Sky of Swords

The King's Blades #3

by Dave Duncan

"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.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adventure, Epic Fantasy, High Fantasy, Sword and Sorcery

368 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Originally from Scotland, Dave Duncan lived all his adult life in Western Canada, having enjoyed a long career as a petroleum geologist before taking up writing. Since discovering that imaginary worlds were more satisfying than the real one, he published more than 60 novels, mostly in the fantasy genre, but also young adult, science fiction, and historical.

He wrote at times under the pseudonym Sarah B. Franklin (but only for literary purposes) and Ken Hood (which is short for "D'ye Ken Whodunit?")

His most successful works were fantasy series: The Seventh Sword, A Man of His Word and its sequel, A Handful of Men, and seven books about The King’s Blades. His books have been translated into 15 languages, and of late have been appearing in audiobook format as well.

He and Janet were married in 1959. He is survived by her, one son and two daughters, as well as four grandchildren.

He was both a founding and honorary lifetime member of SFCanada, and a member of the CSFFA Hall of Fame.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure where to start with this book. It felt like a train wreck; a messy book, but not a good kind of messy, that broke the rules, but not in a good way.

The first issue I have with the book is Duncan's portrayal of women. It bothered me a little in the second book (Lord of the Fire Lands), but it is blindingly obvious in the second, where the entire story is about the princess. The culture presented in the King's Blades is strongly misogynistic, and I can't think of any strong female characters who are well presented. Malinda was sometimes a strong character, and sometimes a caricature. There is a strong emphasis on her love life that only seems there because she is a woman, as although the first two books are about the Blades, men who are notorious philanderers, we never really see much philandering. Women in this world are usually weak, or victims, or both. Worse, they can't help but be victims. It is clear from the beginning of the book that Malinda can't be a strong queen in her own right (unlike the historical Queen Elizabeth or Queen Victoria).

The second issue I have with the book is that it feels like it cheats. Most of the book never happened. Because of sort-of time travel, Malinda is able to influence herself at a key moment in history, and over two thirds of the book never happened. Worse, there are no real consequences to the time travel. Her memories of the alternate future fade, and there are only a few meaningless afterimages (she remembers that someone's wife likes to decorate with seahorses, for instance). The book is unsatisfying, because all that character and plot development never really happened, and not even one character knows what did happen. It would have been a far more powerful book had Malinda remembered her lover, Dog, and all that she had to give up for that other world.

I really didn't like the book. I'm still going to try some of the other King's Blades books, because the first was so good and I am hopeful, but I don't think Sky of Swords was worth the time to read it (the ambiguities it clears up from the other books are negligible in comparison to the frustration it causes).

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't really have any expectations going into Sky of Swords (The King's Blades #3) by Dave Duncan, but it was actually pretty good. I'm glad each installment of the series can be read as a standalone if you like which is good for me as I've never read any of the others let alone anything by the author before now. I may have to read the other books in the series in the future.

[Profundus Librum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A szerző stílusa mit sem változott az első két rész óta, szóval akiknek bejött ez a néha meghökkentően vicces, de összességében sötét tónusú történetmesélési forma, ahol a cselekményt fordulatos események sora viszi tovább – néha meg-megdöccenve –, az most sem fog csalódni. A regény erényeire túl sok szót nem is vesztegetnék itt, nekem az egyik kedvenc sorozatom, így aki olvasott tőlem több más ismertetőt is, az már tudhatja, körülbelül miféle könyvre számíthat, ráadásul a hibák úgyis mindig érdekesebbek.

Bővebben a blogon:
https://profunduslibrum.blogspot.hu/2...

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sky of Swords focuses on a character that is mostly mysterious so far—Malinda. She is mentioned quite a bit in the first two books but rarely seen.

When we read The Gilded Chain in my book club, we discussed how some aspects of the story and the world could be considered anti-woman. I’m still not decided if that was due to some underlying prejudice from Duncan, if it is just the traditional way of dealing with women in medieval fantasy, or if we’re all reading too much into it (I’m leaning toward the latter). Regardless it was good to see the story and the world of the Blades from a woman’s point of view. It could be frustrating to see how passive and powerless Malinda is at times, but she does make up for it with moments of brilliant action. She manages fine without men to lead her.

The elements from the other two books are still present, including the believable magic system and the endearing Blades (which perhaps play the most vital role as a group in this book). It also included quite a bit of politics, again important to the plot but a bit dry to my taste. I much preferred reading about the swordplay, the magic, and the romance/relationship drama (except for a few parts where it seemed almost forced).

