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    The Hero and the Crown
    The Hero and the Crown
    The Hero and the Crown
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Hero and the Crown

    Written by Robin McKinley

    Narrated by Roslyn Alexander

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Although she is the daughter of Damar's king, aerin has never been accepted as full royalty. Both in and out of the royal court, people whisper the story of her mother, the witchwoman, who was said to have enspelled the king into marrying her to get an heir to rule Damar-then died of despair when she found she had borne a daughter instead of a son. But none of them, not even aerin herself, can predict her future-for she is to be the true hero who will wield the power of the Blue Sword...
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJan 18, 2013
    ISBN9781470356408
    Author

    Robin McKinley

    Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown, a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature for Sunshine. Her other books include the New York Times bestseller Spindle’s End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and Rose Daughter; Deerskin, another novel-length fairy-tale retelling, of Charles Perrault’s Donkeyskin; and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson; three dogs (two hellhounds and one hell terror); an 1897 Steinway upright; and far too many rosebushes.

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    Reviews for The Hero and the Crown

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    • 4/5
      Robin McKinley is one of those Fantasy authors who I've never heard anything negative about her writing. When I found out that she wrote several fairy tale retellings, I began trying to find all of them. While this isn't a retelling, it's still Fantasy, so I bought it along with the second book, The Blue Sword.

      I would have finished The Hero and the Crown in a single day if I had started it earlier. I tried to finish it before I went to bed, but by 4 am, I couldn't keep my eyes focused on the page anymore. So, I finished it the next day. The only part of the story I didn't care for was the romance. I know the two characters involved had spent a lot of time together by the time they fell in love, but it didn't feel that way. Perhaps that's because I read the book so quickly, or maybe it's because that part of the story didn't take up a lot of pages. Regardless, I would have preferred them to just be close friends. That's how I feel about a lot of fictional relationships, though, especially if the romance isn't necessary to the plot. Why is it that every time there happens to be both a male and female character in a book they have to fall in love with each other?

