My video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvzfUwFKqXc

As this is an anthology, I tried to write a short review for all of the 16 short stories. Also, these stories was not specifically written for this anthology but seems to be coming from different years and previously been published/seen in other works.

The Magical Properties of Unicorn Ivory by Carlos Hernandez
Having read one book previously by him that centered around parallel worlds and had a main character named Gabi I found this quite funny! Lol! Either way, since this is more scientific than magical this really has the “what if” vibe about it. That what if unicorns came into this world as in the story, would it be like this? Yes. I believe there is a lot of truth in this one. I like the science parts of it, but the plot with the girl could have had more of an exploration to it. The end did not give the emotional punch it wanted. 3/5 stars.

The Brew by Karen Joy Fowler
This one was soooo weird. We start a story, and within that story we get a flashback/another story, and in that story we go into another story? My head was spinning. If it had been executed in a good way, this could’ve worked! But it was just weird and confusing. I liked the idea of the whiskey and the background for it. Some sentences were just really weird and vague, and I found myself rereading them trying to understand what they really meant. Not really for me. 1.5/5 stars.

Falling Off the Unicorn by David D. Levine & Sara A. Mueller
This one had a f/f romance in it! And they were really cute together! It also had magic yay! And the unicorns were basically ponies, because if you were too tall you couldn’t ride them lol. BUT apparently they only let themselves be ridden by virgins… and here it seemed like either lesbian sex didn’t count or they unicorns actually didn’t care about virgins after all? I don’t like the whole definitions of what “losing your virginity” entails. And here the story feeds into that and it rubbed me the wrong way.

Spoiler

Even Misty and Caroline thought that they were not virgins anymore, so why did Misty insist that she could still ride the unicorn? Was it because it didn’t “count” or because the unicorn just liked her/them?

Either way, I liked how Misty stood up for herself in the end! 2.5/5 stars (loses appeal because of the what counts when having sex and losing your virginity? -.-).

A Hunter’s Ode to His Bait by Carrie Vaughn
Why are all these unicorn stories so sad?! Like I just want a fluffy fairytale with magic and unicorns. Is this too much to ask?! But no I get another story where unicorns are getting killed and they love virgins. So this little girl is bait…and likes it? BUT: I sorta liked this one xD It was dark and ominous, but how old was that dude compared to the girl LOL?! 3/5 stars.

Ghost Town by Jack C. Haldeman II
This story was more focused on a con man going on a spiritual journey to find the right way for his life than it was about unicorns. But at the same time, doesn’t unicorns represent the pure and magical in the world? So that a man could find the better part of himself through magic (and a brief meeting with a unicorn) isn’t that … off? I still wasn’t that interested in the story, I just didn’t really care for the main character wops. 2.5/5 stars.

A Thousand Flowers by Margo Lanagan (trigger warnings: stillborn/baby death, suicide)
And I thought the other stories in this anthology was weird… This wanted to be weird, and it knows it’s weird. So it works? Maybe. I have no idea. This one was also really dark and had some earing themes in it. The writing however was not something for me, and I lost the meaning in all the long sentences. It also changed POV’s two times, and the first time it was so sudden I had no idea it even happened. So yeah, that was off for me. The story itself has interesting parts, but overall a bit too weird and confusing for me.

Spoiler

HOW DID THE UNICORN AND THE PRINCESS DO IT? TELL ME.

2.5/5 stars.

The Maltese Unicorn by Caitlín R. Kiernan (trigger warnings: rape)
SERIOUSLY. ALL THESE. ARE. SO. WEIRD. In this one there is magic, there are demons who can use them and possibly humans I’m not sure? There wasn’t enough details about it and I wanted more! The main character was interested in girls, so yay for that, but other than that I everything was soooo weird. I liked how the story was written though, with the beginning and going back to explain why it they had ended up like that. But the events were so weird?

Spoiler

LIKE they literally had a unicorn-horn-dildo and when they had an orgasm with it they felt pure for a moment and would crave that feeling for the rest of their lives?! I was like: WHAT WHAT WHAT.

This is the kind of story I could imagine could’ve worked if it was longer and had more time to be fleshed out, also: WHY THE RAPE?! SO UNNECESSARY. 2.5/5 stars.

