Gilded Chain
A Tale of the King's Blades, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Austin Vanfleet
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By:
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Dave Duncan
About this listen
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.Listeners also enjoyed...
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The Silent Blade
- The Seven Virtues, Book 0.5
- By: Jacob Peppers
- Narrated by: Steven Brand
- Length: 2 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The Downs, the poor district of the city of Avarest, is home to cutthroats and thieves, pickpockets and prostitutes, all of whom pay tribute to one of two powerful crime bosses. It is also home to Aaron Envelar, a disillusioned sellsword known as the Silent Blade, who cares nothing for the criminal overlords or their schemes, who only wants to survive and make a little coin. But when a group of thugs steal his mother’s necklace, the only link he has to his murdered parents, Aaron decides that sometimes gold isn’t enough - sometimes, blood is the only payment worth taking.
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Good read and listen..
- By Trish R. on 02-28-20
By: Jacob Peppers
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Mage's Blood
- The Moontide Quartet, Book 1
- By: David Hair
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 26 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Most of the time the Moontide Bridge lies deep below the sea, but every 12 years the tides sink and the bridge is revealed, its gates open for trade. The Magi are hell-bent on ruling this new world, and for the last two Moontides they have led armies across the bridge on "crusades of conquest". Now, the third Moontide is almost here, and this time the people of the East are ready for a fight... but it is three seemingly ordinary people that will decide the fate of the world.
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Nick Podehl
- By Logan on 01-05-15
By: David Hair
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Fate of the Fallen
- By: Kel Kade
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Everyone loves Mathias. Naturally, when he discovers it’s his destiny to save the world, he dives in headfirst, pulling his best friend, Aaslo, along for the ride. However, saving the world isn’t as easy, or exciting, as it sounds in the stories. The going gets rough, and folks start to believe their best chance for survival is to surrender to the forces of evil, which isn’t how the prophecy goes. At all. As the list of allies grows thin and the friends find themselves staring death in the face, they must decide how to become the heroes they were destined to be.
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Interesting but no KDT
- By Jonathan on 03-11-20
By: Kel Kade
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Veil of Lies
- A Crispin Guest Medieval Mystery, Book 1
- By: Jeri Westerson
- Narrated by: Noah James Butler
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Accused of treason and stripped of his knighthood, Crispin Guest has survived on the gritty streets of London by reinventing himself as The Tracker, an investigator for hire who can locate lost objects and uncover secrets. When the merchant Nicholas Walcote hires Guest to investigate his young wife Philippa for adultery, he discovers an underground world of danger and dirty dealings. Philippa is indeed hiding something—but she's not the only one. Walcote himself is rumored to possess a holy relic so powerful that some would even kill for it.
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Character insight and I am satisfied with my short answers and don’t want to count out 15 words!
- By frances anne bramhall on 05-06-24
By: Jeri Westerson
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Oath of Fealty
- Paladin's Legacy, Book 1
- By: Elizabeth Moon
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter follows her dream of becoming a hero out of legend by running away to join the army. Military life and warfare aren't anything like she imagined - yet she holds to both her duty and her dreams. Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold tell of her rise to become the paladin who saves a kingdom. In this new trilogy, Paks's former comrades in Duke Phelan's Company assume new roles and the story turns to follow their adventures.
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More Moon Magic
- By James on 04-20-10
By: Elizabeth Moon
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Grave Mercy
- His Fair Assassin, Book 1
- By: Robin LaFevers
- Narrated by: Erin Moon
- Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Escaping an arranged marriage, 17-year-old Ismae finds sanctuary in the St. Mortain convent, where the sisters worship the gods of old. There, Ismae learns that the God of Death has special plans for her—a destiny that will one day compel her to betray the man she loves.
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Slow Start but Finished Strong
- By The Mankers on 10-12-12
By: Robin LaFevers
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Suldrun’s Garden
- Lyonesse: Book 1
- By: Jack Vance
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The Elder Isles, located in what is now the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Old Gaul, are made up of 10 contending kingdoms, all vying with each other for control. At the centre of much of the intrigue is Casmir, the ruthless and ambitious king of Lyonnesse. His beautiful but otherworldly daughter, Suldrun, is part of his plans. He intends to cement an alliance or two by marrying her well. But Suldrun is as determined as he and defies him.
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Not my cup of tea
- By Ann on 01-10-11
By: Jack Vance
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Ash and Ambition
- By: Ari Marmell
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Trapped in the form of the knight who supposedly slew him, the dragon Tzavalantsaval - with a loathsome goblin steward as his only true ally - struggles to navigate the Kirresci royal court and humanity itself, even as politics and intrigues he scarcely understands push the southern kingdoms ever nearer to open war.
