Six word review: Chased by baddies, possessed sword, magic.

Stars: 7 / 10

So this is book four of the series, so don't read the review if you haven't read the first three. Spoilers for this book are hidden, but I can't guarantee spoilers for the other books are.

Tiger and Del, after causing quite the exit at the end of book three, must flee the wrath of, well, pretty much everybody. Del spends most of the book trying to get Tiger to face what he needs to do to/with the sword and worrying that Tiger is the one possessed, not the sword. Tiger is basically pretty beat up, sick, old, and hurting through most of the book, and Del is either annoyed or worried, depending. The sword issue does get resolved, as does his being the messiah or not, as does the conflict with the head of the city. The book ends with a cause for them to proceed to the setting for book five.

There was a little bit of character development in Del and Tiger, and in their relationship, but this is not one of my favorites in the series, mainly because Del seems a little more distant through most of the book (for good reason, I admit) and Tiger spends lots and lots of time inside his head worrying instead of doing. It's basically a long chase scene through the desert with a few side trips. However, the resolution to whether Tiger is or isn't the messiah of the desert is excellently accomplished, and in true Tiger fashion, so I must give kudos for that. ( )

http://roseread.net/wordpress/?p=229 ( )

This is the fourth, and in my opinion, the worst of the Sword-Dancer books. But, if you liked the first couple and enjoy the chracters, try to get through it because the fifth book's a charmer. ( )