Dave Duncan has 30 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 15 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 43 ratings. The most-rated is The Reluctant Swordsman.
The Reluctant Swordsman
Summary
Wallie Smith can feel the pain. He goes to the hospital, remembers the doctors and the commotion, but when he wakes up it all seems like a dream. However, if that was a dream how do you explain waking up in another body and in another world? Little Wallie finds himself in the physique of a barbarian swordsman, accompanied by both an eccentric priest babbling about the Goddess and a voluptuous slave girl. Is this a rude awakening or a dream come true? What in the world will Wallie do now that he's found himself stranded in a strange realm? Well it just so happens that the Goddess is in need of a swordsman. It won't be easy but if he succeeds he will have everything he wants. If he doesn't, things could get ugly. Wallie is reluctant but sees his chance. If only he had the faintest clue as to the adventure he is about to unleash! If only he could imagine the forces that will be out to vanquish him!
©1988 D.J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Magic Casement
Summary
Princess Inos lived an idyllic life in her fathers' sleepy, backwater kingdom, and she was best friends with her childhood companion, the stableboy, Rap. But when a prophecy seemed to say Inos should be married, she was exiled to the Impire to learn to be a lady. She was far away when Rap's magical talents began to emerge, and it was he who told her of the fate awaiting them both.
©1990 D.J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
The Coming of Wisdom
Summary
The Goddess had rescued Wallie Smith from certain death, endowed him with a magnificent new body, and gifted him with the legendary Sapphire Sword of Chioxin. She asked only one service in return.... So Wallie became the Goddess' champion - and promptly found himself on the losing side in a battle against magics far beyond any the priests of the Goddess could hope to summon. After eons of exile, sorcerers walked the World again, claiming lands and souls for their Fire God. Wallie quickly found that swords were no match for spells - and how could mere mortals prevail against the powers of magic?
©1988 D.J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Emperor and Clown
Summary
The loyal stableboy Rap had fought through hell and high water to rescue Inos, his queen. But once he did, he found that she had already married the accursed Sultan Azak, who had despoiled her beauty. As Inos follows her destiny, and Azak his, Rap awaits his fate at the hands of torturers....
©1991 D.J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
The Destiny of the Sword
Summary
Wallie Smith had been dying on another world when the Goddess transferred his mind to the body of the barbarian swordsman Shonsu. Then She gave him the great, magical Sapphire Sword of Chioxin and sent him on a mission. All he had to do was to lead the arrogant band of swordsmen to destroy the sorcerers and their Fire God. Now Wallie discovered that he'd already tried it - and been hopelessly defeated. A few complications cropped up. Wallie's reputation was in tatters. His best friend and pupil was apparently planning to betray him. And if he won, he would doom all hope of progress and learning in this World of the Goddess - doom the Goddess Herself. It made an interesting kind of riddle. All he had to do was find the solution - and survive, if he could!
©1988 D.J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Perilous Seas
Summary
Queen Inos was badly shaken. Loyal, trustworthy Rap, who was supposed to have died, appeared to her. With this as a sign, Inos knew that she would serve her people, no matter what. But Rap was alive, and he would do whatever he could to help, even as his life took a turn for the worse....
©1991 D.J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Faery Lands Forlorn
Summary
Inos, the late king's daughter, had been kidnapped through the magic casement even as the Impish legions overrunning her tiny kingdom were storming the castle tower. Now she was a prisoner in a desert land ruled by a dockside whore with a talent for magic and a passion for politics. She little dreamed that the loyal stableboy Rap had jumped through the casement after her. But no one really knew how the magic worked, and Rap found himself not in a desert, but in the steaming jungles of Faerie - half a world away from Inos! Rap was determined to rescue his beloved queen, and nothing could stop him - not even the monsters and headhunters of Faerie, or the paranoid machinations of an evil sorcerer....
