SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
Harry is settling into a new, quiet life with her relatives when she is swept into a strange world of the highlanders. She is suddenly forced into a new role she doesn't understand. And a strange new ability.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Harry is supposedly a tomboy who isn't that close to anyone. Her parents have passed on and she barely knows her brother. She has an interest in the land she now lives but doesn't seem to have many other interests besides that. I wasn't sure what motivated her. With no close family members, I expected her to feel adrift, without any real idea of what she should do. Perhaps depressed or confused. But she seemed bored at the most. Once in a while they would show her angry, or think about being angry.
Corlath is the young king who kidnaps Harry. We don't learn much about him. In the beginning, we only get a hint. Turns out he has had many lovers in the past (so they think he has romantic feelings for a foreigner and are appalled.) Much later on we learn he has no siblings and his parents are dead. He is close to his men. There are few short scenes with his perspective, but we learn nothing of importance about him.
Mathin is Harry's teacher. His family has bred horses.
Colonel Dedham is an older man that Harry meets in the first part of the book. He seems to be the only person she has any real relationship with. But he only seems to be there to give her information about the countries history. And of course, so he can come back later and be useful.
PACING
Probably the weakest part of the story. I read fifty-eight pages before Harry was kidnapped. And although I wanted to believe I had read crucial information before then, I found it doubtful. Maybe the stuff where she leaned about the country's history and wars.
I get the author was trying to show us that Harry really had nothing to cling to. Her parents were dead. Her brother barely knows her. She doesn't have any deep friendships. But they could have told us that in a only a few pages.
KIDNAPPED...I GUESS
If you woke up to find yourself being kidnapped you would probably freak out. And then maybe calm down when they threatened you and refused to tell you why they took you. They might just kill you if you're not worth the trouble, right? You would probably still feel terrified, and think up all kinds of reasons as to why they would want you. Maybe prostitution. Or slavery. Maybe you're a hostage for money?
Luckily Harry only cares about not being made a fool of. She shows she can sit up and withstand long rides on a horse. That'll show those kidnappers! And then she worries about getting their respect when she finally gets to ride a horse herself. And she doesn't bother trying to escape. Or thinking of trying to escape. Or asking what they plan to do with her.
When she eventually does ask why she gets war horses and a sword, the story is almost halfway done. Shouldn't she have been concerned to why she was kidnapped, I don't know, slightly more?
AN EMOTIONLESS HEROINE
I never understand Harry's motivation. Nor what tied her down. She seemed to have no real history and no real past relationships. She felt like she was just made up and born at the beginning. I wanted to know more about her parents and her childhood. But her references to her relationship with her brother were vague and uninspiring.
I guess its good that she isn't overly portrayed as a victim. She has no inheritance because she is female, but the story doesn't go out of its way to make her seem helpless. She doesn't seem angry. But she doesn't really seem like anything. She is supposedly smart, since her friends seem shallow and dumb. That's pretty much why they are there, I guess. Also, she is revealed to be plain looking. So I guess, she must be smart. And athletic.
Whenever she showed emotion, it came out of the blue and felt fake. Like her crying about a story; her anger at her brother; or her anger at Corlath's stubbornness. I feel like the author was trying hard to show she had spirit, but only because he forgot about it in the previous eighty pages.
NO GREAT REVELATIONS-SPOILERS
Harry learns some things, but never anything important. When she learns that was lied to about her heritage, it doesn't really matter. When she learns why she was kidnapped, it doesn't make her angry or scared. Even when she learns Corlath loves her, there is no disblief (since he never showed any affection for her other than sympathy, and that was once).
Even when she learns a man named Tom previously liked her, she seems disconnected.
ANOTHER CULTURE
Harry goes from living in one culture, to another that is supposed to be completely different. It's ruled by a king and believes in magic. And yet there aren't any real differences.
