The Blue Sword

by Robin McKinley

The Blue Sword

published	March 15th 1987 by Ace
binding	Paperback
isbn	0441068804 (isbn13: 9780441068807)
pages	256
literary awards	A Newbery Honor Book
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 [close] 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 is quiet and ordinary-until the night she is kidnapped by Corlath, the Hillfolk King, who takes her deep into the desert. She does not know the Hillfolk language; she does not know why she has been chosen. But Corlath does. Harry is to be trained in the arts of war until she is a match for any of his men. Does she have the courage to accept her true fate? "McKinley's spare and eloquent prose is sheer delight... a compelling portrait of the vibrant, wryly humorous Harry." -School Library Journal, starred review "This is a zesty, romantic heroic...." -Booklist, starred review Awards: ( A 1983 Newbery Honor Book ( An ALA Notable Book ( An ALA Best Book for Young Adults [close]
date added	03-21-07 edit book

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Renee

Renee rated it:

03/21/08

English 425 Submitter’s name
_____________________ Renee Hess
Book Bank Book Bank subject: ______________________ Power Player

Reference information:
Title The Blue Sword
Author Robin McKinley
Publisher Greenwillow Books, New York Year 1982
# of pages 272 Genre Fantasy
Reading level Interest level any ages 11 and up
Potential hot lava:
N/A (few curse words; not many)

General response/reaction:
I...more

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Lucy

Lucy rated it:

04/07/08

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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Elizabeth

Elizabeth rated it:

06/29/08

bookshelves: earlier, fantasy, favorite-books, favorite-writers

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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Cassie

Cassie rated it:

06/23/08

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...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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Eliza

Eliza rated it:

08/09/07

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 delightful heroi...more

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anenko

anenko rated it:

(review of isbn 014130975X)

06/17/07

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 previously...more

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Debbie

Debbie rated it:

03/01/08

bookshelves: 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 co...more

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6 comments

Lisa

Lisa rated it:

(review of isbn 0688009387)

05/07/08

bookshelves: squeaky-clean-fiction, teenfiction

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: high fantasy fans

Finally figured out how to download a title to my MP3 player and be able to fast forward to where I left off.

Robin McKinley weaves a wonderful sequel to The Hero and the Crown; The Blue Sword takes place centuries later than the Newbery award winning book and holds its own just fine.

This reads like an epic book packed inside a normal size novel. Harry is one of those rare female characters who are strong and independent but still can fall in love. Corlath is the Damarian king and a...more

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Corinne

Corinne rated it:

04/05/08

bookshelves: once-upon-a-time-ii-challenge

Read in April, 2008

I just finished this book in one great gulp over the last 24 hours (in between the minding of my three children, two nieces, making a batch of cookies and some home made pizza etc etc). It was fantastic. McKinley is a master of fantasy writing - the characters never felt forced, I believed in her magic and the world she created for me. Harry is an exceptional heroine - I always love following the path of a predestined heroine, watching them learn and grow into their strengths. She was an interes...more

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Denise

Denise rated it:

10/09/07

bookshelves: fantasy, reread-to-death-favorites

Read in January, 1994

I encountered this book on a rack in my local library when I was quite young and fell in love with it immediately and became a Robin McKinley fan for life. It follows the normal pattern of young adult lit – misunderstood youth falls into new crowd and becomes integral in some sort of crisis or another and ends up victorious. Add in an element of romance and you’ve got me hooked.

Harry is not a docile young woman like her brother Richard would like her to be. He is quite worried that she w...more

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Rachel

Rachel rated it:

07/28/08

bookshelves: rachel-s-absolute-favorite-books, ya-books

Read in January, 1982

I'm on my fourth copy of The Blue Sword. The first copy, I purchased as a ten year old. I remember where I was when I first saw it (BYU bookstore. I remember the layout of the store(it's different now) and where the book was sitting on the shelf. TBS had that big of an impression on me.

It was the first book I truly fell in love with. As a kid I read and reread it over and over again. I wanted to be Harry. I really wanted her horse. Corlath didn't start to appeal to me till I was a li...more

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Rin

Rin rated it:

05/27/07

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in January, 1995

My first experience with this book was at the age of twelve, and has become one of those classic books for me that I turn to when I need a good comfort read, so I'm afraid that any review might be a little bias. But then perhaps the fact that it is a comfort read says a lot about the book.

