Reviews

Det blå sverdet by Robin McKinley

jester246's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

4.0

dmoony's review against another edition

DNF at 11%, not much has happened and I already forgot all the characters. Might pick up again though, the writing style was nice. 

happylilkt's review against another edition

3.0

This fantasy novel was like a mash-up of [b:The Far Pavilions|10222|The Far Pavilions|M.M. Kaye|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403391799l/10222._SX50_.jpg|114] and Fa Mulan. I loved Harimad-sol as the heroine. Sure, there were a few predictable elements and maybe even some arguable deus ex machina, but it didn't bother me because the adventure, the characters, and the setting were so enjoyable.

itclouie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

elizas's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

To be fair, I revisited this book about 5 years ago, and it hasn’t held up to time all that well. But I just couldn’t NOT give it a high rating because it was so brilliantly earthshaking in 1982. A fantasy book about a woman! One that was set somewhere that wasn’t Middle Earth or Melnibone or a million other guy-centric universes. At the time it was definitely a 5++ book for me.

epsyphus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

This was alright. I feel like not a lot happened? Or maybe it just felt that way because everything just sort of happened to the FMC and it was as if she was just along for the ride. I mostly read this because the second book in this series (although technically it’s a prequel), The Hero and the Crown, is one of my favorite author’s favorite books and I was curious. This wasn’t bad, but I’m hoping the next is better character-wise.

catcherinthepi's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

timinbc's review against another edition

3.0

Let's set a base here. First, this was written in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was sworn in, we watched Raiders of the Lost Ark, and IBM's first PC came out, running MS-DOS. Second, it's a YA.
In 1981 we hadn't all read twelve fantasies with a Mary Sue heroine.

This story has major flaws. The writing is pedestrian (go read Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan, set in a similar milieu, to see what it can be in expert hands). Our heroine never faces a serious challenge, and we KNOW she's going to be fine at the end. We never really see the Enemy. And

Spoiler

way too many Good Guys make it through to the end

. But remember, back then we weren't as used to OMG THAT'S SO SAD!!!!! as we are now.

But darn it, I enjoyed it anyway, even as the pieces fell into place one after another so Harry could glide to her successes.

And I give credit for the way the different groups of people didn't pump up hate for each other, but just kept their distance, each confident that THEIRS was the best way.

tregina's review against another edition

5.0

Because I reread The Hero and the Crown, of course I had to reread this one too. Again, it is just too dear to my heart to give it any kind of objective rating.

rattledragons's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25