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Summary: The first of the fantastical...
Review: It is a wonderful book! I think that this book was the reason I have gone on to become both a reading and a fantasy fanatic. It introduced me to all the possibilities that fantasy and the imagination can dream up... I would highly reccomed this book to anyone who loves fantasy!
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Summary: Review for the Blue Sword
Review: The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley starts with Harry (one of the main characters) scowling at his glass orange juice and summarizing how and why she has come to stay with Sir Charles and Lady Amelia. Soon after, she meets a Hill-King named Corlath. Corlath soon realizes that Harry was special and kidnapped her to take her to his homeland. Harry staying with Corlath and his men finds out a lot about the world around her and about herself. Knowing that she is part Hill-folk helps to take on the coming war with a little bit of courage. It is a warlike book and faith will be kept busy. This book has a lot in it, adventures, magic and a pinch of romance. Robin McKinley is a great writer. He is able to make the characters real and the emotions extreme. I would recommend this book to third through 10th graders. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley and its heroin Harry will keep you reading until you drop.
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Summary: The Blue Sword
Review: The Blue Sword is about this girl named Harry; Harry's dad dies in the war. She moves out east of Darmar. In three months she came back and everything was different; her friends and people she knew looked older. When she got had got there she saw her best friends, Beth and Carrie. She asked them what been going on around Darmar, and they said it had been different. When she left, it was quiet and they didn't know where she was. She said she had to get away when her father had died; it was too painful. She had told them that she had trained for the war, and she trained hard so she would be strong like a man. So they walked around the town; when they were walking around, they heard these rumors that there was a magic sword that contained powers.
Harry had asked where this sword was located, and they said it was supposed to be located in the desert. Harry said how about we go and check it out; the rest of the rest of them said ok. The next day they started their trip. On their journey, they ran into this evil guy that also was looking to find the sword, but he wanted to use the sword for bad things. Harry and her friends tried to stop him, but his army was waiting; Harry had to use all her skills to take this guy's army and to take him out before he reached the magical sword.
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Summary: Magical
Review: This has been my favourite book for the past eight years. The first time I started it, I had to skip a lot of the first chapter because it was too slow for me. By the end, I was initiated, and I had cried on it--come to the point, that is, where I could cry. I truly cherish the book now, from writing style to plot, to characters, and even to the very nature of magic. I liked it even better than The Hero and the Crown (which I read first) and I've never ceased to enjoy it, so much that I still have echoes of lines from that book in my mind. All in all, an excellent, well told tale from an artist of an author.
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Summary: Love At First Read
Review: I absolutely fell in love with Robin McKinley after the first few pages of this book. If you read any McKinley book read this one. Then you'll want to go back and read The Hero and the Crown. And also look up her other books and collect a few of those as well. The Blue Sword is simply an amazing book. Who wouldn't want to read about magic, legends, and a heroine chosen by a sword?
I know we've all weeded through hundreds of fiction novels that were just not up to par, and in some cases, even mildly pathetic. Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword is one of those rare books that makes your search through all those hundreds of unsatisfying books worthwhile. Sometimes perfection CAN be achieved.
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Summary: McKinley's Best Book EVER
Review: I was amazed at the magnitude of this book. It was a short, fast read, but the story was eloquently executed in the way only Robin McKinley can. She portrays her characters brilliantly, and it makes the world all the more palpable. I grew an attachment to all the cast and the world the story was set, and it has never ceased to entertain me (in all the 10, 15 times I've read it). McKinley has an amazing imagination and I definitely recommend this book to everyone I can get close enough to shove it in their hands.
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Summary: The Blue Sword
Review: This is the first book in Robin Mckinley's series of Damar. I really like this book because the training and battle scenes are very realistic. Although the beginning was not as intersting as some other books, the end pretty much makes up for it. I this book, Harry Crewe is kidnapped by the Hill king, Corlath, because her kelar is needed for his doomed country. As Harry adjusts to life in the Hills, she begins to see the Hillfolk in a new light. Once her people's foes, she now understands their way of life. At the end, Harry learns that it is up to her to save Damar, and the Homeland, from a Northern invasion.
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Summary: The Blue Sword-a fantastic novel
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I read it for the first time and loved it when I was in 8th grade. I'm now in college and I still love to read it. I enjoyed the use of mythical stories and the rich culture of the "hill folk." Mckinley did a wonderful job of characterization and used diction to draw the reader into the novel. She made a fantasy seem believable.
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Summary: This REALLY deserves 6 Stars! Or 7, or 8......
Review: Hey, this is a FANSASTIC book, I just need to clear something up before hand. Unlike many people think, The Blue Sword isn't the sequel to the Hero and the Crown, it was actually written before hand and the Hero and the Crown is its prequel.
But I must say, this book is THE book for any fantasy reader of a higher than average intelligence, and who loves horses. Personally, it is my all time favorite! This book first belonged to my mother, who had never read it and was about to give it away. I saw it, read the inside flaps (mine is hardcover) and rescued it in time. But, it sat in my closet for several months. Running across it again, I decided to read. The beginning didn't look promising, talking about orange juice! But as I kept on, after a few pages I couldn't put it down! I regretted leaving it unread for so long! Corlath just seemed sooo interesting and I could really relate to our heroine Harry's awkwardness and her childhood of never quite fitting in. I would get a caged-lion feeling at the General Mundy too. The adventures across the desert and Harry's strange not-quite-her-own visions and talents led me on for more. The hints of a developing romance (there are hints, you just have to look for them) and the agony of unsuredness gave just the right spice to all other events. The ending will NOT let you down! McKinley has such a vivid imagination and a way with her words. She is always hinting. She takes you almost in to the supernatural and with a twist can bring you back to a wondering reality. Harry and Corlath are human, they struggle, they have their faults and failings too and can feel lost just as easily as anyone. They aren't some far off perfect characters with dazzling powers that make you jealous, they have a real pinch of that certain something that we all know in ourselves. Again, I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend The Blue Sword! This shouldn't be listed in a kids catagory though, I was in high school when I first read it. I think most kids younger than maybe 13 or 14 won't be able to grasp all the important concepts. But you MUST read this book! You'll enjoy it for a lifetime!
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Summary: THE BLUE SWORD-ROBIN McKINLEY
Review: Harry Crewe just moved into the orange-growing country of Daria. But when she sees Corlath, the Hillfolk king, she knows she belongs with them. Corlath kidnaps her because he realized it too, and brings her on their journey to defeat the evil that waits across the hills. Only then will Harry realize that she is destined to carry the Blue Sword, Gonturan, and defeat the evil. A horrible book! The metaphors are likely to make you cringe, and the dialogue VERY run-on. A great plot idea, but a horrible way to do it! But don't give up on Robin McKinley, the sequel to this, "The Hero and the Crown", was absolutely FABULOUS!
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