Amazon.com description: Product Description: On the heels of his resoundingly praised fantasy series THE GREAT GAME, author Dave Duncan returns to the form with which he originally established his reputation: the epic sword-and-sorcery adventure. The breathtaking saga of THE KING'S BLADES begins with THE GILDED CHAIN, the relentlessly exciting story of an unparalleled swordsman trained from early childhood to take his place among the King's elite corps of warrior/bodyguards in a dangerously uncertain fantasy realm. Audaciously taking as his own name of Kingdom's most fabled champion of long ago, Durandel sees his lifelong dream of serving his liege dashed to bits when

he is bonded for life, not to his beloved king, but to an effete noble fop. But

Destiny has inscrutable plans for this able young knight in an ancient, isolated city

in a land far from the blood intrigues of the perilous court. On a mission that

promises glory and great treasures, grisly secrets of opulence and immortality will

be revealed--while countless betrayals and untold horrors combine to threaten a remarkable future prophesied for a warrior who could be the mightiest hero in the history of the monarchy.