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    The Hero and the Crown
    The Hero and the Crown
    The Hero and the Crown
    Ebook315 pages5 hours

    The Hero and the Crown

    By Robin McKinley

    4/5

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    An outcast princess must earn her birthright as a hero of the realm—in this “utterly engrossing” Newbery Medal–winning fantasy (The New York Times).

    Aerin is an outcast in her own father’s court, daughter of the foreign woman who, it was rumored, was a witch, and enchanted the king to marry her.

    She makes friends with her father’s lame, retired warhorse, Talat, and discovers an old, overlooked, and dangerously imprecise recipe for dragon-fire-proof ointment in a dusty corner of her father’s library. Two years, many canter circles to the left to strengthen Talat’s weak leg, and many burnt twigs (and a few fingers) secretly experimenting with the ointment recipe later, Aerin is present when someone comes from an outlying village to report a marauding dragon to the king. Aerin slips off alone to fetch her horse, her sword, and her fireproof ointment . . .

    But modern dragons, while formidable opponents fully capable of killing a human being, are small and accounted vermin. There is no honor in killing dragons. The great dragons are a tale out of ancient history.

    That is, until the day that the king is riding out at the head of an army. A weary man on an exhausted horse staggers into the courtyard where the king’s troop is assembled: “The Black Dragon has come . . . Maur, who has not been seen for generations, the last of the great dragons, great as a mountain. Maur has awakened.”
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Media
    Release dateNov 18, 2014
    ISBN9781497673656
    Author

    Robin McKinley

    Robin McKinley has won various awards and citations for her writing, including the Newbery Medal for The Hero and the Crown, a Newbery Honor for The Blue Sword, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature for Sunshine. Her other books include the New York Times bestseller Spindle’s End; two novel-length retellings of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Beauty and Rose Daughter; Deerskin, another novel-length fairy-tale retelling, of Charles Perrault’s Donkeyskin; and a retelling of the Robin Hood legend, The Outlaws of Sherwood. She lives with her husband, the English writer Peter Dickinson; three dogs (two hellhounds and one hell terror); an 1897 Steinway upright; and far too many rosebushes.

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    Reviews for The Hero and the Crown

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      While still enjoyable, the years since I had last read it, have diminished it from my memory. Even though I enjoy Aerin as a semi-feisty heroine, the plot falls plight to one of the worst fantasy tropes: the savior knowing exactly what to do without knowing why (in this case Aerin's surka wreath).I still really like it, if only for the descriptions of Talat's "grimaces of pleasure" as he's being groomed, and yes he's a horse.
    • 4/5
      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.