©1991 D.J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
The Death of Nnanji
Summary
Those who read and enjoyed the original three-volume series, The Seventh Sword, will remember that the original trilogy presents a series of surprising endings, especially in the third volume. In order to avoid spoilers, the author has chosen to skirt some issues central to those volumes in the description for this new, original and additional volume which follows the original series publications by well over a decade. New readers may wish to start with The Reluctant Swordsman, The Seventh Sword 1; The Coming of Wisdom, The Seventh Sword 2 and The Destiny of the Sword, The Seventh Sword 3, before starting on this brand-new adventure set in the world of The Seventh Sword. The Reluctant General For 15 years the truce has held. Swordsmen of the Tryst of Casr have kept the peace and extended the rule of law over half the World, but now sorcerers have started killing swordsmen again, and swordsmen traitors are aiding them. Shonsu-who was Wallie Smith before he became a swordsman of the seventh rank and liege lord of the Tryst-must once more gird on the seventh sword of Chioxin, and this time he rides out to fight the war that he hoped would never come. As he leads his army forth, its two most junior members are Vixini, son of Shonsu, and Addis, son of Nnanji, who has an oath of vengeance to fulfill. Their failure or success will determine the fate of the World for the next thousand years.
©2012 Dave Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Future Indefinite
Summary
Edward Exeter assumes the mantle of Liberator in the strange, alternate world called Nextdoor - a far-flung outpost of British imperialism where earthborn mortals possess the powers of gods. His decision has made him the target of betrayals and murderous plots. But Exeter has learned the Game well in his short time in Nextdoor and he plays it boldly to its unexpected, worlds-shattering conclusion.
©1997 Dave Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Gilded Chain
Summary
As unwanted and rebellious boys, they find refuge in Ironhall.... Years later, they emerge as the finest swordsmen in the realm - a magical ritual of a sword through the heart binds each to his ward - if not the king himself, then to whomever else the monarch designates - with absolute loyalty. And the greatest Blade of them all was - and is - Sir Durendal. But a lifelong dream of protecting his beloved liege from enemies, traitors, and monsters is dashed to bits when Durendal is bonded till death to an effete noble fop at his king's orders. Yet destiny has many strange and inscrutable plans for the young knight - for a mission, a contest, and, perhaps, a treasure await him in a faraway land. But he soon finds himself enmeshed in treason and foul intrigues, compelled to betray the king he had hoped to serve. The Blades have ways to protect their own, but death and madness haunt the path to salvation - and few ever return unscathed.
©1999, 2019 Katanji Arts Inc. (P)2019 Katanji Arts Inc.
Past Imperative
Summary
In a world on the brink of madness...In the summer of 1914, a young man beyond reproach awakens under police guardgrievously injured and accused of heinous, impossible murder.And in a strange, distant place...The youngest member of a penniless acting troupe has been taken prisoner by the loyal minions of a corrupt, vengeful goddess. For an ancient prophecy has divided the realm's ruling Deities into warring factions -- a prophecy thatmentions the crippled captive child ... and a youth recovering from inexplicable wounds in a British hospital bed.The Game weaves through worlds and dimensions as it has since time immemorial -- a deadly contest of skill and manipulations thatruthlessly creates wizards, destroys human pawns...and trans transforms ordinary men, women and children into something more.The great game of gods is afoot.
©1995 Dave Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Ironfoot
Summary
Medieval magic, murder, and mayhem! It is 1164, and for a hundred years England has been ruled by the Normans. A young Saxon boy named Durwin, crippled by a childhood accident, had caught the eye of a Norman sage teaching at a rural school of magic. Realizing that the boy had promise, Durwin was made stable boy, and eventually allowed to attend classes. Now twenty, Durwin is proficient enough that he is assigned to teach, but the other sages refuse to promote him and he is hassled by the Norman juniors for his disability. But those troubles turn out to be the least of his worries when he manages to corrects errors in an ancient corrupted spell, which promptly prophesies murder. Sure enough, word soon reaches the school that one of the local count's house sage has died, perhaps slain by black magic. Durwin is whisked away to the family's castle, only to find that one death was only the beginning. The young sage quickly learns of a dizzying plot to assassinate King Henry. Dropped into the middle of the complex politics of England's royal courts, can Durwin stop them in time?