The story is about a girl who is kidnapped by the king of the land her people are occupying, and ends up trying to unite both of their peoples and save them from a threat even more foreign than they are to...more

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Jackie

Jackie rated it:

08/21/07

bookshelves: fantasy, favorites, teen-books-adults-can-enjoy, youngadult

Read in January, 1988

recommends it for: Romantic teenage girls

If you ever went through a horse phase, if you ever felt awkward and out of place, if you have ever dreamt of learning a language overnight, you will love this story!
Harry, short for Angharad, is a tall, awkward 19-year-old who goes to live out on the frontier where her brother is stationed,and attracts the attention of the king of the neighboring country, Daria.
She and the king have the same kind of magic, and she is destined to play an important role in the upcoming battle between Daria an...more

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Denise

Denise rated it:

01/14/08

bookshelves: fantasy, reread

Read in January, 2008

Another YA book, companion to The Hero and the Crown, and just as stunning. They both play up the outsider-outcast theme, and use the standard "misunderstood girl becomes Grand Hero" plot, but they're still different than night and day. This book is less a Traditional Fantasy and more of a conflict between Old World and New World; it's very clearly allegorical for British Empire colonialism meeting native history and cultu...more

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Stephen

Stephen rated it:

04/30/08

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in April, 2008

As a general rule I find the sword-welding heroine fantasy genre to be too heavily saturated in feminism for me to enjoy it, but The Blue Sword is an exception. Harry, the main character, neither hates men with a passion nor is a narcissist too in love with her own beauty or talents to see the others around her. Instead she is presented as a young woman in love with the Hills and trying to come to terms with her Gift. At times she is too manish, but never comes off as overbearing.

Th...more

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Kaitlin

Kaitlin rated it:

08/06/08

Read in August, 2008

This one started out too slow for me. I was tempted to put it down, and only the fact it came highly recommended from several sources kept me going. Once the plot picked up, however, this became a book I couldn't put down and I finished it in 3 days (which says a lot in comparison to my busy schedule). I really enjoyed how the Outlanders could easily be compared to colonial England in their views on other cultures and expansionist attitudes. The Hillspeople were very much like the Middle Eastern...more

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Amitha

Amitha rated it:

07/21/08

Read in July, 2008

This is a wonderful fantasy novel and Newbery Honor Book that I wish I had found when I was a kid. The story is about a young girl named Harry who is kidnapped by the mysterious desert Hill-folk. She eventually learns that she possesses magic powers (which she never quite learns to control) and has a destiny to fulfill. The grand sweeping deserts of the novel are beautifully described and the Hill-folk traditions are intricate and lovingly crafted. Harry is a headstrong sword-wiedling heroine w...more

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Kathi

Kathi rated it:

04/06/08

bookshelves: read-many-times

Read in August, 1984

recommended to Kathi by: My dear friend Eric
recommends it for: fantasy readers, young adults, juvenille fiction readers

I first read this book when my best friend gave it to me in 1984 for my 18th birthday. I loved it then and still do today. It is tied for my favorite book ever (with Ender's Game).

I recently purchased a new copy because my original is tattered and has much sentimental value to me. I read it probably once a year.

A juvenile fantasy, it does not have sex or too much violence, but the story is so rich and the characters are people who stay with you long after the story has ended.

Brave...more

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Monday

Monday rated it:

07/30/07

bookshelves: comfort-reads, fantasy, ya

recommends it for: people who like fantasy, horses and big cats

I learned from this book that the boy I was in love with in fourth grade had better taste in sixth grade then the boy who loaned me Robert Jordan's six years later.

We had a secret winter-person swap in my elementary school and this boy gave me this book. That was in the winter of 1987. I still read it at least once every other year. It isn't spectacular. There is nothing so break-away original that I gasp each time. But I loved Harry. I loved Corlath. I especially love the big hunting...more

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Sara

Sara rated it:

06/30/08

bookshelves: fantasy, ya---guy-or-girl

Read in January, 1975

The Blue Sword is a fantasy book that feels a bit more like an historical romance. It's not the best-written book ever, so if you're reading it for the first time, don't send me a nasty note! I know it's not perfect. It came along at a moment in my life when I needed to know that it was OK for a woman to be different as well as powerful. I needed to see a woman give someone a good kicking and still win in the end. Blue Sword offers that. There's also a great Middle-Eastern/deserty feel to the na...more

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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 4.34 (2158 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 4.33 (1999 ratings)
number of reviews: 247

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