Peter S. Beagle’s loving IN CALABRIA is a paean to redemption

As excitement mounts for Peter Beagle’s forthcoming IN CALABRIA, reviews continue to roll in.

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Richard Dansky at THE GREEN MAN REVIEW praises the novel.

Let’s get this out
of the way early: Peter S. Beagle’s IN CALABRIA does in fact
feature a unicorn. However, looking at it as a sequel to THE LAST
UNICORN is a mistake. There are no Schmendricks here, and the world
of IN CALABRIA has an earthiness to it that doesn’t sit well next
to the fairy tale lightness of THE LAST UNICORN.

Rather, one can look
at the book as a companion piece to Beagle’s SUMMERLONG, a bookend
to the story that one tells. If SUMMERLONG tells the story of a
mature romance torn apart by the intrusion of the supernatural, IN
CALABRIA is a tale of a May-September romance that happens precisely
because of the intrusion of the supernatural into everyday life. One
door closes, another one opens, and the cycle goes on.

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A quieter, softer book than SUMMERLONG, IN CALABRIA largely rests on the reader’s ability to sympathize with Giovanna and Claudio’s oddball romance.

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Regardless, IN CALABRIA is a lovingly crafted paean to redemption, the chamber music answer to the booming symphony of SUMMERLONG.

At both PAPERBLOG and THE BOOK LOVER’S BOUDOIR, Pamela Scott enjoys her first encounter with Peter S. Beagle.

IN CALABRIA is a quiet sort of story that gradually worked its way into my heart. The story really comes to live when word spreads about Claudio’s mysterious visitor and people from all over the world come to gawk and try and get a glimpse of the unusual mother and her child. There were a few tense moments when Claudio’s unassuming farm becomes the focus of a media circus. I thought the love story between him a much younger woman was very sweet. I loved the way IN CALABRIA concludes. This is a lovely story and well worth a read.

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Photo: Rina Weisman


GALLEYWAMPUS is excited about the book.

I really look forward to reading the new Peter Beagle, it’s great to see one of our living legends releasing new material, and after the recent SUMMERLONG, I anticipate his next book will also be lovely.


VONZE’S READER BLOG looks forward to the fantasy.

A new story by Peter S. Beagle, author of my fav, THE LAST UNICORN? I gotta check this out. Rumor has it this features a unicorn as well.


The Portuguese site RASCUNHOS anticipates IN CALABRIA, too.

Best known for THE LAST UNICORN, Peter Beagle has written much less medieval premise fantasy that, while maintaining a classic tone in the structure, contains strange but fascinating elements.

(Translation courtesy of Google)

For more info about IN CALABRIA, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover design by Elizabeth Story

For more info on SUMMERLONG, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover art by Magdalena Korzeniewska

Design by Elizabeth Story