There are no cultural misunderstandings; no practices that seem superstitious (its all backed up by real magic), silly, old fashioned, bigoted, or sexist. Although there is a reference to Coriath seeming kind of bigoted, it's never really brought up. And he is certainly never called out for it. Since his people were the indigenous race, I guess racism towards Harry's race is acceptable.
I felt this was unrealistic, as we all have things we learn about other cultures, often cultures we love, that are sexist or racist. And yet Harry notes no real problems.
A TEACHER
The only other character that Harry gets to know is Mathin, her teacher. He is an older man and we don't learn much about him until much later. Turns out his family has bred horses for generations. I think he has a family. But that's basically it. The usual archetypal relationship is just not there. He isn't loving and full of wisdom. He isn't mysterious with secrets to tell. He is just there so Harry can magically (rather easily) transform into an amazing warrior.
A HORSE & A CAT
Harry ends up with her own horse and a large cat as a friend. For some reason the author goes back and forth, calling the horse by his original name and his translation. It confused me, and for a moment I wondered who she was talking about. Took a few more switches to realize she was referring to the horse.
I love animals in stories because they almost always make the main character likable and sympathetic. But I didn't feel that in this case. I didn't really get the point of the cat. Although he was slightly amusing at times.
A WARRIOR-SPOILERS
After Harry gets a vision of war, she learns she has kelar, which means her ancestors were in common with Coriath's people. She is trained to use a sword and ride a horse while using it. But she is all very indifferent to it. She just says she learned to use it and rely upon it, but not love it like her heroes in children's books. But I never felt her frustration. She should have demanded to know exactly why she had to learn. But she just goes along without a care in the world. And after struggling to mount her horse, everything comes easily. She even admits to being “amazed at her own agility”.
EARNING A SASH
After training with her teacher for six weeks Harry has to fight to earn her sash. It's what proves you have the right to carry a sword. Harry barely has to try in order to win. Eventually she gets annoyed, and then she wins. I just felt like everything came easy for her. She does mention how surprised she was is at how athletic she has become. But none of it feels real.
RELATIONSHIPS-SPOILERS
There are only two people in the entire book that Harry has the chance to have any relationship with. Her teacher, and the king. This makes sense at first, after all she cannot speak their language. But soon she is fluent (another task that seems to come quite easy to her) and there is no excuse for the lack of characters for her to have a friendship with.
Any pretense of relationships are completely unbelievable. Harry hears a story told and bursts out crying and Corlath holds her. It felt completely inconsistent with Harry's character, which is rather stoic and uncaring about being kidnapped. And Corlath seemed to feel nothing at all when it came to Harry. At most he felt annoyance.
They literally have one scene were Corlath shares something about himself. One.
DEDHAM-SPOILERS
When Harry see's Dedham again, he kisses her on the mouth. We don't know why. He had no romantic relationship with her and is much older. It was random and had no effect on Harry or the story.
THE BLUE SWORD
Harry meets a random man who asks how she feels. Which is odd since he is a stranger. She had previously had no real relationships where someone could ever ask her this. So perhaps the author threw this in so Harry could reflect on her feelings. Then he gave her a sword. Also we learn slightly about Corlath, but not much.
CLIMAX
Harry sneaks off and some others come with her (she had no relationship with them prior). I didn't understand why they came. She eventually meets Dedham and defeats an army. The pacing is slow. Corlath shows up and they admit they love each other, besides the fact they have had barely any conversations and barely know anything about each other.
CONCLUSION
The idea is interesting, although not original. But Harry isn't likable, consistently portrayed, or shown with any real flaws. She has no real struggles, and when the author remembers, she suddenly inserts a sentence about her being terrified. Even though she never showed it previously.
The pacing is far too slow and even the battle scene at the climax dragged on too long.
The so called romance between Harry and Corlath was non-existent. Forget romance, they weren't even friends. But to be fair, I found it interesting sometimes. I just got fed up near the climax.
I give “The Blue Sword” one and a half stars.
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