The Blue Sword (Damar, #1) in The Alternative Worlds

Aug 04, 2013 mark monday rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy-60s-70s-80s

a pleasure to read.

wonderful heroine. reminded me a bit of Brienne from ASOIF although quite a different character overall. I loved her nonchalant displays of bravery and independence, her easy acceptance of her own difference from others, her drama-free perspective on the world(s) around her, her quiet and her calm.

opening chapters felt distinctly like an alternate version of colonial era Britain. interesting path into a high fantasy novel.

best kidnapping ever! I never feared for her safety and ...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Terence rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, for-the-younger-generation

I missed my “Robin McKinley window” by about thirty years. If I had had the good fortune to come across this novel when I was fourteen, I’m sure I would have sought out more of her work and enjoyed them to the same extent as I enjoyed authors such as Andre Norton or Lloyd Alexander (whom I did have the luck to meet around this time in my life). As it happens, I’m too experienced a reader (and, mayhap, too cynical?) to fully appreciate the spirit in which the book is written. There were too many ...more

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Aug 21, 2008 Nicky rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I liked The Blue Sword rather more than The Hero and the Crown. It felt a bit more consistent, to me, and there was more world-building in it. It's still obviously one of McKinley's early novels, but it's quite a good read all the same, as long as you don't expect too much of it. The characters were intriguing enough, though not greatly fleshed out, and Harry's apprenticeship, learning everything about what she has to do, is quite interesting. I saw the romance coming a mile off, but it didn't r ...more

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Oct 24, 2008 Lori rated it liked it

I've shelved the other book I just started and decided to finally read this. It's the perfect time, I've been reading lots of dense literture for months now, I need something light, and magical - magical in both the fantasy and the great read definition.

Pretty much a perfect girl's YA book. It's the basic hero finding herself but a grand female character. How I wish there were books like this when I was 10 or so. ...more

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Aug 21, 2007 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it it was amazing

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

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 and th ...more

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