Acorna: The Unicorn Girl (Acorna series, 1) - Softcover

McCaffrey, Anne; Ball, Margaret

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061057894 ISBN 13: 9780061057892

Publisher: Harper Voyager, 1998

Synopsis

"Something's Alive In There!"

She was just a little girl, with a tiny horn in the center of her forehead, funny-looking feet, beautiful silver hair, and several curious powers: the ability to purify air and water, make plants grow, and heal scars and broken bones. A trio of grizzled prospectors found her drifting in an escape pod amid the asteroids, adopted her, and took her to the bandit planet Kezdet, a place where no questions are asked and the girl might grow up free.

But Kezdet has its own dark secret. The prosperity of the planet is based on a hideous trade in child slave labor, administered by "The Piper" -- a mystery man with special plans for Acorna and her powers. But free little girls have a way of growing into freedom-loving young women, and Acorna has special plans all her own. . .

About this title

About the Author

Anne McCaffrey, a multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner, was one of the world's most beloved and bestselling science fiction and fantasy writers. She is known for her hugely successful Dragonriders of Pern books, as well as the fantasy series that she cowrote with Elizabeth A. Scarborough that began with Acorna: The Unicorn Girl.

Margaret Ball lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, two children, three cats, two ferrets, a hedgehog, and a large black dog. She has a B.A. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas. After graduation, she taught at UCLA, then spent several years honing her science fiction and fantasy skills by designing computer software and making inflated promises about its capabilities. Her most recent book publications are Lost in Translation and Mathemagics. When not writing, she plays the flute, makes quilts, and feeds the pets.

From Kirkus Reviews

First of a projected series from the authors of a previous collaboration, PartnerShip (a 1992 mass market). Three space miners, Gill, Calum, and Rafik, find a survival pod drifting in space; inside sleeps Acorna, a furry, unicorn-like humanoid infant. Young Acorna, who grows--and learns--swiftly, soon manifests the ability to purify air and water, and heal injuries with her horn. When the miners return to base, though, some scientists try to snatch Acorna for study, so she and the miners retreat hastily into space. Bargaining with Rafik's uncle Hafiz, they arrange to switch their ship's registration and start new careers as space traders. But Hafiz also covets Acorna, so they flee again; one thing leads to another, and eventually they end up on planet Kezdet, the last place they wanted to go. Vengeful Security Guardians hope to nab the miners for previous indiscretions; Hafiz's agents are hot on the trail; and Chinese mystic and enlightened businessman Delszaki Li wants to catch Acorna, since he's convinced that she's the key to overthrowing Kezdet's vicious and thoroughly entrenched system of child slavery. More fantasy than science fiction with a bustling yet flimsy plot, lots of scene-shifting, stereotyped characters, and the McCaffrey hallmark to pull in the crowds. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0061057894
• ISBN 13: 9780061057892
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416