Tag Archives: Unicorns

Sunchaser’s Quest by Mary Stanton

Book Review, , , ,
Overview
Sunchaser's Quest (Unicorns of Balinor): Stanton, Mary ...

Title: Sunchaser’s Quest
Author: Mary Stanton
Series: Unicorns of Balinor #2
Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this)
My Bookshelves: Easy reading, Fantasy, Unicorns
Dates read: 24th – 25th June 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Scholastic
Year: 1999
5th sentence, 74th page: She got on her knees and softly stroked the collie’s ears.

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Synopsis

A DANGEROUS JOURNEY

Princess Arianna has returned to Balinor – a peaceful, magical world watched over by a herd of beautiful unicorns. But a dark presence has invaded the land. And Arianna has no memory of her past or how to tend to her wounded unicorn, Sunchaser.

The unicorn’s horn was broken in battle and he is very weak. The journey to get Suncahser’s horn restored will be long and very dangerous. But it is Sunchaser’s only hope. And – as Arianna and Sunchaser soon learn – the only hope for all of Balinor.

Thoughts

This is one of those very fun, quick and easy reads. One that you can sit down and spend half hour, hour on and enjoy it. Without having to think too deeply about what you are reading and just genuinely enjoy the journey. It’s a nice journey and one that I found was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon, between reading textbooks and trying to cram other information into my poor brain.

I like that the first story in this series starts with a bit of a mystery as to Ari’s past and what happened in her “accident”. In this novel, they begin to remember their horrible past and find ways to move onto the future. There are so many instances where things are nicely revealed, and you can begin to build upon the history of the story. And can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen next.

Probably one of the things that I really like about this novel is that it is got a world that is full of unicorns. And they’re integral to the connection between man and animal. It is such a sweet, innocent world. Something that is great in a children’s fantasy novel. The innocence that you associate with unicorns just flows off of the pages.

This is such a nice, pleasant read and I seriously wish that I was able to read it as a child. Its definitely one of those very childish, easy reading stories. But it was also cute and ridiculously innocent. Which is what all good young children books should be.

<- The Road to BalinorValley of Fear ->

Image source: Amazon

Spellhorn by Berlie Doherty

Book Review, , ,
Overview
Image result for spellhorn berlie doherty book cover

Title: Spellhorn
Author: Berlie Doherty
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Fantasy, Magic, Unicorns
Dates read: 3rd – 10th June 2019
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Lions
Year: 1989
5th sentence, 74th page: She wouldn’t.

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Synopsis

Laura looked across the sea and saw with horror that far below her on the shoreline there were beasts: long dark shapes that wriggled and slithered down into the foam.
“What are they” she asked.
Gazing down at the seething waves, the Old Woman said: “This is the Sea of Snakes…”

Laura and Spellhorn the unicorn have to cross the Sea of Snakes and fight against terrible danger before Laura can return home. For Spellhorn, the treasured possession of the Wild Ones, has befriended Laura, and it is only he who can lead them to the safety of their beloved Wilderness.

Thoughts

I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for years. It was a book that my mum has had for a long time, and it slowly migrated to my shelf across time. So I thought it was probably about time to pick it up and see why I had kept it on my shelf, untouched for all of these years. And, although it wasn’t the ground shattering story I was hoping for, it was still a fun little adventure. Something that was a little bit different to my usual read. And one that I really enjoyed.

You can tell that this story started off as a play. There is something just a little different about the writing from usual prose. It was enough to make it feel a little unorthodox and confusing, but not such a different style that it was impossible to enjoy. It mostly just read like a story that had been translated from another language, which, I suppose in a way it was.

I really enjoyed the fact that this young adult story featured a girl with a disability. That her disability gave her dual worlds, and this tale explored both of those perfectly. It was a great way to explore a new perspective, and one that I really hadn’t considered before. The final scenes really helped to drive this home, and meant that although this isn’t one of my favourite books, it is one that I will keep and probably reread years down the track.

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Image source: Goodreads