Rating: 
Summary: A great tale!
Review: Dave Duncan has done it again. Another excellent Kings Blades story: Fast-paced; funny; exciting; great battles; etc.! It's a story that you will not easily put down.
Rating:
Summary: It's better than good
Review: Duncan has a knack of keeping you glued to your page even if the plot is puerile - and this is one great plot, the best of all the King's Blades series that I've read so far.
Beau manages to get through impossible tasks with fine-honed reasoning and an almost preternatural sense of how things will fall out - and you don't get the idea that he's unbelievable for all that.
Fantasy, romance and mystery fans will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Another exciting adventure with the King's Blades
Review: Duncan's "The Gilded Chain" is one of my favorite books of all time, and while the other two books in that Tales of the King's Blades trilogy were both quite endearing, no character was as enchanting as the original Blade, Durendal, and thus they did not quite measure up, while still managing to be fantastic reads on their own. "Paragon Lost" however, introduces us to the delightful Beaumont and a story that whips from present to past and back to the present again, as he easily charms everyone around with his wit and wonderful ideas.
The Blades are loyal warriors to whoever has the king's permission to stick a sword through their hearts for the magical "binding", and Beau ends up being bound to an older man who is going on a quest of folly for his king to far off lands that resemble the bleakness of Russia's historical past. Rumors of a Czar's madness and hounds the sizes of ponies are dismissed as tavern gossip fodder by some, but what really lies in store? Is the princess they are on the journey to bring back to the Chivian lands really the nymph-like creature the king expects as she was portrayed? Or will Beau's ward and fellow blades make the journey intact without losing their heads in the treacherous countries inbetween? Read it and find out.
Rating:
Summary: excellent swords and sorcery fantasy
Review: Every King needs guards that are loyal to and willing to give up their lives in service to his majesty. In the kingdom of Chivial, the king's Blades are bound to their liege through a secret magical spell and to whomever the king binds them to as well. Sir Beaumont is the Blade with the best skills and is an excellent planner. His schemes are always successful, a trait that irritates his king.Beau is bound by King Athlegar to Wasseil for the trip to Skyrria whose ruler Czar Igor is a madman willing to do anything to learn the binding spell for the king's blades. Beau uses chicanery and sleight of hand to successfully complete his mission and the king, instead of being grateful, dismisses Beau from his services. This is an excellent swords and sorcery fantasy starring a protagonist who is right so much of the time, it is easy to see why he grates on the King's nerves. Skyrria feels like czarist Russia as a place where everyone has a hidden agenda, spellbound dogs are killing Igor's enemies and the people are afraid to say a word for fear of being killed. Chivial is too tame for the likes of Beau and it is hoped that he will appear in another king's Blade adventure living in a place like Skyrria. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Well written and exciting. Fine fantasy in fine series
Review: He was the greatest blade of his generation, but assigned an impossible task. Beaumont, along with two other blades, is tasked to take the Knig's chief counselor across half the world to a Russia-like kingdom where they are to meet the King's bride and safely escort her home. This would be a standard task for a trained blade like Beaumont, except that the counselor is dying (and blades whose ward dies are in trouble), the country in between is nearly impassible, and the Czar, Igor, is insane, cruel, and sees conspiracies everywhere. Even Beaumont's abilities with his blade and his rapier-like mind seem inadequate to confront this task. Should he be successful, Beaumont knows what is in store for him--not welcome back as a hero, but suspicion on the part of his own King. For everyone knows that any woman will fall for a blade--even if she is a royal princess and the King's intended.
Author David Duncan creates a medieval world close to our own, but separated by the existance of magic. The magic of the blades--a band of trained warriors who become bonded to the man (or woman) who pierces them with a sword through their hearts, adds a level of fascination to the story. Beaumont might be a little too smart, too clever, to be believable, but his situation demands exactly that from him and he doesn't disappoint. Duncan's strong writing compells the reader forward and the close parallels back to our own world ground the reader.
Rating:
Summary: New Blade Slashes His Way to Victory
Review: Here is the latest in the wonderful Blade series by Dave Duncan. The whole idea of the Blade series is beautifully concieved and each 'chronicle' has enriched the legend. This new one is the best by far. The hero, Beaumont, is the most interesting Blade so far. There are continuing characters and situations. I love the Baels for one example. You will too. They are here in all their Baelish splendor. Get it now--if you have not read the others get them too. They do not have to be read in order but it helps. I was a great fan of Patrick Obrien and this is the sword and sorcery equivalent. Why are you still reading this--order the BOOK!!!
Rating:
Summary: Yet another amazing saga for the King's Blades
Review: I didn't think that this could happen, after reading the rather abysmal "King's Daggers" series, but Dave Duncan has written another masterpiece in Paragon Lost, a chronicle of the King's Blades.
For those of you who haven't yet read the "King's Blades" trilogy, it might be a good place to start before you try this one. A lot is referred to from those books, especilly pertaining to Durrendal. While this info isn't necessary to enjoy the book, it's nice to realize that you know EXACTLY what the characters are talking about when referring to their hero.
In this book, you read about the daring Sir Beaumont, first Brat at Ironhall after Durrendal became Grand Master. This most promising blade soon falls far from glory in a horrific and bloody journey. Now, he's offered one chance to regain all that was lost, honour, respect, and his cats-eye sword.
A fantastic book, especially for those who are fans of the series, I would reccomend this book to anyone at all. It's got so many different topics in it that it shoud please just about anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Yet another amazing saga for the King's Blades
Review: I didn't think that this could happen, after reading the rather abysmal "King's Daggers" series, but Dave Duncan has written another masterpiece in Paragon Lost, a chronicle of the King's Blades.
For those of you who haven't yet read the "King's Blades" trilogy, it might be a good place to start before you try this one. A lot is referred to from those books, especilly pertaining to Durrendal. While this info isn't necessary to enjoy the book, it's nice to realize that you know EXACTLY what the characters are talking about when referring to their hero.
In this book, you read about the daring Sir Beaumont, first Brat at Ironhall after Durrendal became Grand Master. This most promising blade soon falls far from glory in a horrific and bloody journey. Now, he's offered one chance to regain all that was lost, honour, respect, and his cats-eye sword.
A fantastic book, especially for those who are fans of the series, I would reccomend this book to anyone at all. It's got so many different topics in it that it shoud please just about anyone.
Rating:
Summary: One very very good book.
Review: I have been a fan of The King's Blades series since it's start. The characters are very real, and the plots are a few notches above the plots in most of the fantasy books on the market. In fact I would say that the plots are better than just about any book out there. The wind and turn and keep you guessing.
And this book sets itself apart from the others in the series with the creation of a truly likeable hero. The kind that makes you cheer outloud. Sir Beaumont, the best swordsman in the world. And yet, he never resorts to the sword but his cleverness and, yes, more guts than any human being has any right to have. This is fantasy after all. The type of guy to walk right into a trap the villains have set. And make it work against them. And above all, a man of his word. What more could you ask for?
Rating:
Summary: One very very good book.
Review: I have been a fan of The King's Blades series since it's start. The characters are very real, and the plots are a few notches above the plots in most of the fantasy books on the market. In fact I would say that the plots are better than just about any book out there. The wind and turn and keep you guessing. And this book sets itself apart from the others in the series with the creation of a truly likeable hero. The kind that makes you cheer outloud. Sir Beaumont, the best swordsman in the world. And yet, he never resorts to the sword but his cleverness and, yes, more guts than any human being has any right to have. This is fantasy after all. The type of guy to walk right into a trap the villains have set. And make it work against them. And above all, a man of his word. What more could you ask for?
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