Rating: 
Summary: Don't be misled!!
Review: Keep in mind that this book is the first part of a series. One of the most intriquingly crafted series I've ever heard of. Each individual book (the Tales of the King's Blades series) tell of the lives of the certain characters, and tells of certain common events from those particular character's points of view. Each book tells the story of a different character (Gilded Chain - Durendal; Lord of the Fire Lands - Radgar Aelayding; Sky of Swords - Princess Malinda), and each book can be read and understood individually. But in order to truly appreciate the thought put into these novels, and the masterful authoring involved, it is very important to read the entire series.This book is a good place to start. Duncan is one of those rarest of authors who forces you to read not only the words he has put on the page, but the words he hasn't. As most of his books, this is a superb example of how to write high fantasy. Duncan creates a world that COULD have been 12th century England, the mysticism and spirituality are well thought out and logical, the action is harsh and intense, and the plotlines and stories are believable. He holds no punches, and his realism and honesty are oftentimes brutal. Read this book. But don't wait too long to read the next.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!!!
Review: "The Gilded Chain" was one of my Amazon.com recommendations. ... It was the first Dave Duncan book I've ever read, and I am very, very impressed. This book would make a spectacular animé, I think (and I don't even like animé!). "The Gilded Chain" just has this wonderful spirit about it that makes the images jump off the page. Mr. Duncan's characterization was wonderful as well. The characters were very well-rounded and REAL. The magic system--particularly the binding ceremony--was unlike any I have encountered before. Very original. I was also really surprised (and pleased) that rather than following Durendal's journey through the desert, a quick synopsis of his terrible trip was given. Most authors would have stuck the additional 150 pages in there as filler. Also, Mr. Duncan allows the story to tell itself, almost as if he was just the medium through which these legends were put on paper. His writing style is wonderful. The only thing I wish is that Mr. Duncan had provided for more of a demarcation between chapters featuring young Durendal and Roland--maybe title pages or headers listing the year, like Katherine Kerr does in her Deverry series. I got a little confused as the time periods jumped around. I've already bought and devoured "Lord of the Fire Lands" and I intend to continue the series. I heartily recommend this book to any fantasy lover.
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Summary: The Gilded Chain - A phenomenally well told story!
Review: First and foremost, Dave Duncan is an incredibly imaginative and detailed masterful storyteller within the genre of fantasy fiction for adult readers! A few weeks ago I was searching for something different to take with me on a business trip outside the country where I knew I would have lots of time on my hands and happened to see his latest paperback out of the corner of my eye and read the back cover for it which brought me to his first book in the "Tales of the King's Blades" series. Needless to say, but I will, discovering this outstanding author's work was a serious boon for me as I discovered his work to be absolutely superior! Upon starting "The Gilded Chain," one quickly discovers that Dave Duncan is truly a masterful storyteller in that his pacing is breakneck in speed; incredible in plot setup and execution; incredibly well detailed as he not only tells a story but sets the reader up within his newly created world of Chivial where "conjurations" are common and there is an overall exceptionally rich history to his story! My only regret in beginning to read his novels is that I hadn't discovered his work earlier. The cover art for "The Gilded Chain" is perfectly well suited to the story and does what it is intended to do, draw a reader to the novel. The Premise: Welcome to Dave Duncan's world of Chivial where conjurations are commonplace and the King, Ambrose the IV has at his disposal Ironhall where his personal guards are known as Blades. From an early age, young men who have nowhere else to go, if they show some promise, are admitted to the school and given the best training in the world in the practice and art of being swordsmen! As they progress in age and years at the school they either handle the training or leave at their own will. Upon becoming the most senior of the students, Prime and Second as it is known, they come close to what they've been working towards for so long. When the time comes for the King to issue a warrant for a new Blade for either his own service or for a courtier he wishes or believes has need of a personal body guard the ward is sent to Ironhall with the warrant! As the ritual goes, the ward takes the prospective Blade's newly crafted sword and through conjuration, runs it through the Blade's heart, providing the conjuration is a good one and both the Blade and the Ward's intention are good, the Blade will live and his binding to his ward is complete! As long as that Blade lives, his pure purpose in life is to guard his ward's life with his own... In comes the story of "The Gilded Chain" and Sir Durendal, one of the most promising Blade's to come out of Ironhall in years and one who has taken the name of Durendal as the first Durendal was an absolute hero in the Litany of Heroes at Ironhall. What follows from his "first" binding is one of the most incredible and wonderful well told fantasy stories this reader has ever had the privilege to read as the author takes us through the life of Sir Durendal or Lord Roland as he later is able to take his given name. From a poor child with talent taken into the bosom of Ironhall to his first and second bindings to his being released and becoming the Chancellor of Chivial to King Ambrose the IV, this tale will absolutely captivate and enthrall the reader at a breakneck speed... I highly recommend this first tale in the "Tales of the King's Blades" and any other novel written by this superior author to any and all who enjoy good fantasy fiction that is written for adults. Dave Duncan most certainly deserves any and all praise and accolades I'm sure he's received and continues to receive for this superior piece of fiction! {ssintrepid}
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent tale.