I was concerned about the ending, but it did leave me satisfied—it ties together all three books in a way that closed the loopholes and left very few questions. Although Duncan’s note at the beginning of each book says they can be read in any order, I would still suggest reading The Gilded Chain first, then Lord of the Fire Lands, and Sky of Swords. All three kept me thinking and entertained, and really, that’s all that I ask a good fantasy to do!

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I were to pick a favorite of Dave Duncan's stories, I believe it would have to be this one. Third in his "King's Blades" trilogy, where the first two novels focus on male protagonists, Swords follows the journey of Princess Malinda, daughter of King Ambrose. A character who is mentioned in both of the other novels (The Gilded Chain and Lord of the Fire Lands), the novel allows us to glimpse at her side of the story. While in the other two, she is most half depicted as a spoiled brat, screaming and yelling in an all-too-common "princess" fashion, after picking up Swords I received a much better glimpse of why. Yes, she's still shrill when she needs to be, but more impressive to Duncan's credit, she's strong, a very intelligent and determined young woman. Lacking childhood training, perhaps her fencing skills don't rival Durendal or Radgar, but her sharp wit and commanding presence makes up for the loss. Least I forget however, this is a Blades story: with plenty of Ironhall graduates to keep the action brisk.

[TRXTRMXTR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably my favorite of this series. I wasn't looking forward to reading it assuming it wouldn't stand up seeing as how he chose Malinda for the main character. As a pleasant surprise, she turns out to have her own head. Though she does a lot of yelling and screaming and other more "female" things, by the time the book wraps up I firmly believed her development and growth as a strong leader and formidable plot wielder. While I do like Dave Duncan, his female characters can be hit or miss with often a lot of misogyny under and overtones. While some of that was here, at least Malinda doesn't put up with it and instead of yet another portrayal of why women are unable to act like men in male dominated fantasy, we get a picture of a women who uses these cliches to her advantage and manages to pull the reader and the men in her command along with her without resorting to age old known plot twists.

[Susan Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was one big "wait for it" moment, and again I couldn't get through the pages fast enough. It was an excruciating build-up to the reveal on how things were to be set "right" to mesh with the ending of the first novel in the series. It was great to have a female main character for a change, a big departure from Dave Duncan's typical "bromance" main character + sidekick style, at which he excels. The entangled political machinations in the last third of the story were a bit much from time to time, but they weren't drawn out overly long or in too much detail, which was great, since - if you've read the previous two novels in this trilogy - you know that the politics aren't really important; you know how the story has to end. The question is - how will we get there? Very nicely, as it turns out.

[Ron]

The 3rd book in this series. Not his best effort; Duncan's A Man of His Word, A Handful of Men, and The Reluctant Swordsman series are all better than this one. That being said, it's still better than most fantasy out there. Duncan has believable and engaging characters, subtle humor, and an absolute gift for beautiful lyric prose. His antagonists are surprisingly human and subtle; not the over-the-top supervillains one comes to expect in high fantasy. If you haven't read Duncan, start with A Man of His Word (Magic Casement is the first of that series). If you have read him, but have yet to read this series, you won't be too disappointed by it.

[Hrishabh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The way the second book ended, I had to wait till I finished the third book to write both reviews. Already expecting things to be topsy turvy, the story feels more like a romance in this book. The idea of how the first book and the second and third book would be reconciled is introduced early on. From then, its just plowing on till the scene finally happens. 3 stars are for the series but not really for the book as it doesn't have sufficient plot twists or some innovative way to reconcile the stories. The way to describe the story would be misery, misery, idea!, oh crap, more misery, reconciled. It feels like an alternate reality can only be black to the white of the original reality.

[Aneel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third in a neatly-dovetailed trilogy (after The Gilded Chain and Lord of the Fire Lands) that describes the same events from three different perspectives. The first two conflict in important ways. Not trivial "Well it might have seemed that way to you, but..." differences. Huge differences in plot.

Duncan had me wondering if he'd just forgotten what had happened in the first book well into the third, but, once I realized how it could work out, I could see the setup going way back. Very well crafted.

And, incidentally, great tales of adventure to boot.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes you pick up a book at the used book store by an author you've never heard of just because the back cover info sounds interesting. Mostly, these turn our to be duds. They've ended up in the used book store for good reason. Every once in a while, though, you get a real gem. This is one of those cases. Duncan tells a tightly plotted political fantasy with verve, dash, and a good sense of humor. Well worth reading if you like some politics in your fantasy.

