The Hero and the Crown ANNOTATION
Aerin, with the guidance of the wizard Luthe and the help of the Blue Sword, wins the birthright due her as the daughter of the Damarian king and a witchwoman of the mysterious, demon-haunted North.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Robin McKinley's mesmerizing history of Damar is the stuff that legends are made of. The Hero and the Crown is a dazzling prequel to The Blue Sword.
Aerin is the only child of the king of Damar, and should be his rightful heir. But she is also the daughter of a witchwoman of the North, who died when she was born, and the Damarians cannot trust her.
But Aerin's destiny is greater than her father's people know, for it leads her to battle with Maur, the Black Dragon, and into the wilder Damarian Hills, where she meets the wizard Luthe. It is he who at last tells her the truth about her mother, and he also gives over to her hand the Blue Sword, Gonturan. But such gifts as these bear a great price, a price Aerin only begins to realize when she faces the evil mage, Agsded, who has seized the Hero's Crown, greatest treasure and secret strength of Damar.
FROM THE CRITICS
AudioFile - Sharon Grover
A flawless production brings to life the sweeping fantasy tale of the lonely and unhappy Aerin, daughter of King Arlbeth and the "witchwoman." Scorned and rejected, Aerin hopes to prove her worth by recovering the lost crown of Damar. Roslyn Alexander's vocal performance ably differentiates characters without intruding herself upon the action, allowing McKinley's words to do the storytelling. The number of cassettes may deter younger listeners, particularly since the story starts out slowly, but tension and excitement build with each cassette. Adolescents who are continuously plugged into their personal cassette players may be wooed back to a worthwhile library experience with this exceptional production. Ages 12-adult. S.G. ᄑAudioFile, Portland, Maine