The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

The Blue Sword is the companion book to The Hero and the Crown. The latter is a prequel but I don't think it matters which order you read them because you are bound to be confused. I was hoping that when I read The Blue Sword that it would clear up some questions that I had while reading The Hero but it didn't. This is because McKinley writes in a circle. She can't just follow and event or a person from A to B. Instead you start at A and then visit C and D and then back at A to finish with B. I hope you'll pardon the crappy analogy. I will say that she did this much more in The Hero and the Crown....it just took reading The Blue Sword to figure out what the problem with her writing style is. My other criticisms are that there is little dialogue and lots of description, which call me ADD, but I didn't find this enjoyable and made the book drag for me in places. In addition, she couldn't decide whether she was writing this book in the first or third person which also bothered me.

The story follows an unlikely hero, Harry (a woman) an Outlander who becomes the heir to the blue sword and defends the Hillfolk from the Northerners. I liked the progression of Harry as she starts out timid and grows to be self-assured and the hero that the Hillfolk hang all their hopes on. The story is more fantasy than love and that disappointed me. I don't want a romance novel but the loves story between Harry and the Hill-King Corlath had a lot of promise but not much page time. It was a good read but it didn't pull me in. It's not a must read but it was good. For that I'm giving it 2.5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed by: Jessica

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

The Hero and the Crown by Robin Mckinley was my rebound book from the most disappointing book ever, Breaking Dawn. This book came highly recommended from a close friend and to be honest I read it just so she wouldn't bother me about it. I had read another McKinley book that I didn't like so I wasn't looking forward to reading this one. What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be. I love books with strong female characters and this book didn't disappoint in that area. Although why does it seem that every book about a herione describes her with red hair, green eyes, clumsy, and big feet? I swear I can call that from the cheap seats. There is a love story and while it doesn't drive the story it is promient enough to satisfy the romantic in all of us. The story moves along pretty well except there are long passages with no dialouge that drug on for me. I simply skimmed some of these pages and that could have contributed to my being pretty dang confused in parts. Mckinley has lyrical writting that takes your full concentration to read and understand. Since I tend to read in between other tasks or while the TV is on I had a hard time in some parts. Over-all I give it a 4 out of 5 stars and look forward to reading the companion book The Blue Sword.

Synopsis of The Hero and the Crown~

Aerin is the only child of the king of Damar, and should be his rightful heir. But she is also the daughter of a witch-woman of the North, who died when she was born, and the Damarians cannot trust her. But Aerin's destiny is greater than her father's people know, for it leads her to battle with Maur, the Black Dragon, and into the wilder Damarian Hills, where she meets the wizard Luthe. It is he who at last tells her the truth about her mother, and he also gives over to her hand the Blue Sword. But such gifts as these bear a greater price, a price Aerin only begins to realize when she faces the evil mage, Agsded, who has seized the Hero's Crown, greatest treasure and secret strength of Damar.
Reviewed by: Jessica