Beagle, Peter S.

Average customer rating:

Last but not Least
Beautiful Fantasy Fairy Tale
The Last Unicorn
Okay but by no means a classic
Classic for all ages

The Last Unicorn
Peter S. Beagle
Manufacturer: Roc Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Last Unicorn is one of the true classics of fantasy, ranking with Tolkien's The Hobbit, Le Guin's Earthsea Trilogy, and Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Beagle writes a shimmering prose-poetry, the voice of fairy tales and childhood:

<blockquote>The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.</blockquote>

The unicorn discovers that she is the last unicorn in the world, and sets off to find the others. She meets Schmendrick the Magician--whose magic seldom works, and never as he intended--when he rescues her from Mommy Fortuna's Midnight Carnival, where only some of the mythical beasts displayed are illusions. They are joined by Molly Grue, who believes in legends despite her experiences with a Robin Hood wannabe and his unmerry men. Ahead wait King Haggard and his Red Bull, who banished unicorns from the land.

This is a book no fantasy reader should miss; Beagle argues brilliantly the need for magic in our lives and the folly of forgetting to dream. --Nona Vero

Customer Reviews:

Last but not Least.......2007-05-07

For any fan of the animated film, this book is a must-read! The novel characters are just as vibrant and full of life in this fast-paced novel of adventure and hope as fans would expect from the movie. Peter S. Beagle has a unique voice which matches the timeless setting of this most fantastic story.

Beautiful Fantasy Fairy Tale.......2007-04-03

"The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea."

So begins Peter Beagle's, The Last Unicorn. What a fantastic book! This one has been on my to be read list for a long while.

The Last Unicorn is everything that a fantasy should be. It has unicorns to begin with, magicians, gypsies, old kingdoms, kings, princes, magic, an old castle on top of a hill, and a giant red bull.

It is the story of a unicorn who is on a quest to find others like herself. Along the way, she meets a magician and a gypsy sort of woman. They are on a quest to find The Red Bull who must be defeated in order for her to find the other unicorns. Plenty of magic, fighting, wizardry, love and loss occur along the way, all in breathtaking fashion.

The unicorn is a wonderful, powerful character. Unicorns are one of the first things that pop into my mind when I think of fantasy. Even white horses look magical in real life because of the idea of a unicorn. Peter Beagle's unicorn is the definition of what a unicorn should be. She's mysterious, powerful, beautiful, glowing, and magical. She reminded me a lot of Yvaine from Stardust even though Yvaine wasn't a unicorn. Read the book and you'll understand why. I thought of Stardust a lot while reading this book. It has the same magical theme, and is a classic fantastic fairy tale like Stardust is. In fact, I'm hoping that there's one scene involving a unicorn in Stardust that does not make it to the film because it was very upsetting just reading it.

The red bull was a wonderful character in The Last Unicorn. He is described as an enormous red bull who's size is more than one can imagine with horns like lightning and a sort of electricity coming off of him. He is also blind. He herds unicorns into the sea. Wonderful fantasy character and even though he's somewhat of a villain I still loved him.

The illustrations are done by Mel Grant and I loved them. They were exactly what they should be and I can't describe them much better than that. Black and white illustrations with a very "sketched" look that fit perfectly with the story.

This was my first book of Peter Beagle's. The man is an extraordinary writer. His descriptions are so detailed and beautiful and so different from any other authors I've read. He has a wonderful way with words and creates a beautiful story here. The next issue of Orson Scott Card's online magazine Intergalactic Medicine Show is supposed to have an interview with him and a new short story by him. Can't wait for that.

There's also an animated version of The Last Unicorn out there that I'd like to check out. It's always good to see a book translated into a movie and I believe that Peter Beagle wrote the screenplay for the movie.

The Last Unicorn.......2007-03-21

In a world where men can no longer see unicorns for what they are, but perceive them as merely white horses, only one remains. In her forest, untroubled by the world at large, she overhears a pair of hunters referring to her as the last and embarks on a hunt for the unicorns she believes may be hiding, perhaps waiting for her to save them. In Peter Beagle's scrumptiously written fantasy novel, the unicorn's tale may seem at first glance like a familiar one: a magician as a traveling companion, encounters with evil witches and immortal creatures bent on capturing a unicorn, an evil king in his barren kingdom, transfiguration and talking trees. What makes the tale uncommon is the telling. Beagle doesn't so much tell the story as immerse the reader in it, the entire world shimmering to life around characters that are amazingly real for being so rooted in a world of magic. When the unicorn is forced to become a woman to escape the powerful red bull that is hunting her, she begins to lose her sense of immortality and Beagle offers an interesting take on that staple of high fantasy, the love-struck price offering heroic tokens of his ardor to the beautiful princess. I consider this an absolute must-read for fans of Beagle, the fantasy genre, or the classic animated movie The Last Unicorn.

