The Blue Sword

I think I liked this book better when I was a young adult. I enjoyed the story: a girl, going by the unusual nickname of Harry, gets kidnapped by natives (called Hillmen), learns their ways and effectively becomes a native, discovers she has magic, and becomes the key to saving her new people from the big, bad, nonhuman Northerners. It's a fun, if not totally original, adventure. And the writing is overall pretty good.

My biggest complaint was that there hardly seemed to be any conflict in the story. Nothing was ever hard for this girl. Learn a new language in a couple weeks? No problem. Become an expert horsewoman without the use of reins or stirrups? Done in the blink of an eye. Train and become an expert swordswoman in six weeks? Piece of cake. Defeat immense Northerner army with just a small company of soldiers? No sweat, just use the magic to pull the mountains down and bury the army.

There wasn't even anyone who disliked Harry or was jealous of her magic. Everyone liked, respected, or admired her. Even some animals befriended her. Not one word was whispered against her for being a foreigner with strange powers. She was treated with patience and respect at all times. It drove me a little crazy how everything seemed so easy for her.

Great YA Fantasy read. Inspiring FMC with a memorable adventure story. Very re-readable.

Ever wanted a book that grabs hold of you and takes you galloping off into the desert, to live among a hidden tribe of warriors and magicians? Full of evocative landscapes, strong characters and hidden destinies?

As a teenager I adored this book so much that I 'acquired' it from the school library (it still bears the stamps), something I'd usually find unthinkable, but something about this book meant I just could not let it go. And now, re-reading it over 20 years later, I find it still works the same magic on me, even more so now that it's tinged with nostalgia, and full of strange tunnels back into my own teenage mind. Scenes and sometimes whole passages leapt back into my brain as I read them, even as I was carried off into the story just as Harry was abducted by the Hillmen. And instead of doing everything else I was supposed to be doing in the last two days I sat for hours reading.

Parts of the book are pretty predictable, the way many books with heros can be. It's set in a background of colonisation of a forbidding desert country - the Homelanders seem to be an alt-history Victorians impressing their values onto a foreign land, while the Hillmen could be any number of unconquered hold-outs in India or Africa although there is a very definite Middle Eastern vibe. The book is well-written, with very descriptive scenery and wonderful depictions of horses (despite never having a close relationship with horses, I could really picture Sungold shaking his head and digging his hoof into the ground) which make it a definite for any horse-loving, fantasy-loving reader. It can get a little wordy at times (it seems most of the characters have taken speech-writing courses) and the phrasing a bit old-fashioned, but there is enough action to make that forgivable even if a lot of the actual battle detail is left out (there are very few blow-for-blow descriptions of fighting, most of it is skipped over). The book does not contain gore and is amazingly chaste - romance lovers may find it a little lacking in that department but if my teenage self if anything to go by you'll have no trouble filling in the missing details! The ending is very 'happily ever after', but I don't resent it. At least it ties up the loose ends, unlike many fantasy books I've read.

Overall, I was delighted to find how well the book has aged. It had been so long I had forgotten most of the actual plot (although I knew bits and pieces) but I think this is one of those books that is fun to read even if you now what's going to happen, just as it seems like it would be fun to gallop down a path you've ridden down before. Now, where can I get my own Narknon?

2019 Review
My earlier review describes this book as a security blanket. I find the analogy remains apt. The first few words of The Blue Sword (quoted below) still relax me like almost nothing else. I enter a little bubble of contentment just thinking about them.
I know this world. I know these words.
But like a favored blanket from my childhood, I no longer need this book. The sentences remain familiar and comforting. I can trace the weave of the words, the faded colors, and the frayed edges. I feel a burst of all my old affection. But I do not depend on them for my strength anymore.
You see, when I read The Blue Sword over and over again in high school, I was a restless teenager, anxious to tackle the world and prove myself. In Hari, I saw someone like me. Someone who burst from her hum-drum, normal life and became...more.
And now, at 25, I have become more. I live in Thailand. I study law. I have daily adventures. I might not slay demon warriors or date magic kings, but let me tell you, I rode on a motorcycle taxi the other day wearing a possibly lice infested helmet 2 sizes too big while the driver texted and drove, and I dare anyone to call Hari's experience getting kidnapped more terrifying.
I re-read this book slowly, familiarly, and without feeling like I needed it. Rather, I felt a slight nostalgia mixed with...amusement. I did it. I became my own heroine and so I don't need this heroine as much.
At the same time, if I changed my rating, I think I might rate The Blue Sword 5 stars this time. Not because of the plot, or the characters, but because it captures emotions I could not begin to understand at 15. Like the feeling of bridging two worlds, of feeling like a stranger even while being surrounded by people, of helplessness and destiny. These things I recognized but did not know. And now that I know them, I doubly appreciate how this story prepared me for them. Or maybe just gave me words to describe them.
This book is my security blanket - but one I outgrew. Yet I will always love it for giving me an outlet as a teenager to reach for something more. And, in its own way, for giving me identity as an adult as I re-read familiar words with new eyes and understand how they structured who I am today.
I am my own heroine because of heroines like Hari Crewe who helped me on the way.

