I haven’t bought any of his books, as I am not a huge fantasy fan.(the last I read was the Shannara Series a very long time ago) But I saw Duncan’s book on the new releases and was intrigued.
Then I realized it was a triology. Naturally the book store did not have the other two books and neither did the library.
Do they have to be read in order?
Will I get asphixiated by otherworldly language?
Any one? Any one? Bueller?
The books are:
Lord of the Firelands
Sky of Swords
The Guilded Chain
YES! Loved loved loved them!
I am dying for him to write another. Why does it take so long to write books and so little time for me to read them? Sigh.
I found them to be straightforward and didn’t have any trouble with the language, etc. I liked them all equally.
Anyhoo, I would say that you don’t HAVE to read them in order, but I recommend it. From what I recall, Lord of the Firelands tells a complete story on its’ own. Then the last one (can’t remember the order they went in) seems to be telling its’ own story, but then it does involve the previous story from another point of view. It helps to have read the other first because there are some events that…
[semi-SPOILER alert]
…get re-arranged due to magical meddling with time, which changes the way the previous story played out.
Anyway, I highly recommend all the books and am anxiously awaiting another Dave Duncan creation.
I’ve read The Gilded Chain, and Lord of the Firelands, which are the 1st and 2nd books respectively. I assume you saw Sky of Swords on the new releases list? I hadn’t realized it was out yet, so I haven’t read it. The first two books focus on different characters, sharing really only the same timeframe, land, and some minor characters (or more precisely, several of the major characters from the first book appear as minor characters in the second), and I’d say they could be read in either order. Not having read the third book yet, I’m not sure how it would be to start off with it, but I assume it focuses on different characters than the first two books. However, there are some discrepences between the first two books that I assume the third book will clear up, so if you start with that book, the full importance of some events may be lost on you.
Overall, I’d say the first two books are a decent entertaining read. Not very deep, but Duncan is a good storyteller.
I agree - I love Dave Duncan, and this series is a unique approach to a trilogy, but I found the second book to be a little disjointed, in that most of it was set in the past as a lead in to the timeline used in the books.
I actually think a better series in this timezone are his teen-oriented books about the Kings Daggers. Adventure, a tiny touch of romance likely in the third, a good rollicking tale.
Sir Stalwart, Crooked House, Silvercloak
Thanks everyone for the input. I breezed past the spoiler so that I won’t ruin everything if/when I find/buy them.