Okay but by no means a classic.......2007-03-16

I thought this book was okay but by no means a classic. I thought the story was interesting enough but overall a little dull. I thought the writing was okay but I noticed I got lost a little bit here and there. I also had to fight to keep awake reading it because it just wasn't that interesting. I didn't think the characters were all that well definied or were not as loveable/hateable etc as you would like to see in any book.

Anyway, overall it's a decent book. It's interesting enough, it's a decent short and quick book for kids but it, to me, shouldn't have classic written all over it.

Classic for all ages.......2007-03-15

I reread this recently, and was impressed by the depth and emotion of the story. Although short, this book has much to offer. A classic to be enjoyed by all ages.

Average customer rating:

The Unicorn Sonata
Fall asleep and dream of this beautiful fantasy world
A lovely book
The Unicorn Sonata
The Last Unicorn for elementary school readers!

The Unicorn Sonata
Peter S. Beagle
Manufacturer: Turner Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1570362882

Customer Reviews:

The Unicorn Sonata.......2006-05-24

This book is very carefully bittersweet. Joey, short for Josephine, is disenchanted with modern life. She spends most of her time in a small California music shop owned by an old Greek man who gives her music lessons in exchange for her help around the store. One day she begins hearing strange, enchanting music, seemingly started by a mysterious boy named Indigo who plays an instrument unlike anything she has ever seen, and follows the melody until she stumbles into an entirely different world. Here she meets satyrs and tiny dragons and water-nymphs... and eventually, unicorns.

The plot in this book is somewhat subtle. You go into it thinking it will be a typical 80s/90s feel-good type of thing where a troubled young teenager has a great adventure, is bettered for it, and ends up loving the normal world just because s/he has grown up some over the course of the adventure. But eventually you see the book it is not about that at all, but more about Joey's keeping contact with it, her struggling desire to capture unicorn songs in the modern world, and unblinding the old unicorns. This book definitely has more to do with its world, the unicorns, and the simple obersvations of characters than it does with a plot. Luckily the story flows smoothly and this works out OK, if only because Peter S. Beagle is such an amazing author.

I did not like this book as much as I enjoyed The Last Unicorn, since I do typically get more swept up in dynamic storylines rather than subtle ones, but this book definitely kept my fancy well. It is also not quite as beautifully written as Peter S. Beagle's most well-known novel, but perhaps this one just speaks to me less on a personal level. I'm an unfortunate escapist, so I did instantly connect with Joey, but this story is just not as touching as The Last Unicorn.

Definitely a good novel and a book worth reading.

Fall asleep and dream of this beautiful fantasy world.......2005-06-07

I am a huge fan of the last unicorn and I've been collecting unicorns since I was a little girl (When The Last Unicorn movie came out in 1982). Even though this book is at about an elementary/Jr. High reading level, I had to pick it up and read it. I was not disappointed. I was drawn into the beautiful fantasy world created by Mr. Beagle. After finishing the book I went to sleep that night and had a wonderful dream that I was in the world with the unicorns and other creatures. You have to read this book and drift into this wonderful world of childhood, if only for one good dream.

A lovely book.......2003-09-22

This really is a beautiful book, and I believe if it had been published 20 years ago it would have been a huge seller in the fantasy market. I think the reason some of the other reviewers have not enjoyed the work as much is because this sort of fantasy kingdom has been portrayed before--Never Never Land, Middle Earth, Narnia--even the world of The Last Unicorn itself. Still, at the end, I found myself yearning for Beagle's mythical kingdom. And Abuelita is a wonderful character. A slower, older style, but worth finishing.

The Unicorn Sonata.......2003-04-10

The Unicorn Sonata, written by Peter S. Beagle, is about a lack-luster 13 year old girl named Josephine Riveira who accidentally stumbles upon a magical land called Shei'rah. The story that unfolds is both riveting and beautiful. The Unicorn Sonata is a wonderful read, accessible to both children and adults and successfully brings back the sort of magical world that we seem to have forgotten in today's chaotic society.

The Last Unicorn for elementary school readers!.......2003-02-24

I am huge fan of Beagle's "The Last Unicorn," and finally have decided to check out some of his other works. This is the first one I grabbed off the shelf because it is also about unicorns. I was a little disappointed because the plot is very slow and not that interesting, and the dialogue is not very deep or memorable. It lacks most of the lyrical qualities of "The Last Unicorn" in both plot and style. However, I don't think this a bad book!!! Its just different, that's all. I'm sure that Beagle had a different audience in mind. If I were 10 or 12 I would be raving about this book for sure! Call it a "Last Unicorn" for elementary school readers. "The Last Unicorn" is a difficult book after all, full of beautiful poetry, deep characters, and detailed descriptions. Perhaps this is a good stepping stone for younger readers to use... and eventually discover "The Last Unicorn!"

