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Most Helpful Favorable Review
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Del is awesome
I am so happy I read this book. Del is my favorite character, all about women's rights in a violent way. Don't worry if you think Tiger is annoying now, he gets much better as you read the series.
posted by Anonymous on March 24, 2005
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2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Decent for VERY light reading, if you can overlook the author's shortcomings.
I knew going into this that the Sword-Dancer books were light sword-and-sorcery reading. I was prepared for minimal world-building, cursory character building, and purple prose. But what totally threw me at the start of this book was that Roberson seems to know absolute...
I knew going into this that the Sword-Dancer books were light sword-and-sorcery reading. I was prepared for minimal world-building, cursory character building, and purple prose. But what totally threw me at the start of this book was that Roberson seems to know absolutely nothing about how to survive in the desert. The entire novel is a desert trek, and yet the two main characters set off with a little dried meat in their bags and a couple of waterskins on a moment's notice. Apparently this is a desert where waterholes and oases are only a day or two apart, but Tiger spends a lot of time talking about how sometimes wells are fouled, and sandstorms come up in a moment, and there are all these dangerous animals that can lay you low, and no time at all preparing for any of those dangers. If a seasoned trekker is going off into a desert that dangerous, he rides a camel (by the way, where were the camels? it was definitely supposed to be the Arabian desert) if he's not in a major rush and he brings along at least one extra in case his animal goes lame and to carry extra supplies. He should have a small tent he can pitch around himself to provide some protection from a sandstorm. He should have a heck of a lot more water and food. It would have been one thing if the idiotic Northerner had tried to go into the desert with no preparation, but for the supposed world-wise Southerner to do it completely ruined my faith in the author's ability to handle her own world.
Del's character was also problematic for me at the very opening. She has supposedly spent five years training herself for this mission, but she is unwilling to wait a day (or an hour) to properly prepare herself for a dangerous journey through the desert? Those are incompatible world views. She should be patient after spending so much time breaking down cultural barriers in the north, and she exhibits no patience at all in the novel. With the decisions she made (or wanted to make) she should have died almost immediately having come nowhere near achieving her object for simple lack of foresight.
Because Roberson lost me so early on, I spent a great deal of time looking for other inconsistencies. For instance, the desert seems Arabian, and some of the tribes seem Bedouin or Arabic, but heaven is called Valhail (and sounds quite a bit like Valhalla when it is mentioned) and all the terms related to sword fighting seem drawn from Japanese culture. I don't mind authors picking and choosing things they like from world cultures, but if they aren't cultures that naturally mingle in our world, the terms should be disguised quite a bit more so that an average reader doesn't detect the source material. That sort of thing I might have overlooked if Roberson had my trust, but since she handled her desert so poorly I wasn't willing to extend her any credit on those accounts.
I did make it through the novel; it read quickly, and it was pretty much as I expected. But every time things were moving along decently well and Roberson was rebuilding my suspension of disbelief she would do something else that revealed her lack of control over her novel: the characters would act inconsistently, or some aspect of the world would get lost that was set up earlier, or a passage of time would be handled badly. By the time the climax was reached, I still didn't like either of the main characters and I didn't care what happened to them next. There are much better books for a light afternoon of reading.
Del's character was also problematic for me at the very opening. She has supposedly spent five years training herself for this mission, but she is unwilling to wait a day (or an hour) to properly prepare herself for a dangerous journey through the desert? Those are incompatible world views. She should be patient after spending so much time breaking down cultural barriers in the north, and she exhibits no patience at all in the novel. With the decisions she made (or wanted to make) she should have died almost immediately having come nowhere near achieving her object for simple lack of foresight.
Because Roberson lost me so early on, I spent a great deal of time looking for other inconsistencies. For instance, the desert seems Arabian, and some of the tribes seem Bedouin or Arabic, but heaven is called Valhail (and sounds quite a bit like Valhalla when it is mentioned) and all the terms related to sword fighting seem drawn from Japanese culture. I don't mind authors picking and choosing things they like from world cultures, but if they aren't cultures that naturally mingle in our world, the terms should be disguised quite a bit more so that an average reader doesn't detect the source material. That sort of thing I might have overlooked if Roberson had my trust, but since she handled her desert so poorly I wasn't willing to extend her any credit on those accounts.
I did make it through the novel; it read quickly, and it was pretty much as I expected. But every time things were moving along decently well and Roberson was rebuilding my suspension of disbelief she would do something else that revealed her lack of control over her novel: the characters would act inconsistently, or some aspect of the world would get lost that was set up earlier, or a passage of time would be handled badly. By the time the climax was reached, I still didn't like either of the main characters and I didn't care what happened to them next. There are much better books for a light afternoon of reading.
posted by PhoenixFalls on August 18, 2009
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Decent for VERY light reading, if you can overlook the author's shortcomings.
I knew going into this that the Sword-Dancer books were light sword-and-sorcery reading. I was prepared for minimal world-building, cursory character building, and purple prose. But what totally threw me at the start of this book was that Roberson seems to know absolutely nothing about how to survive in the desert. The entire novel is a desert trek, and yet the two main characters set off with a little dried meat in their bags and a couple of waterskins on a moment's notice. Apparently this is a desert where waterholes and oases are only a day or two apart, but Tiger spends a lot of time talking about how sometimes wells are fouled, and sandstorms come up in a moment, and there are all these dangerous animals that can lay you low, and no time at all preparing for any of those dangers. If a seasoned trekker is going off into a desert that dangerous, he rides a camel (by the way, where were the camels? it was definitely supposed to be the Arabian desert) if he's not in a major rush and he brings along at least one extra in case his animal goes lame and to carry extra supplies. He should have a small tent he can pitch around himself to provide some protection from a sandstorm. He should have a heck of a lot more water and food. It would have been one thing if the idiotic Northerner had tried to go into the desert with no preparation, but for the supposed world-wise Southerner to do it completely ruined my faith in the author's ability to handle her own world.
