The Blue Sword - Softcover

"A new language, a new landscape, and a new people--all unforgettable." -Horn Book

"Any book that, at one point or another, reminded me of The Sheikh, Gunga Din, Islandia, and, The Lord of the Rings, can't be anything but a true original." -Asimov's Science Fiction

"McKinley knows her geography of fantasy, the nuances of the language, the atmosphere of magic..." -The Washington Post

"This is a zesty, romantic heroic fantasy with an appealing stalwart heroine, a finely realized mythical kingdom, and a grounding in reality that enhances the tale's verve as a fantasy." -Booklist

"McKinley has reworked many familiar mythological motifs into a tale that is completely fresh; her spare and eloquent prose is sheer delight. The novel succeeds not only as fantasy/adventure, but also as a compelling portrait of the vibrant, wryly humorous Harry." -School Library Journal

"It is a fresh and interesting setting for a novel of high fantasy. Like the desert air, the tone is open and bright and brilliant." -Marilyn H. Karrenbrock

Harry Crewe, the Homelander, bored with her sheltered life as an orphaned girl in the remote orange-growing colony of Daria, discovers her own magical gifts when she is kidnapped by a native king with mysterious powers and is transformed into Harimad-sol, King's Rider, the heir to Gonturan, the mystical Blue Sword once wielded by the Lady Aerin herself. A Newbery Honor book. Reprint.