Average customer rating:

The Line Between
Peter S. Beagle: Living National Treasure
Delightful fantastic fiction -- moving and wise
Excellent, excellent, excellent
Warm & Winning

The Line Between
Peter S. Beagle
Manufacturer: Tachyon Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1892391368

Book Description

The long-awaited sequel to the popular classic The Last Unicorn is the centerpiece of this powerful collection of new tales from a fantasy master. As longtime fans have come to expect, the stories are written with a grace and style similar to fantasy's most original voices, such as J. R. R. Tolkien, Fritz Leiber, and Kurt Vonnegut. Traditional themes are typically infused with modern sensibilities—reincarnated lovers and waning kings rub shoulders with heroic waifs; Schmendrick the Magician returns to adventure, as does the ghost of an off-Broadway actor and a dream-stealing shapeshifter; and Gordon, the delightfully charming "self-made cat," appears for the first time in print, taking his place alongside Stuart Little as a new favorite of the young at heart. This wide-ranging compilation contains sly humor and a resounding depth that will charm fans of literary fantasy.

Customer Reviews:

The Line Between.......2007-04-13

Short stories are a tricky thing to write - many authors open their own collections with a note about how silly they were to attempt the form. Not surprising, since a short story is not simply a novel with the details cut out. Short story writing requires a precise sense of pacing and an almost directoral view of the subject matter. There are not hundreds of pages to develop characters and create mood; the best the short story writer can do is point out to you the defining moments of a character or a scene and hope you can keep up. Short fiction is most often effective to offer a setup leading to a quick plot twist or a startling ending, not for world-building or profound observations on the human psyche.
That said, the depth of feeling contained in the latest Peter Beagle book is astounding. Twice as much when you consider that this is a short story collection, not a novel. No story spans more than forty pages - a few run no more that five, but many have their own emotional resonance most novelists dream of.
There are plenty of funny, quick reads throughout the collection too. In Gordon, the Self-Made Cat a mouse with no desire to play the traditional role of bait earns his cat card and the respect of his fellow felines. A set of four fables, while feeling a little rushed in execution, have deliciously cynical morals. Salt Wine puts some grand old seagoing-myths on their heads, and Quarry fills in yet another piece of the world of Innkeeper's Song and the short story collection from the same world. There's also A Dance For Emilia - a beautiful story of friendship and love printed here for every fan who missed the much overlooked gift book edition from several years ago.
There is always a strong musical theme running through Beagle's work - and of course there is one musical story here: Mr. Sigerson. Mr. Siegerson is a brilliant violinist and also a persona of the great Sherlock Holmes. In this mystery, Holmes and the conductor of a Norwegian orchestra uncover underhanded dealings and an illicit affair and any musician will recognize one of their own in the narrator and characters of the story.
The real jewels in this book are El Regalo and Two Hearts. El Regalo introduces two new characters, Marvyn and Angie. With promises to tell their whole story in a novel, Beagle introduces two kids growing up in Avicenna and growing into some magical powers. Marvyn, like any well-balanced kid, uses his abilities to take out the garbage and wash the dishes, but Angie is still concerned that his powers might get them into trouble. When Angie makes an embarrassing choice to confess her love to a boy at school, Marvyn rushes in to save the day and lands both of them in last Thursday, possibly permanently. Two Hearts is quite simply a gift to any fan of The Last Unicorn. In Beagle's earlier days he created each book in its own world, and the short stories that he wrote never went back to those places. After more than thirty years, the story is told of Shmendrick and Molly Grue's further adventures, along with Lir and the land he rules. Two Hearts seems almost to be something dug up from the days immediately following the writing of The Last Unicorn. The characters remain as true to themselves as any reader could hope and again, Beagle promises a full-length story of Sooz, the narrator.
Once again, Beagle has topped his previous efforts and not only re-asserted his status as a master of the Fantasy genre, but shown that he still has plenty more stories to tell us.

Peter S. Beagle: Living National Treasure.......2007-02-12

I hereby nominate Peter S. Beagle as a Living National Treasure. How many of us have laughed and wept and felt goose flesh while reading his stories? And for decades!! The Line Between contains the novella for which Peter won (finally, finally) a Hugo Award. What a treat to see Schmendrick, Molly and King Lir again. Rather than seem like an epilogue to The Last Unicorn, this reads more like a prologue to a new epic story of love and adventure. I can't wait to find out what happens to Sooz when she turns seventeen and gets to use her gift of magic. If I were a king I'd build a special wing at the castle for Sir Peter and give him all the food, wine and song (okay, and women too) his heart desires so he could happily and contentedly write me tales until I'm an old man.

(UPDATE: Since first writing this review Peter won the Nebula award for Two Hearts, the coda to the Last Unicorn included in this collection.)

Delightful fantastic fiction -- moving and wise.......2007-01-22

Peter S. Beagle has had a long career and is already a legend for such novels as The Last Unicorn and such short fiction as "Farrell and Lila the Werewolf". But just in the past few years he has produced a string of wonderful shorter works that rank with the best work of his career. This collection includes most of those recent stories, including a few new to 2006, as well as one or two older pieces. Beagle's characters are the heart of his works - thoroughly believable, often a bit battered, often somewhat worldy wise. Though he also depicts much younger characters very well.

