I love this book and think it is McKinley at the height of her powers (along with The Hero and the Crown, which is my personal favorite of the two), though rereading as an adult, I noticed it has a lot of elements that I would tire of quickly if reading it from a more recently-published YA fantasy. Harry is a Super Special Heroine. She *happens* to be good at everything, and people adore her. She finds magical solutions to her problems, she learns languages quickly, and she becomes one of the best of the King's Riders after only six weeks of training.  Furthermore, at the end, she magically heals all the wounded, so none of our favorite characters die.  I can see this being annoying to someone reading The Blue Sword for the first time as an adult, and there were moments where even I was tiring of it - and this is one of all-time favorites! Luckily I think McKinley has enough maturity, command of language, and integrity to pull off the story, and nothing comes off as stupid or silly. Additionally I think the idea that Harry never felt *at home* in her country of origin, but found her peace in a totally new place is relatable for many and strong enough the carry the book and Harry's character, despite her being a heroine who can Do No Wrong. (I also think there might be an argument that since this is one of the foundational books for YA Fantasy, written back in time when the "Super Special Heroine" trope didn't really have a name, can we really accuse it of being cliche in that way?)

With a girl named Harry, you can’t go wrong!

The Blue Sword is one of those gems you’ll find on a pile of forgotten books. Books with smelly, yellow tinted pages in a secondhand bookstore. I had never heard of Robin McKinley. And unfortunately, neither did my dad back in the days when he read me bedtime stories.

What we have here is a classic high fantasy tale, very much in the tradition of Tolkien’s work, in which an orphaned girl, Angharad Crewe (it’s not hard to get why she insists on being called Harry, is it?) travels to a remote colonial town deep in the desert to live with narratives. Here she learns about the ancient hill-folk, with their beautiful horses and their strange magic. The proud hill-people are in trouble though, the promise of war is looming over them. So they turn to Harry’s new community for much needed help, but in the end, only Harry is brave enough to accept the challenge…

..and only because she is abducted by the king of the hill-folk.

McKinley wrote a coming of age story targeted at a young adult audience, that has all the elements I enjoy in high fantasy; adventure, magic, world building, battles, beautiful animals (which is not necessarily a fantasy element, but I need to point out that the author put a lot of love into her descriptions of horses and big cats; awesome stuff for horse-crazed little girls indeed! Sigh…it’s such a shame that I didn’t get to read this book at an earlier age) and a dash of romance. Thankfully, you mustn’t expect another irrevocable-can’t-breathe-and-function-without-him-love-story. The romance thread is very subtle, discrete (again, think Tolkien).
Anyway, if you love a bit of red hot romance in your stories, you will just have to get your fill by reading between the lines and making up the rest.

That brings me to my one and only pet peeve; McKinley’s writing style is excellent and sophisticated, yet rather distant; she hardly describes emotions and feelings. I’m probably used to the overly emotional writing style in the wave of ya books that are flooding the market nowadays, in which the heroines prove their everlasting love for life and their objects of desire by erratic, melodramatic behavior and flowery lines.
Mmm..it's just so good to read a well written, heartwarming fantasy story from the 80's!

2025 reread:
The Blue Sword is an all-time favorite of mine that I have read dozens of times since I first encountered it as young reader nearly 30 years ago.
Published in 1982, it still grabs my heart with the adventure and the romance of a young woman finding her footing in the world and a king trying to save his people. Robin McKinley is an excellent storyteller.

In today's world where we read things through a postcolonial lens, we see Harry coming from the colonizing culture. You can see her begin to recognize her country's role in putting Corlath's country at risk from the invaders, and you can see her learn to bridge her upbringing and adapt to her new life. There's risk of it being a "white savior complex" but it's clear that Harry and Corlath are working together and it isn't one teenager from the colonizer coming in and saving the world on her own.

Any time you read a book as often as I've read this, you see it with new eyes, and I love thsy about a favorite.


2023 reread: the love i have for this book knows no bounds.

Angharad “Harry” Crewe is the Residency’s charity case. In a society where an unmarried woman cannot own property, upon the death of her father, Harry travels to the desert and the Hills to the very edge of the Homeland territory where her brother is stationed in the military. The Hills are filled with a burning magic that steers destiny and causes guns to misfire and enemy’s horses to lose footing. When Corlath, the King of the Free Hillfolk, comes to negotiate with the Homelander outpost for an alliance against the Northerners, he’s compelled to kidnap Harry. As she makes her place among the Hillfolk, something within Harry awakens and she learns that the legendary Lady Aerin is watching over her as destiny drives her.