Stampede of Light by Marina Fitch
In this one children are being kidnapped by a weird lady in a schoolyard lol. I’m not kidding WHY ARE THESE SO WEIRD. The story touched about the themes of loneliness that children often feel when they are being neglected/have no friends etc. That is a really real problem we have in the world. But the whole unicorn part was … weird. I have seriously lost count how many times I have written weird in this review. But yeah, nothing really special here in this one… 2/5 stars.

The Highest Justice by Garth Nix
Wooo Garth Nix’s story! At the time of typing I have never actually read anything by him, so this will be my first Garth Nix experience! Finally a story with a princess and a unicorn like I had expected was in this anthology lol! I mean there was one other with a princess but that one was… odd. So this one we have a princess walking with the queen who was poisoned and they are going to… I guess you have to read it yourself to know? I liked this one because it wasn’t weird af and the princess and the unicorn was sweet! I actually could’ve had more in this story/world, but it was also sorta typical but that was fine at this point lol xD 3/5 stars!

The Lion and the Unicorn by A.C. Wise trigger warnings: rape
Another weird one, but I liked it?! It was intriguing and really dark. Here a unicorn-boy has been enslaved and since he is so beautiful people cannot control themselves around him. He is chained to a bed and is being raped so NOT NICE. But the story isn’t supposed to be nice either? I liked the background we got from him, and it was really really dark. I seriously wanted more from this story, IT WAS SO SHORT. The shortest one yet. The writing was also something I really liked so I’m just sad it wasn’t longer and a full length novel? Obviously it had horrible circumstances, but it was a good story! 4/5 stars.

Survivor by Dave Smeds
Omg xD In this one the MC gets a unicorn tattoo and goes to war, and the people who die around him lives in his tattoo?! It also had some length to it, but I was actually really curious to see where the story would go. You also ask yourself the question: is people actually living inside of him or is he imagining it? I thought the ending was a bit too open, but overall this wasn’t so bad! 3/5 stars.

Homeward Bound by Bruce Coville
Here the MC’s father died and he has to live with his uncle, who has a unicorn horn on his wall. And the MC has been obsessed with it for years and he WANTS TO REACH IT AND TOUCH IT.

Spoiler

and then he is actually a unicorn himself LOL. He had always been a unicorn? THAT WAS HIS TRUE FORM.

I was waiting for this kind of story in the anthology, it was totally fine! I was intrigued to know what would happen when he finally reached the horn. 2.5/5 stars.

Unicorn Triangle by Patricia A. McKillip
Here a unicorn has been cursed by a sorcerer and changed into a human. I liked the idea for the story, and the background. But it went past too quickly to care much for it, I wish it had been longer and that we could have explored more comparing her unicorn life and her human life. Because that it was ultimately is interesting with the story. Also find out if she managed to turn back or not, because the story just ends when it was getting good! 2/5 stars.

My Son Heydari and the Karkadann by Peter S. Beagle
Finally the story from the unicorn master himself?! Here Beagle takes a really interesting take on unicorns, and calls them karkadanns. I liked that they had a weird name. in this unicorns are made into savage beasts, and a father is telling the story of his son saving one. I overall liked this one, and was intrigued the whole way! 3/5 stars.

The Transfigured Heart by Jane Yolen
This one was quite cute! It follows two kids who become friends while spotting what they believe is a unicorn in the forest. I liked how it was written and enjoyed the two leads. I think it could have been even more magical, but that is just me who longs for magic in this world…. 3/5 stars.

Unicorn Series by Nancy Springer
I can admit that this one did not really stuck with me. It is a long verse/poem thing, and was not really my thing. I thought some parts were nice, but I honestly can’t remember much.. wops. 2/5 stars.

It was fascinating to see all these very different stories having one thing in common. That really shows how “one idea” can spring so many different outcomes, and I love that about storytelling in general. But overall most of these stories were so weird and not enjoyable at all, so I did not like this anthology as much as I thought I would. Some were interesting and had appeal, but it is not enough to carry the whole book. The ones I did have an okay time with were totally average, except The Lion and the Unicorn by A.C. Wise, which was my favorite and is a story I think I will go back to reread. Not really a book I would recommend unless you are peculiar interested, just know that it gets really weird! Overall star rating: 2/5 stars.