Part of
The Thieves' World Series.
"Dagger" could be considered a bit of a practice run for the author's later Lord Of The Isles series. A hyper-practical hardworking hero with no hesitation to kill when necessary? Check. Loving attention to the accurate and period-specific details of clothing, weapons, food, and buildings? Check. Heavy use of Middle Eastern folklore and culture? Check. It's an interesting little novel, but by Drake's own admission, not an altogether successful one.
It features Samlor hil Samt, a pragmatic and world-wise caravan master who made three appearances in the Thieves' World series of shared-universe books. (The first section of "Dagger" was also published in the tenth TW volume as the story "Inheritor", a decision which Drake now regrets because he admits that he doubled up this way strictly for the money.) He and his young "niece" (secretly his daughter) Star, an instinctive magical adept, have come to Sanctuary to pick up her inheritance from her late mother. There, they encounter Khamwas, a wizard from Napata whose own purposes happen to coincide with theirs. Adventure ensues.
The novel draws quite heavily on Egyptian folklore and settings, particularly the latter Khamwas-heavy sections. This makes it rather different than most fantasy novels, which is good. But a very lengthy flashback sequence involving a certain Prince Nanefer breaks up the momentum of the book, and in the ensuing pages, Samlor, our protagonist, becomes little more than a mere bystander to the deeds of his wizard companion. Structurally, "Dagger" has some real problems and more or less just limps to a merely satisfactory conclusion.
On the other hand, Drake does a great job showing Samlor's devotion to Star, who (perhaps unfortunately) is only featured in the first third of the book. And Khamwas's manikin-like familiar, Tjainufi, who constantly spouts gnomic wisdom, is amusing.
This is a good book if you're interested in checking out a fantasy setting that doesn't just cover the same ol' European ground, or if you want to complete your Thieves' World collection, but otherwise is not essential.