      Putting the romance issue aside, I absolutely loved this book. There is a significant part involving the main character, Aerin, and her relationship with her horse that I thought would bore me because I've never had any real interest in horse stories. Surprisingly, that was one of the most engrossing parts of the story. In other words, Robin McKinley succeeded in making me care about a horse, when up to this point in my life, the only horses I've liked are My Little Ponies. So, if you happen to love horses, Robin McKinley, quest narratives, or High Fantasy, take a lazy day during the weekend (but start earlyish) to read The Hero and the Crown.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      The Hero and the Crown is, on the whole, a solid fantasy book. The novel's strength is its first half, in which we meet Aerin, daughter of the king and a woman rumored to be a witch. She has various struggles, makes mistakes, and seems both human and relatively appealing. Her careful planning and increasing ability are enjoyable to read about, as is the manner in which her crippling shyness affects the way she accomplishes her goals.The book takes a turn for the worse in the second half. Aerin seems to become psychic, able to travel directly to far-off places she has never been simply by wandering thoughtlessly. Her interactions with a mage are not well described, such that this section turns out to be a blend of the mysterious and the boring. The latter half of the book also relies too heavily on magical artifacts and unexpectedly-appearing woodland animals accomplishing tasks for Aerin, denying her the ability to exhibit the forethought and cleverness which she formerly possessed. In this part of the book, Aerin feels like a puppet of fate, doing whatever instinctively seems right from moment to moment. Implausibly, everything just happens to work out.The conclusion redeems the book somewhat, as Aerin begins to seem human once again, in part through her interactions with other characters we know. She has exhibited some character growth and is no longer so shy. Unfortunately, Aerin still is somewhat psychic about what needs to be done, and the author sometimes dwells too long on the woodland animals, creatures the author seems to love but which never quite have a proper place in the story.In the end, The Hero and the Crown is a respectable novel. However, there are many works of fantasy with plots which turn less on serendipity than on the cleverness, bravery, cowardice, and other qualities of their characters (many of whom are richer and more compelling than Aerin). For a young person, consider instead reading Jane Yolen's dragon trilogy or "So You Want to Be a Wizard?" by Diane Duane. An adult might do better with The Lord of the Rings, Wizard's First Rule, or A Game of Thrones.
    • 5/5
      This is my favorite young adult book of all time. I have read it upwards of 20 times and it never gets old! Her style is so appealing, and the world she creates is very intriguing!
    • 5/5
      When Harry Crewe's parents die, she is forced to accept the hospitality of her military brother's commanding officer and his wife. Charles and Amanda are nothing if not kind and Harry loves them, but she is bored with the rich life and no responsibility. She falls in love with the dry and forbidden Hills of Damar, which call to her adventurous spirit. When she is kidnapped by the mysterious Hill King, Corlath, and treated with all honor, she discovers her destiny through the help of an unrelentingly fair teacher, Mathen, a magnificent horse named Sungold, and a magical blue sword, Gonturan. Harimad, as she is called by the Hillfolk, assumes the uncomfortable responsibility of being a bridge between two worlds.I have lost count of the number of times I have read this novel, one of my "comfort" books. I must read it at least once every few years and I bought it in high school over 25 years ago. I love the world of Damar with its magic and honor, horses and noble characters. I love the adventure and the romance, the old-sounding language, the Kings and Queens who are just and good, caring and living among their people. My favorite setting in the story is Luthe's woodland, which I picture as an ancient aspen grove. Sometimes, I want to be Harimad, swept into an adventure in a new land, given a magnificent horse and taught to reid without bridle or stirrups, physically and spiritually challenged to overcome fears and to leanr my own destiny. I would not want to go to war, though, as Hari did! (I wrote this on 6/12/2005.)
    • 5/5
      One of the first fantasy novels I ever read, and with a female heroine. Angel lent me this story, and I am forever grateful. I'm always trying to find a copy of my own to add to my collection