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A story of a dragon being slowly humanized
- By Sailfish on 05-10-20
By: Ari Marmell
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The Troll Hunter
- By: Keith C. Blackmore
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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A warrior with a secret, a ruthless band of cutthroats, and a monster of ancient legend converge in this fantasy from the author of the Mountain Man series. It’s a time of war. After years of relentless battle, the tired nation of Sunja realizes its spine is close to breaking. Desperate for aid, the country’s king dispatches a company of soldiers to the north in a desperate plea for help from its neighbors.
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My opinion:Blackmore,is the best in the business!
- By eric on 07-10-19
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The Last Swordsman
- The Last Swordsman, Book 1
- By: Benjamin Corman
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Nikolis’ parents are dead - murdered before his eyes. What’s worse, they were traitors to the crown. At least that’s what he hears the village folk saying moments before he is whisked away to the castle of Highkeep. There he finds himself before the aged King Alginor, a man brought to a boil by his very presence.
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This book is horrible
- By Amazon Customer on 09-10-20
By: Benjamin Corman
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The Color of Dragons
- By: R. A. Salvatore, Erika Lewis
- Narrated by: Aline Stokes, John York
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Magic needs a spark. And Maggie’s powers are especially fickle. With no one to help her learn to control her magic, the life debt that she owes stretches eternally over her head, with no way to repay it. Until she meets Griffin, the king’s champion, infamous for hunting down the draignochs that plague their kingdom. Neither has any idea of the destiny that they both carry, or that their meeting will set off a chain of events that will alter every aspect of the life they know - and all of history thereafter.
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More please.
- By Allison on 10-24-21
By: R. A. Salvatore, and others
What listeners say about Gilded Chain
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Michael Burkhardt
- 12-02-22
Dave Duncan is excellent!
If you have never read the books you are in for a treat!! Fantastic series. Hoping they produce audio books for the entire series.
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- S. Muzyczek
- 03-28-22
Love and Time
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!!!
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- Kay
- 11-20-19
Strong character, well-developed concept
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.
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- B VanDyk
- 07-14-20
Fantastic Fantasy series
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 11-16-21
Spectacular is not a strong enough word!
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!
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- The Bookwyrm Speaks
- 07-27-20
One of my favorite fantasy tales.
While I usually review indie authored fantasy, I still have a huge collection of older traditionally published fantasy and sci-fi. This includes most of the books in The Kings Blades series, the first of which, The Gilded Chain, I'm reviewing here. The recent release of the audio version really piqued my interest, so here we go.
PLOT SUMMARY
This story starts with a young boy who's family brings him to Ironhall, where the King's Blades are trained to become the finest warriors in the world, being magically bound to their charges when they graduate. The young man takes the name of Durendal, the name of greatest hero in the history of the Blades, and a huge legacy to live up to.
We then switch to the POV of the kingdom's Chancellor, Lord Roland, as he sits in his office, running the day to day operations of the kingdom. When his biggest rival for power, the king's private secretary, comes in with an order removing him from office, Roland is relieved, thinking he can finally retire and spend time with his wife. Of course, its not that easy, and he is about to be arrested. Fortunately, Roland was gifted a King's Blade to bond to him as a guard, so he avoids being arrested, as any Blade is worth a dozen guardsmen. He heads home and apprises his wife of the situation.
Durendal, if you couldn't guess, is also Lord Roland, and the book switches between the two viewpoints, going back in the past for various important parts of his life, and then switching to the issues going on in the present. We see how, after his training, Durendal is bonded to his first charge, a spoiled noble who's gifted a Blade because his sister is the king's mistress. We get to see what the magical bond means, since it allows a blade to go without sleep for long periods of time, and forces them to defend their charge's life at all cost, including allowing them to fight long past injuries that would kill a normal fighter.
We get to see Durendal caught up in a scheme by his charge to betray the king, and his bond forces him to go along, to eventual tragic consequences. This leads to Durendal being bonded directly to the king, and joining his household Blades. Rising though the ranks, he is tasked with a mission that takes him for years away from the kingdom, tasked with bringing back a Blade that has supposedly been made into a gladiator slave in a distant land. This mission has a direct tie in to the end of the book, since what they find there will have dire consequences 30 years in the future.
