Our Rating:
Library Formats:
Book, eBook, eAudiobook
Age Group:
Nine and up
Genre:
Fantasy, Adventure
Review by Polly Read
This book was recommended to me by a friend. She said that it was extremely good, and it is full of magic and unicorns. I did a bit of research about the story and found that it was described as the new Harry Potter. As I like this type of book, I decided to give it a read.
Skandar and the Unicorn Thief is about Skandar Smith who desperately wants to be a unicorn rider. When he gets to be one of the lucky few selected to hatch a unicorn and train as a rider, he is delighted. But he finds out that he is allied to an illegal magical element and unicorn that he has to try and keep hidden from his training and the other riders. Then a dark and evil rider steals the most powerful unicorn in the world and threatens all other riders and unicorns. Skandar discovers a deep and disturbing secret that puts the life of his friends, other unicorns and himself in danger.
This is a very good book that is full of magical adventure and mystery, that makes you want to keep reading. I enjoyed reading how the bound between Skandar and his unicorn developed though the story. I also liked how the unicorns all have different characteristics.
The book is fairly easy to read and it flows well, although I did think that some of the chapters went on a bit too long. It did take me awhile to get into the story as I did not like how the wild unicorns were described and portrayed which is quite gruesome. This is not a cute and cuddly story about unicorns. However, I found it difficult to put the book down, once I had read a couple of chapters. The ending is very mysterious and exciting that had me on the edge of my seat and wanting to know more.
The book is aimed at children aged nine upwards, but as an adult I also enjoyed reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading fantasy novels, have read Harry Potter and wants a different type of magical adventure. I would give this book a four and a half out of five star rating.