Rating: 
Summary: Classy, fun, engaging
Review: This is a fun book. It's not heavy in the same way that Tolkien or George R.R. Martin's latest series is, but neither is it silly like so much of the Dungeons & Dragons-inspired fantasy novels floating around (many of them published by the same company who publishes Dungeons & Dragons...).Rather like Martin fictionalizes the Wars of the Roses for his Song of Ice and Fire series, Duncan in this book takes early 16th-century England and its two most famous citizens (now)--Henry VIII and Sir Thomas More--and *shifts* everything just a little. Henry VIII becomes Ambrose IV, initially the great humanist hope but eventually the despot of despots; More becomes Durendal, dedicated to his king and willing to defy him to save him; and Henry's break from Catholicism... well, you'll see. This isn't just history with the names changed, however. Duncan has taken a historical world and characters, dropped his own fictional personalities and story on them, and created a fantasy world that feels realistically familiar. Buy this book, free a Saturday, put on some tea, and enjoy. And you'll need that whole free day, too, because once you get into this book you'll not be putting it down unless your house is on fire.
Rating:
Summary: Some of the best pulp fantasy...
Review: This novel and its two follow-ups ("Lord of the Fire Lands" and "Sky of Swords") represent some of the best of the pulp fantasy genre. The story is well-concieved, not only here but in the next two novels as well. The common thread is tied together in a fun, if cheesy and somewhat predictable, ending as depicted in the third book. Further, the characterization is superb, as Duncan introduces the reader to so many characters and manages to develop in them in an efficient and succinct manner.
But the trilogy is really special because the writing is so very good, far superior to the usual pulp fantasy, as represented by much of the later Conan (Howard's and Jordan's Conan is superb, but much of the rest is horrible), most of Salvatore's work (with the exception of some of the Drizzt novels) and the muck of others. The writing is fluid and clear, rarely choppy, and always very readable.
Highly reccomended.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have been better...
Review: This book is built around a interesting plot. Unlike other books in this genre, however, the author fails to create a believable world or even an interesting cast. I would suggest reading George R.R. Martin's books. He succeeds where Duncan falls short.
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant Break from Typical Fantasy Novels
Review: I was pleasantly surprised when I rapidly leafed through The Gilded Chain, my first novel by Dave Duncan that I purchased. From my experience, Mr. Duncan appears to be a fairly obscure author (at least among my circle) but I am trying to expand his fame. The Gilded Chain is written in a well-flowing style that makes it easy to read and the plot, though sometimes complex, easy to follow. It is a welcome break from some of the tedious, obfuscated plots of other unnamed fantasy novels that I have read recently. In addition to this book I would recommend The Sky of Swords (referring to the decor of Ironhall) by Dave Duncan, another perspective that only slightly overlaps with the story in The Gilded Chain and equally well written. His characters are well developed, his plots aren't overused and the books are fun to read. Go buy them. -Zilean
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT STUFF, BUT ITS NO OMAR
Review: .... Duncan is a great writer. His style is evocative and colorful. For his best, in my humble opinion, read his Omar books; "The Reaver Road" and "The Hunters Haunt".
Rating:
Summary: Great author going it's own way
Review: I'm reading fantasy books now since 22 years and there are only a limited amount of writers who realy want to create a new world appart of the 1000 of adaptations to Tolkien. Dave Duncan did it with the knights of Chival. Greate ideas and a story which always took unpredictable turns. Definetly not the last book a read about the Blades.
Rating:
Summary: An imaginative and compelling story.
Review: This is one of the best fantasy novels I have read in a long time. The story revolves around the royal bodygard, magically bound to the king by a blade through the heart. In particular, it follows one man as he tries to live honorably yet is pressed to his limits by his magical bond to one of the king's followers. This is a great story that stays with you long after it is read. I highly reccomend this book to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: For The Moment Just One Among The Many
Review: In all fairness, if allowed I would have given this story three and a half stars. Solidly and in some ways better written than most, structurally there did appear evidence that the author was constructing his tale in a manner somewhat unusual for typical fantasy, using a series of episodes to create a novel at once self-contained, yet apparently suggestive and tied thematically to novels still to come, as mentioned by previous reviewers. For this reason, while I was not particularly enamored with this novel, I will probably continue on to "Lord of the Fire Lands," the next book in the series, to see where the author is taking this succession of temporally strung-together tales, in order to determine whether or not Mr. Duncan has some over-arching purpose behind how he has chosen to construct his novel that will further inform and elevate it beyond what, for the moment, appears to be only a rather modest and somewhat standard effort of heroic fantasy. On its own, I cannot say this was a particularly memorable novel, despite some earlier reviewers' enthusiasms. As implied above, while written with workman-like skill, thematically this story in and of itself seems rather limited in scope, the society and rituals only in part realized, and existing largely at the surface. Possessing neither the narrative flow nor depth of characterization and drama of other writers borrowing upon or enlivening the conventions of heroic fantasy---authors such as Steven Erikson or Matthew Stover come to mind---in many ways the world Duncan has created seems rather flat by comparison. Further, despite the eventual tying together of individual plot threads occurring by novel's end, the first half of the book, broken into long chapters separated both in terms of storyline as well as time and locale, creates a very episodic character within the evolving story, rambling between broad temporal gaps in events and players which causes the narrative to jump about in fits and starts that I found only partially successful, nor convincingly justified by revelations arriving by book's conclusion, some of which could be anticipated. Taken singly, this novel appears to be an instance where cleverness of composition does not fully meet or complement the demands of narrative flow, nor entirely integrates the seemingly diverse and at times temporally enisled story elements. One remains aware of the author's manipulation without being fully persuaded as to his intention. Perhaps when combined with the succeeding novels in this series, the author's episodic approach to unveiling his narrative will reveal an inherent logic, but for the moment this approach seems more artifice than a natural or innately developing motive that informs or significantly enhances the story. And, when considering this novel as a whole, it becomes impossible to ignore the many better, more fully realized and imaginative tales of heroic or high fantasy that are currently available elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Quite good for what it is, but don't expect too much
Review: I think I'd originally decided to review this book at 2 stars, because I frankly didn't enjoy it. But that's *my* problem, not the book's. Duncan promised a novel of high fantasy, complete with immortal swordsman-sorcerers, honorable heros and creeping villains. On those counts, he delivered admirably. However, this is not a well-rounded read. It's predictable, and the characters are (with a few exceptions) pretty shallow. For fantasy to work, it has to give you a reason to suspend your disbelief, and there just isn't one in this book. This is good light reading, but you'll never get anything out of it beyond an afternoon's distraction.
Rating:
Summary: The King's Blades
Review: Duncan's style of writing is something that's new to me. His characters have style, expression, and seem to come alive in a different way than the characters in the book I have read before. The descriptive swordsplay is breathtaking, and the action is enough to keep the reader on their edges of their seats. The Gilded Chain is more of an action packed biography rather than just a novel, which is probably what makes it different from other novels. The storyline follows the main character very closely, from the time when he was a boy to old age. Duncan's style of "accelerated" writing, where the space between paragraphs can be anything from three minutes to two years means that he is always searching for something new to keep the audience interested, a mean feat which is fulfilled quite fully by perhaps a broad imagination which he possesses. Unlike some of the other authors I have read, Duncan perhaps shares some similarities to Melanie Rawn, in that the most precious characters in the story, ones that the reader thinks will develop, usually meet a tragic end. In this way, the story is more life-like in that tragic circumstances like this will happen in real life. The work of a truly great author, I look forward to reading sky of Swords and other books by Duncan.
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