Into the Land of the Unicorns

Bruce Coville loves unicorns. I don't think there is any doubt about this. So it should surprise no one that when Coville sat down to write a more or less "serious" fantasy series, unicorns would be prominently featured. I've said before that I don't particularly get the love for unicorns - they are basically just a horse with a horn on its head, some healing powers and a penchant for virgins. However, with Into the Land of the Unicorns Coville seems to have taken the mythology of unicorns and launched a series that does about as much as one could do with it.

The story wastes little time getting started - Cara and her grandmother are out walking one evening when Cara spots a mysterious man following them which leads to a furious chase show more ending with Cara's grandmother thrusting a mysterious amulet into her hands and instructing her to leap off of the top of a church tower at the twelfth strike of the bell and deliver a message once she got to where she was going. And suddenly Cara finds herself in a strange land being assaulted by a dwarf-like delver who incapacitates her before she is rescued by the half-man half-bear Dimblethum. While recovering from her injuries in Dimblethum's cave, Cara meets the unicorn Lightfoot who heals her and informs her she is in Luster, the land of the unicorns. She also meets the diminutive squirrel-like Squijum, an excitable and like the Dimblethum, also a unique creature.

Or at least the land where the unicorns fled to when they abandoned Earth. Apparently unicorns were being ruthlessly hunted to extinction when they opened gates to this alternate world and withdrew to there. Cara was able to travel between worlds using the amulet her grandmother gave her - one of the "Queen's Amulets", of which there are only five. This, of course, raises the question of what her grandmother was doing with such a valuable object. And when Lightfoot hears the message Cara was instructed to deliver "find the Old One and tell her the Wanderer is weary", he declares that they must visit the Queen of the Unicorns (who he identifies as the "Old One") as quickly as possible. So, with the Dimblethum and Squijum accompanying them, they set out to cross Luster and visit the royal court, although both Lightfoot and the Dimblethum have some reservations about going to the royal court.

Before long this odd group of four come across Thomas, one of the few human inhabitants of Luster. Thomas is a tinker who pulls a big handcart around with him everywhere he goes and turns out to be a little more than one might think at first glance. Thomas spontaneously decides to join the little band, and they head out towards Grimwold's home. Grimwold is the "Keeper of the Unicorn Chronicles" who maintains a repository of all stories involving unicorns and their allies. By having Cara pick up various companions along the way, Coville is able to fill Cara (and thus the reader) in on the basic conflict of the series. In the distant past, unicorns acquired an undeserved reputation as vicious beasts. Through a combinations of misunderstandings, a unicorn is violently interrupted while trying to heal a small girl named "Beloved", and the tip of his horn breaks off in the girl's chest, leaving her in a continuous painful cycle of injury and healing. Prevented from dying by the horn embedded in her flesh, Beloved vows to take revenge upon the unicorns for the wrong she perceives they have done her, and her descendants become the "Hunters", who pursued the unicorns so relentlessly that they fled from Earth to Luster. Cara, with her amulet, represents an avenue into Luster for the Hunters, and so she is pursued.

And the unicorns weren't the only creatures to flee from Earth to Luster. There are a handful of transplanted humans and there are also the delvers and dragons, all of whom originally came from Earth and have little love for humans. We also find out that the delvers have been hunting for Cara to get her amulet, but that some delvers, nonplussed at the idea that humans might try to follow her into Luster are willing to offer mild assistance in her quest to warn the Queen of the imminent danger. After this unexpected assistance, the intrepid band of travelers turn to their next problem, which is that they must also traverse through the territory of Firethroat, one of the seven dragons in Luster.

The plot comes to a head in Firethroat's territory, as the shadowy threat that has been looming over Cara shows itself, and turns out to be somehow both surprising and completely predictable. Some quick thinking manages to turn the tables on her adversary, and some generosity results in a fairly substantial thank you gift. As with most Coville books, the lesson conveyed is that making friends is a good thing, and that being nice results in good things happening. These are fairly simple and straightforward life lessons, but they are packaged quite well here, and flow organically from the story.

Into the Land of the Unicorns is a pretty standard young adult fantasy story featuring mostly pretty standard fantasy elements: unicorns, dragons, goblin-like delvers, magical amulets and gates between worlds, the wise wizardly dwarf Grimwold, and of course, an evil immortal villain. But the story is engaging and Coville throws in just enough curves - such as the Dimblethum and the Squijum - to keep the fantasy elements from being stale. On the whole, this is a decent beginning to what promises to be a good, albeit fairly conventional, fantasy tale.

This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. show less

The Unicorn Chronicles Book I: Into The Land Of The Unicorns, by Bruce Coville
★★★★ ½ and a ♥

