This is a pretty well written swashbuckling type story with a little bit of everything thrown in. With that said it really wasn't my type of read so I didn't finish it. I don't want to discourage others however, I am just too picky perhaps. ( )

When Queen Malinda of Chivial comes to Ironhall to bind her first Blades after her accession, she only calls for half a dozen. Sir Niall, the next in line after those six, can't see why she doesn't take a score or so; there are more than enough Seniors who should have been bound long ago, if only King Ambrose had been well enough to do it. He's appalled to find out the reason: He has been recommended for a secret mission as an unbound Blade, sworn to the Queen's service but without the magical binding ritual, to spy on the Marquis of Thencaster, the Queen's closest male relative, just in case anybody's thinking of overthrowing her in favor of a man.

The great thing about the Tales of the King's Blades is that they have room for every kind of story; this one is a spy story as well as a swashbuckler, a murder mystery, and a romance that surprised me in the best way. This series is my favorite of Dave Duncan's body of work, and while this book probably isn't the best of the series, it was still rollicking good fun. ( )