Sword-Dancer
core novel 1986 Sword-Dancer
Record
| First published | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.99 (8,303 ratings, collected 2026-10-07) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780886771522 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
He was Tiger, the Sandtiger, born of the desert winds of the South, raised as a slave and winning his freedom and his name by killing the sandtiger that preyed on a tribe's children; now a legendary sword-dancer, a professional duellist for hire in the ritual circle, ready for any challenge if the price is right or the woman pretty enough. She was Del, born of ice and storm and trained by the greatest of the Northern sword masters, a sword-singer whose blade carries a magic of its own, come south across the Punja desert to find the brother who was carried into slavery when her family was slaughtered. Tiger, who does not believe a woman can be a sword-dancer, takes her on as a job, and the first novel, told in his sardonic voice, follows them across the desert's tribes, slavers and sorcerers.
Where it sits
- Universe: Sword-Dancer
- Series: Tiger and Del core; position 1 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 1 of 8: next Sword-Singer (1988)
Sources
← Sword-Dancer dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.