The Blue Sword

by Robin McKinley

book data

4,179 ratings, 4.31 average rating, 526 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		50%
4		32%
3		14%
2		2%
1		0%

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published

March 15th 1987 (first published 1982) by Ace

binding

Paperback, 256 pages

literary awards

A Newbery Honor Book

isbn

0441068804 (isbn13: 9780441068807)

description

Harry Crewe is an orphan girl who comes to live in Damar, the desert country shared by the Homelanders and the secretive, magical Hillfolk. Her life i...more

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 5,162)

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08/09/07

Eliza rated it:

bookshelves: romance

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: EVERYONE EVER.

I've read this book so many times over the year that this time I went out and bought a new copy because my cover is in tatters. But I reread it again and loved it again, unsurprisingly. McKinley still amazes me with how fully realized Damar is as a place, how familiar the Homeland and its desire to civilise feels, and how freaking scary the Northerners are. (Seriously, y'all. Motherfuckers are SCARY.)

This is the perfect escapism book, partially because that's what Harry, our delightf...more

Like this review? yes (8 people liked it)

1 comment

04/11/08

Elizabeth rated it:

bookshelves: earlier, fantasy, favorite-books

Read in June, 2008

This book changed by reading-life. Before I was sixteen, I did not find a lot of books that reminded me of me. I read lots of books: classics, current, intellectual, and silly, and I didn't see myself in any of them. The female characters were boring or flat, often prostitutes or supportive but otherwise lifeless wives. None of them ever did anything. Where were the books about women who took action? Where were the stories about young women who weren't worried about going to a dance? And then I ...more This book changed by reading-life. Before I was sixteen, I did not find a lot of books that reminded me of me. I read lots of books: classics, current, intellectual, and silly, and I didn't see myself in any of them. The female characters were boring or flat, often prostitutes or supportive but otherwise lifeless wives. None of them ever did anything. Where were the books about women who took action? Where were the stories about young women who weren't worried about going to a dance? And then I was home sick and a friend brought me a bag of books. She pulled out The Blue Sword and said read this one first!

I really had never read any fantasy before. I thought I wouldn't like it but The Blue Sword was captivating. I read it through in a day, and then I read it again. Here was a young woman who didn't quite fit in her environment. She felt uncomfortable in society. She chafed under paternal supervision. And then she's swept up in an adventure. She discovers she's stronger than she thought and capable of taking on burdens she didn't want and finding friends and home and love in it all.

What do you want? I was sixteen. I loved it. And from there, I went on to read lots of fantasy and science fiction. For a long time, it was the only place I could find women characters that I could identify with. Over time, I discovered these same characteristics in other women characters: Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennet, Margaret Hale, et al., but Harry Crewe was first. Reading The Blue Sword is like hanging out with a good friend (albeit one with a strange obsession with horses and large cats). She isn't sure of herself, she gets through challenges as best she can, and throughout all of it, the writing is subtly funny and irreverent. I smile a lot when I read this book.

I've read this book a dozen times since that first time and I'm well aware that critics are right when they complain about McKinley's meandering style that is sometimes very hard to follow. I usually skip the first fifty pages (after you read it once, you don't need it again). But McKinley treats the reader like a friend. As Harry learns information, we learn it, too. And she adds details that make the world real (like teaching us the language of Harry's new home as she learns it). This can be annoying sometimes -- I just don't care about the names and types of tents the Hillfolk use -- but she means well and it's generally benign.

So I am grateful to my friend, for introducing me to Harry Crewe and Robin McKinley, and I'm grateful to McKinley for leading me into the wonderful lands of fantasy.(less)

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03/01/08

Debbie rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy-scifi, favorites

Read in January, 1997

Effusion warning: the following is not a review - it's more like a wordy shrine to Robin McKinley.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. One of the many reasons is that I discovered it all by myself (well, not quite by myself; a librarian put it on the shelf where I could find it - thank you, librarian!).