Review: This was the first book I have read from Duncan and I thought it was a great tale. This story and the stories following are involve a group of swordsman called Blades as they are the Blades of the King. There is magic in this land in the form of conjurations and these swordsman are boned to either their King or someone he decrees by this form of sorcery. It ensures undying loyalty to their bonded. The main Hero of the Blades and the man this story is centered around is a man named Durendal and his adventures. I found this approach to sword and sorcery very refreshing. It didn't seem as though he was rehashing your typical fantasy themes in different words. Instead this book feels very original and the writing doesn't wander aimlessly. This book is aptly called "A Tale" because thats what it is, a tale, a story; not a long, drawn out, piece of fluff but an action filled tale of loyalty, courage, honor, and friendship and I enjoyed it very much. Also, there are three more books in this series so far (I am about to start the second) but this book has a beginning and an end. It doesn't have a cliffhanger like some other series, so you can be comfortable just buying the first book and if you agree with me and like it, you can get the others at your liesure. Other authors you might like in this same genre; Paul Kearney, George R. R. Martin, Deborah Chester, David Gemmell, J.V. Jones, and Matthew Stover.
Rating:
Summary: A tale of the King¿s Blades
Review: Dave Duncan is fine author and I very much enjoyed his tetrology, "A Man of his Word." "The Gilded Chain" is part of the "King's Blades" series, but can be read as a stand-alone fantasy. It is based on the interesting premise: a sorcerous ritual of a sword through the heart binds each warrior to his master with absolute loyalty. Duncan is a 'show' not 'tell' author. If the spell that binds an apprentice swordsman to his blade is strong enough to kill, then by golly Duncan includes a scene where an apprentice dies. The king to whom the hero, Durandel is eventually apprenticed is the written image of Henry VIII---from popular, overbearing youth to fat, ulcerous old age. He even has an unloved daughter who will succeed him when he dies. If he dies. Within the plot, there is a carefully-worked-out core of sorcery. The author's magicks aren't just an overlay on the plot---they drive the action from beginning to end. Once Durandel becomes a King's Blade, he is caught up in court politics, and earns a reputation as the only man who will say 'no' to the King. For his pains, Durandel is sent on a mission to a faraway country where a King's Blade went missing several years past. Durandel reaches Samarinda (think Samarkand) with a minimum of travelogue, even though the journey takes two years through seas, mountains, deserts, wild beasts, hostile tribes, shipwrecks, scorpions, dysentery, and forest fires (none of which is relevant to the plot). He completes part of his mission, makes a deadly enemy, and loses a good friend. Then it's another briskly-handled two years back to King Ambrose. We can imagine the sights along the way from other fantasies (way too common) with long, pointless sections of travelogue. What Durandel and his companions discovered in a monastery in Samarinda is the centerpiece to this book's climactic ending. Subtract one star for overall goriness (only to be expected from a series called "The King's Blades"), and the lack of strong female characters (there is one, but she's the one plot element that seems to be tacked on as an afterthought).
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow and Uninspiring
Review: If you are looking for a book that gossips about the adventure as seen only through the opinion of the main character, this book is for you. I found the tale glib and unimaginative, and after 300 pages of he-said/she-said text with very little narrative outside the thoughts of the main character, I just had to put it down and find another book. The storyline had lots of potential, though unfortunately the author didn't take the time to research the period, develop believeable explainations for the majic, illustrate the beauty or excitement of the setting through literature, or take the time to do some real story telling to fill in the gaps. I found this book very disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Boy makes good with a sword and common sense
Review: This book is the first in the 'King's Blades' series of novels. It is essentially a series of highlights in the life of the most famous of Blades, Sir Durendal. I found this book a disappointment in many ways. Durendal leads a life of adventure and success, but for all that you don't really feel that you know him that well by the end of the story. Another striking feature of the novel was how closely King Ambrose was modelled on the real King Henry 8th of England with access to magic. This book serves as an introduction to the Blades universe, but I'm not sure it's one that will make me follow through to read the other books in the series as for me this book was a curiously flat and uninvolving read into a distinctly boys-own world of swords and magic
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: The Guilded Chain was one of the first fantasy books I read and now I'm hooked. The characters are wonderfully developed. You get to know each character as you read along. The only problems I had with the books are the chapters that seemed out of place, but when I was finished with the book I appreciated them. When I read through the book the second time O was able to see things that I missed. This book sometimes seemed to skip ahead at a fast pace, but it was necessary in order to keep the story rolling. There was action and adventure and a much appreciated type of mystery to the book that was resolved at the end. This book was a non stop read that had me hooked on fantasy and David Duncan books in general.