©2017 Dave Duncan (P)2017 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Upland Outlaws
Summary
The old Imperor was dead at last. His popular soldier grandson, known as Shandie, had succeeded him... Hadn't he? No, he hadn't. The man who sat the opal throne was not Shandie, but an illusion created by the mad dwarf, Xinixo. Year after year he had stealthily been enchanting sorcerers, turning them into loyal minions. Now, wielding their combined power, he was irresistible. He ruled the Impire, so he ruled the world. He would continue to rule it for centuries. Anyone who knew the truth or opposed him in any way, he would destroy or enslave. That especially included his old enemy, King Rap of Krasnegar. And Shandie, the rightful Imperor, of course. And all their supporters, their friends, their families. All of them! First he had to catch them. With his infinite magic, that ought to be easy. Rap and Shandie had other ideas, but even they could see that, their cause looked hopeless.
©1993 D. J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Shadow
Summary
Sald Harl would like nothing more than to soar on the wings of his noble eagle, but his youthful rides in the sky are cut short by an appointment to guard the prince. Sald watches his dreams of flight fade with his name and independence as he takes over his bodyguard duties. During a perilous journey to the edges of the kingdom a dark secret comes to life. Now the great Prince Shadow is accused of treason, and Sald must orchestrate a desperate plan of escape or he will lose the one thing he has been ordered to defend. His only option of freedom is a dangerous flight that no one has ever survived. Once again Sald hopes to feel the freedom of soaring though the air unshackled from servitude.
©1987 Dave Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Present Tense
Summary
A masterful world-builder and award-winning fantasist nonpareil, Dave Duncan carries us through the hidden portals that link two war-wounded worlds...into a miraculous realm where mortals become gods.The Great Game is afoot! In the midst of the horror of the first World War, a stranger falls from nowhere into the mud and death of the Flanders battlefield - bruised, babbling, and stark naked...with a remarkable story to tell. Wrongly accused murderer Edward Exeter has reappeared on this Earth hearing scars and secrets. From somewhere he calls next door - a place old godly intrigues and an ancient prophecy that he wants no part of. But powerful forces on both sides of a mystical border have other plans for the young fugitive. And now, in the company of loyal comrades, he must flee murderous pursuers from two separate worlds. But there is no escape from his destiny. For Exeter has obligations to the past and the future that must be met...if myriad civilizations are to survive.
©1996 Dave Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
The Stricken Field
Summary
Paranoid but almighty, the sorcerer Xinixo had seized control of the Impire. But ruling the imps and most of the world was not enough. He would never feel safe until he was universally loved, so he would smash everything and then rebuild the whole world in his own insane image. Who could resist him? King Rap of Krasnegar and Shandie, the rightful Imperor, were still at large and determined to resist the evil, however slender their chances. Their one, faint hope was to enlist the help of the remaining free sorcerers of the world, those not already spellbound by Xinixo. Their quest soon ran into disaster. Their messengers were betrayed or ensnared. A rampaging goblin army had captured Shandie and was about to torture him to death. Rap was mired in tropical jungle, hoping his wife and children were safe, back home in Krasnegar. They were not in Krasnegar and certainly not safe. As the flames of war raged across Pandemia, news of the disasters penetrated even into Thume, the Accursed Land. Outsiders believed that the pixies had been extinct for a thousand years, but they still lived there, hoarding their magic. Their ruler, the Keeper, adamantly refused to meddle in events outside her borders, but one young pixie girl was prepared to rebel against the ancient order.
