The Blue Sword

By: Robin McKinley

Narrated by: Diane Warren

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sunshine is the Newberry Award-winning classic novel that has enthralled listeners for decades.

This is the story of Corlath, golden-eyed king of the Free Hillfolk, son of the sons of the Lady Aerin.

And this is the story of Harry Crewe, the Homelander orphan girl who became Harimand-sol, King’s Raider, and heir to the Blue Sword, Gonturan, that no woman had wielded since Lady Aerin herself bore it into battle.

And this is the song of the kelar of the Hillfolk, the magic of the blood, the weaver of destinies …

©1982 Robin McKinley (P)1992 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

“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

Wonderful story - terrible audio quality!

I have been a huge fan of Ms. McKinley's Damar books since I was a child, so when I saw that the audiobook was available, I snapped it up instantly.

Don't get me wrong: You should absolutely, definitely read this book. But if you have any choice at all, read it yourself and avoid the audiobook until a better-quality recording has been made.

Ms. Warren's reading is decent enough, although she doesn't appear to have put much thought into the emotion behind her words. Many of the characters came off as emotionless, to my ear. But to be fair, I've got portions of the book memorized and after so many years of hearing them in my head, I came into the experience with certain expectations. I have heard much worse readers and Ms. Warren is easy to follow with a pleasant voice.

What is NOT acceptable is the terrible quality of the recording, which appears to have been converted to digital format from an old cassette that was not at its best. There are many skips and places where the sound was blurred, and the entire first half of Chapter 4 is so full of clicks and static that it's all but impossible to listen to without gritting your teeth.

I'm astonished that any publishing company would allow such a poor quality audiobook to be marketed. Shame on you, Recorded Books! Ms. McKinley's wonderful work deserves much better treatment. I join the other reviewers who are crossing their fingers and hoping hard for a new and better quality recording of this classic Young Adult novel.

Storytelling excellence; not my favorite recording

This is one of my all-time favorite books. Every time I read it I love it more. "One of" only because I can't pick between "The Hero and the Crown" and "The Blue Sword".

The cadence of the narration isn't my favorite, and can take me out of the story at times; but honestly that's more to do with the quality of recording equipment in the '90s than anything. The narrator's style suits the story, generally.

The audio book doesn't surpass the experience of reading the printed words for me, but it does offer that handy benefit of being able to walk around or make use of hands for other than page turning.

If you haven't read the story before, and find the narration in the sample isn't to your liking - I would strongly suggest you read the book in print, if you can. There is a pure magic to Robin McKinley's writing that I've seen few other authors match.

...

Love this story. I do however wish it was a little bit more detailed/flushed out.

LOVED IT!

This is a book I can read , and now listen too, over and over. The audible version was made in the 90's and I suppose it might sound a bit dated but not enough to detract from the story. I could hear the lady turn the paper pages in the book she was reading from; which was actually enjoyable, almost like I was sitting in the room where she was reading. I will listen to it again.

Excellent story! Childhood favorite still reads well at 56 years old.

The only complaint I have, from reading while I listened, was that the narrator occasionally left out a phase or two.