Rating: 
Summary: Original
Review: It's fantasy, but it's original. I ordered this book by amazon, because I can't get it in the Netherlands, it's not translated yet. It really is one of the best books I've ever read, the main character, Durendal, is so well descriped, that when you quit reading, it 'll take you about a 5 minutes before you realize that you're not Durendal. It's really worth reading, it is more dramatic then most other fantasy works, and it can not be compared to any other book I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Light, Entertaining Reading
Review: The Gilded Chain tells the story of a young boy who's inducted into the elite group of the Blades. He expects to protect his king and kingdom, but instead is bound to a snivelling noble whose claim to fame is being the king's current mistress' sister. The key thing to know about Blades is that they are ensorcled to be absolutely loyal to whoever they are bound, regardless of what they are asked to do. Duncan gains points because the politics of his kingdom are realistic. He loses them because of large and strange gaps in the storyline when chunks of years go by without warning. The idea of the Blades is an interesting one, however, and I'll be curious to see how it's developed in later books.
Rating:
Summary: Just fantastic
Review: This book is just fantastic, it's fantasy, but for a change it's something new. I'm from the Netherlands, and it's really a shame that the book isn't translated yet. The story tells the live of an hero. Not one of those perfect types, but a real person. The story takes continue turns you don't expect. It's really worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Readable - but nothing special
Review: This book reminded me of an average Raymond Feist fantasy. If you don't have A CLASH OF KINGS on hand and want fantasy with little fantastic about it, you could do worse than this book. Of course, you could probably do better, too. The ethics-free nature of the society of Blades, warriors that live to serve regardless of morals, is a pretty poor group to bear the load of heroes for an entire book. These warrior are bound to do whatever their master bids them, whether dying to save their master, or killing people to serve their master for breakfast (literally). Lucky there are no Nuremburg Trials in this world! Of course, this is fantasy, but the book is slow enough that you think about things like this instead of being carried along with the action. I've read worse.
Rating:
Summary: Solid, traditional fantasy
Review: This is a traditional fantasy novel, following the life of one of the King's Blades - a group of elite swordsmen, trained from an early age on to become the best and ultimately be "bound" to one person. The story contains many familiar fantasy themes, but it's told in a fast-paced and always entertaining way. The real themes of the novel are honor and, most importantly, loyalty: Blades are magically bound to a person and cannot help but protect and even die for their wards. All in all, a good, entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I'd hoped.
Review: I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I really did. The plot was the usual intrigue-at-court kind of thing, but well-told and with interesting supernatural elements thrown in. I do agree that it felt rather rushed, or rather it felt like large chunks had been edited out, which at almost 400pp is probably true, but it might have been somewhat annoying to be held in suspense much longer. It certainly hooked me.My problem is that, upon finishing it, I felt strangely uneasy. Part of the reason for this is perhaps trite: it's hard for me to find a book in which few people are seen to change and grow with experience emotionally satisfying. (I know we see at least three different versions of Durendal, but it all felt really disjointed to me.) Maybe it's just because I find it hard to really feel for protagonists who seem to be naturally good at just about everything including the resolution of moral dilemmas. But the main reason was that many, many things seemed a little too familiar. The themes, certainly: the pull of loyalty to a charismatic leader, the choice of duty over love, the clash between bull-headed honest decency and politics. Now, these are fine themes and I don't mind reading about them over and over again. However, there is a certain worrying repetitiveness in the characters that arise in Mr.Duncan's preferred kind of situation. Durendal is a mix of Wally and Rap. Quarrel is Ylo reborn - the language used to describe his experiences near the end of the book is very, very similar to the language used to describe Ylo's experiences in eerily similar circumstances. There was even a jotnar guy at one point. It's disturbing. You keep expecting Inos or someone to show up.
Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: "The Gilded Chain" is one of the best fantasy novels that I have read in the last few years. The author tells a story of adventure, intrique and swordsmenship which spans the life of the main character. The pace of this novel is fast and furious: a period of about 40 years is covered in the book's 396 pages. Some readers might not like the quick pace, but I found it to be enjoyable when compared to some of the fantasy genre's huge and never ending multi-volume series.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable read
Review: I picked up this book after reading a lot of mixed reviews. I would have to agree with one person that their was a lot of good potential story line left unsaid, but the book was a stand alone so their was no waiting for the next one (or seven). I enjoyed the charecters and the action was well paced. It was a truly enjoyable read and will warrent me picking up the next installment of The King's Blades. I trully loved the concept of the binding. It is truly original.
Rating:
Summary: Not your typical adventure
Review: Rather than a story of one event, The Gilded Chain follows Sir Durendal's life through many adventures in the service of his king, right up to the point where his loyalty is put to the test. Although I was somewhat mislead by the description on the back of the book, I wasn't disappointed. Although I read and enjoy many books, this was one of the first times I actually couldn't put the book down. I know that's a cliche, but this time it was true. I read it in no time flat, and loved it. My only complaint is that the secondary characters were killed off too quickly. All in all, a great addition to the fantasy world.
Rating:
Summary: Misleading description for a good but not great read
Review: Read the above descriptions and you will be mislead as to what this book is all about. This is not an adventure tale, but a story of the life of a hero, Durendal, one of the kings bodyguards. As such it starts out interesting enough but kind of sags in the middle as whole decades are skipped over. Many of the most interesting characters are not adequately developed. Worst of all the 5 year Marco Poloesque journey to Samarinda is dismissed in a few paragraphs that briefly mention great adventures but no details are given. Too bad. There is much to admire here. The background is well crafted, similar enough to Medieval England to be familiar and the King is obvioulsy based on Henry VIII. The magic is tastefully understated and just different enough to make it interesting. The book is just too short! This is a life worth 2 or 3 books and the potential is never realized in this single volume. OK, but you can do better.
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