SWORD-DANCER SAGA

The Sword-Dancer saga is a series of six books, authored by Jennifer Roberson. The two main charactors are both sword-dancers, and they make the books quite interesting with the two of them together. I really recommend this series, there is both humor and drama intermingled in these books. You might be reading these for awhile seeing as there are six books, all decent size. Don't worry, they aren't as large as The Wheel of Time.

Summaries

SWORD-DANCER

He was Tiger, born of the desert winds, raised as a slave and winning his freedom by weaving a special kind of magic with a warrior's skill. Now he was an almost legendary sword-dancer, ready to take on any challenge- if the price was right... or the woman pretty enough.
She was Del, born of ice and storm, trained by the greatest of Northern sword masters. Now, her ritual training completed, and steeped in the special magic of her own runesword, she had come South in search of the younger brother stolen five years before.
But even Del could not master all the dangers of the deadly Punja alone. And meeting Del, Tiger could not turn back from the most intriguing challenge he'd ever faced- the challenge of the magical, mysterious sword-dancer of the North...

SWORD-SINGER

Sword-Singer once again unites Del and Tiger--she among the greatest of Northern sword masters, he a Southron warrior of legendary skills--on a new and perilous journey into the North, to the Place of Swords, where Del must submit to trial-by-combat for the slaying of her sword-master.

SWORD-MAKER

Sword-sworn to track down the hounds of hoolies, yet inescapably haunted by his memories of Del, Tiger, now master of Northern and Southron sword skills, is relentlessly following the trail which will lead him to Ysaa-den. Yet before him wait perils far deadlier than any hounds. For in Ysaa-den he is hailed as a champion come to stop the force which has been wreaking destruction upon the villagers, a force which many claim is a dragon of unimaginable strength.
As the trail of hounds and "draon" now seem intertwined, Tiger has no choice but to climb the mountain to the place known as Dragon's Lair. And it is here that he comes face to face with a challenge which may prove beyond even the mastery of Southron and Northern sword magic- the challenge of Chosa Dei, a wizard out of legend with the power to unmake all that opposes him...


SWORD-BREAKER

Accused of murdering a man the Southron tribes believe to be their messiah, but who is actually the slayer of Del's family, Tiger and Del flee across the deadly Punnja desert, hunted by religious zealots and sword-dancer assassins. But evading death by assassins' blades is only one of the challenges they face. For Tiger's sword, Samiel, has been possessed by the spirit of the deadly sorcerer, Chosa Dei- a wizard out of legend with the power to unmake the entire world, a master of evil who seeeks to mold Tiger into his ultimate weapon of destruction.
Tiger and Del have only one hope left- to find and gain the help of Chosa Dei's equally powerful counterpart and sworn enemy, Shaka Obre. But Shaka Obre has not been seen in the world for hundreds of years, and it may be beyond even the combined magical abilities of Tiger and Del to find this wizard who is their only chance for salvation...


SWORD-BORN

In the three years since Tiger and Del's fateful meeting, these mismatched companions have become true partners, their alliance forged by blood, magic, danger, adventure, and something more.
Exiled from both the North and the South, the two have now set sail to search for Tiger's homeland- but no journey is ever without complications for Tiger and Del. Shipwrecked, nearly drowned, abducted by pirates, bedeviled by magic, the Southron sword-dancer and the Northern sword-singer finally do arrive at their destination.
But before the mystery of his origins can be solved, Tiger must face another truth about himself which may prove more dangerous than any sword-dance. His own personal brand of magic, long denied by Tiger, is finally manifesting. And because of its very uniqueness, Tiger's awakening power may prove his undoing!


SWORD-SWORN

The Final Novel of Tiger and Del
Though still a fugitive in the only land he has ever called home, nonetheless Tiger is determined to take up the calling of his now-dead shodo, and resurrect the legendary fighting school where he and many other sword-dancers learned their skills.
But as Tiger and Del fight for survival among enemies who were once friends, Tiger's long dormant power begins to assert itself. He falls victim to visions he cannot dismiss, dreams of a dead woman luring him into the crystal sands of the Punja, the South's most treacherous desert. "Find me," she bids him, "and take up the sword."
Initially Tiger rebels, refusing the siren song of his dreams. But at last, helpless to deny the compulsion in his own blood, Tiger must accept his magic and his fate. Yet can he avoid paying the terrible price that they threaten to extract?


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Everything associated with the Sword Dancer Saga is Jennifer Roberson's.