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published 1982; hardback 1982; paperback 1983, Berkley Books
The Blue Sword is a vivid fairy tale that immediately draws the reader in and doesn't let go until the tumultuous happy ending. I have just re-read it, probably for the first time since middle school, and I find myself as enchanted by it now as I was then. I don't know if it's been around long enough to be called a classic yet, but it's definitely a classic in waiting.
The Blue Sword takes place in Damar, a desert land thinly populated by the remnants of a powerful race. The Hillfolk now live in uneasy coexistence with their conquerors, the Homelanders (who are obviously meant to be the British). Harry Crewe, an orphaned Homelander, comes to live in Damar because her brother, who is in the military, has made arrangements for her to be fostered with an aristocratic family.
Harry, whose real name is Angharad, knows the fate of plain-faced, penniless, blue-blooded daughters: quiet spinsterhood. Not given to vanity, she accepts this and reserves her passions for books and horses. Little does Harry know that her destiny is going to be far mightier and stranger than the most embroidered of the legends she enjoys.
Corlath, king of the Hillfolk, steals Harry away from the Homelanders, acting on the dictates of his kelar, a magical Gift that runs in the royal family. It is soon discovered that Harry also has kelar, as well as the favor of Lady Aerin Firehair, an ancient Hillfolk queen who still watches over her people in spirit. Harry earns her place among the Hillfolk and a new name, Harimad-sol, through her feats of daring sword- and horsemanship. But will Harry's new skills and her rapport with Aerin's sword Gonturan be enough to stem the invading force of the demonic Northerners, who are poised to sweep down on Damar and kill the feuding Hillfolk and Homelanders alike?
If I have any complaint to make against The Blue Sword at all, it's that the evil enemy is ill-defined, remaining an unknown other even during the climatic scenes. That's a small thing when weighed against the book's wry humor, entertaining characters, and brilliantly conceived cultures. The Blue Sword is wonderful writing by a true master of the fantasy genre.
Review by Sara Lipowitz
Reviewed July 2, 1997
ISBN 0-425-06318-6
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