    • 3/5
      The Hero and the Crown is, on the whole, a solid fantasy book. The novel's strength is its first half, in which we meet Aerin, daughter of the king and a woman rumored to be a witch. She has various struggles, makes mistakes, and seems both human and relatively appealing. Her careful planning and increasing ability are enjoyable to read about, as is the manner in which her crippling shyness affects the way she accomplishes her goals.The book takes a turn for the worse in the second half. Aerin seems to become psychic, able to travel directly to far-off places she has never been simply by wandering thoughtlessly. Her interactions with a mage are not well described, such that this section turns out to be a blend of the mysterious and the boring. The latter half of the book also relies too heavily on magical artifacts and unexpectedly-appearing woodland animals accomplishing tasks for Aerin, denying her the ability to exhibit the forethought and cleverness which she formerly possessed. In this part of the book, Aerin feels like a puppet of fate, doing whatever instinctively seems right from moment to moment. Implausibly, everything just happens to work out.The conclusion redeems the book somewhat, as Aerin begins to seem human once again, in part through her interactions with other characters we know. She has exhibited some character growth and is no longer so shy. Unfortunately, Aerin still is somewhat psychic about what needs to be done, and the author sometimes dwells too long on the woodland animals, creatures the author seems to love but which never quite have a proper place in the story.In the end, The Hero and the Crown is a respectable novel. However, there are many works of fantasy with plots which turn less on serendipity than on the cleverness, bravery, cowardice, and other qualities of their characters (many of whom are richer and more compelling than Aerin). For a young person, consider instead reading Jane Yolen's dragon trilogy or "So You Want to Be a Wizard?" by Diane Duane. An adult might do better with The Lord of the Rings, Wizard's First Rule, or A Game of Thrones.
    • 5/5
      This was my introduction to Robin McKinley, and I couldn't have asked for better. I did love Sunshine, but goodness that one took a long time to get going--more than one friend of mine gave up on it. The Hero and the Crown is different. Not breathless, but certainly not slow-paced, and in Aerin McKinley created one of the great heroines in high fantasy--a princess and a dragon slayer no less. A lot of reviewers seemed to have discovered this book as a child, and I can see this as a YA book, Aerin is young and this is a tale of the ignored child coming into her own, dealing with her gaining (mostly) self-taught skills in fighting dragons. With a horse, Talat, that is one of the most memorable characters in the book you could see this as just that perfect book for young girls. I discovered this as an adult though, and was completely enraptured. McKinley's writing has a beauty and underlying sophistication to satisfy even an adult palette.
    • 5/5
      This was an amazing book, a first in several ways. I have read books where the women are the heroes before, but Ariel is not only a hero but she is self taught, at least to start with, self motivated, and not into it for revenge or to show everyone what she is made of but because it simply is who she is. She also loves two men without any apologies to either one. I loved the other characters, her horse Talat was as much a character as any of the people. The author also does a fabulous job of battle scenes, very believable.You have a real treat in store for you with this book.
    • 5/5
      Aerin is the daughter of the king of Damar -- but by his second wife, a woman who was widely distrusted and whom many suspected of witchcraft. Aerin herself is looked down on by most of the royal court, even when she discovers a fireproofing ointment that enables her to slay dragons with less chance of personal injury. Dragons, after all, are vermin, and though they can be fierce, none of them grow much larger than a dog in Aerin's day. The Great Dragons are considered creatures of legend . . . until the day that one of them appears. Maur, the last of the Great Dragons, awoken by malicious Northern magic, returns to terrorize Damar -- and Aerin may be the only person who can face him. Even if she can defeat Maur, she will have to face greater and more dangerous challenges before she can take her rightful place in Damar.This is probably my second-favorite McKinley book (after Beauty). Aerin is a great, complex character -- she consistently undervalues herself, but that doesn't stop her from attempting heroic action, not for the glory of it, but because it's a dirty job that someone has to do. The romance in the story, not to give too much away, is likewise complex. And, though the story is pretty tightly focused on Aerin, secondary characters (even the unlikeable ones) get their moments of poignance and character development.
    • 4/5
      I have read this book over and over again since I was 10. Part of the personal draw for me is that my mother named me, a fiery ginger-haired girl, after the fiery ginger-haired heroine. Aerin Firehair became Erin, The Book Nut. But this book holds up no matter who you are. Bravery, curiosity, impulsiveness, stubbornness. These qualities describe Aerin, a girl who fights to belong. And fight she does. Despite a nasty couple of cousins and the prejudice of a kingdom, she overcomes. Every time I read this book I can't help but smile. Its sequel, The Blue Sword is not quite at the same level as this book, but definitely ranks close behind. Both books are certainly worth a read!
    • 4/5
      Remember back in the day when it didn't take 15 1000p books to tell an awesome story? I miss those days.

      So this book is one of those fantasy classics I should have read, I was told to read, and never did get around to. And once again, I am heartily sorry I didn't, though I am pleased to have done it now.

      The main character, Aerin, is a half-noble girl child of a king, one whose mother was reportedly a witch, so the nobles (and most of the townsfolk) don't take much of a liking to her out of sheer prejudice. She's uncomfortable in her own skin and as the daughter (and only child) of the King. Of course, all of the good characters do take a liking to her and she gets to do cool stuff like tame and rehabilitate a lame horse, battle dragons, and save the land.