Rating:
Summary: Don't be fooled by it's fluffy appearence...
Review: This book is certainly one of the most amazing that I have ever read. Don't be fooled by the "blurb" on the back, this is not a fluffy cheap romance, though it somewhat looks like one, I'll admit. Durrendal has got to be one of the greatest swordsmen ever written into a book, (Sorry Inigo Montoya) and this book deals with the era in which he was in his prime. There are three books in this series by Dave Duncan, and many have called it a trilogy (and indeed, it is.) BUT. There is no specific order in which you must read them. Each is a stand alone novel. Take the advice of someone who's read them over and over read them in this order: 1) The Gilded Chain
2) Lord of the Firelands
3) Sky of Swords. The Gilded Chain and Lord of the Firelands have two VERY different endings, both dealing with the death of a character (in two different ways) There are many discrepancies between the two. However, all of this confusion is resolved in Sky of Swords. This is a wonderful book that you'll want to come back to again and again. Try it out. You won't be dissapointed.
Rating:
Summary: The Fat Man and His Loyal Knight
Review: The Gilded Chain is the first novel in the King's Blades series. The kings of Chival have found a unique way to ensure the loyalty of their personal guards: they run a blade through the guard's heart. With the aid of magic, the guard lives, but is totally bound to protect the life of his master until he dies, the master dies, or he is released. Kings sometime choose to bind such a guard to another. These King's Blades are all trained at Ironhall on Starkmoor. In this novel, an unbiddable and intractable boy is brought to Ironhall for admission by his grandfather. The Grand Master tests him, finds him suitable and asks him if he wants to stay. After accepting the offer, the boy decides to go against tradition, selecting Durendal as the name he will use in the Blades. This is rather presumptuous, since the original Durendal had founded the order, and his fellow Blades have since thoroughly tested the worthiness of this second Durendal. After Durendal becomes Second, the next to senior candidate, King Ambrose sends the Marquis of Nutting to become the Ward of a Blade. The Prime and the Marquis are prepared for the ritual and all goes well, except that the Prime is dead. While the Marquis is being noisily sick in the corner, Durendal double checks everything, but nothing is wrong. Durendal then cajoles and threatens the Marquis into performing the ritual again, only with Durendal as the Blade. This time the ritual works and now the Marquis is Durendal's Ward. The next morning, Durendal leaves Ironhall in the Marquis' coach on the way to court. He discovers that his Ward is about as worthless as he expected and takes measures to bring him to heel. His introduction to court is rather exciting, with a sniffer mistaking the whiff of binding magic around him for an offensive conjuration, causing the guards to attack Durendal, to which he reacts as to a threat against his Ward and almost spits the first guard in the eye. Fortunately, the sniffer recognizes her mistake in time for him to pull his lunge and all is settled with nobody hurt, even if the guards have had the scare of their lives. The adventures of Durendal with his no-account Ward are framed by some events twenty years later, when he is Lord Roland and the Chancellor to the King. One of his political rivals, the former inquisitor Kromman, manages to replace him as Chancellor and then tries to arrest him for treason, but finds that Roland has a newly bound Blade who is quite insistent that Krommon make no unusual moves. Roland is more eager than otherwise to release his burden of office, for he has never been able to spend enough time with his wife and children. Nonetheless, the whole affair is rather confusing. Then his wife detects the stench of conjuration from the official papers and recognizes its origins. This novel is the story of a group of swashbuckling swordsmen who are threatened more by political intrigue than force of arms. Durendal is a three time holder of the King's Cup for his swordsmanship, but is more effective with his planning and organizational abilities, even as the Commander of the Guard. As Chancellor, his primary duty is to keep the King from causing himself harm; the King is a genius at political manipulation when he is calm, but not so when he loses his temper. If you are thinking Henry VIII, you would probably be right on the money. Ambrose has the same problem with siring an heir and goes through multiple wives. He also has several wars going on simultaneously, one of which he provoked, yet refuses to end by apologizing. The Blades call him the Fat Man behind his back, yet they remain steadfastly loyal even after they are released from their bindings. Recommended for anyone who enjoys fantasy tales of political chicanery and intrigue with a steadfastly loyal hero.
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