Dave Duncan (1933-2018) was born in Scotland, and received his diploma from Dundee High School and got his college education at the University of Saint Andrews. He moved to Canada in 1955, where he lived with his wife. Duncan spent thirty years as a petroleum geologist. He has had dozens of fantasy and science fiction novels published, among them A Rose-Red City, Magic Casement, and The Reaver Road, as well as a highly praised historical novel, Daughter of Troy, published, for commercial reasons, under the pseudonym Sarah B. Franklin. He also published the Longdirk series of novels, Demon Sword, Demon Knight, and Demon Rider, under the name Ken Hood.

“Exceptional . . . Duncan can swashbuckle with the best, but his characters feel more deeply and think more clearly than most” (Publishers Weekly). Raider and Wasp have spent five years at Ironhall studying to become Blades, expert swordsmen whose talents stand unmatched. Magic both enhances the Blades’ fighting skills and binds them to lifelong duty. But when Raider and Wasp are selected to protect the king of Chivial himself, they refuse, an act unprecedented in the living history of the Blades. Now on the run for their “treasonous” act, the two gifted swordsmen must escape to the Fire Lands, where pirates, monsters, and mixed allegiances wait around every corner. As old hatreds and still fresh tragedies come to light, these young swashbucklers must confront both harsh truths from the past and a present swarming with their would be brothers at arms seeking vengeance and intending punishment.  Dave Duncan’s Lord of the Fire Lands serves as a splendid sequel and companion to his earlier book The Gilded Chain, and his later Tale of the King’s Blades Sky of Swords. Engaging and complex, it may be enjoyed as a standalone novel or in combination with the rest of the trilogy. Either way, readers are in for a smart, thrilling adventure that cuts like a knife.

“Exceptional . . . Duncan can swashbuckle with the best, but his characters feel more deeply and think more clearly than most” (Publishers Weekly). Raider and Wasp have spent five years at Ironhall studying to become Blades, expert swordsmen whose talents stand unmatched. Magic both enhances the Blades’ fighting skills and binds them to lifelong duty. But when Raider and Wasp are selected to protect the king of Chivial himself, they refuse, an act unprecedented in the living history of the Blades. Now on the run for their “treasonous” act, the two gifted swordsmen must escape to the Fire Lands, where pirates, monsters, and mixed allegiances wait around every corner. As old hatreds and still fresh tragedies come to light, these young swashbucklers must confront both harsh truths from the past and a present swarming with their would be brothers at arms seeking vengeance and intending punishment.  Dave Duncan’s Lord of the Fire Lands serves as a splendid sequel and companion to his earlier book The Gilded Chain, and his later Tale of the King’s Blades Sky of Swords. Engaging and complex, it may be enjoyed as a standalone novel or in combination with the rest of the trilogy. Either way, readers are in for a smart, thrilling adventure that cuts like a knife.

Raider and Wasp have spent five years at Ironhall studying to become Blades, expert swordsmen whose talents stand unmatched. Magic both enhances the Blades' fighting skills and binds them to lifelong duty. But when Raider and Wasp are selected to protect the king of Chivial himself, they refuse, an act unprecedented in the living history of the Blades. Now on the run for their ';treasonous' act, the two gifted swordsmen must escape to the Fire Lands, where pirates, monsters, and mixed allegiances wait around every corner. As old hatreds and still fresh tragedies come to light, these young swashbucklers must confront both harsh truths from the past and a present swarming with their would be brothers at arms seeking vengeance and intending punishment.Dave Duncan'sLord of the Fire Landsserves as a splendid sequel and companion to his earlier bookThe Gilded Chain, and his later Tale of the King's BladesSky of Swords. Engaging and complex, it may be enjoyed as a standalone novel or in combination with the rest of the trilogy. Either way, readers are in for a smart, thrilling adventure that cuts like a knife.