The Jaguar Knights : A Chronicle of the King's Blades

Rating:
Summary: an excellent new entry in the King's Blades
Review: "The Jaguar Knights" is the sixth book in Dave Duncan's "King's Blades" series (it can also be said it is the third book of the second King's Blades trilogy). "The Jaguar Knights" is set in the land of Chivial. A "Blade" is a master swordsman who is magically "bonded" to the King, and this forces unwavering loyalty to the wishes of the King. One of King Athelgar's Blades is a man named Wolf. Wolf is one of the best of the Blades, but is in the bad graces of the King. They share a mutual dislike and disgust of each other. When the King learns of a massacre at a fortress that was supposedly impregnable, he sends Wolf to investigate. This is no simple massacre, however (if a massacre can ever be simple). The invaders slew several Blades, which is exceedingly difficult for anyone who is not another Blade. The invaders also captured the wife of the man in charge of the fortress, but to complicate matters this woman was the former mistress of the King and also has a past with Wolf. Wolf's main motivation, other than doing his job, is that his brother Lynx, also a Blade, was wounded at the massacre.

With Wolf comes an Inquisitor of the Dark Chamber who is pursuing her own investigation. Blades and Inquisitors seldom see eye to eye and had a mutual distrust of each other. When they arrive at Quondom castle, they learn something disturbing: the invaders may not have been completely human. The invaders appear to be part human, part beast, and it is these "monsters" which have taken the King's former Mistress. Further investigation points across the ocean, and Wolf and The Inquisitor are still on the trail.

Not being familiar at all with the other works of Dave Duncan and the King's Blades, I was unsure how much I would be missing by reading this sixth volume first. While I can't be positive about this, not having read the other volumes, but "The Jaguar Knights" stands on its own and can be easily read without knowing anything else about the series or Chivial. I believe there are little bits about different characters and events that will enrich the experience for the informed reader, but my enjoyment was not lessened by trying to figure out who everyone was and how this all fit together.

The beginning to "The Jaguar Knights" was a little slow and I spent time trying to figure out who Wolf is and what exactly a Blade is, and what "bonding" is, but as the novel continued, everything was explained in enough detail to understand the story, the background (to an extent) and get the story moving. At the point that Wolf and the Inquisitor are paired up is when Dave Duncan hooked me on his story. It also helps that Dave Duncan did an excellent job writing this novel and took it in a direction that surprised me at several turns. My high praise is that after reading this book I want to go back and read the rest of the King's Blades series. Duncan is unsparing in what he puts his characters through, and that is something I appreciate.

-Joe Sherry

Rating:
Summary: Not his best
Review: I give Jaguar Knights 4 stars because because it kept me turning the pages and overall is a pretty good book, but not Dave Duncan's best by far. Actually, this was probably my least favorite of all the King's Blades books. The story is not as tight and the characters don't live up to the standards of the other King's Blades books. The plot seems a little bit contrived and there didn't seem to be any real motivation for the hardships the characters endured.

That said, I'd still recommend it, but was a little bit disappointed considering how much I like everything else he has written.

Rating:
Summary: Not the sharpest "Blade" in the block.
Review: I have been a big fan of Dave Duncans writing from the adventures of Shonsu and the Seventh Sword. The Kings Blades and Daggers have all been great reads, but this story lacked "Blades". Duncan spent much if not most of the book talking about "The Jaguar Knights", which makes sense since that is what the book is titled but I was hoping for more of the blades that the rest of the series is based on. Sir Wolf, and Sir Lynx were made to look slow both in mind and body compared to the Jaguar knights based on the Aztec warriors of Mexico. It was like picking up a Batman comic book and finding ninety percent of it was about Wonder woman. I love reading about the Kings blades and the drive that makes them the best. The rituals of the Blades were trivialized compared to the rituals of the Jaguar knights, and the knights dominated my blades throughout the book. If this is the last book Duncan writes about the Blades this was a poor way to send them off. It was a nice springboard for a new series about the Jaguar Knights though. I guess that was the dominating feeling for me about this story, it was an advertisement for a new series. With that said, the story was well written like all of Duncans stories. The content of this story just did not draw me in as much as the rest of the series did. Still reccomended but I would rather read The seventh sword for the 10th time.

Rating:
Summary: Duncan cuts the competition to ribbons
Review: I love Dave Duncan's writing, and I love his Kings' Blade series. If this really is the last one I'll be very, very sad. If Dave feels he needs to move on from this world then so be it, but I'll be very, very sad.

The reason I like Duncan's work is because not only does he come up with great plots, great ideas, he gives us truly memorable characters and his writing style sings. Aspiring fantasy writers should read him and notice how he combines action and tension and pace with lyricism, with poetic narrative. It means you really get huge bang for your bucks.

