The Unicorn Anthology

This slender but rich anthology compiled by Beagle and Weisman (The New Voices of Fantasy) centers on the mythical beast for which Beagle is best known, thanks to his classic novel The Last Unicorn. The 15 stories and one poem reinterpret the unicorn myth across genre and style. Caitlín R. Kiernan’s lesbian noir “The Maltese Unicorn” pits a hard-boiled rare book dealer against a sorcerous femme fatale. In Jane Yolen’s delicate “The Transfigured Hart,” a bookish boy and a horse-loving girl bond over a shared obsession with a mysterious white woodland creature. Dave Smeds’s “Survivor” includes elements of horror in its tale of a traumatized Vietnam vet, as does Garth Nix’s “The Highest Justice,” in which a princess and a revenant queen seek revenge with the help of a unicorn. Themes of innocence lost, first love, and yearning for transcendence pervade all of the stories in this collection, giving it a haunting and melancholy feel. Readers who love the mystery and elegance of unicorns will find this a lovely homage. (Apr.)