The Blue Sword

Robin McKinley has quickly become one of those authors whose books I will always pick up. Even when I know next to nothing about them, I know I'm in for a thoughtful fantasy adventure that will be worth my time.

The Blue Sword is a well-loved story about a young woman who chafes at society's restrictions on young women. But after she's kidnapped she gets a chance to live the life she's always wanted. The story is a lot of fun, and the world is really rich.

If I have one complaint it's that Harry (short for Angharad) is proud to a fault. And that fault is that she never asks any questions. She's goes with the flow so well that I started to get frustrated. This girl is kidnapped, told she has magical powers and a destiny, trained for battle, and sent into a competition to determine her skills, and she just accepts all of it. There are a few scenes where she misses her family, sort of. But she never gets angry or even curious really.

I think this also contributed to some weird pacing. There were parts of the book that felt rushed. I think they would have been better served by letting some emotions play out so I could catch my breath a little.

Ultimately I did enjoy this story. The beginning and the ending were both fantastic. It's just the middle, where everything is suddenly happening and Harry is barely reacting, that I wished the book were 100 or so pages longer and the protagonist more curious.

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