The Hero and the Crown takes place about 500 years before The Blue Sword. It tells the origin story of The Blue Sword's Lady Aerin, who we see in The Blue Sword as the heroic, quasi-mythical ancestor of Damarian royalty. In The Hero and The Crown, we see Aerin as a young girl, coming into her power and emerging as a hero and savior of Damar. For readers of The Blue Sword, it's interesting to discover the origins of Gonturan, the hunting cats, the Damarian horse-riding skills, etc, although overall The Hero and the Crown doesn't quite live up to the originality of the first book. I found Aerin's story especially compelling for the first two-thirds of the book, but wasn't altogether satisfied with the conclusion. Fans of Robin McKinley -- or young adult fantasy in general -- will enjoy this book, and will be left wanting more stories of Damar.