This problem is taken care of about two-thirds of the way through the book, and another problem, dealing with Del's murdered family and her former training facility in the North, is introduced. Those have combined (rather uncomfortably) with his own inborn magic, and the underling of the wizard dispatched in the previous book now wants them back. In the last book, to save Del and his daughter Sula, Tiger reactivated his magic sword Samiel and ended up swallowing several pages of a magical grimoire. This book's plot meanders quite a bit, and seems to be there mainly for setting up the next book. Both have grown considerably since the first book, separately and together. In the first book, Sword-Dancer, Tiger was frankly a sexist pig, and Del was so set on gaining revenge for her murdered family (and also for her own rape the first book unfortunately dips into the rape/revenge trope that was popular back then) that she was quite ruthless and cruel. Tiger and Del, our titular sword-bearers, are two of the richest, most well-developed characters in fantasy.

I'm sure the series has some dedicated fans, and I am one of them. The first book in this series came out (checks calendar mouth falls open) 36 years ago. Yet even as Tiger learns more about his gifts, Del comes face to face with the daughter she left behind so many years before.įans of Roberson’s bestselling series should enjoy this wildest of rides alongside the Sandtiger and Delilah. Now, with the world around them falling victim to a malignant Northern-born magic, Tiger gathers Del and his adult son, Neesha, to end the magic threatening the world-and discovers, along the journey, yet another element of magecraft within himself. He is constantly challenged to death-dances where rules, and oaths, no longer apply. By doing so, he made himself a target of men formerly his colleagues, now sworn enemies. Death-dances are few and far between the goal is simply to win within the confines of “the circle.”īut Tiger is an outcast, a man who attained the highest level of achievement at the training school he attended faster than anyone before him, only to voluntarily break all oaths in order to save Del. Tiger and Del have settled into semi-retirement to raise their daughter, establishing a school for those who wish to become sword-dancers, part of a highly ritualized rite in which specially trained sword-fighters are hired to settle feuds among rich and powerful desert princes. Sword-Bearer marks a return to the vivid world of Jennifer Roberson’s highly popular Sword-Dancer saga, featuring iconic characters Tiger-the South’s most famous and gifted sword-dancer-and Del, a Northern-born woman and expert sword-singer. A return to the vivid fantasy world of the highly popular Sword-Dancer saga, featuring iconic characters Tiger and Del.

Sword bearer jennifer roberson