      Aerin is everything an awesome heroine should be, and I quite like her. She's strong and vulnerable, not overly pretty and as imperfect as anyone can be. I imagine she's a character any awkward girl would love.

      There is more characterization, plot, atmosphere, and story in this book than many others more than 6 times its length and a totally worthy, fantastic read. Some of it is predictable, and some of it is formulaic (now, I'm not sure how much of it would be in 1984), but it's still damn awesome.
    • 2/5
      Another in the shop-worn genre of girls-can-be-as-good-as-boys. Magical system was unexplained and unclear. Milieu was unexceptional, as were the characters and the plot, which was uncommonly muddy. The first section had far too many back-stitches (not = flashbacks); they were confusing and unnecessary. However, an okay read for late teens.
    • 5/5
      A great sequel to The Blue Sword. Like that one, this one is also hard to find because it is one of earlier works.
    • 2/5
      What's neat about McKinley is that she revives popular legends and fairytales like Robin Hood and Sleeping Beauty. For that reason much of her work seems to straddle the line between adult fiction and young adult/children's fiction. I first encountered The Hero and the Crown when I was in fifth grade or so -- post-Nancy Drew but pre-Dean Koontz and Nightwylde. So this was a nostalgic read for me. While not the most engaging, this book fits the bill when you're in a fairytale kind of mood. It is slow at points but the quality of McKinley's writing is worth appreciating. And even though it's aimed towards a younger audience, both the story and the characters are sophisticated and complex.
    • 5/5
      As usual, I like this book despite not really liking Aerin. Somehow she strikes me as...not passive, exactly, but more done-to than doing. Which is weird since she defies all convention and goes out to become a warrior and all the rest...but it seems almost accidental. Talat because he's as lame as she is, the book by accident, start her down the path...anyway. I do like the story. And it's Damar, which is great all by itself!
    • 4/5
      Listened to Recorded Books CD edition narrated by Roslyn Alexander. I'm currently listening to The Blue Sword and the two books oddly enough have different narrators, complete with different pronunciations of some of the words created just for this world, despite being published by the same company. So far I prefer the story of The Blue Sword just slightly with no preference between the narrators beyond that I wish things were pronounced the same. Previously read.
    • 4/5
      Aerin is an outsider in her home, even though she is the king's only child. The traditional royal "gift" of magic doesn't seem like it will ever come to her and many say her mother was a witch that tricked the king. She knows at a young age that her future does not lie in being a traditional lady in the court, so she sets out to make her own destiny and name as a dragon hunter. Aerin's travels lead her much farther from home than she expects and to a battle that helps her understand her heritage as well as the path ahead of her.I read The Blue Sword before reading The Hero and the Crown, so it was kind of odd reading about Aerin as a young girl with all of the uncertainty after reading about her first as a legend. The characters were lovable and the story was good. I didn't want to put it down.
    • 5/5
      Aerin doesn't fit in. She's clumsy, likes riding better than dancing, and can't sew worth a darn. And the worst is, she's a princess of the royal family, but she doesn't have any of the magical Gift that is the royals' greatest treasure. So she goes hunting the small dragons that infest her land of Damar, and so goes hunting destiny.
    • 3/5
      This is a beautiful book with some truly poetic moments. For the most part, Aerin's struggles and triumphs are very relatable. Though the book has something of a legendary feel, the reader really empathizes with the heroine's adventure. At times, I was moved to tears.However, there's a rather strange segment near the middle of the story where I felt my connection to Aerin's tale waver and die. I think I must've missed something pretty crucial, as I found it difficult to piece together just what was going on; it didn't exactly come out of nowhere, but I didn't feel as though its ties to the rest of the story were as strong as they could've been. The whole sequence felt distanced from the rest of the book, as though things were happening simply because the author had decided they ought to happen rather than as a natural progression of the story.The ending made up for this segment, though. I once again found myself immersed in Aerin's world. Overall, I enjoyed the book very much, and look forward to rereading it.
    • 5/5
      One of my all time favorite sets. A classic fantasy adventure with a great shero (female hero). I read this as a young adult and it really shaped how I judge books and writing, this being a example of the right way to do it. Fantastic story and characters that make you think about your life without telling you to think about your life. A great book.
    • 4/5
      Aerin has never felt complete at home among her fellow dark-colored Damarians. Fair-skinned and redheaded, Aerin prefers riding with her father's discharged war horse Talat instead of attending balls. People whisper about her being a "witchwoman's daughter," a reference to how her mother, a poor Northerner, supposedly enchanted Aerin's father the king and had a child with him, then died when she found out her child was a girl. Despite that, Aerin has no magical abilities, unlike all other members of the royal family, another reason why she thinks she does not belong. One day, Aerin discovers an old recipe for an ointment that could keep the wearer safe from dragonfire. This starts her off on an incredible, legendary journey, where she fights one of the greatest dragons of all time and an evil sorcerer. Could it be that she really isn't as awkward and unmagical as she thinks she is? Robin McKinley has written a splendid book, with breathtaking action sequences and touchingly romantic moments. Every kind of reader will find something he or she likes in this book that is every bit as legendary as its heroine.
