Impossible Odds: A Chronicle of the King's Blades (Tale of the King's Blades)

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission. Title: Impossible Odds Series: King's Blades Author: Dave Duncan Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 384 Format: Hardcover Synopsis: Grand Duke Rubin has been deposed. He seeks assistance from the King of Chivial who agrees to Bind some Blades to him. Only no Blades are available. So 2 young and unprepared men are bound to the Duke. Along with them is a damaged Blade show more who can never be bound due to defects in his eyes. They also drag along a former White Sister who seems to be very powerful. All this time, someone is hounding the Duke across the continent. His bride is dead, his child and heir is dead and it appears that his martial Uncle is the one behind it all. Now the small group must return to the Duke's home and figure out a way to retake the kingdom. Of course, nothing is as it seems and political intrigue twists EVERYTHING on its head. My Thoughts: It was good to get back into this series. I'd read the previous book, Paragon Lost, back in '14 and was wondering if I'd need a refresher, but thankfully, this was a standalone novel. It did make mention of previous books and events, but honestly, I couldn't remember who was who or did what. And it didn't matter a whit. This was a great book for intrigue. The "Duke" who the Blades are bound to is actually the Duke's wife under a disguise spell. Their son is alive and the real Duke appears to be in captivity under his Uncle's control. Knowing Duncan from his previous writings, I knew that what I was presented with still wasn't how things actually were. So I just sat back and enjoyed the ride along with the characters. Things work out pretty happily in the end. My only issue with this book was that the real Duke was a loli-con. That means he preferred young woman barely pubescent. It wasn't portrayed as good or gone into detail, but it IS part of the story and left me feeling slightly soiled. " show less

Exiled Grand Duke seeks help from King Athelgar to reclaim his realm. Due to shortages, the Duke is assigned Ranter and Ringwood, two immature, under-trained Blades, along with an injured, failed Blade, to face an enemy using necromancy, leading to unexpected plot twists.

The exiled Duke of Krupina, Rubin, must journey back to his land, overcoming shadowmen and political treachery to depose his cousin, Volpe, who has usurped the throne.

The Blades are not seasoned elite, but raggle-taggle teenagers needing to prove themselves, accompanied by a former White Sister. The Grand Duke is actually the Grand Duchess in disguise, a secret that must be kept while navigating battles and political intrigue.

Duncan is wandering the globe with this series. Paragon Lost took us to his version of Russia; in Impossible Odds we're off to a tiny Germanic country. This is the weakest of the series so far, with an improbable ending, but was still a lot of fun. Lots of swash, lots of buckle.

Pretty good, but not great Blade adventure. Interesting whodunnit elements. Less compelling plot than usual. Duncan's been introducing more and more magic elements in these books that are making the world harder to believe.

This is another fun read. Romance, intrigue, mystery, and drama fill the pages and keep you riveted for hours. Nobody is exactly who they appear to be and just when you think you know who is plotting what; you discover that you are wrong. I loved every minute of it.

Full Review Here:

Dragons, Heroes and Wizards

I can never remember which Dave Duncan novel is which, but I love all of them.

King's Blades #5