©1993 D. J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
The Cursed
Summary
The world was desperate. Since the empire had fallen a hundred years ago, Gwin and her people had nearly given up hope that the Renewer would come. Gwin had lost everything. Her husband was killed in one of the wars. Her children died of Star Sickness. Even her work at the hostel was in jeopardy because the politicians had it out for her. The cursed Gwin, therefore, had nothing to lose. When she took in the girl, a survivor of the Star Sickness, it was a dreadful crime. Gwin was at the end of her rope, and possibly the end of her life if she was found out. But the Sickness had left the girl with certain magic, certain powers which could prove very useful to them both. Was it possible that this young survivor could save their lives and the empire? Was a new life for Gwin and her world finally at hand?
©1995 D. J. Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Speak to the Devil
Summary
A new adventure of brotherhood and magic from beloved fantasist Dave Duncan. In the Kingdom of Jorgary, the days of feudal chivalry are fading as national armies are formed. But Ottokar Magnus is still baron, and his host of brothers include Anton, an ambitious young soldier, and Wulfgang, an amiable teenager. Unable to seek his fortune as a knight errant, Anton has enlisted with the royal Jorgarian hussars and taken Wulf along as his servant. There is magic in Jorgary, but it is regarded as Satanism, rituals performed by Speakers who are in contact with the Devil. The Speakers, though, believe that the Voices they hear belong to saints. Anton is not a Speaker...but Wulf is. Anxious to impress the court, Anton exhibits spectacular horsemanship at a royal hunt, with a little boost from Wulf. Two nights later he is dragged before Cardinal Zdenek, the king’s chief minister. Zdenek offers him an earldom and anything else he could dream of if he will ride at once to a strategic fortress at Cardice and take command there. The count and his son have died, victims of both treason and witchcraft. The cardinal thinks that neighboring enemies are preparing to invade, using "modern" arms to capture the fort. Mortal resources alone will not suffice, but Zdenek knows that Anton’s improbable jump at the hunt was aided by supernatural power. Anton wants nothing to do with this mission, but Wulf’s Voices tell him that they should accept the charge. The result is a harrowing ride through limbo with astonishing results.
©2010 Dave Duncan (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
Queen of Stars
Summary
Rigel has found a new home and new love in the Starlands, the magical realm responsible for his half-human, half-elfin heritage. But despite ridding the kingdom of horrific monsters and using his unequaled swordsmanship to help a new queen ascend to the throne, he has no time to savor these early victories. He’s been warned that if he remains in the Starlands much longer, his death is more than just likely - it’s inevitable. Now a deposed prince plots Queen Talitha’s ruin from the shadows while sending numerous assassins to claim Rigel’s life. Even worse, if Rigel and Talitha ever consummate their growing passion, it will only hasten the hero’s demise. Yet Rigel refuses to be cowed by visions of doom. With enemies closing in on all sides and traitors already in their midst, he and Talitha risk all to secure lasting peace in the kingdom...but will the cost prove too high?
©2013 Dave Duncan. P 2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
Against the Light
Summary
The Hierarchy, high priests of the religious order the Light, rules both the magical kingdom of Albi and its religion. Worshippers in the old ways of the Earth Mother, clandestinely scattered throughout the land, are persecuted as heretics. And when missionary student Rollo Woodbridge returns to his home in Albi, he is arrested for heresy and treason, setting off a chain of events that puts everyone’s life in jeopardy and plunges the kingdom into chaos. With Rollo in jail, the treacherous motives of the Hierarchy begin in earnest as Earl Uptree of Norcaster puts the entire Woodbridge family at risk. When two wise women rescue Rollo from prison, the family home is destroyed—but Rollo and his siblings are left alive. While his sister Maddy and his brother Brat swear vengeance, Rollo attempts to broker a peace between the faiths. While Maddy works her way into advantageous positions and Brat joins the underground resistance, Rollo tries desperately to save his kingdom’s future. As plots weave inexorably toward one another and life and death hang in the balance, the family must decide whether to stay and fight or leave Albi forever in the suspenseful, action-packed Against the Light.
©2012 Dave Duncan (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.