authors of Tolkein, Steven Erickson, Roger Zelazny, Patrick Rothfuss and George RR Martin. And unlike the latter two, Duncan is a prodigious author with many books in print, and is still going strong.
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Michael Kozlowski
5.0 out of 5 stars A superb conclusion to a good series
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2001
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Sky of Swords fulfills the ultimate goal of any volume in a series: it is not only an excellent story in its own right, but it retroactively improves the volumes that have gone before it by bringing to light hidden depths. This book focuses on Princess Malinda, who had minor but important parts in the first two books, and fleshes out her story in a way that adds shades of newly-discovered meaning to the earlier books. For those who mistakenly thought (as I did) that this series was to consist of stand-alone volumes, well, we were wrong. I suppose it'd be vaguely possible to read each of these volumes individually, but the full effect of the story is only found in reading them together. I'm beginning to believe that Duncan couldn't write a straightforward generic fantasy if he tried to; so much the better.
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M. J. Keel
4.0 out of 5 stars Ohh! That's what happened!
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2007
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At the end of "Lord of the Fire Lands" Dave Duncan did the unthinkable for those of us with good memories for what happens in a series; he contradicted what he'd written in the first volume "The Gilded Chain." I know now that he wrote that the books were stand-alones that needed to be read as a set in order to put the discrepancies right, but I was highly annoyed with him at the time. "Sky of Swords" brought it all together!

Malinda, daughter of King Ambose the IV (who is suspiciously like King Henry VIII of England), is caught in a whirlwind of intrigue when her husband to be (the pirate king of Baelmark, Radgar Aelething) releases her from her unwanted political marriage only to murder her father minutes later. Her illegitimate brother Granville and others want the throne for themselves and all that stands between them and their ambition is the three year old king, Amby (Ambrose V), and Malinda who swears to protect her sickly younger brother.

As usual Duncan poplulates his world with familiar yet complex and quirky characters who have to go through extraoridinary cirmcumstances. This book is fast paced, and you have to pay attention. I would give it a 4.5 if I could. If you've read the "Gilded Chain" or "Lord of the Fire Lands" you have to read this one! Highly recommended.
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Kathy Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars It ties up an odd cliffhanger from the second book quite nicely, though you don't precisely know that going in
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2017
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Last story in the original trilogy. It ties up an odd cliffhanger from the second book quite nicely, though you don't precisely know that going in. Parts of it are heartbreaking in a very bittersweet, loving way. This was a great read.
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S. Rayball
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite in the Kings blades series.
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2016
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This is my favorite in the series. Great plot. Loved the characters. The plot sucked me in and the ending did not disappoint.
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Out of this World Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars A fun adventure
Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2018
Sky of Swords by Dave Duncan is the third novel in the King's Blades series. In book two, Lord of the Fire Lands, the reader is left hanging at the end as history inexplicably unfolds in a different fashion compared to what was told in the first novel in the series. Duncan not only has some explaining to do, but, as a writer myself, I was curious to see how he was going to handle this inconsistent situation. I wasn't disappointed in the storytelling or the characters, but I was a little at the ultimate conclusion. Still, I'll give the author some credit: it was something you don't often see done in a fantasy novel, and while I did see where things were going about halfway through, the ride getting there was still fun.

In this installment our point-of-view character is Princess Malinda, daughter of the King of Chivial, which is the principal realm we are concerned with in book one of the series. Similar to how Lord of the Fire Lands was laid out, the story is part past, part present, but always told from Malinda's viewpoint. The novel opens with Malinda locked in prison, accused of high treason against the king. Of course, we know from the second book that the king, her father, is dead, and so the question of who is the current king is just one of many as the story unfolds.

It's interesting that Duncan chose Malinda as the primary viewpoint character. While she shows up in the previous two novels, it is mostly as cameo roles. In those, she is depicted as a spoiled child with little depth. This changes in Sky of Swords as she is forced to grow up fast or crumple beneath the political and royal weight laid upon her. Durendal (the hero and main character from the first novel) once again is present, this time as a secret advisor as Durendal must fear for his own life: Calls for the disbanding of the Blades grow louder after the king's death; anyone associated with them past or present must be wary. But Malinda casts a bold strike when she Binds four Blades to her, thus creating a group called the Princess's Blades.

