Subject: REVIEW: Acorna: The Unicorn Girl, by Anne McCaffrey

From: [email-masked] (Robotech_Master)
Date: 02 Sep 1998 18:40:42 -0400

Acorna: The Unicorn Girl, by Anne McCaffrey
	Review Copyright 1998 Chris Meadows

"Acorna: The Unicorn Girl" is a fairly solid, well-written science-fiction
fantasy about a strange young girl who is found floating in a survival pod
in deep space, and grows up (quickly) to become a legendary savior to a
planet full of enslaved child laborers.  The tale follows Acorna as she
grows to young adulthood, picking up many friends and a few enemies along
the way.

"Acorna" is very entertaining, if somewhat predictable in places--it's
hard not to guess how a book like this will end; the reading enjoyment
comes from what happens along the way.  The mixture of Hungarian,
Oriental, and Islamic influences adds an interesting spice to the story,
and the writing doesn't talk down to the reader. The pacing never falters,
especially toward the middle of the book where there are at least four
distinct sets of villains who come into conflict with our heroes or with
each other.  The characters often seem mostly black and white, with no
shades of grey in between, but they're handled with sufficient panache
that it never gets in the way of the story.

On the downside, there are a few loose ends that are never adequately
explained.  If Acorna's people were far enough away from humanity that no
trace of them had ever been discovered, how did Acorna's pod end up in
human space?  What happened to Dr. Anton Forelle, who was telegraphed
early in the book as being a possible potential villain (or at least
antagonist) but was never seen again after the book was 1/5 over?  Perhaps
"Acorna's Quest" will address these issues.

All in all, "Acorna" is a diverting and enjoyable story, and I look
forward to reading about her further advantures.  I recommend it.

[Permission granted for newsgroup distribution & associated archival, and
to share with other people as long as you don't charge for it.  All other
rights reserved, but feel free to ask.]

%A  McCaffrey, Anne
%A  Margaret Ball
%T  Acorna: The Unicorn Girl
%I  HarperPrism
%C  New York
%D  1997
%G  ISBN 0-06-105789-4
%P  410 pp.
%S  The Unicorn Girl
%V  Book 1
%O  Paperback, $6.50 US, $8.50 CDN

Chris Meadows aka  | Co-moderator, rec.toys.transformers.moderated
Robotech_Master    | Homepage: <URL:http://www.eyrie.org/~robotech/>
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