I enjoyed this coming of age story about a young girl, daughter of a sorceress mother who mostly neglects and ignores her as she seems to have no magic. Instead Tanaquil spends her days wandering the desert around her mother's fortress and digging up fossils, or mending things that belong to her mother's servants and soldiers, though she has started to suspect that they feel sorry for her and are sometimes breaking things to give her something to do. One of the animals who live in the desert - called peeves - has been affected by the leaky magic from her mother's spells and has a rudimentary language. It starts bringing "presents" to Tanaquil and eventually brings a wonderous bone. When Tanaquil persuades it to show her where the peeve found it, this triggers a series of events which will lead them both to go out into the world on a journey of both outer and inner discovery.

Tanaquil is resourceful and plucky, with a dryly humorous point of view, and despite falling into danger at times doesn't always have to rely on others to get her out of it. In the course of the story, she matures as she learns more about her relationship with her mother and also with other family members she had never met before. Her skill with mechanisms is integral to the plot and she learns the true secret behind it. And the unicorn of the title is a dangerous, fearsome creature rather than the fluffy and twee portrayal often given to unicorns in other works. Light relief is provided by the peeve, who also becomes a loyal friend. The story has a satisfying ending, which leaves open the possibility of more adventures - and I've just seen on Goodreads that there is at least one sequel. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it and am awarding a 5 star rating. ( )

I liked it better in the first half. A story about a girl, with a neglectful mother, that puts together the bones of a unicorn that comes to life seemed to have potential, but then it turned into a story I didn't expect or cared for. It's still a quick read with some funny moments so it was enjoyable overall. ( )

I would really like this book w additional peeve ( )

a sorceress' daughter reassembles a unicorn and rebuilds the gate to the perfect world

I remember this fantasy vividly from my childhood, or at least the first "book," with Tanaquil, the fortress, the peeve and the bones of the unicorn. Re-reading it now I seem to have completely forgotten about the rest of the story so that's probably why it doesn't quite live up to the first part for me. But overall this was definitely worth a re-read as an adult. Tanith Lee has a unique voice in fantasy, one that I appreciate very much. Her prose is vivid, fresh and alluring. I look forward to reading the subsequent installments in this series. ( )