fantasy book reviews science fiction book reviewsbook review Dave Duncan Sir Stalwart The King's Daggers reviewSir Stalwart by Dave Duncan

Dave Duncan delivers a fun, sword & sorcery romp in a short book that you don’t need to invest hours slogging through. Too often there are books out there that simply can’t stand on their own without being 800-900 pages in length and Duncan seems to avoid this.

Now, if you have never read any of the King’s Blades before, there are some gaps in this story line that will not make as much sense for you. The concept of soldiers who are magically indentured to their King and thereby granted exceptional skills and unfailing loyalty is cool. The rest of the books in this series seems to go into more detail on that.

Sir Stalwart focuses on one particular soldier (Blade-to-be) and the mission for which he becomes famous. Duncan does a good job of building a complete character and surrounding him with exposure to other legendary characters and the solid foundation of the King’s Blades series. This makes for an enjoyable, fun read if you have already been immersed in the series. The quirks and strengths that make Stalwart who he is are central to the story line.

I really enjoy the way that Dave Duncan creates new main characters for each installment in the series. He doesn’t just write the same guy with a different name, and that makes it fun to explore. It’s not epic fantasy, but it’s fun when you are taking a break between the Erikson and Wurts’ series that demand so much concentration.

The King’s Daggers — (1999-2001) Young adult, set in the King’s Blades world. Publisher: The world’s most deadly assassin has been hired to kill King Ambrose. Only Emerald can identify the killer’s evil magic and only Stalwart knows what he looks like. They must trap the killer before he can strike at the King — or at them, if he sees them first. All Wart’s superb skill with a sword will not avail against this terrible foe.

The King's Daggers: Sir Stalwart, The Crooked House, Silvercloak The King's Daggers: Sir Stalwart, The Crooked House, Silvercloak The King's Daggers: Sir Stalwart, The Crooked House, Silvercloak

Author

  • JOHN HULET is a member of the Utah Army National Guard. John’s experiences have often left a great void that has been filled by countless hours spent between the pages of a book lost in the words and images of the authors he admires. During a 12 month tour of Iraq, he spent well over $1000 on books and found sanity in the process. John lives in Utah and works slavishly to prepare soldiers to serve their country with the honor and distinction that Sturm Brightblade or Arithon s’Ffalenn would be proud of. John retired from FanLit in March 2015 after being with us for nearly 8 years. We still hear from him every once in a while.

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