Product Description

Introducing a new fantasy series about a girl, her unicorn, and her quest to restore peace in Balinor. After a terrible riding accident, Ari cannot remember anything of her past and is sent to live on a farm with foster parents. What Ari doesn't know is that she is not from our world, but from Balinor, a land of sorcerers and unicorns! Her parents, the King and Queen, sent her to Earth to protect her from a raging war before they were banished from their homeland. Now Ari--Princess Arianna--has found the road back to Balinor. As she struggles to remember her heritage, she must face the challenge of restoring peace to Balinor.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #412124 in Books
• Published on: 1999-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Full of Suspense!
At a bookfair at my school, I bought a few books, including the first 3 Unicorn of Balinor books. At first I thought that I had bought some baby books, with a happily ever after ending and story. I was sooo wrong! I read all the books very quickly, and I keep re-reading them, without getting bored of them. They are great books to anyone who loves horses, adventure, and plain fun in books. The first book is basically a begining to the rest of the books, and it is best to start with it. And you don't really understand anything, until the second book. And at the end of the first book, it ends like: There was a sign. And the sign said: Welcome to Balinor. She took one step forward, then another. Becuase I had the second book, I read it, and that's when I really liked the series. So my advice is: If you want to get this book, then get the second, too, or you'll miss the point in it, and you probably won't want to read on. I'm only a 12 year old girl, but as you have seen with other revies about the series, several different ages enjoy it. I hope that this revies helped you, and that you try out the book.

An enjoyable fantasy tale
"The Road to Balinor," by Mary Stanton, is number 1 in the Unicorns of Balinor series. This is a fantasy tale about a race of intelligent unicorns who live in a realm apart from, but connected to, Earth. As the story opens we discover that one of the unicorns and his human companion have both been injured and are in a precarious situation in the human world.

Overall I enjoyed the story. Stanton is especially effective in her presentation of interspecies relationships in a fantasy setting. There is also an intriguing villain.

At times I found the language a little too corny and New Age-y for my tastes. I also didn't like the fact that the book really doesn't hold up as a stand-alone story; the cliffhanger ending seems to lead directly into volume 2. But the imaginative story, together with some clever touches along the way, make it a solid fantasy effort.

A beautifully written series...great for all ages
In this book, Ari Langley and Chase, her horse, have endured an awful accident. As Ari struggles to remember things, and overcome obstacles in her everyday life at Glacier River Farm, Atalanta, the Dreamspeaker (a Celestial Unicorn in Balinor) watches over her and gradually tries to let Ari know that Ari's not who she thinks. Ari is really Princess Arianna, and her horse is really Sunchaser, a mighty and majestic unicorn. Arianna and Sunchaser were sent to our world for protection against the Shifter, who has caused much havoc in Balinor. Now Balinor--and Arianna and Sunchaser--are in grave danger, so the two companions must travel back to Balinor to claim what is rightfully theirs and save the kingdom.

The world of Magic has long since held our fascination, as well as the mythical creatures the word evokes. Unicorns are the most magical, purest creatures ever, and it is fitting that they receive a storyline such as this. The balance between good and bad is very balanced and the characters are so wonderfully written, that one can clearly imagine the Unicorns speaking (and not at all like Mr. Ed).

I proudly admit that I'm 28 years old with two children of my own and I love these books.