Unicorns! is a themed anthology of fantasy short works edited by American writers Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, first published in 1982. Their follow-up anthology, Unicorns II, debuted ten years later in 1992.

Unicorns!
Cover of first edition
EditorsJack Dann and Gardner Dozois
LanguageEnglish
SeriesJack Dann and Gardner Dozois Ace anthology series
GenreFantasy
PublisherAce Books
Publication date
1982
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages310
ISBN0-441-85441-9
Preceded byAliens! 
Followed byMagicats! 

Unicorns!

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It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in May 1982, and reprinted by the same publisher in November 1982, June 1984, and October 1984. It was reissued as an ebook by Baen Books in March 2013. The book has also been translated into German.[1]

The volume collects sixteen short stories by various science fiction authors, together with a historical essay on the role of unicorns in modern fiction by Avram Davidson.[2] The stories were sourced from pulp magazines, with the exception of "The Unicorn" by T. H. White, which is a well-known chapter from his book, Once and Future King, telling the story of "the hunting and killing of the beast of innocence".[2] It also includes a bibliography of further reading.

In his review of the anthology for Mythlore, Thomas M. Egan wrote that although four of the works by L. Sprague de Camp, Roger Zelazny, Larry Niven, and Gardner Dozois were lighter in tone, "it's the tragic element and the use of the innocence of the unicorn that is stressed in most tales."[2] The beauty of the unicorn contrasts with the ugliness of the modern state and society in the stories by Stephen R. Donaldson, Vonda N. McIntyre, and Gene Wolfe.[2] Other notable science fiction writers whose stories are featured include Harlan Ellison, Ursula K. Le Guin, Theodore Sturgeon, Beverly Evans, Frank Owen, Eric Norden, and Thomas Burnett Swann.[2]

Contents

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Unicorns II

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Unicorns II
 
Cover of first edition.
EditorsJack Dann and Gardner Dozois
Cover artistNeal McPheeters
LanguageEnglish
SeriesJack Dann and Gardner Dozois Ace anthology series
GenreFantasy
PublisherAce Books
Publication date
1992
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (paperback)
Pages241
ISBN0-441-84564-9
Preceded byMagicats II 
Followed byDragons! 

Unicorns II is a themed anthology of fantasy short works about unicorns edited by American writers Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois. It was first published in paperback by Ace Books in November 1992, and was "noted without comment" in The Year's Best Science Fiction.[3] It was reissued as an ebook by Baen Books in March 2013.[4]

The edited volume includes ten short stories reprinted from periodicals and anthologies, which were first published between 1984 and 1991, plus two which were new.[5] The two original works were "Ghost Town" by Jack C. Haldeman II and "Unicornucopia" by Lawrence Watt-Evans.[5] Each of the twelve stories has its own introduction.[2] The book also contains a two-page preface and a bibliography.[5]

Unicorns II contents

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References

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  1. ^ Unicorns! title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  2. ^ a b c d e f Egan, Thomas M. (Winter 1983). "Whimsy and Tragedy [Review of: Unicorns! by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois]". Mythlore. 9 (4): 34. JSTOR 26811490.
  3. ^ "Summation: 1992". The Year's Best Science Fiction: Tenth Annual Collection. New York: St. Martin's Press. 1992. pp. xxviii. ISBN 9780312094232.
  4. ^ "Unicorns II". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c What fantastic fiction do I read next?: A reader's guide to recent fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Detroit: Gale Research. 1998. pp. 255–256. ISBN 0-7876-1866-7.