The very moving closing story, "A Dance for Emilia", tells of a late-middle-aged actor mourning the death of his childhood friend, a critic, in the company of that friend's young lover, and of his strangely possessed cat. "Two Hearts" is a lovely sequel to The Last Unicorn. "Quarry" is first rate adventure fantasy, with a young man fleeing scary monsters meeting an older man and joining with him, only to face another monster. "Salt Wine", one of my favorites here (though the stories are wonderful throughout - hard to name a favorite) is an absorbing sea story about a sailor and the formula for a special drink he gets from a merman (or merrow), with a sharply pointed moral dimension. "Mr. Sigerson" is a satisfyingly different Sherlock Holmes story, featuring Holmes under the title alias spending time playing violin for a backwoods Central European orchestra - only mysteries to solve find him there as well. "El Regalo" and "Gordon, the Self-Made Cat" are both focused a bit on younger readers - but quite fine for adults - the first about a young Korean-American boy who is a witch, and his long-suffering sister, the second about a mouse who wants to be a cat. We also get "Four Fables", three of them brand new, mostly cynical (though with heart) short pieces about such subjects as a Tyrannosaurus told of the coming asteroid.

What more can I say? There are simply delightful stories - a lovely lovely collection from one of the best contemporary fantasists.

Excellent, excellent, excellent.......2006-09-28

The short and sweet: Get this book. If it helps, know that "Two Hearts" won the Hugo award for Best Novelette. If you loved The Last Unicorn (how could you not?), then you must read "Two Hearts." It's also got the story "Quarry," starring my favorite character from The Inkeeper's Song: the fox.

Warm & Winning.......2006-08-05

Peter Beagle belongs to that vanishing type of writer whose strengths are in strong characterization rather than plot, although their plots are often quite strong. Writers like the late Theodore Sturgeon, Edgar Pangborn, Mary Pangborn & Avram Davidson. Writers like the still living Algis Budrys, Ed Gorman or, on his better days, Stephen King.

He also doesn't write (or at least, publish) nearly enough. Yet here is a collection of short stories, all fairly recent, and many with their first publication herein.

The lead-off tale is a little charmer about a mouse who decides it's a whole lot better to live as a cat than a mouse, so he goes off to cat school, with some humorous and ironic results. Beagle's note to the story mentions that he hopes to turn this into a children's book in the manner of 'Charlotte's Web'. If so, this is a pretty good start.

The next story, 'Two Hearts' is a sequel to Beagle's best known novel 'The Last Unicorn'. I'm always leary when a writer returns to the world of a major work, years after that work's publication. In this case, it's been 38 years but Beagle pulls it off, returning many of the major characters from that novel and developing a new character that will lead into a new novel. Brillant, warm and hearttouching.

Next up are four fables, dealing with moths, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, ostriches and octopi. Funny stuff. In fact, Beagle is so good at this type of writing that one could easily see a complete book of such fables. Listen up, Mr. Beagle!! The world needs more bluejay stories.

Next is 'El Regalo, which deals with two Korean-American kids and their witchy abilities. Another good story that one can easily see expanded into a complete novel.

'Quarry' is a tasty prequel to Beagle's novel 'The Innkeeper's Song', which tells an early tale of one of that novel's major characters.

'Salt Wine' is the best story in the book (and that's saying something, considering that 'Two Hearts' is here too). An old sailor relates the horrific tale of his shipmate who saves a merman and is granted the merman's most cherished secret, the ability to make salt wine. The gift comes with a horrible price, however, that makes itself known in a quiet, understated fashion. This story ought to be in the running for a number of major awards next year. Very disturbing.

'Mr. Sigerson' is a Sherlock Holmes tale, related by a narrator who doesn't appear to like Mr. Holmes at all. There are tons of Sherlock Holmes knockoff stories out there but this is a good one.

The closer is 'A Dance For Emilia', a warm story of a dead man possessing his own cat so that he can leave one last message for the love of his life. Warm, tender and haunting, in the best sense of the word.

You're gonna love this book. Buy one for yourself and one for your best friend. You'll both be happy you did.

Average customer rating:

Facinating
So thankful for the opportunity to see this version.

The Last Unicorn: The Lost Version
Peter S. Beagle
Manufacturer: Subterranean Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1596060832
Release Date: 2007-01-10

Product Description

Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn has sold at least six million copies around the world since it was published in 1968, and tens of millions of viewers have delighted in the animated film version (for which Peter also wrote the screenplay). But none of the fans of this amazing work have ever known the full story of how The Last Unicorn came to be. In 1962, the 23 year-old Beagle was at a career crossroads. His fantasy novel A Fine and Private Place had been released to great critical acclaim in 1960, but his mainstream second book had been flatly rejected by his publisher. What Peter wrote next was an 80-page fragment about a unicorn, the last of her kind, lost in the modern world of superhighways and Kodak cameras, with only a banished demon from Hell for a traveling companion. This first take on the beloved classic -- so much the same, so very different -- is now available to readers for the first time, with an introduction and commentary by the author.