    • 1/5
      Take an unimaginative plot, throw in a bunch of fantasy tropes, a bunch of uninteresting side characters, an even more uninteresting Mary Su main character and you have Hero and the Crown. An avid fantasy reader may get something out of this but a more general reader would do best to steer clear. Your 10 + hours of listening time is better spent elsewhere.
    • 5/5
      I first read this in middle school, and loved it for years. I finally got around to rereading it something like 10 years later, and was happily reminded of just how good this book is. Harry is real and likeable, the worldbuilding is amazing, and the prose sparkles. Definitely a classic, and recommended for all fantasy lovers.
    • 5/5
      Robin McKinley (along with Tamora Pierce), was one of the first to write very strong female protagonists in fantasy novels. This has been one of my favorites since first discovering Robin McKinley in sixth grade. Harry Crewe is a stubborn, strong, tall, unfeminine orphan who is shipped to the Homeland colony Damar. There she catches the eye of the king of the Hillfolk, not because of her beauty, but because she possesses a certain magical gift that is inherited from the Damarian royal bloodline. Harry is kidnapped by the Damarians and trained into a woman warrior - and falls in love with the Damarians and the king along the way. It is adventure, romance, and a strong, fierce heroine - just what every twelve year old girl loves. Anyone who loves the Tamora Pierce novels will love this as well.
    • 5/5
      Synopsis: This is the story of Angharad Crewe, an orphaned girl, called Harry, a Homelander who crosses the ocean to be with her brother Richard. She is sent off to Istan, the Homeland’s remotest town in the Royal Province of Daria. Istan, called Ihistan by the natives, is considered an important outpost that boasts a number of diplomats as well as soldiers. When Harry arrives in Istan, the outpost receives visits from Corlath, King of the Hillfolk who still possesses the Magical Gift. He has come to warn the Homelanders of an impending invasion from the barbarian outlanders. One glance at Harry, Corlath sees that she carries something in her, a power she did not suspect nor he understands, but that his kelar tells him will help his Hillfolk. And so he abducts Harry in the middle of the night, and carries her off into the desert.Harry’s fear gives way to wonder when she discovers, that she too, possesses a strong kelar, a magical element of the royal bloodline. Harry feels at home with the king and his people. She is now called Harimad-sol by the Damarians. Harry learns that she and her brother Richard are both part Damarian, through their great grandmother on their mother’s side.Harry learns how to ride and fights like a warrior. She clashes swords with the Northerners and engages the invaders in a fierce, bloody battle. The interaction between Harry and Corlath includes romantic kisses and embraces. By the end of the book, we learn that they live as husband and wife and have several children.ReviewRobin McKinley’s book is a fantasy novel about a young woman’s journey of discovery of her heritage. Harry is caught between the cultures she grew up with and the culture she has grown to love. This is a tale of good and evil, about war and the preparations against the invasion. There is a clear theme of overcoming prejudice and fear between different people in order to save their world. Harry Crewe is the protagonist, proud and stubborn, she clashes with many personalities, possesses a magical gift and willingness to learn, and finds her place among the Hillfolk but still holding on to the culture of her homeland.McKinley’s characters are believable and diverse. Major characters are Harry, Corlath, Colonel Jack Dedham and Mathin, one of Corlath’s riders and Harry’s teacher of warfare.One of the major themes of this novel is the growth and development of the protagonist, her care for others, and her ability to adapt as she manages to maintain her dignity and command respect. AWARDSNewbery Honor AwardALA Best Book for Young AdultsALA Notable Book
    • 5/5
      I read this when I was young and disgruntled, reading two or three books a day to avoid talking to my classmates. It was basically the perfect time to read this story, which tells the tale of a young woman who is not understood by her people and is deeply unhappy about it. And when I read this, it was one of very few books that spoke to me in a voice I could actually empathize with. All the other fantasy I was reading featured boys tramping across pseudo-English countryside before being crowned as kings--and instead, here was an awkward, stubborn, hard-working girl who wanted to be able to value herself and prove her worth.