Del's character was also problematic for me at the very opening. She has supposedly spent five years training herself for this mission, but she is unwilling to wait a day (or an hour) to properly prepare herself for a dangerous journey through the desert? Those are incompatible world views. She should be patient after spending so much time breaking down cultural barriers in the north, and she exhibits no patience at all in the novel. With the decisions she made (or wanted to make) she should have died almost immediately having come nowhere near achieving her object for simple lack of foresight.
Because Roberson lost me so early on, I spent a great deal of time looking for other inconsistencies. For instance, the desert seems Arabian, and some of the tribes seem Bedouin or Arabic, but heaven is called Valhail (and sounds quite a bit like Valhalla when it is mentioned) and all the terms related to sword fighting seem drawn from Japanese culture. I don't mind authors picking and choosing things they like from world cultures, but if they aren't cultures that naturally mingle in our world, the terms should be disguised quite a bit more so that an average reader doesn't detect the source material. That sort of thing I might have overlooked if Roberson had my trust, but since she handled her desert so poorly I wasn't willing to extend her any credit on those accounts.
I did make it through the novel; it read quickly, and it was pretty much as I expected. But every time things were moving along decently well and Roberson was rebuilding my suspension of disbelief she would do something else that revealed her lack of control over her novel: the characters would act inconsistently, or some aspect of the world would get lost that was set up earlier, or a passage of time would be handled badly. By the time the climax was reached, I still didn't like either of the main characters and I didn't care what happened to them next. There are much better books for a light afternoon of reading.2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted January 15, 2007
Wonderful!
This story has a great plot and wonderful, realistic characters. There is an interesting relationship between Tiger and Del thats fun to watch. Tiger is somewhat annoying, but i soon got used to it and enjoyed the rest of the story. Del a feminist fighting for women's rights and Tiger has to reluctantly agree with her ideas. The other books in the series have a promise of more exciting adventure!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted June 29, 2006
Short but oh so sweet
This one is a quick read, but it's beautifully written - a captivating story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the first of Jennifer Roberson's novels that I have read.I look forward to reading more of her work.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 24, 2005
Del is awesome
I am so happy I read this book. Del is my favorite character, all about women's rights in a violent way. Don't worry if you think Tiger is annoying now, he gets much better as you read the series.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted May 14, 2005
=P
I did like the general plot. It showed how human all of the characters were.Tiger was overall what I would have expected but he is just so gullible and self-centered in this book: extremely annoying throughout the story...poor Del.Atleast SHE is awesome! But I was dissapointed that she was about to give in to what Tiger wanted all along in the first place... oh well hope the other books will be far better!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted September 17, 2004
great
Del is awesome. Tiger is cool to, but some things about him are really annoying.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 28, 2003
Indeed a great book
I was shocked to read this book and find it in a first person point of view. I was spellbound by the first chapter. Tiger was one of the most interesting characters I have ever read about in most all my life. Del is also very interesting! I have yet to buy Sword-Singer. But I will own it soon!! Great work, Ms. Roberson.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 18, 2003
Awesome series!
This is a great series! I bought the rest of the series before I finished the first book. They are all great reads!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted October 27, 2002
One of the best fantasy series written
This wonderful series gets off to an exciting start. Sure to grab your interest from the first page. The writing is much better than Robersons first series. Roberson creates characters that you never want to let go. Each time you open her books it is like visiting an old friend. You constantly find yourself wondering what Tiger and Del are up to. Treat yourself to a great read.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous
Posted March 24, 2013
Awesome
I love this series
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Anonymous
Posted December 24, 2001
'Awesome read, kept me up all night!'
I'm glad my brother gave me this book to read, because I'll never forget Del and Tiger. These two characters are so unique and the story is so well written and adventurous, I couldn't put it down. You'll love the way Del and Tiger keep contradicting eachother and the relationship they form. Each character is like a real person and Jennifer did a great job creating them. Well done J.R.!
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Anonymous
Posted July 3, 2001
I HAVE READ 7 TIMES!
This book is easily the best fantasy title i have ever read, even now, a year after my first-but not last-reading. Tiger and Del come alive and interact, their characters have depth to the point that feel as though you have met them, and the book is packed with witty dialougue and hilarious situations. I have emailed Jennifer Roberson a total of 5 times telling her to hurry up with the next book in the series! Jennifer has pulled off something incredible here, with surly Tiger and suave, silent Del. It goes into depth with everything, including Tiger's stud, 'stud' and the personalties of the characters are explored with incredible detail, all the while making you chuckle and mentally pat Jennifer on the back for her wittiness. Job VERY well done, and a MUST READ. I cannot stress this more. Happy Reading.
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Anonymous
Posted January 24, 2001
A MUST READ!
This is a story of two people trying to over come preconcivied notions. Del and Tiger are learning to trust one another through the 'dance'. Jennifer Robterson style of writing is hard to dis-miss. You will find yourself relating to the plot in ways you never expected.
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Posted August 15, 2010
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