Sky of Swords is an adventure novel first and foremost, but contains more court and political drama than the first two novels as Malinda must contend for the throne with a cousin and half-brother. Malinda is a likeable character whose personality we learn is quite different from her previous portrayal as we come to realize Duncan's characters are not always the most reliable narrators.

I liked Sky of Swords, but I did find the final solution to setting things right a bit of a letdown. Not to give anything away, but it was a very Superman-like ending. Still, it was a fun read and I'm looking forward to jumping into the next novel, Paragon Lost.
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Dayne
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2012
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I really like this series. It inspired me to go out and do great yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda.
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Top reviews from other countries

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javelinx
5.0 out of 5 stars Folge 3 der "King's Blades" *4.5 Sterne*
Reviewed in Germany on November 27, 2011
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Malinda, Tochter von König Ambrose IV, wächst im Exil mit ihrer Mutter, Königin Godeleva, fernab vom Hof in King's Ness auf. Nach deren Tod muß sie nach Grymere zurückkehren und sich mit ihrem Vater arrangieren, den sie nur durch die Augen ihrer Mutter als "Monster" kennengelernt hat, sowie mit seinem Kanzler Lord Roland, zu dem sie ein eher angespanntes Verhältnis hat. Als für sie eine Hochzeit arrangiert wird, mit der sie nicht einverstanden ist, und es bei der Feier zu einem Attentat kommt, geraten die Verhältnisse in Chivial immer mehr außer Kontrolle...

Auf den ersten Blick liest sich diese Folge der Serie etwas sperrig: zunächst einmal geht es diesmal nicht um einen der Helden unter den Königsklingen und damit um eine draufgängerisches Heldenepos, sondern erstmalig um eine Frau und eine Prinzessin, die zunächst nicht besonders sympathisch erscheint und auch die Rolle der Klingen einschließlich des legendären Durendal nicht richtig verstanden zu haben scheint. Sie macht eine Reihe dummer Fehler, zwar aus Unerfahrenheit, die aber andere bitter für sie büßen müssen. Erst mit der Zeit gewinnt sie Sympathie, als man Einblicke bekommt in ihre wenig beneidenswerte Rolle als Zuchtstute und Dekoration bei Hofe, die nichts zu sagen hat und gefälligst den Mund zu halten und gut auszusehen hat. Schlimm wird es, als sie als Braut verschachert wird und sie unter demütigenden Bedingungen ihre Jungfräulichkeit unter Beweis stellen muß. Ihr Mut, sich unter solchen Bedingungen zu wehren, und ihren kleinen Bruder Amby zu beschützen, zeigt dann immer mehr, was hinter der hübschen Fassade steckt. Auch ihr Umgang mit der "Garde der Königin" und wen unter ihnen sie sich als Lover aussucht, zeigt sie von einer interessanten Seite.

Wie bisher spielt die Handlung in zwei Zeitlinien und greift die Ereignisse vor Mathildas Hochzeit, die bereits in Folge 1 und 2 Thema waren, wieder auf. Das irritiert zunächst, führt aber zu einem der ungewöhnlichsten Plots in der High Fantasy, der auch den Reiz dieser Story ausmacht. Diesmal geht es weniger um Heldenepos und wagemutige Kämpfe, sondern um den Kampf einer Frau inmitten tödlicher Intrigen, der an ein Shakespeare-Drama zwischen Maria Stuart und Elizabeth I erinnert und Chivial und Ironhall in ihrer dunkelsten Stunde zeigt. Ein Schauprozeß und die infame Aushebelung der Köngisklingen zeigen historisch angehauchte Fantasy von ihrer besten Seite, die einen nahtlosen Übergang zwischen Fantasy und Anwendung von Magie einerseits und einer historisch absolut realistisch wirkenden Kulisse andererseits zeigt. Die Heldin, die nur ohne Waffen kämpfen kann, und die Klingen, die diesmal keine reifen Kämpfer sind, sondern so blutjung und unerfahren, daß es schon fast weh tut, runden ebenso wie der originelle Schluß und der verschmitzte Humor die Handlung ab.
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Xeowyn
5.0 out of 5 stars Spiel mit der Zeit
Reviewed in Germany on October 19, 2013
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Das letzte Buch der Klingen enthaelt die raffinierteste Schilderung eines "Zeitsprunges" in der SF Literatur, die ich je gelesen habe, gleichzeitig aber auch die beste Vernankerung eines Wunschtraumes(der Leser) in der Roman -Wirklichkeit!
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