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Olexandr Yatsyuk _lexandr_ — There is something deeply comforting about Robin McKinley's prose--her matter-of-fact tone, her characters' kindness. The Blue Sword has some other McKinley hallmarks, too: the quirky, intrepid female lead, the animals that prove loyal companions in strange environs, the strange environs, the coming-of-age hero's-journey-type arc that lies before said female protagonist. My only complaint with this novel is the abduction that occurs at the beginning. Although McKinley doesn't shy away from the topic (it's fairly central to the plot), it's never dealt with in a way that addresses the depth of such an event's traumatic emotional upheaval or that places such an upheaval within the rest of the events as they unfold. Taking out the kidnapping--changing the event to something more benign--would have improved the story, which as it stands doesn't support the emotional complexity or intensity of the trauma of being abducted (though it's not for lack of trying), nor does it satisfactorily address why the trauma is not so intense and considerable. The effect of the event on the character is question ends up appearing more like a 3 on the (Better) Pain Management Scale, where it by all rights should be at least a 7, if not a 8. (The novel could by a more cynical eye be read as a argument for Stockholm syndrome, which is clearly not McKinley's intent.) I found it hard to appreciate the novel's conclusion because the abduction was not sufficiently integrated, which is a shame. Another issue that could also be addressed through clarification is the treatment of the Other. The Blue Sword can be seen quite readily as a look at the vagaries of occupation in a somewhat harsh terrain. The occupiers are vaguely British, and the indigenous culture is (despite what the colonists think) certainly civilized. So one substantial dimension to the work of the novel is showing how the two cultures differ while primarily paying tribute to the latter, unexplored one. (It would be possible to draw more real-world social parallels, but it's not necessary.) That's all well and good--the treatment could be even more rich, but what's there is done well. The problem is, for all the lengths McKinley goes to to pay tribute to and depict the complex and beautiful civility of the indigenous group (which is awesome), there is no such attention paid to the "real" antagonists of the novel, the Northerners who plan to invade the inhabited lands shared by the other two peoples. Why would a writer go through so much effort to elicit appreciation for a presumably foreign culture, only to undermine the book's strongest and most noble argument (learn to respect what you don't understand)? To put it simply, the Northerners are basically Evil. Unlike the rest of the humans in the story, they have a relationship to magic and sorcery that is purely fantastical and (from what little one can tell) not culturally integrated. They may not even be humans at all (and some of them certainly aren't). What does the novel say, then, about understanding cultures different from our own, when the culture that is ultimately the most different is also categorically evil? If more information were given about why the Northerners became this way (there is some suggestion, but only that), or just more information about the Northerners themselves, it would be easier to put their role within the context of an otherwise complex study of contrasting cultures. As it stands, it stands out in contrast to the successes of the novel. Anyway, those things aside, it was a delightful read, and as a YA title, it's a respectable treatment of occupation issues between indigenous and colonialist cultures. The ending is abrupt and a little "too happy;" it would have been nice to see a more exploration of the social dimensions between the two worlds and of the mysterious New Other, or more exploration of the same as an element of fantasy or metaphor. The issues the novel has are totally fixable--I'd be interested to read a revised version were one ever to exist. In the end, McKinley's intentions do come through; the novel's themes are well executed and valuable, and Harry is a great character. Behind Beauty (which I read at the exact right time), this is probably my second favorite McKinley novel to date. Apparently there are other books in this series? I'll have to find them.