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A review by simonlorden
The Unicorn Anthology by Jacob Weisman, Peter S. Beagle
4.0
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Average rating: 3.7 stars (rounded to 4)
A great variety of unicorn stories, some that could still be read to children, and some decidedly adult ones. Two of the stories have queer women as their protagonists, and one of them has a gay male side character and also mentions the severity of the AIDS crisis. I'm used to anthologies like this not really acknowledging queer people at all, so that was nice.
I expected some plotlines about virgins and unicorns, because that's a big part of unicorn stories, but some of the stories took the virginity = purity thing to uncomfortable extremes. In several of the stories, even kissing someone, or just HEARING too much about marriage can stain a virgin's "purity". I know that's the traditional unicorn story, but in a fresh new anthology that has "not just for virgins anymore" in the description, I really expected more subversion of this trope.
I much preferred stories like Ghost Town, where the purity in question is more about moral purity and pureness of the heart.
Some stories have really interesting worldbuilding: for example, in Falling off the Unicorn, only virgins can ride unicorns, so competitive riders are heavily infantilised. They have to be short, they have to be girly, even when they are teens or adults, they aren't allowed to use bad words, etc. Thankfully, this is shown to be just as toxic as it sounds.
However, at one point the same story implies that having lesbian sex doesn't count. In the end, it felt more like they were trying to say that only boys stain girls (because even kissing a boy stains you, but sex with a girl doesn't), but yeah, I'm not a fan of the implications there, and it wasn't really clear what the authors wanted with it.
My lowest rated story in the anthology is A Hunter's Ode to His Bait, where a hunter buys a twelve-year-old girl from her mother to help him lure unicorns. They work together for years, and sure, the girl is of age when they start a relationship, but it reaaaaally felt like the guy was grooming her there.
My absolute favourite was Stampede of Light, which is about lonely children and the teachers who don't let them get lost.
Individual ratings:
The Magical Properties of Unicorn Ivory by Carlos Hernandez: 4.5 stars
The Brew by Karen Joy Fowler: 4.5 stars
Falling Off the Unicorn by David D. Levine and Sarah A. Mueller: 4.5 stars
A Hunter's Ode to His Bait by Carrie Vaughn: 2 stars
A Thousand Flowers by Margo Lanagan: 3 stars (rape/dubious consent)
The Maltese Unicorn by Caitlín R. Kiernan: 3 stars (rape/dubious consent)
Stampede of Light by Marina Fitch: 5 stars
Ghost Town by Jack C. Haldeman II: 5 stars
The Highest Justice by Garth Nix: 4 stars
The Lion and the Unicorn by A.C. Wise: 3 stars
Survivor by Dave Smeds: 4 stars
Homeward Bound by Bruce Coville: 3.5 stars
Unicorn Triangle by Patricia A. McKillip: 3 stars
My Son Heydari and the Karkadann by Peter S. Beagle: 3 stars
The Transfigured Hart by Jane Yolen: 3.5 stars
Unicorn Series by Nancy Springer: 4 stars
Average rating: 3.7 stars (rounded to 4)
A great variety of unicorn stories, some that could still be read to children, and some decidedly adult ones. Two of the stories have queer women as their protagonists, and one of them has a gay male side character and also mentions the severity of the AIDS crisis. I'm used to anthologies like this not really acknowledging queer people at all, so that was nice.
I expected some plotlines about virgins and unicorns, because that's a big part of unicorn stories, but some of the stories took the virginity = purity thing to uncomfortable extremes. In several of the stories, even kissing someone, or just HEARING too much about marriage can stain a virgin's "purity". I know that's the traditional unicorn story, but in a fresh new anthology that has "not just for virgins anymore" in the description, I really expected more subversion of this trope.
I much preferred stories like Ghost Town, where the purity in question is more about moral purity and pureness of the heart.
Some stories have really interesting worldbuilding: for example, in Falling off the Unicorn, only virgins can ride unicorns, so competitive riders are heavily infantilised. They have to be short, they have to be girly, even when they are teens or adults, they aren't allowed to use bad words, etc. Thankfully, this is shown to be just as toxic as it sounds.
However, at one point the same story implies that having lesbian sex doesn't count. In the end, it felt more like they were trying to say that only boys stain girls (because even kissing a boy stains you, but sex with a girl doesn't), but yeah, I'm not a fan of the implications there, and it wasn't really clear what the authors wanted with it.
My lowest rated story in the anthology is A Hunter's Ode to His Bait, where a hunter buys a twelve-year-old girl from her mother to help him lure unicorns. They work together for years, and sure, the girl is of age when they start a relationship, but it reaaaaally felt like the guy was grooming her there.
My absolute favourite was Stampede of Light, which is about lonely children and the teachers who don't let them get lost.
Individual ratings:
The Magical Properties of Unicorn Ivory by Carlos Hernandez: 4.5 stars
The Brew by Karen Joy Fowler: 4.5 stars
Falling Off the Unicorn by David D. Levine and Sarah A. Mueller: 4.5 stars
A Hunter's Ode to His Bait by Carrie Vaughn: 2 stars
A Thousand Flowers by Margo Lanagan: 3 stars (rape/dubious consent)
The Maltese Unicorn by Caitlín R. Kiernan: 3 stars (rape/dubious consent)
Stampede of Light by Marina Fitch: 5 stars
Ghost Town by Jack C. Haldeman II: 5 stars
The Highest Justice by Garth Nix: 4 stars
The Lion and the Unicorn by A.C. Wise: 3 stars
Survivor by Dave Smeds: 4 stars
Homeward Bound by Bruce Coville: 3.5 stars
Unicorn Triangle by Patricia A. McKillip: 3 stars
My Son Heydari and the Karkadann by Peter S. Beagle: 3 stars
The Transfigured Hart by Jane Yolen: 3.5 stars
Unicorn Series by Nancy Springer: 4 stars