Sword-Singer (Tiger and Del)

In this second volume of the series (you definitely need to have read the first in order to understand what's going on), Tiger, the Southron sword-dancer, follows his battle-comrade and bedmate, the striking female dancer Del, back to her Northern homeland to stand as her advocate when she faces the council of teachers in an attempt to justify having killed her own in order to take his spirit into her jivatma (blooded blade). She has one year to do this or be foresworn and declared outlaw, whom any Norherner may kill with impunity. Of course, the quest isn't easy. Tiger is still recovering from the aftereffects of his brief enslavement in the tanzeer Aladar's mine, and the weather seems determined to delay them even though Del knows the country well. Tiger inadvertantly releases some loki (apparently a kind of malevolent earth-spirit) from the magical circle that imprisons them, and a Borderer widow and her two children in need of protection and escort hold the pair up even further. Then they realize that they're being hunted by what Tiger christens the "hounds of hoolies"--doglike but clearly sorcerous beasts who seem to have a sinister interest in Del's sword Boreal.

What makes this book hold your attention is twofold: the developing relationship between Tiger and Del, who, having become lovers as well as comrades, are gradually settling into the practicalities of pairhood, trying to blend their differing views of what women can (or should) do and how Del can balance personhood with her quest to avenge her murdered family; and the picture we get of the North and its culture. As you read, you begin to understand more and more of the influences that shaped Del into the woman she is, just as the revelations of "Sword-Dancer," the first book, gives you an understanding of Tiger. Any fantasist needs to learn how to explain her world while still keeping the pace of her story intact, and Roberson succeeds very well in this. I wish that she had provided a map of the lands through which Del and Tiger travel, but that may just be me: I always like to be able to locate characters in space as well as time. In the end Tiger displays both his deep regard and loyalty for Del and the pragmatism of his training as a sword-dancer in a climactic conflict that made me immediately pull out the next book in the series to find out whether he'd really done what it looked like he had. A solid entry into a fantasy series that has become classic.

I have all the other books in this series on E-book but couldn't find this one so ordered it in paperback. Wonderful series - maybe not quite as good as Roberson's Cheysuli series, which are phenomenal, but very good.

The writer grabs your attention, and keeps it going with all the action. Very deep with personal emotional feelings of the characters.

I loved this book, it's an excellent story, without an ending. But the writer really does this all the way through the books. An excellent story line, with very few details to help you fully appreciate the story and the world in which it is set. When it comes to important, character changing events within the character's lives, she leaves out all details. It just makes it very difficult to get to know the characters, beyond the male/female conflict that unerringly crops up in every one of their conversations.
The story itself though is worth the three stars, an excellent storyline. I'll read the next book, I've already purchased it. But I want to see how the story ends. I just wish Tolkien or Jordan could tell it :P

The Tiger and Del novels fall into a category I've always enjoyed and sometimes miss. They're (nearly) pure fantasy adventure. Del and Tiger ride hither and yon together on their personal quests, encountering challenges, fighting enemies, bantering back and forth, and even when the storyline turns dark--as it does here, as it did in the first book--the stories aren't 'grimdark.' Fun, excitement, and humor balance suffering, despair, and the social message. These stories have an 80s-fantasy flavor I can't quite define, and make especially good reads if you like the stuff that was popular then.

You should read _Sword-Dancer_ before this one, because although the events of the previous book get loosely sketched, a lot of the charm of Tiger and Del's dynamic depends on having seen how they came to know and respect each other. These two make the series. I'd give the nod to Tiger as the better character in terms of entertainment value, but then he's starting at an advantage since he's the narrator; he's still a vivid portrayal of a good-humored man who thinks of himself as uncomplicated. Del is very broody, with reason, and they play well off each other. Tiger occasionally cuts through the Gordian knot of Del's angst, and Del makes Tiger do a little introspection now and then. In the meanwhile they ride around skewering things on their swords.

The clear-cut social message is one of women's equality. Tiger comes from a culture where women aren't very free and certainly don't wield weapons. Del far prefers the Northern way of life, as most of the readers might. I will say that I found the men-vs.-women arguments more contrived here than in the first book, but the intention is worthwhile.

The fly in the ointment is that after the end of the story I didn't like Del anymore--to the point where I don't know if I should keep reading the series. I still like Tiger plenty, but I'd find it so hard to forgive Del for her actions and justifications that I'm not sure I could enjoy seeing them travel on together. Even before the conclusion, she spent too much of the book being judgmental (though according to her she wasn't, not ever). She pushed Northern styles and Northern life on Tiger in a way that became sickening in hindsight. Roberson might be up to the task of rehabilitating her character, but I just don't know.

I doubt the next book in line would make any sense without reading this one, and it's a good trip, full of thought and action, so those who enjoyed _Sword-Dancer_ should pick it up regardless.

In this second volume in the superb fantasy series featuring sword-dancers Sandtiger and Delilah, the setting shifts from Tiger's desert stomping grounds to Del's wintery northern mountains. After finding her brother Jamail a willing slave to a Vashni tribal leader, Del must return to her homeland to Staal-Ysta, the Place of Swords. It is here that Del slew her own sword master in order to endow her magical sword with the power she need to complete her mission of vengeance. Accompanied by Tiger, Del must face the governing council to explain her actions and to face the consequences of her obsession with revenge and what it has cost her. As the pair travel farther and farther from Tiger's homeland, he is compelled to face the magic he would deny. For Tiger has a special affinity for magic that becomes critical to their survival when a mysterious force sends a pack of magical hounds to steal Del's jivatma, her powerful named blade. Even as he refuses to admit the existence of magic, Tiger must find a way to fight his unseen foe. But it is in Staal-Ysta that Tiger will face his most dangerous opponent in a betrayal that will threaten the lives of Tiger and Del. Del's obsession with getting back what she gave up persuades her to trade Tiger's freedom for a year with the daughter she has never known. Roberson has crafted a fast-paced magnificent novel that incorporates exciting action with deft character development. The reader and Tiger begin to understand the depths of Del's obsession and the price she has paid to transform herself into an avenging warrior. The book resonates with power and beauty.