Duncan is one of the very best writers working in fantasy today. If you haven't read him, shame! Start with The Gilded Chain.

Rating:
Summary: Dave Duncan has done it again!
Review: I own every book by Dave Duncan and can honestly state that Jaguar Knights is in keeping with his tradition. The story is gripping from the very beginning and the twist at the end is just as unpredictable as ever

I am sad to see the ending to the Kings Blades, but just like our dear Pug of times past and Shonsu, his first true swordsman, this is probably just leading into more new and intriguing worlds.

Rating:
Summary: The best of the King's Blades
Review: I want to qualify my "4 star" ranking, especially in light of everyone elses 5 star. I loved the book, I couldn't put it down especially during the last 100+ pages. It is the best of the King's Blades series, all of which I have enjoyed. I was sure I knew what the ending would be and missed it by a mile. The only reason I give it a 4 star is that I love Duncan's early stuff, the Reluctant Swordsman, Man of His Word, and those, even more than I enjoy the Blades series. Duncan writes very well, his worlds are believable, his characters are rich and grow and change. If you don't own everything he has written, you should. Buy used copies if you can't find new, but get them.

Rating:
Summary: Read all his books
Review: I was starting to think after reading Impossible Odds that the whole blade thing was getting old, but Duncan has proven me wrong. The plot and realization of the people he creates kept me moving forward. This book out ranks the past 1 or 2 books. I was relived to see a Wolf in his role, and the realizationg Duncan comes to with killing off a main part of his book. I will add it to my library to read over and over again.

Rating:
Summary: Sometimes you have to pretend...
Review: Sometimes you have to pretend a series ended earlier than it actually did to preserve the integrity and enjoyment of said series in your own mind. (Alien and Aliens, for example. The series ended there, no more movies were made, and I am happier for it!)

As far as I am concerned, Duncan ended the King's Blades series at Impossible Odds. When he said on his website that he was running out of things to say about the Blades, he wasn't kidding! Unfortunately, he ran out as he was writing The Jaguar Knights.

The Jaguar Knights, if you are looking for a book about the Blades, is just plain bad. It lacks the humor, the swaggering self-confidence and ingenuity of the Blades, the fierce loyalty to their wards, and the mistrust beween the Dark Chamber and Blades.

It's not fun, and above all, the Blades are fun. It plods. It goes on for six pages at a time about the jaguar knights, limps back to the totally un-Bladelike Blade main character, never gets inside his head, and clunks on. The narrative is choppy and uninspired, and the whole book reads like Duncan HAD to write something, anything, to get him out of the end of a publishing contract.

This book is nothing like the ones that came before it, and, well, I thought that it was shame that Jaguar Knights never got published, but Impossible Odds was a great place to end a series!

Rating:
Summary: Great fun
Review: The concept of the Blades (superbly trained swordsman/bodyguards who magically enhanced to protect their wards) is just so good that it's the only thing that kept me reading this series after the horror that was "Sky of Swords." "Paragon Lost" wasn't bad, but then that godawful "Impossible Odds" about ended my interest in this series.

Fortunately, I picked up "Jaguar Knights" and found what I loved about the Blades once again. Oh, it's not perfect (hence 4 stars). The Blade isn't actually a Blade for most of the book, Duncan inexplicably and inappropriately changes character viewpoints for short portions of the book, and there are some atrocious errors in the editing (including one unforgivable sentence that switches from third person to first and back).

Those errors aside, "Jaguar Knights" recaptures the excitement and daredevil adventure of "The Gilded Chain." Fast paced and highly entertaining, this was a very enjoyable book.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!!!!!!!
Review: While I have thoroughly enjoyed this whole series, The Jaguar Knights is Duncan's best book yet. In other tomes we have developed a thorough understanding of the Blades and White Sisters. Now the Dark Chamber is highlighted. While Blades are taught to work together and help each other, the Inquisitors are brought up in a competitive environment where outdoing each other leads to advancement. Medieval spookery and one-upmanship abounds. And it's really cool!

Our hero Sir Wolf, his brother Lynx, and the Inquisitor Hogwood set off on a perilous quest to determine what has happened to the king's former mistress Celeste who has been carried off by mysterious warriors who somehow overrun an impenetrable castle then magically vanish. Duncan's fabulous characters, intricate plot, and fabulous storytelling continue to bring Chivial to life. I really enjoyed the way he examines how divided loyalties and strong emotions conflict with the Blade's magical bindings.

What happens to Sir Lynx when his ward is ward is kidnapped is very interesting. I'd say more but it might ruin things for you. Be prepared for a wild ride...

I was torn between wanting to finish it immediately and savoring the reading experience. Had a very hard time putting this one down even when I should have been doing more important things. Great book!