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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a good book. I was really into Robin McKinley in late middle school/early high school and am just now re-reading her, nearly 20 years later. I still love the stories and are totally swept up in them. They have good, strong heroines and plenty of high fantasy drama for all.
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Absolutely loved this book as a kid and really appreciate it as an adult. The pacing is typical of its era but a bit uneven for modern tastes, and there are a few things that feel superfluous to the character or plot (again, by modern standards) but the character development can't be beat! Aerin is one of my favorite heroines even now.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I only have a vague memory of reading this and the Blue Sword when I was maybe in early high school. I really didn't appreciate them properly! Reading them now (in my 30s) felt nostalgic on a lot of levels; there's something about the way they're written maybe, storytelling has changed a lot from the 80s. Makes me want to read more McKinley and more Le Guin - there was a lot about Aerin's story that reminded me a bit of A Wizard of Earthsea, which I loved.
The Blue Sword felt more straight forward in its plotting, The Hero and the Crown meanders quite a bit and feels like an epic, old legend. While the order doesn't necessarily matter, I'm glad I took the time to go and reread the Blue Sword again first... and now I kind of want to go back and read it again.
The Blue Sword felt more straight forward in its plotting, The Hero and the Crown meanders quite a bit and feels like an epic, old legend. While the order doesn't necessarily matter, I'm glad I took the time to go and reread the Blue Sword again first... and now I kind of want to go back and read it again.
It is rereading old favorite season and I REGRET NOTHING. I had forgotten the entire part about her uncle (and TIME TRAVEL) but it all holds up, and I still love it.
Super stereotypical fantasy, but not in a bad way at all. Very enjoyable!
Reading this book, I felt like I was learning about the origins of the genre. I loved the epic vibe it gave me. Since the book has this older writing style, and being English my second language, I also had to look up for some words, but I enjoyed the reading anyway after picking up the pace.
The main defects of this book can be condensed in three points:
- The longest digression in history: really, I was around 30% through the book (percentage given by my kindle), and I started the book again because I thought I missed the point where the timelines joined again. Spoiler: it happened around 43%
- When did that love story happen? Again, I'm not sure it's a language gap, but one moment she was dying, the moment after she was very, very close with Luthen. And realized in that same moment she also loves Tor. It was confusing.
- Arein has quite some judgment defects, apparently the only reason she didn't die from them is because she had this other great destiny to fulfill.
So, why giving it this high a rating?
Because I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT I STILL LOVED READING ALL OF IT. I actually got a bit emotional reading how she would treasure both loves, which were different and both true. That very very long digression was an interesting story in itself, and as it finally closed I still gasped. I constantly disagreed with Aerin's stubbornness, still cheered for her while she healed (although, I'm quite sure she should have been quite old at the end of the book by all the time she had to wait to be able to move on to the next step in her glorious journey).
In the end, it's a book you love in its defects.
The main defects of this book can be condensed in three points:
- The longest digression in history: really, I was around 30% through the book (percentage given by my kindle), and I started the book again because I thought I missed the point where the timelines joined again. Spoiler: it happened around 43%
- When did that love story happen? Again, I'm not sure it's a language gap, but one moment she was dying, the moment after she was very, very close with Luthen. And realized in that same moment she also loves Tor. It was confusing.
- Arein has quite some judgment defects, apparently the only reason she didn't die from them is because she had this other great destiny to fulfill.
So, why giving it this high a rating?
Because I DON'T KNOW WHY, BUT I STILL LOVED READING ALL OF IT. I actually got a bit emotional reading how she would treasure both loves, which were different and both true. That very very long digression was an interesting story in itself, and as it finally closed I still gasped. I constantly disagreed with Aerin's stubbornness, still cheered for her while she healed (although, I'm quite sure she should have been quite old at the end of the book by all the time she had to wait to be able to move on to the next step in her glorious journey).
In the end, it's a book you love in its defects.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes