I've never read anything by Tanith Lee before; I will be reading more.

I think I discovered this book in early high school, shortly after it had been written, and I think it changed my life . . . ?It certainly made it funnier, and more exciting! I love everything about this book from her mother's portrait waking her up like a motivational alarm clock to the unicorn itself to the peeve! THE PEEVE. Arguably the best part of this book is that there are basically talking groundhogs moiling around her mother's fortress, and it's one of them that leads her to the bones o...

Some might question why I would rate this book Four out of Five Stars, and I will back up my reasoning for this by stating that at first read, it may not seem like it's worth such a rating. The beginning all the way through until nearly the very end is full of chaotic, annoying, even frustrating situations. There are so many things that are all over the place, and that go wrong or annoy the heck out of you in this book, or that make no sense in any logical way possible. Plus the people, with the...

This is a book I read many years ago in childhood, and I wanted to revisit it as an adult. A few things to say about this one:Great pace, descriptions, & novelty—Tanith Lee has a strength for pace which keeps you going through the novel like a steamroller. She writes simply enough you don't miss important details, yet strongly enough her sentences aren't boring. She has a knack for thrusting the unknown and the magical in your face and making you accept it. At the same time, the magic isn't chee...

This is not your average unicorn book.Yes there be a maiden and yes there be a unicorn needing her help, but that's as close to the surface as it scratches.Because this is Tanith Lee and her books never go according to plan!Her "princess" is mechanically inclined, her unicorn has rainbow bones and is of such blackness and fierceness he is more likely to scare the cream cheese out of you then charm you and the Peeve is one pet Peeve I'd actually love to have!The settings are unique and strange an...

This book has been on my TBR list for years, mainly because I've had a devil of a job tracking down a copy. Finally I found one at an amazing bookstore I've recently discovered here in Toronto that specializes in SF/F (Bakka-Phoenix Books for any locals who may be interested). Let me tell you, it was well worth the effort!Black Unicorn by Tanith Lee is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever encountered. It's short (only 138 pages), but not a single word is wasted. I finished it yest...

Cute and well done for YA.

"It wasn't our fault we weren't given the best, but this, and all the things that are wrong. But can't we improve it? Make it better? I don't know how, the odds are all against us. And yet—just to think of it, just to try—that's a start."So What's It About?Tanaquil (a great heroine with a name that sounds like a cough medicine) spends her days dying of boredom in her mother's desert fortress. Her mother is a beautiful and accomplished sorceress but she has no time for her magically-bereft daught...

First book I've ever read by Lee, and ultimately I have to say it made me curious about her other works. Black unicorn starts out in an interesting setting with a likable protagonist, a girl who's actually capable. Though the first chapters are a bit slow, the story really starts to pick up after part two. Most of the time Lee's writing flows very smoothly but she does tend to ramble on about unimportant events or descriptions. I had high hopes (started out with none) for this story as you get a...

“The unicorn was no longer terrible. It was only... perfect.” I can't help but feel that Black Unicorn falls into a group of average books -there's nothing terribly wrong with it, but there was also not much that stood out.Tanaquil is both likeable and relatable - we're introduced to her life confined in her mother's fortress in the middle of a desert. It's easy to see why Tanaquil wants to break free from her dull life which makes it easy to root for her. Still, she never quite grabbed me as

This took a lot longer for me to read than its 140 pages would imply. The type is small and the writing dense (in a good way!), so I wasn't able to zip through it the way I can other, fluffier fare. The story is packed full of great descriptions and wonderful little moments (basically everything the Peeve does is The Best). Tanaquil is a great heroine, and it was good to watch her become self-sufficient. I really enjoyed rereading this.

I remember reading this book over and over as kid. It was one of the first fantasy books I remember reading. I love Tanaquil in this book.This is a book about coming of age, discovering yourself, and realizing you are exactly who you are suppose to be. One of my favorite books of all time!

A young girl, ignored by her sorceress mother and with no distractions in the desert fortress they live in, discovers a unicorn skeleton. Employing her only talent, Tanaquil rebuilds the skeleton with added parts to make it a movable work of art. She doesn't realize that she does indeed have magical ability and the unicorn bones will transform into a living beast. Tanaquil is thrust into a fantastic journey as the unicorn leads her to the City by the Sea where she discovers who she really is.Tan...

Black Unicorn is a sly book. A teen girl rebelling against her career-focused mom, till she runs off after a unicorn. How very YA. And yet... the book keeps bumping up against what it means to be broken, to be lost, to be a part of something that has no place in the world. This is the kind of book that gives YA a good name. Not to forget that the Peeve is the best comic sidekick since Gurgi.

I enjoyed this coming of age story about a young girl, daughter of a sorceress mother who mostly neglects and ignores her as she seems to have no magic. Instead Tanaquil spends her days wandering the desert around her mother's fortress and digging up fossils, or mending things that belong to her mother's servants and soldiers, though she has started to suspect that they feel sorry for her and are sometimes breaking things to give her something to do. One of the animals who live in the desert - c...

This is a very good fantasy novel with interesting characters and rich atmosphere. The story is interesting and has a very fairy tale feel to it, however, i feel like half of the main character's adventure was filler and would be better suited to be a long fairy-tale or, my preference, a longer, more in depth and meaningful epic. The whole book i asked myself what the point was but it's not discovered until the very end. All of the struggles were wrapped up either as they went or at the end, whi...

My all time favorite book. An intelligent YA novel by Tanith Lee that never talks down to its audience. A creative take on this mythical beast, Lee's unicorn is hardly the gentle creature the reader expects. Tanaquil, the heroine, is a spirited and likable young girl, probably the most lovable of all Lee's characters. This fantasy novel takes place in a jewel of a fictional world and is ultimately about family relationships, learning that one's world and one's family may be far from perfect, but...

This review was excerpted from a post on my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/20...First on the list is The Black Unicorn, by Tanith Lee. There’s a little girl, and she’s the daughter of a sorceress. Mother and daughter don’t understand each other, and Tanquil is frequently left to her own devices. One day she finds the skeleton of a unicorn in the desert, and Tanaquil’s life is forever changed. She is swept away from her home, where she learns her own inner str...

This is my first book by Tanith Lee, I'm pretty sure, which surprised me. I've always known the name, always known that people thought I'd be interested, and I'm sure I have actually bought some Tanith Lee books before, but I'm pretty sure that this is the first I've read. I was interested, but not really absorbed -- Tanaquil is okay, but the relationship with her mother, even the stranding in the desert, felt fairly average. There's not much explanation of the world -- which in some ways, I pre...

With elegantly placed brushstrokes Tanith Lee quickly paints a complex portrait of a realistic character and lets her Unicorn breath life into her and into the entire story. I love complex characters that are easy to identify with and Tanaquil is such a character! Frustrated by a life empty of adventure Tanaquil is quickly drawn Of into a vast and dangerous world with only her not quite tamed and quite magical animal friend, the peeve, by her side. This story quickly touches you, draws you in, c...