Customer Reviews:

Facinating.......2007-06-12

I've loved The Last Unicorn for years, and love so much of Peter S. Beagle's writing. So it was really facinating to read the first version of his novel.

A few pieces are very much the same as the book I've come to know and love, but the vast majority of this first draft is entirely different. Schmendric and Mommy Fortuna's circus are gone, as is any mention of Haggard and the Red Bull. In their place are different characters, and it's obvious that Beagle was taking the story in an entirely different direction....

If you haven't read the Last Unicorn, you should. Go read that instead of this version. But if you've already read that, and want to see where it started, I highly reccomend this book.

So thankful for the opportunity to see this version........2007-06-08

Have read The Last Unicorn at least 8 times, each time loving it more. Mr. Beagle is in my Top FIVE of favorite authors, so this first rendering of The Last Unicorn is fascinating to see and compare to the finished work. I am treating this book as a precious collectible of a supreme story-teller and incredible mind. Thank you, Mr. Beagle. And thanks to your wife for wanting to know how the story ended!!! We are in her debt!

Average customer rating:

The Innkeeper's Song
I would also like to gush...
A heretical take on Peter S Beagle
Something new at last
A vivid, bittersweet dream ... but of what?

The Innkeeper's Song
Peter S. Beagle
Manufacturer: Roc Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451454146

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In this Locus Award-winning novel, young Tikat enters a shadow world of magic and mystery as he searches for the lover whose death and resurrection he witnessed. It's a wild ride that sets him on the trail of three cloaked women who are on a mission of their own.

"A beautifully written tale of love and loss, set in a world of hard-edged magic." --The New York Times Book Review

" A wonderfully astonishing novel... a <em>tour de force</em>." --Washington Post Book World

Customer Reviews:

The Innkeeper's Song.......2007-04-03

Peter Beagle's musical background seeps into most of his fictional works, but none more so than The Innkeeper's Song. Told from the rotating perspectives of the main characters, including a stable boy, an innkeeper and the three travelers who find each other at his inn, of music and magical power, coming of age and love-both physical and spiritual. The innkeeper is prickly, the stable boy curious, shy and fumbling. The three travelers as they are slowly revealed through the narrative are legends in Beagle's richly imagined world, students of a mighty magician who is now close to death. The three travelers unite purposes to save their dying mentor and combat the magician's nemesis who seeks to inherit his power.
The world of the Innkeepers Song went on to inhabit Beagle's imagination to such a degree that he created a collection of short stories (Giant Bones) that live in the same world, and in one case follow the protagonists of the book into their future adventures.

I would also like to gush..........2004-09-29

...about Peter Beagle. He writes simple stories that mean more to you the more you read them. He has a quirky and ironic way of writing that makes him fantasy's answer to Vonnegut. I read this book from a proof copy I found at a used book store, which meant it had quite a few typos and some missing lines, which did not make it any less endearing.

This story plays with the form, much like Vonnegut did in Slaughter-House Five. Instead of coming unstuck in time, Beagle's story comes unstuck in narrator, as each chapter is told from inside a different head than the last. By the end, you know all the characters so well it's hard to let go.

This book was a little hard to find, but the search made it sweeter. It is more mature than the Last Unicorn-- there is a sex scene that's probably too vivid for youngsters-- but if you're old enough to handle it, you will enjoy this book.

A heretical take on Peter S Beagle.......2003-11-30

I kept hearing about Peter S Beagle, so I kept trying his books. I read about half of "The Last Unicorn", and couldn't be bothered to finish it. I read "A Fine and Private Place", and it was OK - well written and unusual, but that's as far as I would go. Then I read "The Folk of the Air" and I thought: what is a writer this good, doing writing a book like that? Is it a famous author, writing a "genre" book under a pseudonym, or what?

And then I read "The Inkeeper's Song" and I fell hopelessly, shamelessly in love with it. Never mind the obligatory supernatural climax, which thankfully does not end the book. Never mind some quibbles about plot mechanics. The book is populated by compellingly vivid characters, who by the end become utterly real people, living in a real world. This is writing of a quality verging on magical, which leaves one with the lasting impression of knowing the book's characters in all their quirky, individual humanity - and caring for them!

So, ignore those who say that "The Inkeeper's Song" is not up to Beagle's best standard. It IS Beagle's best standard! Just don't read it in the "quick - what happens next?" frame of mind. Read it, and get to know Rosseth, Neyteneri, Lal (Swordcane Lal, Saylor Lal, Lal Alone, Lal After Dark) and all the others. It is worth it. Believe me it is worth it! And I don't rave easily.

