Gilded Chain Audiobook By Dave Duncan cover art

Gilded Chain

A Tale of the King's Blades, Book 1

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Gilded Chain

By: Dave Duncan
Narrated by: Austin Vanfleet
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As unwanted and rebellious boys, they find refuge in Ironhall.... Years later, they emerge as the finest swordsmen in the realm - a magical ritual of a sword through the heart binds each to his ward - if not the king himself, then to whomever else the monarch designates - with absolute loyalty.

And the greatest Blade of them all was - and is - Sir Durendal.

But a lifelong dream of protecting his beloved liege from enemies, traitors, and monsters is dashed to bits when Durendal is bonded till death to an effete noble fop at his king's orders. Yet destiny has many strange and inscrutable plans for the young knight - for a mission, a contest, and, perhaps, a treasure await him in a faraway land. But he soon finds himself enmeshed in treason and foul intrigues, compelled to betray the king he had hoped to serve.

The Blades have ways to protect their own, but death and madness haunt the path to salvation - and few ever return unscathed.

©1999, 2019 Katanji Arts Inc. (P)2019 Katanji Arts Inc. Epic Fantasy Heartfelt
Well-rounded Characters • Engaging Plot • Traditional Fantasy • Surprising Twists • Solid Worldbuilding • Flawed Hero

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If you have never read the books you are in for a treat!! Fantastic series. Hoping they produce audio books for the entire series.

Dave Duncan is excellent!

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this book and the others in the series have been my favourites for years and this telling is incredible!! love the voice and the accents and the enthusiasm!!!

Love and Time

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Listener received this title free

Wow, I was not expecting where this story went-part intrigue, part adventure, and part horror. Gilded Chain is a story told in parts that span the lifetime of Sir Durendal the second, so there are some big time jumps. Each part builds on the last though so you can see the impact each life event has in informing the decisions he makes going forward. The different phases of his life-as a protector, adventurer, politician, and guildmaster have a different feel but they’re tied together by his devotion to king and country. The story tackles some big themes including the nature of service, loyalty, justice, and obligation. I enjoyed the narrator’s accent and found him understandable, although there isn’t a lot a variance in his voices. This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

Strong character, well-developed concept

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Listener received this title free

I've loved the King's Blades series for years.
Austin Vanfleet does a great job with his performance.
I immediately started listening to the second book and it too was done very well.
I'm looking forward to listening to the entire series.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.

Fantastic Fantasy series

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Listener received this title free

Spectacular is not a strong enough word to describe not only the plot, or characters, but I have been blown away by the narrator and will be looking for more of his work!

Spectacular is not a strong enough word!

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