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topdragon's review
4.0
"Paragon Lost" is the fourth published novel in Dave Duncan's loosely connected King's Blades fantasy series. The first trilogy, "Tales of the King's Blades" all take place in the same time frame and the plots are fairly well interconnected. The second three, "The Chronicles of the King's Blades," appear to be much more stand-alone novels taking place in the same general era. Mr Duncan himself states these novels can be read in any order without losing comprehension. I would recommend, however, that you read that first set of three books prior to reading any of the last three. I think it would enrich the experience since he doesn't go into much historical detail and why things are the way they are. By the way, three young adult shorter novels called the "King's Daggers" also exist but I have not read them.
I really enjoy the concept in these books. The King's Blades are basically graduates of an academy of sorts where the students learn swordplay among many other aspects of life in this medieval setting. Eventually most are assigned a ward to whom they are "bound" for life. They dedicate their lives to that person's protection, sort of a medieval secret service bodyguard. There is an intriguing binding process which I will not spoil for you but one of its side effects is that the swordaman himself no longer requires sleep. This novel follows the life and times of Sir Beaumont, or "Beau" to his friends. Beau is one of the very best swordsmen to ever come out of the school but now his other skills will be put to the test. Beau needs to use wit and charm and guile, and even some downright dirty politics to succeed. The story is told largely in flashback. The reader first encounters him as a simple small village trainer of sword fighting techniques but we quickly get thrust back to his glorious school days followed by his difficult assignment. I tend to enjoy these sorts of plots, always intrigued to get answers to the question of how our protagonist got to a particular predicament or station in life.
Mr Duncan writes this engaging story in a most satisfactory manner. He mixes action with characterization fluidly, never allowing the plot to get bogged down nor his characters to act, well... uncharacteristically. I like the way he builds intrigue and how the characters must rely on other skills than fighting prowess to solve situations. There is quite a bit of political mechanizations involved here which makes the plot complicated and yet we never lose track or focus on what is occurring. The conclusion is satisfying and definitely wraps up the story although I, for one, am happy there are still two more for me to read, even if they do involve different characters.
I really enjoy the concept in these books. The King's Blades are basically graduates of an academy of sorts where the students learn swordplay among many other aspects of life in this medieval setting. Eventually most are assigned a ward to whom they are "bound" for life. They dedicate their lives to that person's protection, sort of a medieval secret service bodyguard. There is an intriguing binding process which I will not spoil for you but one of its side effects is that the swordaman himself no longer requires sleep. This novel follows the life and times of Sir Beaumont, or "Beau" to his friends. Beau is one of the very best swordsmen to ever come out of the school but now his other skills will be put to the test. Beau needs to use wit and charm and guile, and even some downright dirty politics to succeed. The story is told largely in flashback. The reader first encounters him as a simple small village trainer of sword fighting techniques but we quickly get thrust back to his glorious school days followed by his difficult assignment. I tend to enjoy these sorts of plots, always intrigued to get answers to the question of how our protagonist got to a particular predicament or station in life.
Mr Duncan writes this engaging story in a most satisfactory manner. He mixes action with characterization fluidly, never allowing the plot to get bogged down nor his characters to act, well... uncharacteristically. I like the way he builds intrigue and how the characters must rely on other skills than fighting prowess to solve situations. There is quite a bit of political mechanizations involved here which makes the plot complicated and yet we never lose track or focus on what is occurring. The conclusion is satisfying and definitely wraps up the story although I, for one, am happy there are still two more for me to read, even if they do involve different characters.
kittenscribble's review
3.0
More swashbuckling here than a barrel full of pirates. Duncan returns to his "King's Blades" universe with an exciting tale about a young swordsman who must navigate political intrigue and danger to do his duty to his ward and his liege. Rollicking and serious by turns; very smooth read.
rouver's review
3.0
Another enjoyable book by Duncan. I'm always curious as to how his stories play out, but for some reason I didn't really become invested in his characters. I hoped everything turned out well for them, but I never got emotionally worked up over their exploits or dangers that faced them. I was a bit indifferent, which is disappointing.
Duncan claims this is a stand-alone book, and I don't really agree. If you hadn't read The Gilded Chain & Lord of the Fire Lands, you would be struggling a bit to completely understand what's going on.
Duncan claims this is a stand-alone book, and I don't really agree. If you hadn't read The Gilded Chain & Lord of the Fire Lands, you would be struggling a bit to completely understand what's going on.
vaderbird's review
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
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