    • 5/5
      This was one of my favorites back in middle school. I almost read my copy to pieces! It's got everything: adventure, derring-do, magic, wonderful characters, and excellent writing.
    • 5/5
      Aerin-sol, daughter of the Damarian king and his second wife, is practically an outcast at court. Between her pale skin and red hair, and her clumsiness and bad temper, and the fact that her royal 'Gift' has not appeared, only her father, her friend and cousin Tor, and Teka, her nursemaid growing up, still acknowledge her. Then she gets sick, and, during her convalescence, discovers kenet, an ointment which is proof against dragon fire, and with it she discovers a new place in court. But to save her country and her people, she must go up against Maur the Black Dragon, an evil sorcerer, and her own inner demons. This was the first McKinley book I ever read, and it introduced me to my now-favorite author. The story-telling in this book is wonderful; McKinley's forte is description over dialogue and action and here there is plenty of it. There are several convoluded sequenses that can be difficult to follow - including the timing at the begining of the book - but at the end of the day, it does make sense and perhaps it adds to Aerin's own confusion about her life.
    • 4/5
      Classic fantasy tale, extremely well told. Aerin, with her all-too-human imperfections (and her wonderfully sarcastic wit), makes for a great narrator. The only child of a king, but removed from the line of succession because her parents' marriage was ruled morganatic, Aerin struggles to fit in with the rest of the ruling class. Her pursuit of a mysterious shield against dragonfire, though, brings her great acclaim ... and a quest against a more powerful foe than any dragon.Highly enjoyable from first to last.
    • 5/5
      I jumped into this book immediately after finishing The Blue Sword. It takes place prior to The Blue Sword, but I think I got more from it reading The Blue Sword first. Aerin is the daughter of the king, but her mother was accounted a witch woman who may have magicked her way into the king's heart. Aerin's precarious position in her society (due to this hinted at stigma) led her to find a niche that was appropriate. Her bravery and sense of duty sang in my heart. Her battles with the evils in the land were epic. The interludes with Luthe were rich and peaceful. And I loved how the Damar we saw in The Blue Sword had its roots in what Aerin did.This book is well worth reading if you enjoy fantasy at all.
    • 3/5
      Truly a YA tale. I read it too old as I find it a nit too childish for my taste. Still OK though. The way it's written is weird though.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite books of all time! I recently re-read it and was gratified to find that it held up completely -- there were even some things that I'm sure I missed when I was younger.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite books from my childhood. I love everything McKinley has written, and wish there was much more of it.
    • 5/5
      Technically speaking, The Hero and the Crown is the second book published in the Damar series though events are sent many years prior to The Blue Sword. The hero of legend, Aerin Firehair, wasn't always a hero. Once she was the shy, awkward only child of the King of Damar. This is her story about her coming of age and how her legend was made.The story is a classic hero's quest though it has some unusual elements in the second half. I absolutely loved Aerin's character, how real she feels and how hard she works to earn her place. Arein is an unsatisfactory princess - she isn't beautiful, her mother was a "witch" and she yearns to become a dragon slayer, which in this world an unglamorous job since dragons are seen as vermin and their slaying as no more than a chore. The more effort she goes to in order to prove herself to her father's court, the more she's underappreciated, never mind that all her accomplishments are quite valued by the common people she helps. She even uses methodical persistence to work out a scientific problem, with much success and was pretty cool because it's not something you see often in this kind of story. Seeing as this is a hero journey, Aerin continues her struggles until she's ultimately successful, proving herself beyond all doubt by saving the day in the end.And now for the unusual stuff. Spoilers ahead. There is a fight that requires Aerin to travel back and forth in time. It was very confusing to read. I'm really glad one of the other characters explains it afterwards because it felt more like a dream sequence than an actual battle. Also interesting is how the author made depression a plot point. Discussing mental illness was virtually unheard of in any of the 80's fiction I read, especially not in a YA adventure story. It's handled quite well, both caused and cured by magic, yet shows the hero's resilience as she doggedly continues on her quest regardless. Highly unusual is that our hero ends up with two love interests, has relationships with both and yet this isn't a love triangle. Aerin understands that after she's become immortal, she can marry and live with her mortal lover and then join her immortal one later. Yet there is never any romantic angst. She makes her decisions level headed and when she feels like she's ready.This story resonated with me due to all the hardships Aerin endures and over comes. I can see myself rereading this one in the future. I also greatly enjoy McKinley's prose. I need to check out some of her adult books in the future.
    • 5/5
      I read this when I was young and disgruntled, reading two or three books a day to avoid talking to my classmates. It was basically the perfect time to read this story, which tells the tale of a young woman who is not understood by her people and is deeply unhappy about it. And when I read this, it was one of very few books that spoke to me in a voice I could actually empathize with. All the other fantasy I was reading featured boys tramping across pseudo-English countryside before being crowned as kings--and instead, here was an awkward, stubborn, hard-working girl who wanted to be able to value herself and prove her worth.

