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thatgirlwiththeteapot's review
3.0
Most of the stories in this anthology were really quite good, but as with most anthologies, some were much better then others.
I'm sorry to say that what I consider to be the worst story in this collection is the first, "The Spoor of The Unicorn." It was, quite frankly, extremely strange. It was like an entry from an very confused encyclopedia, making weird connections and bringing up points only for the author to say "(I'm making this up, for pity's sake! Don't quote me.)" OR to simply move on with out explaining what a tangent on speech therapy has to do with Unicorns.
And while that was the most disappointing, some of the others were strange, moving farther into Sci-fi then one would expect. Some of these, particularly Vonda N. McIntyre's "Elfeda," were quite good, where others, like Larry Niven's "The Flight of the Horse" were so caught up in the science aspects that the unicorn felt over-looked.
Of course, there were others that stuck to a more traditional unicorn story, such as Theodore Sturgeon's "Silken Swift" (which was marvelous) and Bev Evans "The Forsaken" (which was... interesting?).
Overall, I do recommend picking up a copy if you manage to come across one, but I also highly recommend skipping the first story.
I'm sorry to say that what I consider to be the worst story in this collection is the first, "The Spoor of The Unicorn." It was, quite frankly, extremely strange. It was like an entry from an very confused encyclopedia, making weird connections and bringing up points only for the author to say "(I'm making this up, for pity's sake! Don't quote me.)" OR to simply move on with out explaining what a tangent on speech therapy has to do with Unicorns.
And while that was the most disappointing, some of the others were strange, moving farther into Sci-fi then one would expect. Some of these, particularly Vonda N. McIntyre's "Elfeda," were quite good, where others, like Larry Niven's "The Flight of the Horse" were so caught up in the science aspects that the unicorn felt over-looked.
Of course, there were others that stuck to a more traditional unicorn story, such as Theodore Sturgeon's "Silken Swift" (which was marvelous) and Bev Evans "The Forsaken" (which was... interesting?).
Overall, I do recommend picking up a copy if you manage to come across one, but I also highly recommend skipping the first story.
michaeldrakich's review
2.0
When I picked this up my expectations were through the roof. Reading the list of authors who had contributed short stories to this collection it was a veritable "Who's who" of fantasy writers. What could go wrong?
Where do I begin? Let's start with the far too often the same applications to unicorns seen in the vast majority of the stories. All white, flowing manes, spiral horns, cloven feet, lion's tail, shy, magical healing, and always laying their heads in a maiden's lap. Yesh! A little variety, please.
Then there are the actual stories themselves. Bland, bland, bland! Yes, there were exceptions. My favorites were UNICORN VARIATION by Roger Zelazny and THE FLIGHT OF THE HORSE by Larry Niven. Good stories both, but 5 stars? Nope. They were 4's.
That means everything else in the book I would rate at 3 stars or less. Normally, when I review a collection of short stories I go to the effort of rating each story separately, but in this case, due to the all too familiar storylines in so many, I can't be bothered.
When a collection cannot provide, in my mind, a single short worthy of a 5-star review then the whole thing gets downgraded despite a 3-star average. Hence, my rating of 2 stars.
Where do I begin? Let's start with the far too often the same applications to unicorns seen in the vast majority of the stories. All white, flowing manes, spiral horns, cloven feet, lion's tail, shy, magical healing, and always laying their heads in a maiden's lap. Yesh! A little variety, please.
Then there are the actual stories themselves. Bland, bland, bland! Yes, there were exceptions. My favorites were UNICORN VARIATION by Roger Zelazny and THE FLIGHT OF THE HORSE by Larry Niven. Good stories both, but 5 stars? Nope. They were 4's.
That means everything else in the book I would rate at 3 stars or less. Normally, when I review a collection of short stories I go to the effort of rating each story separately, but in this case, due to the all too familiar storylines in so many, I can't be bothered.
When a collection cannot provide, in my mind, a single short worthy of a 5-star review then the whole thing gets downgraded despite a 3-star average. Hence, my rating of 2 stars.
nekokat's review
1.0
Pretty much every story in this collection is just bad. The Harlan Ellison one is okay. Lots of moralistic BS and "loss of innocence" stuff and pedestal-putting of women, of course. Also a very ugh rape story.
I had this one on my shelf largely because I remember reading it as a kid, or one much like it, though now I'm not so sure this is the same collection. The Stephen R. Donaldson story "Mythological Beast" is one I remember reading in a collection I'd gotten from the library, and is notable largely because it triggered one of my earliest experiences of déjà vu.
I had this one on my shelf largely because I remember reading it as a kid, or one much like it, though now I'm not so sure this is the same collection. The Stephen R. Donaldson story "Mythological Beast" is one I remember reading in a collection I'd gotten from the library, and is notable largely because it triggered one of my earliest experiences of déjà vu.
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