The Hero and the Crown (1984)

I've read this book so many times I'm pretty sure I know entire sections word for word. It's the only book I had taken with me on vacation when our house burnt down over twenty years ago, and thus is the oldest and maybe dearest book I own. I'm not going to say it's perfect, but it's so special to me (and, don't get me wrong, very good) that I can't give it anything but a five.

I didn't really know what to expect, when I started reading this book, as actually no one had told me anything about it. The cover art led me to suspect dragons, but that was about all I knew. It's probably unfortunate that I was also reading [book: Kushiel's Chosen] at the same time, because that book is very, very rich in world building and so this book seemed to have very little in comparison. There was some, and I actually got quite interested in the world, but it didn't have the depth and richness that, right now, I'm hoping for, in either setting or characters.

I actually preferred the first half of the book to the second, up to when Aerin defeats Maur. After that, it felt to me as if the tone changed and became even more fairytale-ish, which I didn't quite like after getting to know Aerin in a more personal way. I had my heart in my mouth when she fought dragons, but in the final battle, I didn't really feel much tension at all.

As light reading, though, I enjoyed it. It's fairytale-ish, which I do like, and it's very easy to get along with. While I didn't get deeply invested in the story or characters, I felt some pangs of pathos all the same. I'm not sure I'd say it's a must read, but you could do a lot worse. ( )

I never doubted for a moment where this book was going, but McKinley's hand at the wheel was so sure I didn't mind going along for the ride. Her characters were multi-faceted and enjoyable to read about. I especially liked the realistic portrait of love and the choices that sometimes come with it towards the end. The derring-do was great fun, and the plotting brisk. It felt like a fairy tale, an old tale many times told, with a certain underlying gravitas. Well-written doesn't exactly cover it. Well-written on many levels perhaps describes it better.

There were inconsistencies which almost nagged, until I realized that I was probably looking through Aerin's eyes, and she couldn't be a reliable witness, given all she's got to deal with. Once I got that straightened out in my head, I settled back and enjoyed the journey.

( )

young princess who feels like a misfit, teaches herself to fight dragons, befriends animals left&right, finds love twice, overcomes a villain from her family's past, follows her known duty rather than pursue unknown emotion...it's really not as dry as I'm summarizing.

beautifully and dreamily written. I remember reading this and wanting to fight dragons. a big surprise when I re-read years later and still enjoyed it, still found the heroine a sympathetic character. good messages about not taking anyone's crap and actively working to make things happen for yourself instead of waiting around.

i just finished reading Twilight and what a contrast - weak, whiny, undone by selfishness portrayed as strength - HatC is better by far. ( )

Books of this kind don't get much better than The Hero and the Crown. It's got all the usual trappings of a fairy tale/fantasy: kings, nobles, wizards, mages, dragons, demon mischief from the north, magic lakes, etc. It's about a painfully isolated young girl and an impossible quest. Or two.

But the characterization is excellent and the writing is gorgeous. Actually, the structure of the book is pretty remarkable as well - Part One is mostly a flashback but the way it's done is just superb, not quite linear but never choppy.

One thing that really impressed me, that may kind of get at why the book is so good, is that Aerin (the heroine) can get hurt, and when she's hurt she acts like she's hurt. She doesn't suffer some horrible wound and then run off to perform more heroic feats; she doesn't recover from injuries in the blink of an eye and then run off to perform more heroic feats. So even though it's a fairy tale in the best sense of the word - a morality tale, I guess, a story about good and evil - there is also a kind of brutal honesty to it.

McKinley's writing is very intense, very atmospheric. The best word to describe it, and the story in general, is: poignant. It's moving, bittersweet, the kind of book where you'll be smiling and crying at the end. ( )