      Aerin grows up knowing that unlike her royal family, she's ugly, has no magic, and is distrusted by the people they rule. She inherited her low-born mother's looks but not her rumored witching power: the worst of both worlds. When we first meet her, she recently cut off a spiteful cousin's luxurious eyelashes. She tricks another cousin into teaching her swordplay, then spends hours upon hours practicing, knowing that she has no natural talent for it but refusing to give up. She spends three years experimenting with potions until she finds one that protects against flame. And then she goes out into the world to kill dragons. But in this kingdom, dragons aren't monstrous beasts--they're vermin. Killing dragons is considered a bit like catching rats. When she's called Dragon-Killer, it's as much a taunt as a title. Needless to say, tween-me adored Aerin.

      Reading it now, after an extra decade of socializing and reading other fantasy books, Aerin and her lifelong quest to be a good and useful person is still wonderful, but less of a revelation. I love how much of her success is due to sheer hard work and determination, an indomitable drive to prove herself that overcomes her innate flaws. But although her early victories are her own stubborn will, her final victory over her late mother's evil brother seems like she lucked into it. She literally wins by accident. It's frustrating! That said, I can see where McKinley subverts fantasy tropes more clearly now. It's Aerin's perseverance and hard work, not what she's born with, that make her a hero. The most beautiful girl in the kingdom has dark hair and skin. The heroine loves two people at once, and no one thinks it weird or wrong. There's infrastructure to rebuild after the climactic battle. Instead of showing how foppish and out of touch the court is, their council meetings about provisions and treaties are actually important. etc.