      Aerin grows up knowing that unlike her royal family, she's ugly, has no magic, and is distrusted by the people they rule. She inherited her low-born mother's looks but not her rumored witching power: the worst of both worlds. When we first meet her, she recently cut off a spiteful cousin's luxurious eyelashes. She tricks another cousin into teaching her swordplay, then spends hours upon hours practicing, knowing that she has no natural talent for it but refusing to give up. She spends three years experimenting with potions until she finds one that protects against flame. And then she goes out into the world to kill dragons. But in this kingdom, dragons aren't monstrous beasts--they're vermin. Killing dragons is considered a bit like catching rats. When she's called Dragon-Killer, it's as much a taunt as a title. Needless to say, tween-me adored Aerin.

      Reading it now, after an extra decade of socializing and reading other fantasy books, Aerin and her lifelong quest to be a good and useful person is still wonderful, but less of a revelation. I love how much of her success is due to sheer hard work and determination, an indomitable drive to prove herself that overcomes her innate flaws. But although her early victories are her own stubborn will, her final victory over her late mother's evil brother seems like she lucked into it. She literally wins by accident. It's frustrating! That said, I can see where McKinley subverts fantasy tropes more clearly now. It's Aerin's perseverance and hard work, not what she's born with, that make her a hero. The most beautiful girl in the kingdom has dark hair and skin. The heroine loves two people at once, and no one thinks it weird or wrong. There's infrastructure to rebuild after the climactic battle. Instead of showing how foppish and out of touch the court is, their council meetings about provisions and treaties are actually important. etc.

      And the writing is, at times, truly fantastic. The descriptions of Maur, so huge he is indistinguishable from his mountain, so malevolent that even keeping his skull as a trophy brings despair to the kingdom, stuck with me all this time. Aerin's relationship with her nurse/maid, Teka, always feels real. The battles with the dragons kept my eyes glued to the page.