Upon returning, Durendal continues to rise in the ranks until he is eventually Blade commander, until the night the king is magically attacked by disgruntled magician's guilds, and Durendal saves the king's life, and is rewarded by being made the king's new chancellor. The years pass by and we get to the present, where we find that the king is finally dying, but something tied into that long ago mission is afoot, and will have horrible consequences for the kingdom, and possibly the world, if the king and his secretary aren't stopped from recreating what Durendal discovered all those years ago and thought he'd stopped then.
CHARACTERS AND WORLD BUILDING
While this book is very plot driven, the characters are surprising well rounded, especially Durendal and the King. Durendal is by every measure a fantasy hero of the old school, fearless, skilled, ruthless when necessary and a ladies man, and yet he also has flaws and blind spots you don't expect in such a traditional type character. His failures are as much a part of his character building as his many successes. The king is very much in the mold of King Henry VIII, starting out a vigorous, brash and energetic king, then getting fat and impatient with dissent as he gets old. He even alienates his daughter/heir. The secondary characters are given some love, especially the various Blades Durendal works with over the years, each given their own personalities, not just roles they play to move the story.
The world building is solid, with the kingdom being pretty well described and populated, with the magic being fairly low key, but powerful in its way. The foreign locations are fairly well written, and you get a good feeling for the larger world, and the kingdom's place in it.
NARRATION
The narration is fantastically handled by Austin Vanfleet. He makes me think that every fantasy novel should be narrated with a scottish accent. He has such a good voice, with a smooth voice that creates many different voices for the various characters, giving them each their own unique life. His narrative pacing is some of the best I have ever heard, never dipping into a monotone, and really immersing the listener into the story. I will be happily reviewing more of his works in the coming months.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This is the kind of traditional fantasy that could be seen as old fashioned, since the protagonist is not some shades of grey antihero, but is very much a hero. However, he is a flawed hero, making him much more than a two dimensional cutout, and the story is so well told that it keeps the reader engaged, with twists and turns that keep you guessing. I suspect this book will appeal to a wide range of fans, from teens to fans of old school pulps.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Cindy
- 11-18-19
Wow
What an imagination! Though slow to start, you are soon caught up in this audio. The narrator gave an awesome performance,
This audio was given to me free and I voluntarily gave this review,
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1 person found this helpful
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- michael martins
- 03-02-20
Great Fantasy novel
Gilded Chain: A Tale of the King's Blades was a very enjoyable fantasy novel. If you like your fantasy of the Sword and Sorcery variety you will definitely enjoy this. This story takes place in an interesting world where there is a school to train and create Blades. The school takes young men and through intense training and some magic transforms them into Blades expert swordsman who are bonded to a single person and whom they will willingly lay their lives down for. The Blades are expert swordsman who have incredible, strength, stamina and speed and also are resistant to magic. The King decides who a Blade will be bonded to and many are bonded to him as his personal guards.
The story mainly follows Durendal(Roland) who starts off at the school for Blades and is one of the best students to ever come out of the school. The story follows him on many adventures and there are quite a few twists and turns along the way. Durendal is an extremely good person, brash and very likeable as a Hero. There is a lot of action and adventure as well as much intrigue in the book which kept me thoroughly engrossed and entertained throughout.
The narration by Austin Vanfleet was great and I really enjoyed his accent and felt it fit the story quite well. Overall I would definitely recommend this book and I look forward to reading other's in the series.
"Please note I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review."
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- Customer Korey
- 02-15-22
Haven't finished
Perhaps it's because I've just finished Duncan's Reluctant Swordsman series, read by a consummate professional, but the narration of this one is that of a rank amateur. Don't believe these other reviews. They tricked me into burning a credit on this. I don't mind the accent, it's the vocal fry that turns nearly every sentence into a question. Couple that with the fact that it's hard to discern which character is speaking, because they all sound the same, it's nearly impossible to listen to. I slowed the play speed a touch, which has almost made it tolerable, but all in all, I'd rather have my credit back. I loved the last series I listened to from Duncan, but I fear I may put this series on hold until they issue a better version.
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- LemuelB
- 11-13-19
One of Duncan's Best
I was so happy to finally see "Gilded Chain" available as an audiobook! My family loves Dave Duncan's books. When my kids were younger I would read the Rap and Inos series to them. Those, the "Seventh Sword" series and the "Blade" books are Duncan's best. This first book in the "Blade" series is fantastic, though the reader's accent is a bit distracting. I look forward to seeing the rest of the "Blade" books on Audible in the future.
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1 person found this helpful