The Black Unicorn – Tanith Lee

Read for the Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge.

Tanaquil is the daughter of a sorceress, but seems to have no powers of her own.    One day, she finds a cache of bones in the desert near her mother’s fortress, which she carefully reassembles, making a unicorn.     And during a grand feast in the fortress, the unicorn comes to life.   Driven to follow it, Tanaquil finds her way to a City by the Sea, the city that her mother never allowed her to visit, where she may find the secret of who her father is, and maybe more.

This is a great, quick read, and I enjoyed it much more than my last Lee read through (the Claidi books).   Tanaquil is an interesting heroine, and her world is well drawn.    I didn’t once feel like yelling at her, which was a refreshing change from Claidi.    I’ve definitely had my faith in Tanith Lee restored by this book.