I was browsing the shelves at the Lee Library, and I think it was the title that first caught my attention. If I remember correctly, I took it down and flipped thr...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

6 comments

10/31/08

Melody rated it:

(review of isbn 0688009387)

Read in October, 2008

I loved this book. With all my heart. It starts with a girl who doesn't quite fit, then builds from there. There are demons and heroes and enchanted swords and true love. Also legends and big loving cats and semi-supernatural archers. Did I mention evil? Oh, and kings and proto-British cavalry? And horses from the fever-dreams of Alec Ramsey! Palatial tents. The best kinds of friendship, the kinds which transcend rank and sex and age.

The plot is classic, the story arc undeniably sati...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

4 comments

04/07/08

Lucy rated it:

bookshelves: favourites

Read in February, 2005

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I am forever in the debt of the shop assistant at my local bookstore. Staring at the row upon row of novels with titles like 'Skins' and 'Tomorrow When the War Began', I turned around and asked the woman stacking books if she had any recommendations. After asking me what I liked, she immediately pointed to the Robin McKinley section. After listening to her glowing review, I thought, 'what the heck' and bought both the Blue Sword and the Hero and the Crown. I read the first few chapters of the Bl...more I am forever in the debt of the shop assistant at my local bookstore. Staring at the row upon row of novels with titles like 'Skins' and 'Tomorrow When the War Began', I turned around and asked the woman stacking books if she had any recommendations. After asking me what I liked, she immediately pointed to the Robin McKinley section. After listening to her glowing review, I thought, 'what the heck' and bought both the Blue Sword and the Hero and the Crown. I read the first few chapters of the Blue Sword on the way home and became so absorbed I got no work done at all for the rest of the day.

I've heard it said that McKinley is a simple writer, a bad writer, confusing and difficult to understand. In some respects, particularly in 'Outlaws of Sherwood', I agree. Not in these two books. The Blue Sword, telling the tale of an orphaned young woman sent to live with her brother at an outpost of the remote edges of the empire who is then kidnapped by the native desert-dwellers, is entirely absorbing, compelling and beautifully, sparsely written.

McKinley doesn't describe the world and the characters Harry meets in a conventional way. She has no one character tell Harry everything and anything about the Damarians and their King in one chapter. Rather, McKinley shows everything as Harry sees it; with foreign, yet slowly familiar eyes. An awkward moment as Harry is offered a bath with two male slaves to wash her. The mystical Water of Sight that Harry drinks without knowing what, exactly, it is she takes. The training and eventual mastery of the Damarian's fighting skills with her horse, Tsornin. There are no endless questions, no fighting what is happening to the characters in McKinley's books. At no point does Harry whinge and scream and kick the wall and demand to go home. She makes the best of her situation until she realises it's her home more than Lady Amelia's breakfast table ever was.

McKinley's restraint is evident in this book; she gives just enough for the reader to want more, but be satisfied with what they've been given at the same time. The characters are beautifully crafted, from wry Mathin to Corlath, who overpowers both Harry and the reader from the moment he arrives in the book.

Being a horse trainer, my favourite moments in this book are, naturally, with the horses. McKinley created a system of riding that is completely believable and shows a trust between horse and rider that not many find in the real world. Everything about this book has been thought through carefully, lovingly and brought about with the skill of a master who deserves far more praise than she recieves.

I only wish McKinley would write more novels of Damar. (less)

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03/26/08

Cassie rated it:

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Cassie by: John Wiswell
recommends it for: Everyone.

An amazing ride. Beautifully descriptive with plenty of action and magic, The Blue Sword has earned a place on my "books I read over and over again" shelf.

The Blue Sword I found most fascinating and enjoyable for its setting. It takes place over three locations: Home, Damar, and The Hills. Theses places put me in mind of England, Gibraltar, and Morocco for the transitions from cool and simple green lands filled with leaves and gentle horses into unknown deserts filled with ...more An amazing ride. Beautifully descriptive with plenty of action and magic, The Blue Sword has earned a place on my "books I read over and over again" shelf.

