Customer Reviews

Sword-Dancer (Tiger and Del)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Tiger is the best sword-dancer in the whole south...but being the best can get old. So a new adventure is exactly what the Tiger needs...especially a new adventure that comes in the shape of a gorgeous blonde named Del.

Del is a sword-dancer from the North who has come south in search of her brother who was taken by slavers five years before. Tiger agrees to be Del's guide over the desert and to help her with her search. (Since she is gorgeous and making a few extra coins would not hurt.)

And thus begins an epic adventure that will bring Tiger and Del face to face with their greatest fears...and if they had known they would encounter cannibals, slavers, desert storms, and sandtigers (to name a few) on their journey as well, those would have certainly been on the greatest fears list.

This book has it all: adventure, danger, sword-play, mystery, fantasy, and perhaps even the beginning of a romance. Everything is told from Tiger's point of view...which is laugh out loud funny. I totally recommend this book.

I started this series in the middle, and after I finished the second book had to get the other three! It took me six months to find the first book, and I have to say it was worth the wait! It has lots of what I love to read: the characters grow and change, they aren't static and dull throughout the whole series. It's a love story, with each person having faults (realistically, you wouldn't expect two people to NEVER fight would you?) and bringing their own unique skills to the relationship. There's adventure, without too much dependence on magic. The hero isn't a wizard, nor is he perfect... which is what makes him realistic! Now I just HAVE to get the newest book... have been waiting for eight LONG years for another one, and was just about to conclude that it wouldn't happen! if you like your books to be Black and White, Good vs. Evil, where the weather is always perfect, the hero has no faults, and everything is wrapped up with a nice "And they all lived happily ever after." DON'T read this book! If you want your fantasy with realism, read it and enjoy!

At first I was wary of a book where a strong female (who can do "man's work") and a chauvanistic man were the main characters. But soon after starting Sword-Dancer, all thoughts of cliche and eye rolling were left behind.

Sandtiger (Tiger) and Delilah (Del) are two of the most richly painted and realistic fantasy characters in any novel out there. Not only that, the world around them, right down to the words used in the native language, is vibrantly detailed and so real as almost to be touched!

You want to join Del and Tiger on every quest they embark on, and you want to know more about the enigmatic Del, woman sword-dancer from the North...as well as Tiger, the slave who won his freedom in the South.

The best part is watching the two amazingly rich characters reach a compromise of sorts...Del's icy exterior begins to melt, and Tiger's stubborn machismo breaks down as he realizes Del's skill. The bond beginning to forge between Del and Tiger in the first novel in the series is one that strengthens, beats the test of time, romance, danger, competition, and aquivi (read it, you'll understand!).

This is an amazing beginning to a truly breathtaking series...it is DEFINITELY worth reading from the first page of Sword-Dancer to the last page of Sword-Sworn. And maybe you, like me, will even get a little misty-eyed when you have to part ways with a world as amazing as this.

I certainly enjoy whirlwind fantasy books, where long descriptions of identifying every leaf on every tree and going into great depth of everyone's outfits over and over again take a back seat to fast paced action. "Sword-Dancer" is definitely one of these action over substance books that seems to come up a bit short. The characters are overly cliched, especially Tiger, a typical male who often doesn't know what he wants. Try to get Del in bed or chase after all the other women in the book? Del - the mysterious woman of the north has been attempted to be put together as a strong female lead but comes across as being robotic and predictable. She's cold yes, but as the Sandtiger states in the novel itself, she doesn't have an EDGE... as soon as one event ends another begins, with very little time to breathe and even in the most impossible situations they manage to scoot by and get to the next area awaiting yet another confrontation and often another section where Tiger comes close to his death.

There's no dragons or other fantasy creatures and not very much magic or mystery either, Tiger is Del's hired sworddancer to get her to a desert town where she will supposedly find her brother. The whole book is based upon her not wanting to let go of this seemingly impossible quest, and halfway through the book I found myself just wanting them to find the guy and get it over with, as yet another ridiculous and farfetched situation was taking place. Even with all the drawbacks, I was enjoying it until they threw in Theron, a northernor who is hunting Del to challenge her to a sword dance. As they finally 'step into the circle' he's whisked away by the only true magical type creature to rear its head. It seemed little more than a plot device thrown in to pad the novel a bit. All was forgotten until the anti-climatic ending where I was hoping atleast Tiger would get the girl and all would be well, but no Theron shows back up again even more powerful this time (cliche cliche) and Sandtiger has to save Del's bacon. Finally its all over with, Tiger still doesn't get the girl, and there's a rough setup for the next part in what became a series.

Now, even though my review has been pretty much panning "Sword-Dancer" so far, I still must admit the novel was a nice diversion. It was light and fast paced (even though several parts were simply agonizing), and made for a quick read. Enjoyable in places, yes, but the ridiculous tacked on ending left me a little cold. Still, I don't regret reading it but don't expect anything with depth, because you will be extremely disappointed.

