The reason I rate this book a 9 is because when I first read "The Blue Sword", I was enthralled in the superb reading.I expected the same thing from "The Hero and the Crown", but was denied. I feel that the first time I read it, I was totally absorbed in the book. But I was in third grade at the time. When I reread it about 2 years later, I found more depth and forgotten detail, but I noticed a flaw. Its a simple flaw to make for sequels and prequels. It is that the detail, explaining and and more mysterious feeling of Damar was gone. It was in "The Blue Sword", the first book of hers I read, it was there. But the more magical and mysterious feeling of Damar was gone. I felt it almost necessary to have read "The Blue Sword" recently to be able to fully comprehend it. This upset me, but did not detur me at all. I would love to see more Damar books published. But reading this book slow is much better than rushing through the book like a wildfire.