The Blue Sword I found most fascinating and enjoyable for its setting. It takes place over three locations: Home, Damar, and The Hills. Theses places put me in mind of England, Gibraltar, and Morocco for the transitions from cool and simple green lands filled with leaves and gentle horses into unknown deserts filled with magic and mystery. Truly, this book could be read just for the description of tents and horses. As a girl who was never into the Black Beauty series and never romanticized horses as a child, I nevertheless found the horses and riding to be some of the best descriptions in the book.

What romantic interest there is between the characters is unexpected, not at all formulaic and therefore sweet and wonderful when it takes you by surprise.

The hill magic, kelar is also a fantastic addition to the text and rather than feeling pasted on or "Hey look, magic!" it is a rare part of life that is treated as both a gift and a maddening annoyance.

The presence of a female warrior protagonist is refreshingly human. Harry is far from the standard chainmail bikini clad, sword wielding, confidence oozing chosen one. As a reader I empathized with her confusion, bruises, discomfort, and annoyance. Harry often has moments of stating that she would really rather skip the mystery and know what is going on. When she gains skills and defeats foes, there is a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. My favorite part is that I actually didn't know what was going to happen. Harry is not the sort of heroine where you don't even frown when she meets the main bad guy because of course he'll be defeated. However, the situation is not so doomed as to be completely hopeless, where a victory would be utterly improbable and the result of a deus ex machina. You have faith in Harry's fighting abilities, as well as concern at the hordes she encounters.

I loved this book. Love love love love loved it.(less)

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09/17/08

Jean rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in September, 2008

recommends it for: everyone

It took me awhile to get into this book. Perhaps because for most of the year I've been reading first person urban fantasys and third person stories that keep a really close perspective. Before I realized that was the problem I was worried that the whole book would be like that. Thankfully it's not. Once the plot showed up for the party I had trouble putting the book down.

The world is rich and realistic. Even with the magic it feels like it could easily be a part of our world. The t...more

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06/17/07

anenko rated it:

(review of isbn 014130975X)

bookshelves: fantasy-and-paranormal, young-adult

Harry, having recently been orphaned, is sent to live with here older brother far away from Home. Her heart is quickly captured by the desert, and she finds herself longing for a land whose inhabitants view her and her people as outsiders--and worse, invaders.

Circumstances change drastically when the king of Damar, Corlath, arrives at the military base where Harry is living in order to warn the Homelanders of the threat the Northerners pose to both of their peoples. There is a pr...more

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12/05/08

Alisa rated it:

Read in January, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

08/10/07

Flo Gardner rated it:

recommends it for: pretty much everyone

Just like so many other readers, this book is one that I have gone back to over and over again. It is just a beautifully crafted story that as a young girl made a huge impact on me. We follow our heroine Harry to Home, a place where she isn't home at all. The story that unfolds is magical and inspiring as she discovers herself and her destiny. For a long time I would keep a look out, hoping that Robin McKinley would write another book about this beautiful world. Guess I'll just have to read ...more

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03/19/09

Karen rated it:

Read in March, 2009

One of my favorite books from childhood, this qualifies as young adult fantasy, but is still a very good read for grown-ups.

It features a compelling heroine, who is neither whiny, nor stereotypically "spunky," but who has a sort of dignity rare in YA fiction. The setting quickly leaves an empire reminiscent of Victorian England for a mysterious and exotic desert land that calls to the heroine, where she discovers a mysterious destiny (you knew that was coming, didn't you...more

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03/18/09

Katharhino Taylor rated it:

bookshelves: childrens-lit, fantasy

Read in March, 2009

I like Robin McKinley and always meant to read her Damar series. I found this on my brother-in-law's bookshelf just when I was feeling sick with a cold and in need of something escapist. It fit the bill perfectly.