First published in 1982, I’ve read this book dozens of times, though according to Goodreads, it’s my first time rereading it since 2017. (I probably read it for the first time sometime between 1996-1998). I picked it up on a night of bad insomnia, to read something comforting. It has my favorite opening line of any book I’ve ever read: “She scowled at her glass of orange juice.” Sometimes when I pick up a fantasy book published over thirty years ago, I come across cringeworthy moments or plot points that are a product of their time. The Blue Sword (and its sister book that I’ll review later, The Hero and the Crown) is ageless. It features a very strong female lead, a powerful plot filled with legends and heroes, knocks against colonialism, and compelling worldbuilding. If you aren’t familiar with her work, McKinley’s writing style can be a bit jarring, but I love her sentence structure and her meandering prose; I love how it slows down the pace of the book.

This was nominated for the Newbury Medal in 1983; it didn’t win (it lost to another favorite childhood book of mine, Dicey’s Song). I suppose in today’s publishing world it might be classified as YA - librarian friends correct me if I’m wrong - but I think it’s a book worth reading at any age.

Well, they don’t really write high fantasy as they used to, now do they? There has to be a reason that Robin McKinley’s THE BLUE SWORD, first published in the 1980s, is still being widely read and adored, and that is because it is arguably the absolute best in its genre, an unmatched blend of strong characters, political intrigue, and quite simply the best damn fantasy world ever imagined and written.

It’s a little strange for me to read THE BLUE SWORD for the first time, nearly ten years after I picked up The Hero and the Crown and read it to pieces for about four years straight, it having been my favorite book in middle school. THE BLUE SWORD was written before The Hero and the Crown. I can hardly wrap my mind around that! The depiction of the Damarian landscape is incredible: ranging from endless red deserts to the hidden valleys and villages within the mountains. Robin McKinley’s language is not quite lyrical, per se, but there is a certain hypnotic rhythm that her descriptions possess. That, combined with the scope of the worldbuilding—the politics, myths, fashions, traditions, everyday duties—is entrancing. McKinley inspires awe in readers.

Harry, of course, serves for many as the blueprint of the admirable fantasy heroine. True, at times it feels like the mysterious magic of Damar is carrying her along, instead of her leading it. But her magnanimity, her determination to succeed even as she does not completely understand what’s happening to her, is inarguably admirable. Corlath’s appeal, I think, comes less from his specific characteristics, and more from his inexplicable status as the archetypal complement to Harry’s heroine role. However little or much we perceive of Harry and Corlath’s personalities, beliefs, or desires, however, they are a pair for whom we feel absolute sympathy.

I have little more to say because I feel like this is one of those instances where the more I try to examine what made this book move me so, the less impressed I will be by it. So I’ll just say that the scope of what it accomplishes is unparalleled, and if you read it at the right stage of life—say, on the brink of adolescence, just when you’re searching for a role model—then THE BLUE SWORD will undoubtedly become your bible of sorts.

Partly through reading this book I began a list of "Things you must have in your typical girly-adventure novel."

1. Main character must acquire godlike combat skills in a matter of weeks even if she has never demonstrated any previous ability. Check.

2. Main character must have cool sword with cool name. Check.

3. Main character must have animal companions. (In this case, stallion and giant cat.) Animals must be prettier, smarter, and more useful than anyone else's. Check.

4. Strange and interesting culture, which is preferable to the imperialist culture but still overly exoticized. Check.

5. Main character receives at least three separate incredibly important positions in this culture. Check.

6. Main character breaks all the rules and still gets rewarded. Check.

7. Enemies are non-human and ugly so you don't have to feel bad about killing them. The moral being, accept different cultures as long as they're not too different. Check.

8. Deus ex machina ending where the main character kills all the baddies in one giant sparkly super attack. Check.

9. Obvious but curiously juvenile sexual tension with the most important person in the interesting culture, resolved when hero and badass king fall into each other's arms in the final pages. Check.

Overall impression: The writing isn't bad, but the plot failed to move me in any way. Harry and the other characters didn't really stand out to me from the myriad fantasy stock characters I've seen. The situation is really cool: a British imperialist culture and a pseudo arab culture, where a girl from an outpost of the former becomes a hero of the latter. But as the plot went on I found myself counting the cliches instead of being invested in the characters.

Recommends: for people less picky than I am.

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 really convince me: it could've done with more foreshadowing. But I feel I'm saying that a lot, lately, about romance in fantasy novels, which is, after all, patently not the point of that whole exercise. As a fantasy novel, it's just fine -- not incredibly special, but a nice quick easy read.

This is a little bit dissapointed that isn't what I excepted. The story goes slow is ok for me but the plot just explan protagonist background,and explore the innate magic talent form protagonist.Finally protagonist defeat the dark lord end;The climax of the end of story is not a good conclusion for me.
The characters's relationship are not very attracting to me Apart form charaters's backgorund it does not develope story line.
I am still looking forward to standalone fantasy books by Robin McKinley. I heard many good things about her standalone fantasy books

Well, I'm in love. The Blue Sword is so peculiarly fascinating, almost old-fashioned in its style - and yet, reading it felt like I was coming home. The culture McKinley builds in this book is so rich and deep, it's absolutely gorgeous how she weaves it all together. Harry was such a refreshing main character, the world-building was on point, and the romance was so subtly beautiful. It's been a while since a book has so thoroughly captured me and lingered with me, even after I set it down. I'm utterly thrilled to have discovered this noble tale. It's certainly one I want to come back to.