[Mf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really dislike the plot mechanism where it's a trial (or some other 'current' event) and the story gets told in interrupted flashbacks. Just tell it in order, please.

[Johnny Mayall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good tie-in with the other two books in this series, but not the best of the bunch. Too much of the book felt like waiting around for something to happen.

[Baron Rothschild · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read...

[Tomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the last two books this one came a bit out of left field. The first two books have women speak something like 4 or 5 lines of dialogue ever. This world is very much a man's world. And then this book comes along and throws you in a story all about Princess Malinda. She was an incredibly minor character in the last two books, and suddenly we find out she was actually exceedingly important!

This books solves a major plot inconsistency between the first two books. Thankfully the series was clearly set up this way, so it doesn't end up feeling some contrived retcon, it earns the solution. That said, if you've read the first two books you can figure out very quickly how she's going to solve the situation. How she gets there is more the challenge, and the book mostly pulls that off.

I really liked the characters in this one, though I never quite warmed to Dog. In a complete reversal from his previous books I found most of the men to be fairly forgettable, but the women were well fleshed out and entertaining to read.

If I had one complaint, it's that I'd have liked to see Princess Malinda get a bit more time to rule before everything goes out the window. Still, I generally enjoyed all the time dealing with castle politics and intrigue.

Overall I'd give it more like 3.5 stars, but I still really enjoyed the read. I'd read the first three books in this series as a teenager, and suddenly I'm tempted to read more books in the series. They aren't high literature, but they sure are fun.

[smjbab · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 super interesting things-

1- The fact that this whole series is very non traditional. The plots are all in the same world but only tan gently connected to each other if at all. Unlike a normal series which is a progression of a single story for the most part.

2- plot twist i did NOT see coming. It's rare I get that surprised but wow! Well done.

[Kham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts really promising, with dense court politics and believable family relations. Sadly, after making some pretty bold plot choices, the author backs out from everything and leaves us with sappy, unearned happy-end.
4 stars for the first third, 3 for the rest, 0 for the last few chapters.

[Debi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the resolution of the dual endings. And Queen Malinda

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Kings Blades" books, while being concurrent provides a lot of the back story for the saga. Enjoyed them a lot.

[Heather Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chocked full of GOTlike strategic play. Mysticals. Engaging. Reading the series will feel like a gambit. Onward!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. How can a man write from the perspective of a young girl growing up into a woman?! He did it so well. I wish I could tell you the awesome part but that would spoil it. Just read it!

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Krista Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole series is terrific.

[Pam Christison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoying this series, I think I read it once years ago but I didn’t remember much of anything. The ending where the endings from the first/second books’ discrepancies
are resolved is pretty neat.

[Kate Suyom · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's complicating but still, good read though.

[Noman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Abandoned after reading the "memorable" sentence "I feel a need to rape somebody." I suppose this book does break new ground in the "sex-with-the-mentally-challenged" genre.

