The dust cover reads: "It has been five years since the Change...five years since the lights went out, cars stopped in the streets, and magical creatures began roaming the towns and countrysides of Earth.

"Pete Garey, a young loner who survived the Change and the madness that followed, spent two years wandering and scavenging the near-deserted cities and towns. Then, one day, Ariel walked out of the unpredictable wilderness: a unicorn whose dazzling beauty and purity captured his heart. She brought new meaning to Pete's life, and set him on the road to adventure."

My raves: There is so much more to this story than a boy and his unicorn! It's a gritty story about what happens when the world around you becomes unrecognizable. It's at turns funny and dramatic, and very real...in a fantastic sort of a way. I recommend this book whole heartedly. It's a little hard to find, since it was published in 1983, but I got my copy in a second-hand book store for a couple bucks, and it has been well worth it!

Excerpt: Pete and Ariel head to Atlanta, which, like all cities, is basically deserted since The Change. There he meets Russ and his falcon (gained through a loyalty spell), Asmodeus. Russ wants him to meet Malachi, a very self-sufficient samurai warrior.


“Ariel’s a good name,” said Malachi. “Did you pick it?”

“Yes, I liked it.”

“Shakespeare would have loved it.”

I shot him a puzzled look.

His eyebrows crept up. “I thought that’s where you got it. Shakespeare. The Tempest. Ariel was a magical character.”

“Oh.” I felt stupid. “I saw it on a book with a picture of a unicorn on the cover. I thought it fit her.”

”Oh, it fits her, all right. Come inside.” He shook his head wonderingly. “I’d like to find out what it’s like to be the Familiar of a unicorn.” He turned and held the gate open for us. Faust, Chaffney and Asmodeus, Ariel and I—a dog, a leather-jacketed men with a falcon on his shoulder, a unicorn, and a twenty-year-old virgin—walked into the yard. Malachi locked the gate behind us and caught up to Russ. He extended his arm. “Do you mind?”

Russ spread his hands. “Go ahead.” He shrugged his right shoulder and Asmodeus flapped onto Malachi’s proffered arm. He stroked her head with a finger. “Faust—you two go play.”

The bird flapped from Malachi’s arm and sped across the yard, flying close to the ground. Barking, Faust ran after her.

I shook my head. What a day.


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