Something new at last.......2003-05-30

I was waiting for this. A fantasy novel that doesn't involve games of state (I guess I should say kingdom), plots of kings and princes, teenage hero + party of five deliver world from evil doom, or the quest for the magic sword. Instead, you get treated to a very quiet tale about a couple of characters who all converge at an inn. No earth-shattering battles. Rather, the tale deals with questions of loyalty and friendship in a very personal way, never overdoing it, not going for the cheap drama. If the plot is rather simple, the book more than makes up for it with the characters and world-building. Beautiful writing and a fresh taste.

A vivid, bittersweet dream ... but of what?.......2003-01-21

The Innkeeper's Song is a one-volume fantasy for mature readers that is by turns (or even simultaneously) lyrical and maddening. Lyrical because much of its language is, in contemporary fantasy, on par with only Patricia McKillip and Guy Gavriel Kay. Maddening because--despite the full-throttle beginning, intricately woven characters and a world made wondrous without a map or long descriptions but simply by names and prosaic brushstrokes--the promise of the beginning and middle absolutely fizzles to a all-but-incomprehensible anti-climax in which none of the characters' skills, virtues or flaws seem to matter. It's the equivalent of dreaming oneself into a world of rich and dread beauty, flying over that world so freely as to go beyond dreaming entirely ... and then being slapped awake to find oneself flailing at the air and wondering, "What might have been ..."

Sigh.

The tale concerns three women who arrive at an inn in the course of their quest to protect their ancient magician-friend from a renegade apprentice so that he might die in peace and not rise as a tormented ghost. The three are a warrior-nun who has escaped her convent; a legendary thief-sailor-swordsman; and a village girl whom the thief raised from a drowning death with the magician's ring. Added to these memorable figures are the earnest stable-boy; the gruff innkeeper; the nun's companion (a fox); and the stubborn boy who was betrothed to the village girl and follows her in the hope of reclaiming their lost love.

Each chapter proceeds from the first-person viewpoint of a different character (central or not), which works well overall but sometimes proves tiresome, especially when the author chooses (or is forced to) use a minor character as the "camera" for a particular scene or plot development or when the character's "voice" is confusing or not quite right. However, the chapters told by the thief are particularly well done; and she emerges as one of the most admirable, engaging characters in contemporary fantasy. (One actually wishes for more tales of Lal, Sailor Lal, Swordcane Lal, Lal-after-dark.)

Book Description

This classic, mesmerizing tale from the author of The Last Unicorn is a journey between the realms of the living and the dead, and the eternal power of love.

Michael Morgan was not ready to die, but his funeral was carried out just the same. Trapped in the dark limbo between life and death as a ghost, he searches for an escape. Instead, he discovers the beautiful Laura...and a love stronger than the boundaries of the grave and the spirit world.

Praise for Peter S. Beagle:

"Wit, charm, and a sense of individuality." --New York Times Book Review

"It's a fully rounded region, this other world of Peter Beagle's imagination...an originality...that is wholly his own." --Kirkus Reviews

"Both sepulchral and oddly appealing...[Beagle's] ectoplasmic fable has a distinct, mossy charm." --Time

"Delightful." --San Francisco Chronicle

Customer Reviews:

Not the book for me.......2007-05-02

My favorite author, Robin McKinley, has a comment on her website about how important it is to be able to distinguish between, "This book sucks bears," and "This book isn't for me." That is to say that some books may be well-written, but still not appeal at all to certain readers, even readers who otherwise enjoy that author. That's pretty much how I felt about this book.

On the one hand, it's written by Peter Beagle, who has a wonderful style that I love. He's a great author, and I haven't seen him completely butchering anything.

On the other hand, the book's premise left me cold. The main idea is that after you die you just kind of continue. Beagle decides to go against all of the major ideas about death: no heaven or hell, no ended existence, no nirvana, rebirth, or anything else. Instead, your spirit just kind of hangs around in the cemetery where you're buried (being unable to leave it) and you gradually forget life and being human. Eventually you more or less give up and lay down in your grave to "sleep" (the quotation marks because you can't do that either now that you're dead).

Enter two of the main characters, two people who have just died and are still in their "trying to deal with it and hang on to life" phase. As they hang out in the cemetery, they gradually get to know each other and eventually fall in love.

I think the main point here is that love can come anywhere and any time. There's also supposed to be something about how Michael and Laura are doing their best to hang on to each other and their love despite the hopelessness of their situation. It could probably be a fairly touching story, except that the whole blah-ness of existence after death turned me off. It had such a grey hopelessness to it. That was so strong for me that I couldn't enjoy the rest of the story. I've heard that same feedback from one of my other good friends, so I know I'm not the only one to feel this way. On the other hand, these reviews indicate that many people have loved this book; it obviously can reach people in significant ways. Hopefully this review will help you discern whether this book is for you or not.

