Praise for The Blue Sword * "This is a zesty, romantic heroic fantasy with an appealingly stalwart heroine, a finely realized mythical kingdom, and a grounding in reality that enhances the tale's verve as a fantasy." Booklist, starred review * McKinley has reworked many familiar mythological motifs into a tale that is completely fresh; her spare and eloquent prose is sheer delight. School Library Journal, starred review A new language, a new landscape, and a new people all unforgettable! The Horn Book McKinley knows her geography of fantasy, the nuances of the language, the atmosphere of magic . . . . The Washington Post"Any book that, at one point or another, reminded me ofThe Sheikh, Gunga Din, Islandia, andThe Lord of the Ringscan't be anything but a true original." IsaacAsimov's Science Fiction"

Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown and a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword. Her other books include Sunshine; the New York Times bestseller Spindle's End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and Rose Daughter; and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson.