Reviews

The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley

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timinbc's review against another edition

3.0

Let's set a base here. First, this was written in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was sworn in, we watched Raiders of the Lost Ark, and IBM's first PC came out, running MS-DOS. Second, it's a YA.
In 1981 we hadn't all read twelve fantasies with a Mary Sue heroine.

This story has major flaws. The writing is pedestrian (go read Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan, set in a similar milieu, to see what it can be in expert hands). Our heroine never faces a serious challenge, and we KNOW she's going to be fine at the end. We never really see the Enemy. And

Spoiler

way too many Good Guys make it through to the end

. But remember, back then we weren't as used to OMG THAT'S SO SAD!!!!! as we are now.

But darn it, I enjoyed it anyway, even as the pieces fell into place one after another so Harry could glide to her successes.

And I give credit for the way the different groups of people didn't pump up hate for each other, but just kept their distance, each confident that THEIRS was the best way.

tregina's review against another edition

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5.0

Because I reread The Hero and the Crown, of course I had to reread this one too. Again, it is just too dear to my heart to give it any kind of objective rating.

rattledragons's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jordanian_reads_'s review against another edition

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5.0

Revisiting an old favorite - this time on audiobook.

ghostofwhenever's review against another edition

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This book is set in a time period I can't seem to escape this year even though it's fantasy. It's a thinly veiled allegory of the british occupation of Central asia. This white female main character is just so passive and boring and based on the summary of the book she's going to be the chosen savior of the native people, barf. Top all of that with I just don't like the authors writing style at all or the narration.