Year of the Unicorn; The Crystal Gryphon, by Andre Norton
Year of the Unicorn (which has absolutely nothing to do with unicorns) was a favorite of mine when I was twelve or so. But I hadn’t read the loosely related The Crystal Gryphon until now.
I still like Unicorn very much, and though I’m sure I would have liked Gryphon more had I read it at the proper age, it’s still pretty good. Both novels have heroines who are brave, intelligent, resourceful, and altogether awesome while still following somewhat traditional roles, in both cases an arranged marriage which they want to go through with. I like this. There should be room, in fiction as well as life, for both rebelling against tradition and consciously sticking to it.
The writing of both, but Gryphon more than Unicorn, is a little stiff and distanced, old-fashioned and formal but rarely attaining elegance. I expect that’s why Norton’s books are mostly out of print. I’d be curious how Norton comes across now to someone who didn’t read her when they were a kid.
The Crystal Gryphon splits its first-person narrative between Kerovan, a young man born with hooves, yellow eyes, and the angst of being labeled a monster, and Joisan, the young woman promised to him who doesn’t know about his unusual attributes. They don’t meet until about three-fourths of the way through the book, and so the reader constructs the love story for herself by seeing how well-suited they are to each other. It’s very well-done.
Along the way, there is an invasion, a magic crystal gryphon necklace, fights, escapes, fleeing across the countryside, and so forth. In a twist which is both predictable and deeply satisfying, Kerovan meets Joisan before she knows what he looks like, and decides to let her get to know him without revealing his true identity so if she can’t cope with his hooves, he can leave without her feeling obligated to honor their engagement. Lots of angst and the Andre Norton trademarked slightly confusing and pell-mell climax ensues, followed by a sweet though rushed conclusion. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.
In Year of the Unicorn, Gillan is a foundling raised in a nunnery, very conscious that she looks different and “has odd thoughts.” As a price for their aid in a recent invasion (apparently the same one which was ongoing in Gryphon), the Were Riders - shapeshifting men from another world - are promised thirteen brides. The brides are housed briefly in the nunnery, variously resigned or hysterical. With no future worth looking forward to, Gillan seizes the opportunity to flee into the unknown by exchanging places with one of the brides.
In an evocatively described scene, the brides encounter beautiful cloaks tossed on the ground, and each choose one - and with it, the man who made it. But while the others are enchanted, Gillan sees through the illusion and, alone, makes a conscious choice of cloak and husband. She gets Herrel, “the least of the riders” due to being only half were, and the only one who offers his bride the opportunity to back out of the deal.
After this the book gets a bit incoherent and out of control. The other riders put all sorts of enchantments on Gillan and Herrel, she struggles with illusions and is split into two people, and there’s a lot of confusing wandering through surreal dreamscapes. What makes it worth reading is the sexy, angsty relationship between them. He’s a were-wildcat who can barely control his power! She’s an untrained witch with half her soul missing! Together, they fight the other Were Riders, assorted monsters, and some random bandits whose leader is named Smarkle - possibly that's what drove him to a life of crime.
There are fragments of “Beauty and the Beast” and other tales of shapeshifting men and the women who love them woven into the story. Gillan is a satisfyingly active, competent heroine, and Herrel is hot and angsty and appreciates her strength.
I feel sorry for the other brides, whom Norton mostly seems to forget about. I guess they stay in happy, stoned enchantment forever. Poor other brides!
Year of the Unicorn (Witch World )
The Crystal Gryphon
If anyone wants it, I have an extra copy of The Crystal Gryphon. Apparently I bought it twice.
This entry was originally posted at http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/756004.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I still like Unicorn very much, and though I’m sure I would have liked Gryphon more had I read it at the proper age, it’s still pretty good. Both novels have heroines who are brave, intelligent, resourceful, and altogether awesome while still following somewhat traditional roles, in both cases an arranged marriage which they want to go through with. I like this. There should be room, in fiction as well as life, for both rebelling against tradition and consciously sticking to it.
The writing of both, but Gryphon more than Unicorn, is a little stiff and distanced, old-fashioned and formal but rarely attaining elegance. I expect that’s why Norton’s books are mostly out of print. I’d be curious how Norton comes across now to someone who didn’t read her when they were a kid.
The Crystal Gryphon splits its first-person narrative between Kerovan, a young man born with hooves, yellow eyes, and the angst of being labeled a monster, and Joisan, the young woman promised to him who doesn’t know about his unusual attributes. They don’t meet until about three-fourths of the way through the book, and so the reader constructs the love story for herself by seeing how well-suited they are to each other. It’s very well-done.
Along the way, there is an invasion, a magic crystal gryphon necklace, fights, escapes, fleeing across the countryside, and so forth. In a twist which is both predictable and deeply satisfying, Kerovan meets Joisan before she knows what he looks like, and decides to let her get to know him without revealing his true identity so if she can’t cope with his hooves, he can leave without her feeling obligated to honor their engagement. Lots of angst and the Andre Norton trademarked slightly confusing and pell-mell climax ensues, followed by a sweet though rushed conclusion. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.
In Year of the Unicorn, Gillan is a foundling raised in a nunnery, very conscious that she looks different and “has odd thoughts.” As a price for their aid in a recent invasion (apparently the same one which was ongoing in Gryphon), the Were Riders - shapeshifting men from another world - are promised thirteen brides. The brides are housed briefly in the nunnery, variously resigned or hysterical. With no future worth looking forward to, Gillan seizes the opportunity to flee into the unknown by exchanging places with one of the brides.
In an evocatively described scene, the brides encounter beautiful cloaks tossed on the ground, and each choose one - and with it, the man who made it. But while the others are enchanted, Gillan sees through the illusion and, alone, makes a conscious choice of cloak and husband. She gets Herrel, “the least of the riders” due to being only half were, and the only one who offers his bride the opportunity to back out of the deal.
After this the book gets a bit incoherent and out of control. The other riders put all sorts of enchantments on Gillan and Herrel, she struggles with illusions and is split into two people, and there’s a lot of confusing wandering through surreal dreamscapes. What makes it worth reading is the sexy, angsty relationship between them. He’s a were-wildcat who can barely control his power! She’s an untrained witch with half her soul missing! Together, they fight the other Were Riders, assorted monsters, and some random bandits whose leader is named Smarkle - possibly that's what drove him to a life of crime.
There are fragments of “Beauty and the Beast” and other tales of shapeshifting men and the women who love them woven into the story. Gillan is a satisfyingly active, competent heroine, and Herrel is hot and angsty and appreciates her strength.
I feel sorry for the other brides, whom Norton mostly seems to forget about. I guess they stay in happy, stoned enchantment forever. Poor other brides!
Year of the Unicorn (Witch World )
The Crystal Gryphon
If anyone wants it, I have an extra copy of The Crystal Gryphon. Apparently I bought it twice.
This entry was originally posted at http://rachelmanija.dreamwidth.org/756004.html. Please comment there using OpenID.