To Marten, to my mother, to all of them I was just a girl with a bow. An assassin, good only for what she could kill.I liked the concept. It was clever and certainly turned an preconceived notion on its head. Unicorns are bloodthirsty murderous creatures! Say what? But that's what it is and it is a very good idea. Astrid as the main character could be characterized Buffy the Unicorn Slayer light since her powers don't work all the time. But there is the same amount of whining and badassness that Buffy exhibits through most of the series. I can't say I blame either of them, what with all the kill kill death stuff going on, but it gets tiresome. Buffy had the same effect so I can't say anything really since that is my favorite show. But the girls, the hunters, in this story, are varied and that's nice.
And I wasn't even particularly good at that. p.194
I liked the ending with some resolution for this book and a nice setup for the next. Not a cliffhanger, which I hate, but it leaves you looking for more. I need more of what is going to happen with the unicorns and more back story and more of the awesomeness of Bucephalus (minor spoiler or maybe major?) and Bonegrinder. I *think* I know where this is going and I'm hoping I'm wrong. I want to be surprised. There are several little mysteries set up for which I'd like the answers. The ending was good, but at the same time it was a little blah. The resolution for the "bad guy" was too quick but maybe it was like killing the Anointed One when it's the Master that really needs to be killed. So I'm hoping for more in that direction. I guess you could say that I'm hoping for more in general.
Prolly the most frustrating type of review to write. Things are good but you want more and you can see what the more could be...but you also want surprise.
ReplyDeleteNicely done. I'm going to look into getting this for our school.
I really love this book- Peterfreund does amazing things with unicorn lore (most of which is actually untouched!) and the action scenes are great. Definitely a Major Spoiler is great, too, and I really enjoyed their frank and respectful discussion of female sexuality.
ReplyDeleteI do agree, though, that the ending is definitely setting itself up for a sequel.
Great review. I've been seeing this one around at my library and on the blogging world. Glad it's worth my time!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, I havent read the book yet but it's on my tbr list. I loved Buffy, so I think it's a great book for me! LOL :)
ReplyDeleteKB - Exactly
ReplyDeleteClare - I agree. It was good. I just wanted something more.
Gofita and Nina - It is good! Try it.
Great review! I want to read it soon, it's very close to the top of my TBR pile. I like the idea of taking nice, pretty unicorns and making them evil creatures!
ReplyDelete