2016 Review
She scowled at her glass of orange juice. To think that she had been delighted when she first arrived here – was it only three months ago? – with the prospect of fresh orange juice every day…

How do I explain the feeling I get when I read those words, the beginning sentences of this book? It is like a shiver goes down my back. Like I just bit into one of those oranges...and it is sweeter and juicier then I expected. Suddenly I feel like I am everywhere and nowhere. A part of me is already with Harry in Istan, drinking orange juice and attempting to be pleased, but another part of me is back to where I’ve stood so many times, behind the last bookshelf at the library, consuming the magical words I’ve dawdled in and played with time and time again. Because that has become as much a part of the memory, too…catching a few words of a favorite book in my favorite way to escape the stresses of school and life…
The Blue Sword is probably my favorite book by Robin McKinley. It holds its own in that precious list of books I can’t even put words to, books I’ll read and re-read and probably re-read again. Maybe someday I’ll try and make it a shelf, but I’ve tried before, and failed.

The plot of The Blue Sword…
Harry Crewe’s Father dies and sent to live with her soldier brother in the wild, untamed Istan, almost a combination of the unsettled United States colonies during the early 1700’s and colonial India in the early 1900’s. I could be wrong there, but that is the imaging I’ve always gotten. She tries to please Sir Charles and Lady Amelia, the kind couple who took her in, but settling down to the relaxed, lazy life of Istan drives her crazy. She loves the desert though…the mysterious wasteland hovering tantalizingly just outside the settlement. No Homelander lives there; it is the land of the mysterious old Damarians, the Free Hillfolk. Rumor has it they possess strange powers, and many a man would give his life for the opportunity to ride once upon their beautiful, powerful horses.
When Corlath, the King of the Hilkfold, comes to Istan with a warning and the offer of an alliance, he only half thinks they’ll believe him. It was a desperate move, but these were desperate times. The tall, blond haired young woman he saw as he stormed out should have been only another face…but unfortunately, it is one that won’t go away. His Gift, the trait passed through the Royal bloodline, won’t let him forget it. In fact, it will drive him to do the unthinkable…
Kidnap the Homelander Girl.

When I first picked up this book…I did so because I felt somehow like I had read it before. I have never been able to figure out why. But oh! I am so glad I did. At the risk of repeating myself, this is the book that, frustrated with the junk our library called teen books, I’d rush over and pick up off the shelf. And I’d re-read those first few sentences, and maybe if my day had gone particularly bad, I’d allow myself to sink into a nearby chair and just keep reading. The first sentence.
Then a paragraph.
Then a page…
You know how some little kids have blankies? Well, I have books.
And this was one of them.
But enough about that, what makes this book good?
Well, Harry Crewe for one. She’s an amazing character. She grows, changes…finds purpose. She has emotions, but they’re not irritating. You don’t feel like beheading the heroine after she spends pages whining about her everything and everyone in her life. But she isn’t annoyingly perfect. She’s human, yet strong and believable . Most of all, what I think makes readers appreciate her…and what makes girls of all ages feel like they can relate to her…is simply because of who she is. Especially when we first find her, longing for something. Hunting for purpose. What teenage girl would argue they’ve never felt that way? Felt like running off into the wild unknown, daydreaming about handsome kings and horses and destiny. I sure have. And Harry…well, she kind of does too. But most of all, we look at her and see a somewhat forgotten girl. Someone who lives each day kind of bored, strong and beautiful, yet surprisingly unaware of it…and unaware of the gift she holds (oooh…yeah, I’m not giving anything away ;) ) And then one day…BAM! She learns who she is and there is adventure and romance and, frankly, awesomeness.
And if you like horses? There are some wicked-awesome horses in this book.
But there is also a bit of everything. It’s a fantastic plot. It weaves fantasy at some of its best, with actual struggles and memorable, good characters and interesting elements. Of adventure and romance and a hint of mystery and suspense.
I know what you’re thinking now…after all this rambling, why did I give it four stars?
That is a bit trickier to answer, but in all fairness it must be done.
1.tThe writing. Oh it is good! Very good, but not amazing. It needs just a little more maturing to be worth five stars.
2.tI have a confession…I didn’t adore (positively, head-over-heels) adore the Corlath. I know! Shocking. Horrifying. But I didn’t. I liked him a great deal…but he wasn’t a five star guy.
3.tWell…I guess simply, I love the book, but it isn’t a five star story. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer was five stars. Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris is five stars. This is four stars.

If you love adventure, romance, or even ever felt like running away and finding a purpose…this book is for you. It is passionate and adventure filled and truly one of those forgotten books that proves how stupid modern teen writing is. Compare it to a “modern” fantasy novel, Graceling or Mistwood … The Blue Sword just blows them out of the water. There is no comparison.
So, if you have made it to the end of this tiresomely long review of how much I love this book…congratulations.
Really, if you are a teenage girl (like at all!) who has ever struggled with feeling forgotten, longed for a purpose, or simply just wanted to chuck life and head for the hills…you’ll love this book.
I know I do.
To complete in the line I began with…
But she had been eager to be delighted; this was to be her home, and she wanted badly to like it, to be grateful for it – to behave well, to make her brother proud of her and Sir Charles and Lady Amelia pleased with their generosity…



On a very far-off side note, while I recommend this book, I do not recommend it’s sequel… The Hero and The Sword. Many of the reviewers on here mention how much they love it. Splendid. I found it had all the things that made this book lose a star…and three more.

