Rating: 
Summary: An adventure worth sharing...
Review: This is a wonderful book! I first read this, maybe 10 years ago, probably more. I have reread it again many times, just last month being the last. After reading it, I finally felt compelled to add my voice to the many that sing its praises. Robin McKinley is a superb writer, and I have sought out her books with a consistency that frightens even myself! "The Blue Sword" gives us a herione that is intelligent, brave and independent...and then she gives her an adventure and a destiny that tests all of those characteristics. The characters are vivid and the action is crisp. The story flows smoothly and in a way, it reads like a fairy tale - involving you, and yet, making you feel as if you're listening to an old tale that was meant to be passed down, told to you on a cool, summer evening around the flames of a campfire. If only our own myths and legends were as involving and as passionate as this one is... Highly recommended...
Rating:
Summary: awsome
Review: I read this book when I was in sixth grade it seemed slow in
the beginning but it kept pulling you in,this is an excellent
book for all readers.
Rating:
Summary: The Blue Sword!! By a 11 year old girl!
Review: You have to read a book like The Blue Sword, The Blue sword could not be bettter. I wonder how it would feel to be kidnapped from were I live and live with people (hill folk) I dont even know well Harry Crew doesn't. I often wonder how Harry a girl that has never picked up a sword in all her life become a chammpion in a contest and also become a kings rider ( the only girl in 22 members) in six weeks of her new life style. Not only does she succed in many things she also is a good anouf ridder to go to war withCorlath the hill folk king!!!... If you like any book you will like the Blue Sword a true novel for people ages 10-110.
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Summary: My most favorite book of all time
Review: Since discovering this book at 12 (now I'm 26) I have read it more times than I can count. I love Harry and Corlath and Mathin and that hunting cat Narknon. I recommend this book to everyone but most of all to girls that love fantasy and tastefuly written love stories where the heroine is full of girl-power (in the age of Buffy one looks for those things more often!) Harry is a wonderful heroine and a role model for girls to follow your dream. Yes there are happy endings and that's the way it should be.I wish Robin Mckinley would write more books like this 2 books (The blue sword and the heor and the crown) are absolutely not enough.
Rating: 
Summary: vague and far-fetched
Review: This is a typical case of good against evil fantasy story, set in a land called Daria -which reminds me of India- colonized by a country called Homeland -which inevitably makes me think of England. The plot of the story is quite ordinary, with the unsurprising story of a girl-heroine as she changes from the pennyless, lonely orphan Harry Crewe to the powerful warrior-maid Harimad-sol. The problem is the vagueness of the characters' actions and motivations. Why do they act as they do? This is more so in the case of the evil enemies: Why are they so bad? What are their powers and where do they come from? How can we understand their threat if we do not know this? The few explanations given are too far-fetched to make us understand what moves the characters to act and, instead, we feel the author is cheating; for instance, towards the end of the book we learn that one of Harry's ancestors was a Hillfolk, which we have to take as an explanation of almost everything that happens to her and of her extraordinary powers. The relationship between Harry and the King of the Hillfolk is also far-fetched; why do they fall in love at all? What hints did we have -or, indeed, did they themselves have- that this was going to happen other than it was the right thing to happen? I couldn't feel for the characters because I didn't understand their actions.
Rating:
Summary: This novel made an indelible impression on me.
Review: I can't even remember where I first bought this book, but I tried about three times to get past the scene in the beginning where the light scintillates through her fork tines. Once I got past that somewhat draggy beginning, I was sucked into one of the most vivid, exciting, and romantic stories I've ever read. I've had this book for over a decade, and the spine has been taped, retaped, and glued, and I still find myself picking it up and devouring it. I wish the author would continue the story, the characters are marvellous.
Rating:
Summary: A Continuing Favorite
Review: The Blue Sword is one of those stories that stays with you long after you put the book down. I have read this book close to 30 times! I have almost read it so much that I have memorized parts, yet, I still have the urge to read it yet again because I always find new nuances that I missed the last time. Robin McKinley is superb at writing a story that has fantastic depth to it. The characters are brilliant and real and the adventure is very enthralling. I would recommend this book to everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Blue Sword needs more than 5 stars
Review: Robin McKinley became my favorite author in the first paragraph of _The Hero and the Crown_. I read that years ago and it remains on my bedside table. _The Blue Sword_, written before _Hero_ but set (& read by me) later in Damar's history, is equally well told. I can not begin to sufficiently praise any of McKinley's stories nor her writting. She truly has the gift. I'm not sure for what age this book is "officially" recommended, but there should not be an age limit. If you like or liked C.S. Lewis, T.H. White, Tolkin, Terry Brooks, or Weiss & Hickman, read Robin McKinley's books. She's even better.
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Summary: Adventure, magic and romance ... and a lot of fun too! :)
Review: This is one of those books that fantasy buffs and English teachers agree on (a rare thing before Harry Potter!). Harry (Angharad is her real name) is a young woman who is restless, out of place in her world. But when the king of the Hillfolk abducts her, she is thrown into a world of magic and adventure and required to prove herself. This is an excellent book for young teen readers who want to sink their teeth into some excellent sword and sorcery fantasy adventure. For those already well immersed and drawn to the darker fantasy, this book may seem a little too bland, but I think it's an excellent book for the age group. A little romantic? Sure! But that's part of the fun. Readers who enjoy this have to catch Mckinely's Beauty and the Beast retellings and THE HERO AND THE CROWN. You also might try Brian Jacques Redwall series for a slightly different spin on epic fantasy tales. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Tale
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. I am quite the avid reader and normally devour a three hundred page book in a couple of hours. McKinley's The Blue Sword was one book that I tried to read as slowly as possible. I didn't want it to end! Harry's transformation into Harimad-sol and the inevitable romance was fantastic.
This book is on my wishlist. I borrowed it from the local library and wanted to cry when I returned it. It is a fantastic novel. If you're looking for a great story with a strong heroine, a mystical land that bears eerie similarity to our own world (I won't tell you which ethnicity it reminds ME of though...you can draw your own conclusion), and a fantasy that will take you away, GET THIS BOOK!
By the way, I also recommend her retelling of Beauty and the Beast. ;-)
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