I am a fan of McKinley's work, she's one of my favorite authors. Always a delight to read such elegant and yet accessible prose. I really loved this book. Would have rated it 5 stars but for the bit of deus ex machina at the end. Even still, it didn't take away much from the story and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Plus, totally fell in love with the character of Harry. XD

I have never particularly liked to reread books, but I remember wishing when I first read the The Blue Sword that I could hurry up and forget it so I could go back an reread it as though it were the first time. I probably wasn't expecting it to take me this long, but over 20 years later, it did feel almost like a new story. I'm not sure it would rank quite as high with me as an adult, but I see why my 12 or 13-year-old self adored this book.

Upon her father's death, Harry moves to the strange, desert land of Daria to live near her brother. Although she is a "Homelander", a fantastical version of something akin to British colonizers administering a foreign territory, Harry feels a strange affinity for her new home. When the native "Hillfolk" king comes to the Homeland settlement seeking assistance to fight off a northern invasion, he is turned away but does not leave empty-handed. He abducts Harry, sensing that she has a role to play in upcoming events. Despite her abrupt and unasked-for change of circumstances, Harry finds herself first adapting, then integrating, then becoming loved by her new people as a King's Rider with a destiny to wield the blue sword in defense of Damar.

Of course my adolescent self ate this stuff up. What girl, I ask you, would not have been thrown into paroxysms of adulation and longing? Young heroine on an adventure in a far-away land. After a lifetime of feeling like she doesn't quite belong, finding a place where she not only fits in, but is destined for greatness. Being discovered by a king. Finding talents and strengths within herself that allow her to not only excel as a warier, but to become a hero. Gaining a majestic and loyal warhorse who lives for carrying his rider. Winning the companionship of a hunting cat who follows her around like a puppy. Falling in love. Sigh... McKinnley tells the this tale with a combination of simplicity and elegance that makes it hard to resist.

I know, these days it might sounds cliche or overdone. How many versions of something like this, after-all, have been written by now? In the intervening years I have read many -- variations on a theme of some girl and her magic and her destiny and her noble steed and her prince. I might now even be tempted to complain about some Mary Sue-ness on the part of Harry, the deus ex machina way she saves the day, one-dimensional evilness of invading northerners...

But I think this is maybe a bit unfair. The Blue Sword was, I believe, one of the very first in this genre (certainly one of the first I read). No one would dare call The Lord of the Rings derivative, even though many a tale has been written about fellowships and quests and wizards and dwarves and what-not. There is something genuine and enchanting in these seminal works and the simplicity of pitting good against evil.

And McKinnley's fluid prose gives her story sparkle and life. For instance:
As the early light flowed down into the mountains, she saw the trees and rocky ridges pick themselves out of the shadows and assert their individuality.

Or:
He turned away, took a few steps, and paused; and bent, and picked something up. It was a long maroon sash, huddled in a curve in the ground, so that it looked like a shadow itself. He held it over his hand, and it hung limp like a dead animal; and the small morning breeze seemed un able to stir it.
Doesn't this give a wonderful impression of how Corlath, the king, felt upon finding Harry's dropped sash after she had ridden away? I love how understated McKinnley is with what her characters are thinking and feeling. They tend to be stiff-upper-lip sorts, yet we are given these glimpses. It makes the adventure sweet and the love-story sweeter.

Anyway, this book won a place in my heart long ago, and five-stars it shall remain.

3.5 stars. It is somewhat slow, there is a Chosen One and it's a bit predictable, a classic fantasy tale. Still the story flows beautifully and I liked it very much. The narration is in third person with occasional first person touches, and it adds a lot to the allure of the places described. The female lead reminded me a little of the one of Mordant's Need and that was a good thing. I flew through this book.

"She is a true friend, but a friend with thoughts of her own, and the thoughts of others are dangerous.”

Embarrassingly enough, although I've read HERO AND THE CROWN multiple times, this is the first time I've read BLUE SWORD. Interesting to read in light of the thinking I've been doing on postcolonial fantasy. It seems slightly ahead of its time, with its valorization of the "native" culture, although it's always easier for the colonizers and the almost colonized/resisters of colonization to get along with they have a common enemy to fight. McKinley is writing in epic/folklore mode, so it's not surprising that the villains are are so faceless, or so out and out evil, but it does grate a bit after reading books like THE LOST CONSPIRACY and NATION. The idea of a person with dual racial heritages acting as a "bridge" between cultures also intrigues me, although in the end Harry seems less of a bridge than a complete adopter of her secondary culture. I'll want to think more about the desires the book seeks to raise and appease in its reader, with its melding of the capitivity/Sheik narrative, adventure tale, Hindu-influenced female hero figures, and Kipling... What does it mean when a book allows its reader to leave behind her own race/culture and be adopted into/accepted by another?