      I only wish that McKinley had let herself write more of this book. Time and time again, summaries of what Aerin learns or does are provided in place of the action. Aerin's education and love affair with Luthe seem to take place in 10 pages, when they could be 100. This book is only 227 pages long; if it were twice as long, it would only be better.
    • 3/5
      I'm just partway into this book, and am enjoying it but for one comment from a friend of mine, who pointed out that it's unfortunate that the white girl has to rescue the minority people here. Food for thought.
    • 5/5
      I have noticed that some of the best fantasy stories rely on an interesting device; they start out rather mundanely, in a mundane setting with a rather mundane though interesting protagonist. Then they move the protagonist–and the reader–into the fantastic realm where most of the adventure takes place. Sometimes the move is sudden, a matter of stepping through the looking glass or into a fairy ring. But some storytellers take their time, dipping their toes, absently wading, getting us deeper till we find ourselves immersed without any sense of transition. Only at the end, when we close the book, do we realize how far from reality the clever writer has taken us. Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword is this kind of story.I first read it back in high school, and it was years before I realized how clever McKinley had been. At its heart it’s an epic fantasy–the story of a faded kingdom standing against an evil invader. There is a heroic king and a dark lord. There are prophecies, wild magics, battles, an enchanted sword. And there is a young girl name Harry Crewe. And the opening lines are about orange juice.She scowled at her glass of orange juice. To think that she had been delighted when she first arrived here–was it only three months ago?–with the prospect of fresh orange juice every day.Harry was born in Homeland, a cool, forested isle very obviously England. Her mother died when she was young, so she grew up a bit of a tomboy, and when her father died she had only her brother Richard, now a junior officer in Her Majesty’s Service, to depend upon. And Richard is stationed at a distant fort in Daria, at the borders of Homeland’s empire. Fortunately, the fort’s Resident and his wife, Sir Charles and Lady Amelia, are childless and perfectly happy to bring Harry to stay with them at the Residence. Of course hot and dusty Daria is quite different from cool and green Homeland, and Harry is homesick.McKinley goes to great lengths, using Harry, to establish how very mundane and English Homelanders are,and how mundane the desert town of Istan and its fort are. It’s not our world, she seems to say, but it’s not so very different. They have trains, and guns, and orange juice. It might as well be North Africa.Then she begins nudging us into the water. Sir Charles is expecting a visit from an emissary of the Free Hillfolk, the wild people just beyond their borders, last remnants of the Old Kingdom. When Harry meets Corlath, their king, she experiences a strange shock. Corlath brings a warning, of danger from beyond the mountain passes, preparing to sweep away Hillfolk and Homelanders alike. When a well-meaning Sir Charles can’t help him, Corlath and his company departs, but, goaded by his royal magic–which he sees as something of a curse–Corlath returns in the dead of night, passing through walls and stealing away a dreaming Harry. And so the adventure begins.Things get much more fantastical from here out, of course, but Robin McKinley preserves the spell she spent so much time weaving. Magic, even when obvious, is never understood: it’s magical. With Harry, the reader is thrown into a world of miracles and terrible wonder, and McKinley deftly avoids all the cliches that might develop. And this is the payoff; through all her adventures and changes, Harry remains Harry, the young woman with whom we have already so strongly identified. She is the wardrobe door, and her wonder is our wonder, her tears our tears, her victory, our victory, and her happiness, our happiness. The story ends almost as domestically as it begins, and, closing the book I can’t stop smiling.
    • 5/5
      I discovered this book as a preteen and though I loved my flimsy paperback copy to tatters, I don't think I've read it again since I was 15 or so. My original copy came to light this morning, complete with highschool homework bookmarks; we spent the afternoon getting reacquainted. The Blue Sword is a lovely little adventure tale: misfit girl gets a horse, an army and a sword and ultimately finds her place in the world. Not a new formula, but still fun, sweet and charmingly written.A book I love not just for the content, but for the memories that come along with it.
    • 5/5
      The Blue Sword is great for all readers, but it is especially good for young women who want to see a female character taking power over her circumstances. The fantasy element of the book adds interest and suspense but is not overwhelming. The writing style is lyrical and generally fascinating. This book is not just for children; it's a great read!
    • 5/5
      While I wasn't drawn in at first, eventually Robin McKinley somehow worked her magic on me and I got to the point where I could not set this book down. There's just something about a good old magic battle book that I enjoy.Okay, so I just wrote this kickass review, but somehow the text highlighed and I went to type and it deleted what I wrote. If it wasn't 3:30 am I'd re-write. So, better review later. All you need to know is this book is the bomb.com.
    • 3/5
      A little surprised with the M.C. sleeping with one guy while still in love with another . Guess I missed the point. Did not see that coming in a Newbury Book Award read. Out of character and completely unnecessary in something targeted to a young readership Disappointed Loved the first book in the series though