[Bertrand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voici enfin le dernier tome des Lames du Roi, trilogie qui nous est décrite par l’éditeur français comme le sommet du talent de l’auteur, Dave Duncan. Chacun des tomes peut être lu de manière totalement indépendante des autres. Toutefois, comme on le verra ci-après, la lecture d’Un Ciel d’Epées offre bien des synergies avec celle des précédents. Les Lames du Roi se range aisément dans le genre fantasy, puisqu’il dépeint un univers parfaitement imaginaire, bien que proche du nôtre. Le contexte est assez voisin de l’Europe du XVIIème siècle ; on note également la présence discrète du surnaturel : filtres d’amour, nécromancie voisine du vaudou, etc. Chacun des volumes du cycle se focalise sur le destin d’un des personnages : « L’Insigne du Chancelier » traitait de Durandal, épéiste et éminence grise anoblie, « Le Seigneur des Terres de feu » retraçait l’ascension vers les sommets du guerrier Paeahrd Aedeling, et ce présent roman s’intéresse à la princesse Malinda, fille du roi Ambrose IV.
Malinda est une jeune fille dynamique et décidée, dont l’appétit de vie est constamment contrarié par la réserve que lui impose son statut de princesse. Un tragique évènement la propulse à la tête du royaume, où elle se trouve plongée dans un nid de vipères inextricable. Dans cet enfer conspirationniste, ses seuls atouts sont les Lames : des gardes du corps aux ressources immenses dont la loyauté est assurée par un rituel magique secret. Malinda devra sauver son amour et son pays au bord de la guerre civile.
Encore plus que les deux premiers tomes, le romanesque de Duncan est sans doute plus voisin des Chouans de Balzac ou de l’œuvre d’Alexandre Dumas que de Tolkien et ses dérivés. Si l’aventure reste présente, dans la lignée des volumes précédents, elle cède quelque peu la place aux manipulations et aux intrigues politiques, que l’auteur ne maîtrise peut-être pas aussi bien. Le fil conducteur se fait ténu et difficile à suivre, la faute à une galerie de personnages secondaires un peu confuse car les composants en sont trop brièvement décrits, donc peu identifiables au cours du récit. A cela, il faut ajouter quelques problèmes de rythmes, avec des scènes dont la puissance dramatique est parfois trop faible. Là où Duncan rehausse largement l’intérêt d’Un Ciel d’Epées, c’est dans le lien qu’ont les trois romans entre eux. Après avoir semé des informations en apparence contradictoires, la conclusion de ce troisième volume lie merveilleusement le cycle, telle la dernière pièce d’un puzzle de peinture surréaliste. Trois histoires en apparence indépendantes se révèlent ne faire qu’une ; et les incohérences grossières disparaissent de la plus belle des manières : brillant scénario. Et cette fin vraiment jouissive fait oublier les quelques bâillements provoqués par quelques chapitres sans relief. Du grand art.
Extraits :
« Les secondes comptent plus que les années.
Quelques instants suffisent à changer une vie à jamais. » (Messire Chien)
« La guerre, comme l’amour, ne devrait jamais être faite en public. » (Baron Léandre)

[Scott Marlowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating



Review

*** This review originally appeared on Out of this World Reviews. ***

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.

[Cory · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rarely find myself reading books with female protagonists (call me subconsciously sexist, I guess?), so this one took a bit of getting into. I haven't been blown away by any of Duncan's writing (I read also read his Seventh Sword series), but find them to enjoyable company when I have some free time. This one falls into that same vein.

*Possible spoilers below, but no real worries.

For whatever reason, I had grabbed Lord of the Fire Lands (book 2 in the King's Blades series) first, and then read The Gilded Chain.. so I was a bit out of order, and it's made fitting together the timeline a little hazy, but in this case it worked out a little better than I expected. As with the Seventh Sword series, Duncan likes to tinker with time and space using the whole "threads of time" motif. As I started making headway in the book, I was somewhat confused because things weren't really meshing with the other books. Getting to nearly the end, it becomes obvious why. Perhaps I should have seen what it was building to, but I didn't.. so it was an interesting way to wrap the book up.

In summary, the easiest thing to say is that if you've liked Duncan's other stuff, you'll enjoy this as well. The story moves along at a good pace, the writing is never monotonous, and it's fun to read about an era from the eyes of the different major players over the course of several books. It's a different style than the current heavyweight of fantasy, GRRM, but it allows for a lot more intimate detail and it's easier to watch the characters develop. I'll be continuing the series when I get a chance.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent! After reading "The Gilded Chain" I was entranced! Then throughout "Lord of the Fire Lands" I was enjoying myself immensely. By the end of that novel I was extremely intrigued, running the possibilites throughout my mind. So I began "Sky of Swords" and I pecked my way throughout the first half of the book, enjoying a new tale of the blades from the female perspective, all the while wondering how the author would tie the previous endings together.

The moment I reached the passage where Malinda and Dog lay in each others arms, and he wished he could go back and tell his father to not lay with his mother, I knew. The realization of what Duncan would write hit me lack a sack of concrete. Now I had to know how! I devoured the remaining half of the novel, overcome with a fever of need. How would Malinda achieve it? It had to be on the dragonship! But how exactly? I had to read on and find out.

And I was not disappointed.

While Malinda's deed righted a many misdeed (such as save my favorite blade, Durdendel, from the same horrendous fate suffered by Montpurse in "The Gilded Chain".) I grieved a moment for her loss of Dog, and his loss of her. Even though his end was destined for death, it struck a cord within.

Dave has written a trio of books here that I absolutely adore. Most books can keep me entertained, but wringing out actual emotion is rare.
A most fitting book to be my #100 read since joining goodreads!