A thief — a very good thief — named Malden is the star in David Chandler’s “The Ancient Blade Trilogy.” Book 1, Den of Thieves, began the series (released July 26, 2011) and now Book 2, A Thief in the Night, is set to reach stores September 27. Book 3, Honor Among Thieves, is due in December. Although I would like to, I haven’t yet had the chance to read the books myself, so I think the best way to clue you in is to let the publisher, Harper Collins (Voyager imprint) describe the books. Here are the official blurbs:

Den of Thieves, Book 1:

Croy is a knight errant, and bearer of an ancient blade with a powerful destiny. He’s also kind of, well, dim. He believes in honour. He believes that people are fundamentally good, and will do the right thing if you give them a chance. Unfortunately, Croy lives in the city of Ness. A thriving medieval city of fifty thousand people, none of whom are fundamentally even decent, and who will gleefully stab you in the back. If you give them a chance. Ness is also the home to Malden. Malden is a thief. He lives by his wits, disarming cunning traps, sneaking past sleeping guards, and running away very fast whenever people are trying to kill him. Which is often. One time Malden stole a crown. And then he had to steal it back to avoid a civil war. Croy go the credit, of course, because he’s a noble knight. Another time the two of them went into the tomb of an ancient warrior race, and Croy accidentally started a barbarian invasion. Guess who had to clean that up? They probably wouldn’t be friends at all if it wasn’t for Cythera. Cythera is a witch. A mostly good witch. And despite herself she can’t stop thieves and knights falling in love with her… At the same time.

A Thief in the Night, Book 2:

Circumstance made him a criminal. Destiny may make him a hero. As a thief, Malden is unparalleled in the Free City of Ness. But he has no desire to take up arms against the forces of horrific evil. By saving the life of the knight Croy, however, Malden has bound himself to an ancient, noble brotherhood… and he now possesses a magical weapon forged at the dawn of time — one of only seven swords capable of destroying demons. Malden fears accompanying Croy and the barbarian Morget on their quest to dispatch a foul creature of nightmare… nor does he want to disturb the vengeful dead. But with an assassin on his heels, the young cutpurse is left with no choice but to follow. And there is the comely sorceress, Cythera, to consider — promised to Croy but in love with Malden — not to mention the fabulous treasure rumoured to be waiting in the inescapable depths of the demon’s lair…

David Chandler also writes horror under the name David Wellington. If you’d like more info, you can visit the author’s web sites:

http://www.ancientblades.com/ and
http://www.davidwellington.net/

Have you read any of David Chandler’s books? If you have, I love to hear what you thought of them. If you haven’t, do they sound like something you’d be interested in?

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