Sky of Swords : A Tale of the King's Blades
A lot of Dave Duncan fans let out a squeal at the end ofLord of the Fire Lands, the  previous Tale of the King's Blades. (The Gilded Chainwas first in  the series, andSky of Swordscomes in third.) It seems that Duncan, in  this ingenious,Rashomon-style series, had managed to kill off King  Ambrose twice in just two books, and in a different way each time.But this devilish author knew what he was up to, andSky of Swordspromises to answer all your questions. Just asThe Gilded Chainjumped  back and forth in time andLord of the Fire Landsfollowed a concurrent  tangent plot fromGilded Chain,Sky of Swordswill likewise tie  your brain in knots for a spell. (It should be stressed that all of these books  are standalones, following different characters through overlapping  timelines--you don'tneedto read them all, but each is much richer for  having read the others.)Swordspicks upFire Lands' crossbow-bolt-between-the-eyes finale  somewhere around page 80. But this time we're looking through the eyes of  Princess Malinda, this book's irascible (she is Ambrose's daughter, after all)  but ultimately likable heroine. We learn about Malinda's bumpy upbringing, butSwordsdoesn't really get interesting until the aftermath of Ambrose's  death, the ensuing threat of civil war, and the outcome of Malinda's trial for  treason (which begins on page 1, but in true Duncan fashion, doesn't actually  happen until near the book's finale). What's the best part ofSky of  Swords? Not to ruin anything, but you've probably already read its  conclusion--in the final pages ofGilded Chain.--Paul Hughes--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.