The Blue Sword

Robin McKinley

Apr 2016 · HarperCollins

About this ebook

A Newbery Honor Book and a modern classic of young adult fantasy, The Blue Sword introduces the desert kingdom of Damar, where magic weaves through the blood and weaves together destinies. New York Times–bestselling and award-winning author Robin McKinley sets the standard for epic fantasy and compelling, complex heroines. Fans of Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, and Rae Carson will delight in discovering the rich world of Damar.

Harry Crewe is a Homelander orphan girl, come to live in Damar from over the seas. She is drawn to the bleak landscape, so unlike the green hills of her Homeland. She wishes she might cross the sands and climb the dark mountains where no Homelander has ever set foot, where the last of the old Damarians, the Free Hillfolk, live.

Corlath is the golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the legendary Lady Aerin. When he arrives in Harry’s town to ally with the Homelanders against a common enemy, he never expects to set Harry’s destiny in motion: She will ride into battle as a King’s Rider, bearing the Blue Sword, the great mythical treasure, which no one has wielded since Lady Aerin herself.

Legends and myths, no matter how epic, no matter how magical, all begin somewhere.

Ratings and reviews

People make the mistake of reading the same way as watching tv-series: a one size fits all format that you can just mindlessly sit through. Robin McKinley is a genius with words and imagery. She tells a story through the protagonist's experience more than mere description of events and dialogue. Romance is also just a part of the story. Her books are people you must look at and listen to and get to know. A story like this is a personal journey that changes the reader just as Harry becoming Hariman Sol.

One of my favorite Robin McKinley books. I get why some my find it hard to keep engaged with, but I find the slowly developing storyline follows naturally the gradual process of Harry transforming into Harimad, and I enjoyed the very restrained and delicately developing romance. It's a good conduit for describing a "savage" culture that proves in many ways more refined and progressive than the "civilization" Harry is plucked from.

This was my favorite Robin McKinley book growing up and it still holds up after all this time. I recently re-read / listened to it on audiobook and loved it. Highly recommended.

About the author

Robin McKinley's other books include the Newbery Award-winning The Hero and the Crown; Newbery Honor Book The Blue Sword; Sunshine; Spindle's End; Rose Daughter; Deerskin; The Outlaws of Sherwood; and the short story collections The Door in the Hedge; A Knot in the Grain and Other Stories; and, with her husband, the author Peter Dickinson, Water: Tales of Elemental Spirits. She lives in England with her husband, three whippets, and over five hundred rosebushes.