As a classic fantasy, The Blue Sword has all the traditional elements: destiny, legendary swords, great battles, and evil Dark Lords. In the hands of a lesser writer it might end up cliche and predictable. But Robin McKinley has enough ability with description and character...more

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03/11/09

Delaina rated it:

Read in January, 1988

This story was written in the early wave of modern feminist fantasy, as the author was one of those fantasy-loving girls who saw no stories with strong female protagonists (or, if you're talking Tolkien, any strong females, period) while growing up. Ms. McKinley remedied that by writing what she wanted to read as a girl.
To the story: it concerns a girl called Harry, who finds herself thrust into the care of her older brother, Richard, a military attache stationed abroad, when their father ...more

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01/04/09

Diana rated it:

Read in July, 2003

I loved this book - after having read The Hero and the Crown (my first McKinley book), I was hooked. I only wish that I had had books like McKinley's when I was a pre-teen. Even though I read it as a 40-something, it was very empowering, and I gave this book and The Hero and the Crown to my niece on her 12th birthday. My favorite of all McKinley's books is still Deerskin, which is for slightly older teens (15+ maybe) because of its subject matter, and the main reason is because Lissar does NO...more

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05/26/09

Claire rated it:

bookshelves: high-younger-readers, love-love-love, middle-grade, re-reads, sf-f-or-alternate-history

Read in May, 2009

I've read this book well over a hundred times in the last twenty years; it's probably my favorite comfort read ever, and I know the text even better than the screenplay of The Princess Bride. This is the first time I've read The Blue Sword since reading Chalice a few months ago, and I tried to read it with fresh and critical eyes just to satisfy my curiosity about McKinley's writing style.

Fresh eyes were impossible after such a long acquaintance, but I did realize that it's more flo...more

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06/13/09

Leah rated it:

Read in June, 2009

Robin McKinley is one of my favorite authors, and it was this book which first hooked me on her writing (I did read Deerskin and The Door In the Hedge first, but this is the one in which she totally captured my imagination).
Whenever I read this book I want to go live as part of a desert tribe; I want to go join the Damarians and live the life painted in this book. The fact that I, who love the snow and cold of my native Minnesota winters, feel this way when reading The Blue Sword can only...more

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03/18/09

Emmy rated it:

(review of isbn 0688009387)

Read in March, 2009

Angharad--Harry--Crewe is orphaned with her older brother Richard--Dickie--after their parents pass away. Both move to Damar, a barren desert country, where Harry lives in boredom with the benevolent Sir Charles and Lady Amelia. The household is anxious: Corlath, the golden-eyed king of the Hill-folk, is rumored to be riding out with his men to meet with Sir Charles and ask for aid in the inevitable war with the Northerners--an alien, inhuman race of beings terrorizing the Hill-folk with dark ...more

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09/14/07

Lee Edward rated it:

Read in January, 2007

recommends it for: Teenaged Readers

I didn't really enjoy this book. I found it a bit stuffy and stiff, especially at the beginning. It's written with a British imperialistic mindset and point of view—though strangely this is a fantasy book, taking place in a completely fictional world. This is probably what irked me the most: the tea, the "Dickies" . . . all the stuffy charm of a Jane Austen novel with none of the freshness or imagination of other fantasy novels (read Terry Pratchett!).

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06/02/09

Josiah rated it:

Read in June, 2009

"(T)he truth (is) not always its own excuse".

—The Blue Sword, P. 184

"It seems to me further that it is very odd that fate should lay so careful a trail and spend so little time preparing the one that must follow it."

—Harry Crewe, "The Blue Sword", P. 184

Robin McKinley most certainly knows her way when it comes to the writing of high fantasy.
Cut from the same epic cloth as novels by such writers as J...more

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03/22/09

Diane rated it:

Read in March, 2009

Overall, I enjoyed this adventure fantasy. The story is fast-paced and entertaining, and the desert setting is interesting.

However, a lot of important things were left out of the story. The most serious gap is in the development of the protagonist. Throughout the course of the story, Harry undergoes a rapid transformation from a displaced orphan to a heroine weilding a sword of legend, yet there is hardly a hint of an inner struggle. This makes her seem very one-dimensional.
...more

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"...My friend, there are some things that I cannot tell you. Some I will tell you in time; some, others will tell you; some you may never know, or you may be the first to find the answers." More quotes...