Written by: Peter S. Beagle
First line: The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone.
Why you should read this book: You may have read a book that reminds you of this one, but you've never read anything quite like this, because this is a very early draft of a very popular book, which is not quite as good as the book it eventually became, but stands alone as a story about the confluence of modernity and classical thinking. Our unicorn leaves her forest to search for others of her kind, but she never meets Schmendrick or Haggard or the Red Bull, but instead travels with one or two banished demons, depending on how you count, further and further into the world of men who have no need for or understanding of a unicorn. Although the story sort of fizzles out at the end (Beagle points out, in the afterword, that he was probably trying to write satire despite being anything but a satirist) it takes us to surprising places as it moves with some reckless haste toward its conclusion.
Why you shouldn't read this book: If you haven't read The Last Unicorn you'll likely have no idea what's special about this one.
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