Anyone read Author Dave Duncan?

[Lissa]

I love Dave Duncans King's Blades and King's Daggers series but I haven't read any of his other books. Has anyone read any of his stuff and what did you think?

 

[dwndrgn]

I believe that all I've read of his are the Blades series. I quite enjoyed them. I found the 'loyalty magic' to be quite fascinating. Duncan thought it through quite thoroughly and placed rules and interpretations in the text where he knew readers might find loopholes.

I'm not sure what else he's done. I'll have to check up on that.

 

[GOLLUM]

Sounds interesting.

I'm afarid I've never heard of this author before.

Can anyone elaborate further as to what the books are about?

 

[dwndrgn]

They are quite light, quick reads. Miles away from authors like GRRM or Erikson. They would be what I call 'fun fantasy' where there isn't a humungous volume detailing every step and every emotion of every character. Short tales surrounding a select group of swordsmen, specially trained and then put through a magical ceremony that links them with another person (usually someone they would be guarding). Making them fierce guardians as they are compelled to keep their ward safe, even if it kills them.

I'd probably liken these tales to those of Fritz Leiber, without the tongue-in-cheek tone.

 

[GOLLUM]

I'd probably liken these tales to those of Fritz Leiber, without the tongue-in-cheek tone.

Hey I love Leiber and even w/o the witty asides I miught like to check these out.

Thanks, you're a veritable fount of information....

 

[Lissa]

I do know that Duncan has a new series coming out this year. Dodec I think the name is. I am not sure whether he is staying in Fantasy or switching over to SciFi. I think most of his earlier writings leaned more toward SciFi. Since I haven't read anything other than the King's Blades I don't really know. I did find his website though if anyone wants to check it out.
www.daveduncan.com I myself am going to go see what his other stuff is like. Ciao.

 

[rune]

I read Past Imperative last year. I couldnt really get into this style or his story. Not one of my favourites

 

[murphy]

Dave Duncan is one of my favorite authors. He manages to put a different spin on fantasy. His Seventh Sword trilogy is quite good and is comprised of:

The Reluctant Swordsman
The Coming of Wisdom
The Destiny of the Sword

Another group is A Man of His Word. There are 4 books in this (don't know the correct word for 4)

Magic Casement
Faery Lands Forlorn
Perilous Seas
Emporer and Clown

Using the same protagonists is the 4 books of a Handful of Men
The Cutting Edge
The Stricken Field
Upland Outlaws
The Living God

 

[elvet]

I need to resurrect this thread. I started reading Duncan's Alchemist's Apprentice books and quite liked the way he wrote. I then bought the Blades series, and am hooked. They are about a training school that provides superior swordsmen mostly to the King, but also to rich private citizens. The swordsmen are magically bound to protect their ward at all costs, and so the relationship is more than just honor or duty. Each book tells the standalone tale of one particular matching, but includes other characters that crop up in other books, so the series follows a bigger picture.
I finished the first and second books (Gilded Chain and Lord of the Firelands) and was amazed at how he pieced the stories together. I can't wait to get into the third, Sky of Swords.
A quote from the author in Sky of Swords:

Like The Guilded Chain and Lord of the Firelands, this book can be read as a standalone novel. However, all three together tell a larger story, so if you read any two, you will discover discrepancies that can be resolved only by reading the complete set.

I'm not surprised to see Murphy's comment above. We have quite similar tastes. I'm going to need to find his previous efforts that are on her list.

 

[olc]

I like Duncan a lot. His books have two characteristics which are at the top of my list:
Intelligent protagonists.
Antagonists that are of varying shades of gray (as opposed to pure good vs evil)

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I read the first of the King's Blades books. I found the magic fascinating, especially the darker aspects. Not sure why I didn't go on to read the rest of the series, because I've been tempted whenever I see a new one.

 

[olc]

Another thing - If you read only the Kings Blades books (and the related kings daggers books) you will think his books are pretty similar. But in fact there are big differences between the unrelated books and series. Enough to keep his writing fresh between these unrelated series.

 

[thepaladin]

I read the first 2 Kings Blades books. May go back to them. It's like a lot of series books I still "intend" to finish. I remember being very taken by the first one and it's story and not so much by the second. Maybe that's why I didn't go right to the third. Still, I plan to get back to them later.