Love trumps Death - some magic and nothing spooky.......2007-03-08

Peter Beagle is well known for his un-rivalled word magic. His highly regarded 'The Last Unicorn' is an absolute classic in its genre and he does it again in this wonderfully written story. It is simply a story of life and love and death (no spooks) and a bit of magic in a cemetery. No magic tricks, just a talking raven and the ability of one man to talk with the dead. So far, nothing that strains the ability to accept the story as presented. I had no such problem. Maybe my being a theoretical physicist is to blame for this. There are lines of un-common beauty in this book. Of the kind that make you think, I wish I could have said this. The story is original. You have never read anything like this. By the time you reach the end of this book only Love and some magic remain.
I've re-read this book, cover to cover, about 10 times. I've re-read sections many more times than that. I would'nt lend my copy to anyone.

Tattered, beloved, 3rd time to replace- .......2006-05-13

When I loan this one out, I am obessive about it's return. I have read this myself 5 times- and 3 times out loud to others. I wish I could find a new friend that needs to hear this book. The writing is poetry. One of my most beloved books ever.

(I read about 200 books a year.) Mary

Song from far away.......2005-10-07

Through the title of this book it's worth noting that it's optimistic. It is a story of people passing by life-not death; and lives passing eachother with very opposite and yet spiritually connected tones. Peter S. Beagle forms these lush characters together for the need of something greater than their individual stakes. The character's humanity is seen in the pages of thier eyes, hearts and spirits you will mistake for your own at times. Mr. Beagle has a musical quality to much of his work. It is not about the spirit world-quit as much as it's about the spirit's world- how clearly, we can feel in the most foreign situations.

Ghosts?.......2005-09-26

I didn't like the concept of this book, consequently didn't like the book. Sorry about that.

Average customer rating:

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons
Peter S. Beagle
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Line Between
Summerlong
InterWorld
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A Fine and Private Place

ASIN: 0142408751
Release Date: 2007-08-16

Book Description

Dragons are common in the back water kingdom of bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus thrax (who would much rather people just call him robert) has recently inherited his deceased dad's job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart — in part because he likes dragons, feeling an odd kinship with them, but mainly because his dream has always been the impossible one of transcending his humble origin to someday become a prince's valet. Needless to say, fate has something rather different in mind . . .

Average customer rating:

Summerlong
Peter S. Beagle
Manufacturer: Night Shade Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons
InterWorld
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A Companion to Wolves

ASIN: 1597801062

Book Description

Retired history professor Abe Aronson is a cranky, solitary man living out his autumn years on Gardner Island, a ferry ride away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Seattle. One rainy February night, while dining at a favorite local haunt, Abe and his girlfriend Joanna meet waitress Lioness Lazos, new in town and without a place of her own. Fascinated and moved by the girl's plight, Joanna invites Lioness to stay in Abe's garage. It seems everyone falls for the charming and invigorating Lioness, she is much more than she appears, and an ancient covenant made millennia ago threatens to disrupt the spring and alter the lives of Abe, Joanna and those around them forever...

Average customer rating:

Good story for adults and kids alike.
The Best "Ghost Story" I've Ever Read
Fabulous
A book to be read for generations after generations
a pleasant surprise

Tamsin
Peter S. Beagle
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0142401544

Amazon.com

Peter S. Beagle creates magic in this coming-of-age ghost story, returning to a subgenre he first explored in A Fine and Private Place. When her mother remarries, 13-year-old narrator Jenny Gluckstein moves from New York City to a run-down, haunted, 300-year-old farm in Dorset, England. In slow-moving early chapters, unhappy Jenny's beloved Mister Cat is quarantined for six months and she must attend an English girl's school. Jenny's voice is painfully genuine, her self-description merciless. If early adolescence brings on flashbacks, wait to read this book.

The pace picks up when Mister Cat returns and Jenny meets Meena Chari, whose belief in the supernatural comes from growing up in ghost-ridden India. First Mister Cat finds a new girlfriend, a ghostly Persian Cat only he and Jenny can see. Then she and her younger stepbrother, Julian, confront a boggart who's been playing tricks on the family. The gnome-like boggart is dressed in a Seven Dwarves hat, Robin Hood garb, "and heavy little boots, ankle-high--I'd have taken them for Doc Martens, except I don't think they make them in boggart sizes." The boggart warns her to beware of the ghost cat, her mistress, and "the Other One" most of all. But one afternoon she follows Mister Cat to meet Tamsin Willoughby, ghost of the farm-founder's daughter. Tamsin is friendly, but won't tell Jenny anything about the Other One, or talk about Edric, apparently her lost love. To free Tamsin's ghost, Jenny must relive the tragic history of 17th-century Dorset and face grave danger.

Tamsin is vintage Beagle: there's a shape-shifting Pooka, a ghostly love story, music, the Goddess, and the Wild Hunt. It's beautifully written and can be read on several levels, including as a loving homage to Thomas Hardy's moody novels (Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd) and poetry (Selected Poems). Or you can lose yourself in the story. Fans of The Last Unicorn will enjoy this one. --Nona Vero

Book Description

Arriving in the English countryside to live with her mother and new stepfather, Jenny has no interest in her surroundings&150until she meets Tamsin. Since her death over 300 years ago, Tamsin has haunted the lonely estate without rest, trapped by a hidden trauma she can't remember, and a powerful evil even the spirits of night cannot name. To help her, Jenny must delve deeper into the dark world than any human has in hundreds of years, and face danger that will change her life forever. . . .