      And the writing is, at times, truly fantastic. The descriptions of Maur, so huge he is indistinguishable from his mountain, so malevolent that even keeping his skull as a trophy brings despair to the kingdom, stuck with me all this time. Aerin's relationship with her nurse/maid, Teka, always feels real. The battles with the dragons kept my eyes glued to the page.

      I only wish that McKinley had let herself write more of this book. Time and time again, summaries of what Aerin learns or does are provided in place of the action. Aerin's education and love affair with Luthe seem to take place in 10 pages, when they could be 100. This book is only 227 pages long; if it were twice as long, it would only be better.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the first books I ever bought for myself, and I'm on my second copy because I re-read it so often. :) Aerin is the daughter of a king, with a rumoured witch for a mother. She tries to be inconspicuous in a castle full of royal cousins, a tom boy who gets sword lessons from her favourite cousin Tor and cuts off her least favourite cousin Galanna's eyelashes. There's a bit of magic left in the kingdom and when Galanna taunts Aerin into eating a fist full of surka leaves (since they'd kill her if she didn't have magic), the two years she takes to recover fully transform her life. She befriends and rehabilitates her father's injured war stallion and in her copious reading finds a recipe for a dragon fire proof oinment. The only problem is that now she can't hide and has to live with being known as Fire Hair and Dragonkiller. There's a bit of a love triangle as she learns about her heritage, but it's deftly handled (and neither option is the bad boy). I love Aerin, she's stubborn and loyal and brave and I'm always happy to revisit her world.
    • 4/5
      Recommended to newbie fantasy readers seeking a story in which the hero is a young female who is not perfect nor beautiful.I enjoyed the story but, despite its nearly 300 pages, it felt too short for me. Maybe that's a good thing, maybe not. The other thing that made me like the story less was the fact that they killed the dragons.3.5 stars
    • 5/5
      I got this book when it was first published, in hardcover.

      At the time, 'The Blue Sword' (to which this is a prequel) was one of my most-beloved books - and, I have to admit, that at the time, I didn't feel the 'The Hero and the Crown' quite measured up. I liked it - but just not quite as much. (It's not like I didn't read it several times, though.)

      Re-reading, years later, I understand why I felt the way I did - but I also kind of disagree with my youthful opinion. This is a wonderful book.

      It's a classic quest/hero's journey tale, but it also incorporates some unusual elements very effectively.

      In 'The Blue Sword,' Aerin is a legend of history, a dragon slayer and wielder of a sword of magical powers. In 'The Hero and the Crown' we meet Aerin and discover how she became a hero.

      The first half of the book is very self-contained. It introduces the half-foreign, distrusted and ill-used (but still quite privileged and royal) Aerin, a tomboy who insists on practicing swordplay. I very much enjoyed how, in her country, dragons are small creatures, certainly pestilent, but just vermin to be exterminated. Killing them brings no prestige - it's just something that has to be done. Aerin's doggedness and use of the scientific method in figuring out how to eliminate them more efficiently is a rare and appreciated example of the value of methodical persistence in order to accomplish anything. I also very much liked how, for all her efforts, she is consistently underappreciated - but the value of her accomplishments stands on its own. The big showdown with the dragon Maur is at once utterly realistic in detail and gloriously emotional - it brought me to tears.

      The second half of the book is where, when I was younger, it lost my attention a bit. It addresses: what happens after one's most heroic act. It takes someone completely outside Aerin's social circle to recognize her true value. The mage Luthe calls her, and thus begins the classic 'magical studies' part of the plot. Aerin grows and matures, but at the same time begins to feel a little bit more elevated and less accessible to the reader.

      However, the ending was rich and deeply satisfying. It's rare that a story so successfully depicts how one person can love different people in different ways, with each love enhancing one's life in a deep and meaningful way.

      Many thanks to NetGalley and Open Road Media for the opportunity to read the ebook version of this title.

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    The Hero and the Crown - Robin McKinley

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