Katherine Arden’s Bear and the Nightingale trilogy is one of my favorite reads of the last few years, and maybe of all time, so I was delighted when I learned that she just released a new book, The Unicorn Hunters, and that it was available for purchase immediately! I did, in fact, purchase it immediately.
This is a fictionalization/fantasy-ization of the tale of Anne of Brittany. Anne is a sovereign duchess and Brittany is independent; unfortunately, France really wants Brittany. King Charles (well, actually, the brains behind the operation is his sister Marguerite) intends to wed Anne, thus enfolding Brittany into France. Anne is not super excited about this! She comes up with a feasible, daring solution: marry someone else first, preferably someone who has some armies and doesn’t like Charles.
In Arden’s medieval France, diviners are part of the royal courts, and use their magic skills to spy on each other. Anne decides to host her would-be husband’s court in the ancient forest of Brocéliande. The forest is known for the rare unicorn sighting — a compelling reason to host a hunt for France’s manly men — and, importantly, absolutely hostile to divination. This will provide cover while she pursues her secret plan to wed another before Charles knows any different. It’s a ploy: everyone in Brittany knows there aren’t any unicorns left in Brocéliande.
Right?
Luckily for us readers, there are unicorns left in Brocéliande, and Anne’s daring plan turns out to be mundane in comparison to what the unicorns have in store for her.
I love everything about this book. The cover art. The weirdo diviners. The totally new take on the literally age-old problem of royal alliances. The feisty protagonist who wants it all and is determined to outwit those who would tell her she can’t have it. The slow burn (but not too slow, don’t worry!) love story that prioritizes Anne’s pleasure and sovereignty. The magic that is only barely explained but definitely has rules. The absolutely feminist “what if” at the heart of this whole adventure.
This one is at the top of my Christmas to-buy list for all my reader friends.
