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A review by meduse_jalouse
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
5.0
This book really doesn't lose its charm. Of course I notice more (good and bad) each time I reread it, but it holds up.
Of course, I'm still waiting for Pegasus #2 to come out and somehow bring Luthe into it and ruin everything for me, but until that day Damar is still pure and unblemished and some of McKinley's best work.
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ORIGINAL REVIEW: Robin McKinley's gift is for making fantasy and fairy tale feel, if not possible, then at least plausible. This book is her at her best. The world is just rich enough to feel real, but with plenty of room for your imagination to go wandering. I say this because the rest of my review is going to sound negative, even though I've now read the book about 4 times and I do very much love this book--particularly Harry, who just feels so refreshing. I think this book has earned a place in the young adult fantasy canon.
I really regret that I didn't know about this book until I was in my twenties. I think 15-year-old me would have LOVED the chance to read The Blue Sword. However, 25-year-old me was a little bit perplexed at how closely it resembled the American mythologies of young white women being captured by Native American tribes and "becoming the savage," and also white colonists' fears about "going native," and so a part of me had my hackles up the entire time I first read it because of the direct and extremely racially-charged parallel McKinley was drawing.
McKinley's writing and characters and worlds are always a joy to read, and I do love this book, a lot... but you may find that it needs a grain of salt to go down smoothly.
Of course, I'm still waiting for Pegasus #2 to come out and somehow bring Luthe into it and ruin everything for me, but until that day Damar is still pure and unblemished and some of McKinley's best work.
----
ORIGINAL REVIEW: Robin McKinley's gift is for making fantasy and fairy tale feel, if not possible, then at least plausible. This book is her at her best. The world is just rich enough to feel real, but with plenty of room for your imagination to go wandering. I say this because the rest of my review is going to sound negative, even though I've now read the book about 4 times and I do very much love this book--particularly Harry, who just feels so refreshing. I think this book has earned a place in the young adult fantasy canon.
I really regret that I didn't know about this book until I was in my twenties. I think 15-year-old me would have LOVED the chance to read The Blue Sword. However, 25-year-old me was a little bit perplexed at how closely it resembled the American mythologies of young white women being captured by Native American tribes and "becoming the savage," and also white colonists' fears about "going native," and so a part of me had my hackles up the entire time I first read it because of the direct and extremely racially-charged parallel McKinley was drawing.
McKinley's writing and characters and worlds are always a joy to read, and I do love this book, a lot... but you may find that it needs a grain of salt to go down smoothly.