Sword-Dancer

A fun, light, popcorn fantasy, Sword-Dancer is almost entirely character-driven, revolving around the relationship between the two main characters. Tiger is extremely annoying in the beginning - he’s completely dismissive of Del and women in general. But I started to warm up to Tiger towards the end as circumstances force him to grow up. Overall, Sword-Dancer is an entertaining, lightning-fast read. It won’t satisfy those who read fantasy for the worldbuilding or intricate plots, but it's a fun story if you enjoy the lighter side of sword and sorcery.

I read Sword Dancer (an much of the rest of the series) when it first came out and can't believe I left it off my list. The world that Roberson created was so vivid for me, the rhythm so magical. The story of Tiger and Del was so riveting. Might be time to re-read this one!

I did want to say that I really soured on the author when I made the mistake of reading her political views in one of the authors notes. I read plenty of authors with whom I disagree politically or civilly, but I remember feeling like I had been personally singled out as bigoted. I haven't picked up a Tiger and Del book since, which is terribly unfair to Roberson. I was almost certainly over-sensitive at the time I read the commentary, but it did cement a powerful show more lesson in my mind. Political views should be in the context of the story or in blogs, but when they are linked through the fourth wall in a book, they somehow carry greater gravity.

Time to go back and reread that one, to - if only to see what it was that made such a strong impression. show less

Sword-Dancer is the story of Sandtiger, a famous Southron sword-dancer, who is hired by a Northern woman to guide her through the fierce desert to rescue her brother, a slave in the South. This woman, Delilah, or Del is a sword-singer who is as good as Tiger, and this grates on Tiger's Southron ideas.

This series had been in my to-read stash for decades and I finally pulled it out last week. I had originally bought the books because I enjoyed the author's short stories about these characters in fantasy fiction magazines. It was slow getting into, but picked up mid-way through. The narrating character's over-use of the author's made up oaths went beyond annoying before I was through the first chapter though and was a major dislike keeping the rating from going any higher.

Swordplay, magic and lots and lots of sand interplay in this quest/adventure of two sword dancers to find a kidnapped boy and retribution. This is a story I really enjoyed. I liked both Del, the strong and aloof Northern (i.e. icy and cold) woman and Tiger, the Southern (i.e. desert and hot) mercenary she hires to guide her across and inhospitible and deadly land. The interplay between the characters was well done and there was plenty of action to get the plot moving. Although it would really be nice to see a bit from Del's POV, Tiger was a very engaging storyteller.

I'm certainly looking forward to reading more of this series and finding out where Del's quest brings them next.

It is a decent sword-and-sandals fantasy. The narrator (Tiger, the sword dancer) can get a little annoying with his machismo. The author made up swear words for her characters (hoolies instead of hell, and the like) much like the frak of BSG, and that can get a little annoying because the main character is always using them. Having read the series before, it wasn't quite as good the second time through, but I also remember the later books being better.

This book's German edition "Schwerttänzer" was one of my favourites 10 years ago. I picked it up again last week and noticed that my taste has changed since then.

Del is a Northern woman trying to find her brother who was abducted 5 years ago and sold into slavery. She hires a Southern sword dancer, Sandtiger, to help in her quest. Together, they travel through the deadly desert of the South and master many troubles.

I still liked Del's character: her stubbornness and her desire to stay on course, no matter the difficulties. I also liked the last part of the story, where Tiger is forced to re-live his childhood - this forces him to express his feelings to an extend unlike the first 2/3 (or so) of the book, and so in the end his character show more becomes more accessible.

On the other hand, I did not really like the story: woman looking for her enslaved brother, North against South, men fighting with swords which women are not supposed to do... not that original. The magical swords are promising but appear too seldom in this first volume of the series to really make a difference. Furthermore, the story basically is about the characters travelling from Point A through the desert to Point B, and the dangers of the desert sometimes seem to act only as a way to lengthen the story.
Apart from Del, who is fleshed out through her way of acting, the characters mostly remain stereotypes: the strong, almost-invincible swordsman, the evil slaver, the barbaric desert people.

Sad to say, the book did not live up to my expectations any more. show less