The King's Blades
#8583.86 adjusted 3.87 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 11 books Status Complete 1998–2019 Reading commitment High Dave Duncan Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
The King's Blades is a fantasy world by Canadian author Dave Duncan, set in the kingdom of Chivial. Ironhall, a school, takes unwanted boys and after five years sends out elite swordsmen, the Blades, who are bound by a magical sword-stroke to protect their liege lord at any cost. The novels were published from 1998 to 2019. Tales of the King's Blades opens with The Gilded Chain and follows individual Blades across the reigns of King Ambrose and Queen Malinda; the later Chronicles trilogy follows the Blades of King Athelgar; and the young-adult King's Daggers trilogy fills in a period of the first book. Each volume centres on different swordsmen. The series is complete.
Sword & sorcery, Epic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (11 works) counts toward ranking
Tales of the King's Blades Dave Duncan
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Gilded Chain | 1998 | 1 | core | 3.93 (3,505 ratings) |
 | Lord of the Fire Lands | 1999 | 2 | core | 3.91 (2,270 ratings) |
 | Sky of Swords | 2000 | 3 | core | 3.88 (2,190 ratings) |
 | One Velvet Glove; First published by Five Rivers; ebook reissue by Open Road Media in 2023. | 2017 | 4 | core | 4.02 (159 ratings) |
 | The Ethical Swordsman | 2019 | 5 | core | 4.24 (94 ratings) |
Novels about individual Blades of Chivial, beginning with Durendal in The Gilded Chain and ending with The Ethical Swordsman.
Chronicles of the King's Blades Dave Duncan
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Paragon Lost | 2002 | 1 | core | 3.89 (1,554 ratings) |
 | Impossible Odds | 2003 | 2 | core | 3.90 (1,346 ratings) |
 | The Jaguar Knights | 2004 | 3 | core | 3.59 (1,108 ratings) |
Three later novels set in Chivial during the reign of King Athelgar.
The King's Daggers Dave Duncan
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sir Stalwart; Young-adult novel; first of the three King's Daggers books. | 1999 | 1 | core | 3.71 (585 ratings) |
 | The Crooked House; Young-adult novel; second of the King's Daggers books. | 2000 | 2 | core | 3.69 (445 ratings) |
 | Silvercloak; Young-adult novel; third of the King's Daggers books. | 2001 | 3 | core | 3.74 (393 ratings) |
A young-adult trilogy set in Chivial that fills in events around the first King's Blades novel.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The King's Blades? The King's Blades's Core Canon is 11 books.
- What is the reading order for The King's Blades? Publication order, starting with The Gilded Chain. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The King's Blades finished? Complete (1998–2019).
- How much reading does The King's Blades take? High reading commitment (estimated from 11 Core Canon books).
- How is The King's Blades ranked? #858 in this site's official ranking, based on 13,649 reader ratings across 11 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #858?
Ranked #858 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.86 across 11 core books.
- A smaller readership (13,649 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.59 to 4.24.
- Less than 0.01 behind #857, Elidor (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 11 books · Complete · 14k ratings · Ranks #858 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running sword-and-sorcery universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (11 Core Canon books)
- The Gilded Chain (1998)
- Lord of the Fire Lands (1999)
- Sir Stalwart (1999)
- Sky of Swords (2000)
- The Crooked House (2000)
- Silvercloak (2001)
- Paragon Lost (2002)
- Impossible Odds (2003)
- The Jaguar Knights (2004)
- One Velvet Glove (2017)
- The Ethical Swordsman (2019)
Documented internal/story order
- The Gilded Chain (1998)
- Paragon Lost (2002)
- Sir Stalwart (1999)
- Lord of the Fire Lands (1999)
- Impossible Odds (2003)
- The Crooked House (2000)
- Sky of Swords (2000)
- The Jaguar Knights (2004)
- Silvercloak (2001)
- One Velvet Glove (2017)
- The Ethical Swordsman (2019)
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.86 across 13,649 ratings on 11 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 28 universes; Greyhawk gains three novels; 2 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Dave Duncan author site Tier 2
- Open Road Media, The Monster War Tier 2
- Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: Duncan, Dave Tier 2
- FantasticFiction, King's Blades Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = the King's Blades novels set in Chivial, from The Gilded Chain (1998) to The Ethical Swordsman (2019), including the three King's Daggers novels. The omnibus The Monster War is excluded.