One can read this series from the viewpoint of social commentary on gender relations, heroic fantasy, or both. It speaks well for the author's talent that it succeeds in either category. Whatever you do, begin with this book, the first in the series, and read them in order.

The Tiger/Del relationship is notable for its complexity as well as the variety of interactions. To a certain extent, both are required to show some adaptiveness over time; one watches them learn and grow. As products of very different societies, we see their pre-existing cultural expectations giving way--obstinately--to the realities of life. It is impossible to miss the feminist statement that Del represents, but there is much more going on than just that.

If you could care less about sexual politics and just want to read about interesting characters in a richly detailed environment with a very high excitement level, you also came to the right series. While there is some obvious linguistic and cultural borrowing from medieval earth, it never detracts from the tale. It also has a delightful level of mature humour to keep matters lighthearted.

A must read.

The easiest way to sum up this review is to say I bought the next book in the series before I finished this one.

Sword Dancer is the first in a series of books about Tiger, the best sword dancer in the South, and Del, a driven woman who broke taboo to become a master sword dancer in the North. She hires him to guide her to a city far to the south in search of a kidnapped brother. Through plenty of good old-fashioned cliffhangers and revelations her quest is completed, although not necessarily as you'd expect. Along the way the relationship changes from employer/employee to companions. While nicely wrapped up, the climatic scene provides plenty of sequel fodder.

The story is told in first person by Tiger, like most men in the Arabian Nights style setting, can't imagine Del is actually a competent sword dancer until she proves him wrong. Even so he continues to slip back and forth between seeing her as another sword dancer and as a woman (a dichotomy many modern men might understand), leaving a sexist flavor to him. However, it is sexism of the pulp hero and not the woman hater. Del is more of a cipher with her closed mouth nature and single-mindedness.

While fulfilling all the pulp requirements and the expectations of 70s style "strong woman" fantasy novels a la early Tanith Lee or C. J. Cherryh there are some rough points. The slavery escape is a little too fantastic even by pulp standards, mainly in terms of villain stupidity (although no worse than the prison escape in the second Gor novel). The big problem, especially for some women readers, will be the climatic battle. While in story telling terms Roberson made the right choice it has lead to accusations of sexism. However, given events earlier in the novel this is more a case of looking at this one incident. Also, the charge ignores the key reason WHY Tiger has to intervene. Trying not to spoil it all I can say is pay attention to what puts Del at a disadvantage that Tiger doesn't have, it's not sex, it's magic.

These faults aside the novel was a fun quick read, delivering the pulp fantasy tale it promised. Tiger is especially engaging as a more modern and a little more believable version of the John Carter type. The desert as an enemy and the little gems left to fill the next five or six books are fun. The last scene reminds me of the end of C J Cherryh's classic Gate of Ivrel. All in all, a worthwhile read for those into this style of fantasy.

I've read the book *twice*. I can't help but break into grins and laughter as she presents situations. I love it. She (The author) is incredibly astute in her ability to present the male perspective. I can't tell you how many times I've made wife stop and listen to a paragraph or two. Jennifer - you the woman. :) I can't wait to read Sword Breaker and Sword Born.

Tiger and Del in this Sword Dancer series is a tale about two exceptional warriors having no respect for each other except for each other's prowess with the sword. This first book in the series begins with Del hiring Tiger, a living legend among swordsmen, to aid her as a guide in the deserts of the south as she searches for her brother. She is from the wintery north where swords are magically bound to its user. She has sworn to find and free her brother from slavery, and also to kill the slavers. In the course of their adventures animosity and mutual condescension becomes grudging respect, and, possibly, friendship. Of course there are lots of sword dancing, conventional battles, and confrontations with magic that will have you spinning through the pages and enjoying the thrilling ride.

Jennifer Roberson crafts exciting adventures that just happens to have fully developed main characters who you will grow to know like old friends. This book is different from novels where the emphasis is on either character relationships OR adventure. The stories of Tiger and Del balance both to the satisfaction for all readers. The story is told in the voice of Tiger. Some will love him, other readers will find him too full of himself. Yet, he is engaging, and too charming to resist the tale.

I have read the entire series and enjoy returning to the stories. If this is your first introduction to the author, Jennifer Roberson, you could not start at a better place.

The thing that really catches me about this book and the ones that follow it is the depth that is given to the characters. It is usually hard to find a series that focuses on the same characters all the way through without repeating itself. Del and Tiger both have so much mystery in their pasts that their growth is able to span the series easily. Roberson doesn't give away all their secrets at once but lets them grow slowly, giving us glimpses of their pasts and letting unsolved issues affect their present day actions. As a martial artist, I'm also always glad to find books with realistic fighting. The training and psychological side of the sword-dance is also very intriguing to me. A very intelligent, appealing story.

what can i say, the author (jennifer roberson) starts out the sword series on a superb and amazing note:) this book is absolutley outstanding! there is so much context and subcontext that you could read it over and over again and still want to read it again:) simply outstanding.

if you read this and like it, i suggest you try the other books in the series. they are all on par and simply show how awesome and powerful a writer jennifer roberson is. i give the entire series 4.75/5:)