Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Magic and Virgins - Part Two of Two

Rampant, Diana Peterfreund.

Let me preface this by saying that I had no intention of loving this book. I had wanted to read it because it sounded interesting, despite the fact that it goes against everything I have ever believed. But I was going to wait for the paperback because didn't think the hardcover price would be worth it, blah, blah, blah. But. I've made an effort to attend more book signings and saw that the author was going to be at a nearby bookstore at a convenient time. This never happens. They're always horribly timed (for me). So I headed over just planning to sit in the back and watch. But there weren't many people there. Which was terrible. Because the author was adorable and brought cookies for everyone. But my guilt got the best of me and I purchased the book. After her reading and Q&A I had her sign it. Where I'm pretty sure I'm not making up the fact that I told her I've "pretty much" been stalking her. This is because she belonged to a group of young adult authors who got together this past spring and stayed in a castle for a week doing writer-type things and whatnot and I stalked all of them (via blog and Twitter) and am afraid that she ended up taking it more as a "I want a lock of your hair please" as opposed to "I think you're pretty awesome". I just want to clear that up for all of those who were not actually present. I definitely meant it in an "awesome" way.

So. Anyway. The book. The book is about killer unicorns. See? Interesting, right? So while I thought it sounded intriguing, I was a little offended as I was one of those girls who was always into unicorns. Probably to an unhealthy extent. I collected them. I had a nightlight, stuffed animals, various glass decorations, a t-shirt, a music box, pictures, etc.* I even used to tell my family that I would change the color of the stoplights with my "Unicorn Power", and I would bow my head as though pointing my horn at the light and whisper "change" under my breath. I think maybe one time in all of my efforts the light change coincided with my whisper and was enough to satisfy my belief in my powers.

That being said, I am a firm believer in the idea that everyone is entitled to her own opinion and we should always hear both sides of an argument, and if this woman wanted to hate unicorns than so be it. I started the book last week after I finished The Magicians. The book is about killer unicorns and unicorn hunters. (Actually, it's more about the hunters, but I'm finding it more fun to say "killer unicorns" than I thought I would.) The unicorns have been gone for a while, but they are staging a comeback. The only people who can hunt these unicorns are female, virgin descendants of Alexander the Great. I know. "What the crap?" right? That's what I thought. But as the story goes on, it's really woven beautifully into this myth that Alexander the Great could calm the wild beast (the biggest unicorn to roam the planet), and only his descendants can kill them.

There are varying degrees of unicorn, from small and goat-like to mammoth. The seek out the hunters and the hunters can feel them before they arrive. Like some magical power. If a unicorn horn (that's where the poison is) stabs a hunter, the hunter will heal quickly. But if the person stabbed is not a hunter (either not a virgin, male, or not a descendant of Alexander the Great), the person will die a horrible, painful death. The unicorns are not easy to kill, either. All injuries heal over before the next is even inflicted. They have to be extremely precise about their methods. There are serious injuries and doubts about all of this as the book progresses. There are also human villains and a boy that I kind of want as my very own. (Meaning - he's hot and he speaks Italian.)

I could not put this book down. I was up until almost 6am Sunday morning, having stayed up all night, to read this book. I can't remember the last time I stayed up all night to finish reading a book. So would I recommend it? Absolutely. No hesitation. It's awesome.

No comments:

Post a Comment