Customer Reviews:

Good story for adults and kids alike........2007-04-09

I thoroughly enjoyed this coming of age story for its depth. The characters and their relationships were credible. The bits and pieces of history were deftly handled to be enough for someone with an interest in history but not so heavy as to be potentially boring. I love things that go bump in the night and this tale is rich in them.

I listened to the audio version (read by the author) and would recommend it as something to listen to when adults and kids drive together. I can also see both adult and kids reading the story on there own. It starts a little slow but ends up being a real page turner.

The Best "Ghost Story" I've Ever Read.......2006-07-27

I love Peter S. Beagle,so much that I always face a new one of his books with trepidation, because I think it cannot live up to my expectations. In the case of Tamsin, I am happy to report that I was wrong. This is one of the best books I've read this year, or any year, really. The story of a young girl and her friendship with another young woman who just happens to have been dead for 300 years, it is fascinating but not particularly frightening. After all, it was written with young adults in mind. The book is as much about growing up and friendship and courage as it is about the amazing mythical creatures of the English countryside. And, like Harry Potter or the Narnia books, just because it is labeled "Young adult," does not mean it won't be loved by people of all ages.

Fabulous.......2006-04-10

I picked up "Tamsin" on a whim, and it turned out to be one of my favorite books. It creates a marvelous enviornment in the English countryside and weaves magic with real life perfectly.

A book to be read for generations after generations .......2006-04-10

"Tamsin" was one of those books that, if I saw it first off, I would probably just walk right passed it. When I first started to read it, I couldn't really get into it until I passed about the 70th page. It was just a hard book to get into. But then I got passed it and I was amazed by it.

It is one of those books that defies all other "young adult" books. It is truely amazing that way. It may start off slow, but then will pick you up rather quickly, without warning.
It is one of those books that has mystery, compassion, and the desire to keep reading. A "I don't want put you down, but I have to" kind of thing.

The characters in the book will simply amaze even those who find faery tales and mythical creatures simply childish. The "villain" was one that, if you were to actually see him, you wouldn't even have guessed it. He's good looks, his dazzeling apearence,would put you in awe.

The descrpition of everything, every little detail, makes the book all that much more enjoyable. The description of the smell and the scenery, the way the house moved when it was windy. It gave the book a nice touch. Truely amazing. Highly Reccomended

a pleasant surprise.......2006-04-06

I only bought this book because my first name happens to be Tamsin...but then I read it, and I can hardly remember a book that I loved more.

The characters are superb: the comical boggart and the billy-blind reminded me a lot of my old downstairs neighbour, while the baddie was simply a masterpiece of suave villainy.

It's a ghost story, but it's also a tale of love, and especially of friendship. The intensity and poignancy of the friendship between Jenny and Tamsin made my heart sing and ache. The book is full of vivid little details and observations: Jenny obsesses over her hair and skin, while Tamsin remembers her anxiety over her wolf tooth; Tamsin's crush on Jenny's step-brother, Tony; the way Jenny felt when Tamsin smiles at her. Such touches express the pain and glory of the protagonist, "stopped" at the dawn of her womanhood, and haunted by a dread she cannot bear to name.

It's a beautiful book, and I'm sure I shall be reading it again many times.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful compilation, but some bad typos
fabulous book,

Treasury of the Fantastic
David Sandner
Manufacturer: Frog, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1583940308
Release Date: 2001-01-16

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful compilation, but some bad typos.......2004-08-09

From Mary Shelley's The Mortal Immortal, on p. 90, is the following paragraph:

"Soon after this eventful day, I became the husband of Bertha. I ceased to be the scholar of Cornelius, but I continued his friend. I always felt grateful to him for having, unaware, procured me that Cornelius, but I continued his friend. I always felt grateful to him for having, unaware, procured me that delicious draught of a divine elixir, which instead of curing me of love (sad cure! solitary and joyless remedy for evils which seem blessings to the memor" (Yes, the paragraph ends with "memor")

On p. 96, in the same story:

"This very day I conceived a design by which I may end all--without self-slaughter, without making another man a Cain--an making another man a Cain--an expedition..."

There were also misspellings in previous stories, though I can't cite one at the moment. When a text is unreliable, I mistrust my reading of it, particularly for 19th century works such as are found in the book.

fabulous book,.......2001-01-19

this book is a great anthology for those who want an introduction to this impressive literary period. It provides an eclectic collection that lets the reader sample a wide range of works that touches upon the whole spectrum of the era. Although I did not enjoy all of the works from this anthology, there was enough taht moved me for me to say it is worth buying. ENJOY!

Authors:

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