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 heroine, ends up doing. Sure, it may be a kidnapping, but through a massive case of Stockholm Syndrome, or through something in the water or, as the more romantic view (and of course the one I have) would put it, fate, she finds a new, more comfortable home in the deserts of the native Damarians. And a sexy, sexy mentor in Corlath, the king of the Hillfolk, who forces his elite guard, the Riders, into accepting and teaching Harry. She gains a completely AWESOME horse, Tsornin, who is better drawn than 99% of the humans in any given book. And of course she gains a ghostly mentor in Aerin, who will later get her own book, the Newberry winning The Hero and The Crown.

Her journey through this, and her ascension as damalur-sol, Lady Hero, is the thing that makes this book so compelling. (Though how hot Corlath is comes in a close second.) She goes through culture shock, she goes through pain and difficulty and she ends up doing what she thinks is right despite risking ostracism from the first place she's ever really fit in. She's a wonderful heroine in a wonderful story, and all I wish is that there were more of Damar for us to experience. Dammit, Robin McKinley!

Re-read for book club.

I got this book when I was eleven, I believe, and that was the perfect age. I have read this book so many times that picking it up again, after many years, was like hearing an old favorite song come onto the radio... each phrase resonating clearly in memory, bringing with it emotional associations.

So - I can't claim to be wholly objective about the book. I can say that if I has read it for the first time now, it would not have been as meaningful to me. Interestingly, I re-read the sequel to this book, 'The Hero and the Crown' not so long ago. (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). When the sequel came out, I was mildly disappointed by it, but as an adult, I actually think that it holds up better over time.

Part of this may be that while 'The Blue Sword' is in many ways purely a romantic fantasy, it is also inspired by historical fact. When I first read the book I did know about British Colonialism (thanks, 'The Secret Garden'!) but I knew nothing about the Anglo-Afghan conflict, which the events here are based on. It's jarring to reconcile the essentially uplifting story here with the bloody, nasty, reality. Don't get me wrong, the book in no way endorses colonialism. The problems and ethical issues are all acknowledged here - but they're presented subtly, sometimes between the lines. Our main POV character is Harry, a young woman who's been brought up in a certain type of society, and although she is an admirable person, her perspective on things is realistically limited by her experiences and what she perceives as 'normal.' I actually think that the presentation of the political issues is just about perfectly handled for an audience of preteens and young teens.

The main focus of the story is not political, but is on Harry as a character. In many ways, Harry is a Mary Sue - a term that has been thrown around a lot over the past few years as a term of denigration. I am pretty much opposed to that concept. No, books with 'Mary Sue' characters might not be delving into the sordid depths of the human character or aiming for a Booker Prize, but I think that they are a valid and important type of literature. Sometimes, we need wish fulfillment. Having a wonderful character to project yourself into can be incredibly valuable.

Harry has always felt like an outsider in her stuffy faux-British society, which sees her as wild and headstrong. Orphaned, the responsibility for her lies on her brother, a soldier. He's relieved to have an aristocratic couple posted overseas in the diplomatic service agree to take her in. Harry is keenly aware of her position as a charity case - but quickly finds herself falling in love with the new country she's been brought to. It resonates with her on a deep level, and finally she feels that she might be somewhere that she belongs.

However, her life is upended once again when the king of the hilltribes, Corlath, comes to the house where she is living on a diplomatic mission. The mission might be a failure, but Corlath's 'kelar,' his hereditary magic, 'recognizes' Harry at first sight - and insists that he take her as a hostage.

Events unravel from there, and we see Harry progress from being a child, subject to the wills of others, to a person strong enough to do what she believes needs to be done, even directly in defiance of others' wills. And of course, to become a legendary hero and to save the day.

The writing is wonderful - I love McKinley's mix of down-to-earth, practical details and elevated, fantastic passages. Another notable aspect is the depictions of animals - both cats and horses feature prominently in the book, and are shown with a genuine love and affection. The book also has a well-balanced mix of action and romance. It's a wholly chaste romance, but emotionally intense, and again, it's just perfect for a pre-teen. If you know someone in that age group, don't let them grow up without reading this!

1/29/18 $1.99 for Kindle.

DNF at page 13. So boring! A dull setting, with dull history and current events (talked about dully at length), and dull characters. I know it's quite early in the book, but I flipped ahead for more interesting parts and it looks like it remain quite dull. I'm noping out while the noping's good.

I picked this up on cover appeal only years ago from a library book sale, looked like classic fantasy. It is, but dull.

I wouldn't ordinarily post something for a book I got so little into, but I wanted to document this rare time that I honoured my DNF impulse so quickly on a book that I started in earnest. It's not like this is hurting the book's sales forty years after publication.