Sword-Born
core novel 1998 Sword-Dancer
Record
| First published | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.06 (3,030 ratings, collected 2026-10-07) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780886777760 |
| Internal chronology | 5 |
Synopsis
Exiled from both the North and the South, Southron sword-dancer Tiger and Northern sword-singer Del set sail to search for Tiger's homeland, the place he was born before he was raised a slave, and find themselves on Skandi, an island whose people have Tiger's colouring and whose ruling families trade in magic as well as goods. Among the Skandic metri, the matriarchs who govern the island, Tiger is claimed as the lost heir of a great house, and the question of who he is, raised and dropped through four books, is finally asked in earnest. Written seven years after Sword-Breaker, the fifth novel sends the pair into a new sea-going world of ships, volcanoes and the island's mages, while the sword-dancers of the South still hold their oath to kill Tiger for his broken vows.
Where it sits
- Universe: Sword-Dancer
- Series: Tiger and Del core; position 5 of 8 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Jennifer Roberson
Notes
- From the series record (Tiger and Del): Jennifer Roberson's Sword-Dancer saga (1986-), told in the sardonic voice of Tiger, the Sandtiger, a Southron sword-dancer, and following his partnership with Del, a Northern sword-singer: duels in the ritual circle, souls bound into blades, and the long question of Tiger's origins. Six novels published 1986-2002 as a complete arc, then two more (2013, 2022) with a ninth mentioned.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series Tiger and Del: position 5 of 8: previous Sword-Breaker (1991) · next Sword-Sworn (2002)
Sources
← Sword-Dancer dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.