    • 2/5
      I generally enjoy McKinley's work, but I have to give this one only 3 stars because of the shockingly thinly-veiled orientalism present in the novel. Questions of colonialism are part of the plot of the novel, as you have the colonizers in tense peace with the colonized in a let's-just-leave-each-other- alone kind of relationship. The peace is almost dissolved when the leader of the indigenous nomadic tribe comes to the colonial border town and asks for help in a coming war with another group, the degraded, magically warped barbarians from the north. The white colonialists of course say no; why should they help a people they want to conquer? Let the others wipe them out for them, right? McKinley definitely offers commentary on this mentality, and this is not where my criticism lies. No, my biggest issue with this book and the power relations she explores, is the blatant orientalism expressed. The main character, who has blonde hair and blue eyes, begins to feel a certain longing for and comfort in the desert, which as a foreign transplant, she is not supposed to feel. The desert and the desert peoples are the colonial Other; they are not to be considered equals, interesting, or, and especially, not desirable. So what happens when this too, tall, too strong, blonde haired, blue-eyed teenage girl meets the leader of the desert tribes? Why, she can't stop thinking about him, of course! And when he comes back to abduct her from her home (because his mystical magic aura told him too) she puts up no protest, and is more than willing to adopt these brown-skinned, exotic but frightening others as her own. Indeed, she even has some of their blood running though her veins, to the great shame of her older brother. Not only is she 1/8th desert tribe, she is also the wielder of great desert-people magic and the true heir of the titular blue sword. Only she can unite all of the nomadic desert tribes against this new foe (if you want a better version of this story, read T.E. Lawrence's The Seven Pillars of Wisdom)My other major issue with this book is that it's supposed to feature a strong female lead. Sure this girl can ride a horse. Sure she can fight with a sword. But for a girl who lets herself be abducted, marries her abductor, and can only wield the true power of the blue sword with the help of her soon-to-be husband, I find little to recommend her. Finally, McKinley's prose in this book is uneven at best, disjointed at worst. There are several places where characters shift between an overly stiff, formal tone in one sentence or paragraph, and in the very next are using contractions. I give this two stars for trying.
    • 5/5
      This was an amazing book, a first in several ways. I have read books where the women are the heroes before, but Ariel is not only a hero but she is self taught, at least to start with, self motivated, and not into it for revenge or to show everyone what she is made of but because it simply is who she is. She also loves two men without any apologies to either one. I loved the other characters, her horse Talat was as much a character as any of the people. The author also does a fabulous job of battle scenes, very believable.You have a real treat in store for you with this book.
    • 4/5
      When Harry Crewe's father dies, she leaves her Homeland to travel east, to Istan, the last outpost of the Homelander empire, where her elder brother is stationed.Harry is drawn to the bleak landscape of the northeast frontier, so unlike the green hills of her Homeland. The desert she stares across was once a part of the great kingdom of Damar, before the Homelanders came from over the seas. Harry wishes she might cross the sands and climb the dark mountains where no Homelander has ever set foot, where the last of the old Damarians, the Free Hillfolk, still live. She hears stories that the Free Hillfolk possess strange powers — that they work magic — that it is because of this that they remain free of the Homelander sway.When the king of the Free Hillfolk comes to Istan to ask that the Homelanders and the Hillfolk set their enmity aside to fight a common foe, the Homelanders are reluctant to trust his word, and even more reluctant to believe his tales of the Northerners: that they are demonkind, not human.Harry's destiny lies in the far mountains that she once wished to climb, and she will ride to the battle with the North in the Hill-king's army, bearing the Blue Sword, Gonturan, the chiefest treasure of the Hill-king's house and the subject of many legends of magic and mystery.Harry, bored with her sheltered life in the remote orange-growing colony of Daria, discovers magic in herself when she is kidnapped by a native king with mysterious powers.
    • 4/5
      Recommended to newbie fantasy readers seeking a story in which the hero is a young female who is not perfect nor beautiful.I enjoyed the story but, despite its nearly 300 pages, it felt too short for me. Maybe that's a good thing, maybe not. The other thing that made me like the story less was the fact that they killed the dragons.3.5 stars
    • 5/5
      I first read The Hero and the Crown and adored it until I read The Blue Sword, which I loved even more. A great strong heroine, a quiet romance with both a king and his country, horses, giant cats, magic, battles, friendship...what's not to like? I reread this book more often than almost any other out of pure joy.
    • 4/5
      Wow, I don't know why I didn't really like The Hero and the Crown very much on the first go round. It's full of all the kinds of things I love: love stories that aren't just simple love-at-first-sight or we-grew-up-together-and-now-we're-in-love, but something more complicated that that; a world with a history and a future, outside of what we've got; a heroine who works through flaws and barriers to become a hero. And the last sentences -- ach! Lovely.

