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roseleaf24's review against another edition
4.0
Set in a fantasy world with a colonial presence reminiscent of the British rule in India, this book was delightful. It was dense world building to begin for me, but the plot took off quickly and the characters were rich and full.
heididt19's review against another edition
2.0
The Blue Sword is about a girl named Harry Crewe. When her father dies she is left orphaned and her older brother is forced to take her from the green Homeland to the desert country of Damar to live with some distant wealthy relatives. At first she does not like it, is very upset and even considers running away. She soon settles into ordinary life and sees that Lady Amelia and Sir Charles are trying to be kind to her. One day she is out riding with her friends and sees the Damarian King, Corlath, at their door. Sir Charles is upset because they couldn't make a deal. As Corlath is riding away his Kelar(magic power) tells him to kidnap her. So he goes back at night and kidnaps her.She is trained and they discover they she is a descendant of lady Aerin, a person told of in folk tales, the lady hero. She is trained and earns her sash which means she can use a sword. She is given Lady Aerin's sword and they go off to war with the northerners. She wants to get the Homelanders involved but Corlath doesn't want to. So she takes things into her own hands.
I would not recommend this book to someone else because there is a lot of building up and then not a lot of action. I also think the ending is sudden and kind of strange. Another thing I don't like about this book very much is that I think the author adds too many unnecessary details.
I would not recommend this book to someone else because there is a lot of building up and then not a lot of action. I also think the ending is sudden and kind of strange. Another thing I don't like about this book very much is that I think the author adds too many unnecessary details.
lecrandall's review against another edition
3.0
I had a hard time becoming involved with this book. It starts very dry and slow. I did eventually become interested and enjoyed the story and the heroine!
hanlavi's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
stephxsu's review against another edition
5.0
Well, they don’t really write high fantasy as they used to, now do they? There has to be a reason that Robin McKinley’s THE BLUE SWORD, first published in the 1980s, is still being widely read and adored, and that is because it is arguably the absolute best in its genre, an unmatched blend of strong characters, political intrigue, and quite simply the best damn fantasy world ever imagined and written.
It’s a little strange for me to read THE BLUE SWORD for the first time, nearly ten years after I picked up The Hero and the Crown and read it to pieces for about four years straight, it having been my favorite book in middle school. THE BLUE SWORD was written before The Hero and the Crown. I can hardly wrap my mind around that! The depiction of the Damarian landscape is incredible: ranging from endless red deserts to the hidden valleys and villages within the mountains. Robin McKinley’s language is not quite lyrical, per se, but there is a certain hypnotic rhythm that her descriptions possess. That, combined with the scope of the worldbuilding—the politics, myths, fashions, traditions, everyday duties—is entrancing. McKinley inspires awe in readers.
Harry, of course, serves for many as the blueprint of the admirable fantasy heroine. True, at times it feels like the mysterious magic of Damar is carrying her along, instead of her leading it. But her magnanimity, her determination to succeed even as she does not completely understand what’s happening to her, is inarguably admirable. Corlath’s appeal, I think, comes less from his specific characteristics, and more from his inexplicable status as the archetypal complement to Harry’s heroine role. However little or much we perceive of Harry and Corlath’s personalities, beliefs, or desires, however, they are a pair for whom we feel absolute sympathy.
I have little more to say because I feel like this is one of those instances where the more I try to examine what made this book move me so, the less impressed I will be by it. So I’ll just say that the scope of what it accomplishes is unparalleled, and if you read it at the right stage of life—say, on the brink of adolescence, just when you’re searching for a role model—then THE BLUE SWORD will undoubtedly become your bible of sorts.
It’s a little strange for me to read THE BLUE SWORD for the first time, nearly ten years after I picked up The Hero and the Crown and read it to pieces for about four years straight, it having been my favorite book in middle school. THE BLUE SWORD was written before The Hero and the Crown. I can hardly wrap my mind around that! The depiction of the Damarian landscape is incredible: ranging from endless red deserts to the hidden valleys and villages within the mountains. Robin McKinley’s language is not quite lyrical, per se, but there is a certain hypnotic rhythm that her descriptions possess. That, combined with the scope of the worldbuilding—the politics, myths, fashions, traditions, everyday duties—is entrancing. McKinley inspires awe in readers.
Harry, of course, serves for many as the blueprint of the admirable fantasy heroine. True, at times it feels like the mysterious magic of Damar is carrying her along, instead of her leading it. But her magnanimity, her determination to succeed even as she does not completely understand what’s happening to her, is inarguably admirable. Corlath’s appeal, I think, comes less from his specific characteristics, and more from his inexplicable status as the archetypal complement to Harry’s heroine role. However little or much we perceive of Harry and Corlath’s personalities, beliefs, or desires, however, they are a pair for whom we feel absolute sympathy.
I have little more to say because I feel like this is one of those instances where the more I try to examine what made this book move me so, the less impressed I will be by it. So I’ll just say that the scope of what it accomplishes is unparalleled, and if you read it at the right stage of life—say, on the brink of adolescence, just when you’re searching for a role model—then THE BLUE SWORD will undoubtedly become your bible of sorts.
aliceboule's review against another edition
2.0
I cannot decide wether The Blue Sword was for me or not.
Perhaps I have outgrown fantasies in which the heroine becomes powerful quickly, where the enemy is vanquished easily, when the end comes swiftly and without mercy. Perhaps those novels were for little Me, and now I can no longer enjoy shallow childish stories.
Even so, I truly wanted to be enraptured by The Blue Sword , it reminded me so much of the Pierce series, Alanna, Beka Cooper; and i wanted to relish the fact that I could read something quite like them. But Harry doesn't have much substance. She has no pillar of strength to revolve around, no 3 dimensional form.
For me the best part was Narknon. The cat was too adorable for me and made my inner cat lady burst out in joy.
It is not McKinley's fault that The Blue Sword was not for me. Had it been a few years earlier I would have devoured its pages and re-read it multiple times. But I have become blased to such stories (the curse of reading too much) and am searching for something that remains a mystery to me.
I had always thought I would never be too old for stories of bravery and selflessness. Finding out that I have, makes me terribly sad. I feel that I have forever departed from a time when lost swords and innate magic would transport to a new world. When mysterious princes and dangerous quests would have me jumping around my room in glee.
Goodbye child me. Goodbye.
Perhaps I have outgrown fantasies in which the heroine becomes powerful quickly, where the enemy is vanquished easily, when the end comes swiftly and without mercy. Perhaps those novels were for little Me, and now I can no longer enjoy shallow childish stories.
Even so, I truly wanted to be enraptured by The Blue Sword , it reminded me so much of the Pierce series, Alanna, Beka Cooper; and i wanted to relish the fact that I could read something quite like them. But Harry doesn't have much substance. She has no pillar of strength to revolve around, no 3 dimensional form.
For me the best part was Narknon. The cat was too adorable for me and made my inner cat lady burst out in joy.
It is not McKinley's fault that The Blue Sword was not for me. Had it been a few years earlier I would have devoured its pages and re-read it multiple times. But I have become blased to such stories (the curse of reading too much) and am searching for something that remains a mystery to me.
I had always thought I would never be too old for stories of bravery and selflessness. Finding out that I have, makes me terribly sad. I feel that I have forever departed from a time when lost swords and innate magic would transport to a new world. When mysterious princes and dangerous quests would have me jumping around my room in glee.
Goodbye child me. Goodbye.
strayfe_angel's review against another edition
5.0
Read this a long way back - just read it again - just as wonderful as I remember.