Tiger is a sword-dancer – a highly skilled and legendary warrior whose sword is for hire. Raised as a slave, he won his freedom by killing a sand tiger that was threatening the village where he lived – hence his name. He is a Southroner, living in a sun scorched land where every long journey seems to require a traveller to cross the desert.

Del, however, is a sword-singer. Born in the icy lands of the North she has come south to track down the slaver who killed her parents and took her and her brother as slaves. Although Del managed to escape she was forced to leave her brother behind so is determined to find out where he is and rescue him.

A stranger to the Southron lands, Del hires Tiger to act as a guide as she crosses the Punja desert to find her brother. But she must complete her task quickly and return north to the Place of Swords to stand in sword-dance combat to either clear her name and regain her honour or die. Having committed a terrible crime she has been given one year to return – during which time any other sword-singer can challenge her to combat.

I have a confession to make – I have copped out a bit with this review. Volume 1 of The Novels of Tiger and Del is actually a compilation and comprises two full novels so I suppose I should really be writing two reviews, but it's presented as a single volume so...

These books are an amazing concept. The two main characters are both highly skilled warriors although, as they come from two contrasting worlds, their skills are very different. Initially Tiger finds if hard to believe that a mere woman could possibly be as good a fighter as he but he is soon forced to re-evaluate his beliefs.

The first half of the book, Sword-Dancer follows the lives of the two main characters as they travel through the south lands trying to find the slaver who took Del's brother captive. During the journey they encounter many threats and difficulties. At first their relationship is quite abrasive as each of them struggles to convince the other that they are the better fighter.

The second half – Sword-Singer traces their journey as they travel north to the Place of Swords where Del will try to regain her honour. This second story has quite a few humorous moments especially when Tiger catches cold for the first time and shows typical male resistance to disease – claiming he is positively dying.

These two stories are superb. Fantasy writing of the very highest quality. These are some of the most well-rounded and complete characters I have come across and I have certainly read a lot of fantasy in my time. If you previously enjoyed the writing of Eddings or Joel Rosenberg then I cannot recommend these books highly enough.

I have the next volume waiting on my reading pile and I am seriously tempted to let it queue jump – I just want to find out what happens to Del and Tiger!

Synopsis
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. She was Del, born of ice and storm, trained by the greatest of Northern sword masters. Together, they discover a kinship and friendship that grows to love while facing dangers of both sword and sorcery.