      It's not some straightforward children's story in which a heroine goes forth and slays a dragon. That happens, but it happens as part of a longer journey: the dragon isn't the end, but only really the beginning of Aerin's journey. It doesn't solve all her issues and let her go home unscathed, unchanged, to a court that's suddenly ready to accept her. Aerin's story is harder than that.

      Looking at my old review/notes on this, I was disappointed by the worldbuilding -- which I think is funny, because though it's subtle, there's plenty here. The surka, the crown, old heroes, Luthe's background, why the animals follow Aerin: there's so much that doesn't get elucidated, but remains there for you to turn over and wonder at. McKinley doesn't give you all the answers about her world in one go, and I doubt that The Blue Sword will answer all of it either. Maybe you have to do a little more work to really appreciate the history of the world, because McKinley does nothing so clumsy as sit you in a history lesson with Aerin to learn about it.

      Overall, given the subtlety of parts of this and the wistfulness of the love stories, I'm not entirely sure how I'd have taken this as a child. It may be a prime example of a story that works on two levels: Aerin waving her sword around for younger readers, winning the day with her prowess, while the older readers might taste more of the bittersweetness of her immortality and her twin-nature.
    • 4/5
      When Harry Crewe's (don't ask her real first name) parents die, she has to move closer to her brother Richard, which means becoming the ward of Lady Amelia and Sir Charles. She falls in love with this wild Hill country and becomes embroiled in the political climate when Corlath, king of the Damarians, comes to parley with Sir Charles. Corlath's magic won't let him forget her, however, so he kidnaps her knowing she has some sort of part to play in the coming war with the Northerners.I have no real complaints: the characters were interesting (especially Corlath), the story well told. But I never felt fully invested in the story, nor did I feel compelled to read if the book were not already in my hands.
    • 1/5
      Derivative, which isn't necessarily bad, but combined with unlikable characters The Blue Sword just isn't worth the read.
    • 5/5
      Recommended. On a world that seems a lot like India during the Raj, Harry is bored - sent to live with her gaurdian who is the ambassador to Damar, Harry is out of place and has nothing to do. This changes when Corlath, the king of the Hillfolk, kidnaps her due to a vision he had. Harry's learning to be a part of her new world is a wonderful adventure.
    • 3/5
      A noble woman is kidnapped by a strange people but comes to understand and champion them. I had a hard time engaging with Harry because she was so withdrawn; however, I think this was appropriate given the plot. I prefer The Hero and the Crown to this which is a bit more straight forward narrative.
    • 4/5
      A childhood favorite. A young woman finds magic, adventure and romance in a magical mountain kingdom.I wish she’d write more books in this universe. Daria is basically Afghanistan at the time of the Raj. Quazi Britain to the south and demons (sorry Russia) to the north.It’s a wonderfully realized world. Full of layers of texture and a sense of historical depth.And Angahard, or Harry as she prefers to be called, is a wonderfully restless girl dream. As a girl, I wanted to steal away. Be given a beautiful horse like sunlight. Discover magic in my heritage. Duel on horseback. Have an adventure. Have this adventure in this place.But really, reading it in a book is so much tidier and less dusty.
    • 5/5
      I didn't like Blue Sword at first, I wanted magic and the first section of the book deals only in the real world. I didn't want to see Harry as a heroine until I had read the story several times and then she was the most wonderful heroine to me. Her training scenes and gradual awareness of this other world were delightful to read.
    • 4/5
      Summary: Harry is a Homelander, a part of a group that has been colonizing a new land. The Homelanders have a tense relationship with the natives of that land, the Damarians. During a diplomatic mission, the king of the Damarians kidnaps Harry, and as she tries to find a new life among a new people, she also learns she is heir to a legend that can bring the two groups together.Review: This is a classic in young adult fantasy. I remember in grade six, another class read this book for a project and I was really jealous because I wanted to read it too. Well, now I have, and I think overall it’s a pretty good book. It does interesting things with the rarely explored subject of colonialism in fantasy novels, and how the colonizer and the colonized interact. It admirably avoids racist implications, and is actually a subversion of the trope where the Sheik kidnaps the blonde, blue-eyed woman and makes her his slave. However, I’m not too fond of stories where people do great things just because it is their destiny to do so, and I’m afraid that was the case with Harry. She wasn’t a weak character, but nothing in her ever made it believable that she would be the one to carry Lady Aerin’s torch and become a great warrior. I mean, yes, she does have a learning curve (not all novels do, unfortunately), but for a girl who has never really fought to suddenly defeat the king in combat? It felt too easy. I wanted to see her struggle more. The same with her acceptance of Damarian culture. Harry starts the novel as a bit of an outcast from her own culture, which makes it easier for her to become Damarian. But with her quick change, I think we lose what could have been a more poignant exploration of what it is like to go from one culture to another. Harry never really had a moment where she was too alienated or questioned Damarian morals or practices. I am a first-generation immigrant, so I thought her experience was somewhat idealized and unrealistic.Also, I wish we could have learned more about the Northerners. They were the bad guys that the Homelanders and the Damarians teamed up against, but sometimes it felt like they were just a scapegoat, conveniently evil so that they don’t have to be subject to the same cultural analysis that the Damarians were treated with.And I never fell in love with either Harry or Corlath, and they were the main characters. They were certainly better than some characters I have read, but they didn’t get me excited to read more.Conclusion: An even-handed exploration of culture clashes and imperialism, but there were some things that kept it from being fantastic rather than merely good.
    • 5/5
      The Blue Sword is one of the most epic YA novels I have ever read! The story is about Harry, a young woman from Homeland who is spirited away in the night by Corlath, king of the Hillfolk. She's whisked away to the desert but she does not feel fearful of her captures, but rather feels a sense of belonging that she's never had while in Home. Harry is found to have the same "seeing" powers as the king, a power that few of the Hill folks are gifted with, let alone an Outlander such as herself. For six weeks after her kidnapping, Harry trains with Mathin, one of the king's Riders, in preparation for Laprun, a competition to become a sword welding warrior for the Hillfolk as it is more important that ever now as war is imminent with the nonhumans who are the Northerners. What I Liked: The whole thing!! From start to finish, this book felt like an epic journey. The trouble with a lot of epic fantasies such as Lord of the Rings and the like, is that the story is very much drawn out, though I understand that authors are trying to build their fantasy "world." However, McKinley does such a wonderful job building this world without the extra frills and long drawn out descriptions that she made it an absolute JOY to read! The story was fast moving and never had any lag in action. Really wonderful book indeed! What I Didn't Like: Hmmmm...nothing really! I enjoyed every aspect of this book. Perhaps the only thing I didn't like was how small the letters were in the edition that I borrowed from the library. My eyes got tired after a while of reading such tiny script. I would highly, HIGHLY recommend this book to EVERYONE!! Yes, as you can see....I love this book. Thanks Robin McKinley, for writing such a wonderful novel for us to enjoy!