Synopsis: As each chime sounds, Cara climbs faster up the steep bell tower. Eleven! She must be on the roof when the next bell tolls. Twelve! With a deep breath, and only half believing she will survive, Cara jumps off the church roof and into Luster, land of the unicorns.
In Luster, Cara meets many wonderful creatures, but the most magnificent of all is Lightfoot, a rebellious young unicorn. Cara’s band of friends comes to include a hairy creature named the Dimblethum and the monkey-like Squijim. Together, they set out to reach the Unicorn Queen before the mysterious man who is following them does—to prevent the destruction of all show more unicorns forever.
In A Sentence: A childhood favorite of mine, and still a lovely story for little girls.
My Thoughts: A long time ago, back before Harry Potter came into my life, I was a huge fan of unicorns. They were my favorite mythical animal, so much of a favorite that I still have my collection of everything unicorn: unicorn toys, a stuffed unicorn doll that I carried everywhere, small unicorn figurines and statues, and so much more. So when I was perusing through the fantasy section of the local library and saw this book with a picture of a unicorn on the cover, I simply had to pick it up and read it.
I think I read this book about a dozen times, I loved it so much! A girl about my age ending up in a fantasy world where unicorns live, how cool was that?!
Years later, I began to regret not purchasing my own copy, and lately, for whatever reason, I began to think about the story again and wanting to read it at least once more. So I went to my local library, and, once again, sought the book out.
The book is much smaller than I remembered (only 160 pages), but it was still very sweet and enjoyable. It is one of those stories that make children wish unicorns were real, and adults nostalgic about their childhood years. The story is adorably creative, and full of action. It’s sad and it’s lovely. It’s about good and evil and choosing sides. It’s basically a cute girl’s story. Clearly, little girls would love this book, but I think moms would like it too. Highly recommended. show less

Cara and her grandmother, whom she has lived with since her mother died and her father left, are on their way home from the library when they realize they are being followed. Cara is surprised and frightened when her grandmother agrees they are really being followed--and that the man is a threat. It's not long before Cara, wearing her grandmother's special necklace, is standing at the top of a bell tower, about to follow Grandma's instructions to wait for the the twelfth toll of the bell, call out "Luster, bring me home," and jump.

She does it, and finds herself in a magical new world.

Luster is a magical place, and she meets magical, wonderful creatures, especially the unicorn, Lightfoot, and Dimblethum, a hairy creature who looks to be show more somewhere between a man and a bear. Unfortunately, the hunter who was following her and her grandmother has also managed to follow her across, and nasty creatures called Delvers are helping him hunt her. He's after the necklace, or rather amulet, that her grandmother gave her, and wants to use it to bring other hunters--other unicorn hunters--to Luster to wipe out the unicorns.

Cara needs to reach the Queen of the unicorns, to bring a message from her grandmother, and to keep the amulet safe. Along the way, she meets Grimwold the dwarf and recorder of unicorn stories, Thomas the Tinker who can fix almost anything and has a truly impressive wagon, and Firethroat the dragon.

It's a great children's adventure, and Cara is a very believable young girl, brave and smart and quite believably scared by some of the things she encounters and experiences. It's a lot of fun. Recommended.

I bought this audiobook. show less

3.5 stars. This review is also available on my blog, Read Till Dawn.

This is a small book that I only found because a friend of mine recommended it to me. I read it, and enjoyed myself doing it, but then forgot to review it. I didn't fall desperately in love with the book or its world, didn't rush out to buy the rest of the books in the series that very minute - but yesterday, when I decided it was really (past) time for me to review Into the Land of the Unicorns, I requested the next few books from the library. I'm looking forward to seeing how Coville expands the story-lines he started in the first book.

First books in series are notorious for being nothing more than set-ups for the later installments. They set the stage, introduce the show more characters, and pull the reader in with an exciting premise that will be explored in the later books.That's exactly what happens in Into the Land of the Unicorns, with the added bonus of a nice little storyline (a quest-type journey) to tie all the world-building bits together. We get to learn about the world of Luster along with Cara, learning who to trust and who to avoid through Cara's experiences and interactions. The stage is set for a powerful tale of family, friendship, and forgiveness. Will it be thoroughly explored? I hope so, but I don't know. The story so far is stronger than I would have expected for its deceptively short size, but I'm not sure which of the many paths Coville will take to expand the story in the next books.

It's not exactly mind-blowing (I saw the plot twist coming from the very beginning!), but it's definitely promising. Cara doesn't get much time to show her stripes as a character, because she's pretty much constantly reacting to the events around her, but she has pretty strong characterization for someone in such a small book. My favorite characters, though, were the animals of Luster. From Lightfoot, the alternately wise and adolescent unicorn, to the Squijum (who reminds me a lot of Gurgi from the Prydain chronicles), every creature was unique and endearing in its own way. There is a Cara in every book; not as many feature characters like the bizarre assortment of beings living in Luster.

Honestly, I enjoyed it. The main issue I had with Into the Land of the Unicorns was its size; by the time I was into it, it was over! I won't be wholeheartedly recommending the series until I've read the later books, but if I do wind up suggesting it to people the one thing I know I'll warn is "don't start reading until you've got easy access to all of the books!" show less

This book is phenomenal for anyone under the age of thirteen, but it is also a good read for those older who'd like to be reminded of what it felt like to believe in the land of unicorns, fairies, and dragons. Bruce Coville I've met myself at a book signing (yes, I still have it) many years ago, and from what I can remember he was a very humble, very gentle man who got along quite easily with the children he was speaking with. All in all, it is a great tale of Cara's adventures, and I am proud to have met Mr. Coville.

When Cara and her grandmother are suddenly pursued by an unknown man, the grandmother gives a precious amulet to Cara and tells her to jump through a portal and into a new world, one filled with magical creatures and monsters, including dragons and unicorns. Cara sets off on a quest to take the amulet to the queen of the unicorns, and she and the friends she makes long the way must face dangers and wonders to get there.
It reads like an early outline for a fantasy novel, but one that needs a lot of work. The story idea is good, but it's told in the barest of bones way, with very little in the way of details, and the characters are completely flat.

Nice fantasy adventure for kids, more serious than most of Coville's work, and with a good young heroine. I would only give it three stars because I'm not that into unicorns anymore, but when I was ten I would have thought that it was outstanding. Therefore, I'm splitting the difference.