Rampant
The Killer Unicorn series, Book 1
Diana Peterfreund
Harper
Fiction, YA Fantasy
Themes: Girl Power, Hidden Wonders, Schools, Unicorns
***+
Description
Every girl secretly dreams of meeting a unicorn... except Astrid. She grew up listening to her mother Lilith's tales of the beasts -
not the sparkly, gentle denizens of children's tales, but bloodthirsty, carnivorous monsters that rampaged across the ancient world. Only
the unicorn hunters, virgin females of gifted bloodlines with supernatural skills and inborn immunity to the beasts' venomous horns, could
bring them down - and they did, running them to extinction, with Astrid's own ancestor Clothilde dealing the final death blow. Now a high
school sophomore, she struggles to overcome a social life hampered by association with Lilith and her crackpot theories. They have to be
crackpot; after all, everyone knows unicorns don't exist.
One night, sneaking out with her boyfriend Brandt (who just might take Astrid to the prom if she lets his hands get far enough under her
clothes), she has a too-close encounter with a nonexistent unicorn. Needless to say, it isn't the least bit sparkly or remotely gentle.
Brandt barely survives, and Astrid's world is changed forever. Apparently, unicorns aren't extinct after all, and they're making their
presence known through increasingly bold attacks on wildlife, pets, and even humans. Those few who still know the old lore scramble to
assemble a team of hunters descended from the old bloodlines. Astrid finds herself shipped off to Rome to train with them. Suddenly, all of
her mother's terrible stories are coming true... but none of them can prepare her for the realities of life of a unicorn hunter, a life full
of blood, violence, secrets - and sacrifices.
Review
Killer unicorns? Any book with that premise is worth a look. Peterfreund based her unicorns on worldwide legends, many of which depict a
far wilder creature than modern storybooks show us. Like faeries, unicorns have been softened through the ages as belief in them, and in the
forces embodied by them, waned. The animals represented here blend old myths with a touch of cryptozoology, creating original fantasy creatures
(or beings, perhaps, as Astrid learns that there's more to the unicorn mind than many hunters believe.) As the main characters struggle to
understand the re-emerging unicorn population, some treat them as a wonderful scientific opportunity while some greet them with all the warmth
of a resurgence in smallpox or black plague. Astrid herself has mixed feelings; while she abhors the violence and viciousness, she can't help
trying to apply her modern scientific mindset to the situation, trying to figure out the source of the hunters' gifts and how such repulsive
animals with such toxic venom can also be the source of the legendary panacea known as the Remedy. The story starts fairly quickly, but it bogs
down several times with sidetracks into rivalries between the hunters and other distractions. In particular, the link between the hunters and
their virginity is discussed in exhaustive detail, plus related issues of peer pressure, women's rights, and teen sex in general. Some plot
twists are obvious (hands up, those who believe that a pharmaceutical company sponsoring a unicorn hunting institute doesn't have an ulterior
motive), but others play out more convincingly. It took me several chapters to decide whether or not I liked Astrid enough to follow her through
the entire book, though she was at least preferable to some of the other girls she meets in Rome. By the midpoint, the story had picked up
decently, and it led to a nicely cataclysmic conclusion... which, as is typical these days, mostly serves to set up a sequel
(Ascendant.)
Overall, while some of the characters grew irksome and the plot occasionally drug, Rampant promises some
fresh perspectives on unicorn lore, and - for the most part - delivers on them.