With still over a month from publication, the reviews have started coming in for Peter S. Beagle’s terrific THE LAST UNICORN: THE LOST JOURNEY.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY praises the novella.

Although this book is not the complete story of the travels of the unicorn and her friends, fans of the original will love encountering additional characters they never had the pleasure of meeting when they first experienced the unicorn’s journey.

Ian White for STARBURST enjoys the book.

Now, to mark that half-century anniversary, Peter S. Beagle’s earliest abandoned attempt at bringing The Last Unicorn to life has been published by Tachyon with a revealing afterword by the author, an introduction and foreword by Carrie Vaughn and Patrick Rothfuss respectively, and some exquisite black-and-white illustrations by Stephanie Law. For fans of Beagle’s original book, this is a fascinating gift. 

In his afterword, Beagle confesses that he wrote THE LOST JOURNEY in small increments and never really knew from day-to-day where it would go. That uncertainty doesn’t ever show in his writing, but it does make the story feel a little meandering at times. Having said that, it’s still a terrific little novella and a very welcome insight into Beagle’s earliest writing process and the evolution of a modern classic. If you’ve never read The Last Unicorn, read THE LOST JOURNEY as a first draft and then read The Last Unicorn and bask in the wonderfulness of what THE LOST JOURNEY turned into. We bet you’ll be glad you did.

Peter S. Beagle in conversation with Patrick Rothfuss at the 2018 Nebula Conference.

For more info about THE LAST UNICORN: THE LOST JOURNEY, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover by Thorsten Erdt

Illustration by Stephanie Law

Design by Elizabeth Story