Customer Reviews

Ariel

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I usually like to study a book when I first pick it up off of the book store shelf. I read the back first, ponder the cover art, then open to Page 1 and skim a few pages. In 1984, I found "Ariel" in my favorite bookstore, began my ritual, and ended up sitting on the floor for 1 hour, completely and utterly entranced. I was captivated by the very first sentence: "I was bathing in a lake when I saw the unicorn."

Mr. Boyett's imagination hits stratospheric heights in his storytelling. His words paint a portrait so vivid that I feel like I'm right there beside Pete, traipsing all the way up I-95 and swimming with the dolphins on the way to New York. My teenage bedroom became a fantasy haven in its honor, and a huge stuffed unicorn (named Ariel, of course) dominated my bed.

The stuffed unicorn is long gone, but I still have that copy of "Ariel," and it's now as delapidated as Pete's backpack - taped, wrinkled, tattered, and laminated. And I wouldn't trade it or get rid of it for anything. I get it out every now and then and re-immerse myself in it, just for old time's sake.

If you are lucky enough to get a copy of this book, count it amongst your finest treasures - for a treasure it certainly is. I'll never understand why it's out of print. This is one story that should be back on the shelves for other readers to sit with on the bookstore floors of the world.

Just re-read this (the ebook version) after 15 years and it's still one of the best urban fantasy novels out there. Ariel is a magical yet down-to-earth fantasy with human and non-human characters you can believe in, even love. It's written with an intelligence and maturity that set it apart from your average book with a unicorn on the cover. The ebook version contains at least one chapter that did not appear in the print version, and a very cool afterword by Boyett. For years I'd buy every copy of Ariel I found in used book stores to give to friends. Now they're an endangered species. I recommend finding a copy of this book in whatever form and adding it to the list of books you'll re-read every decade or so.

This book happens to be my favorite book of all time. I read the first copy I had so many times that the pages fell out. The second one was lent to a foriegn exchange student who went back home to spain with my book.
Why should you read this book? First it will keep you interested from first page to last. The messages in this book are about survival, love, friendship and trust.
Along with all that you'll get a full dose of action and suspense. There is a full range of emotions trapped between the pages of this book. Ariel is about a boy and a unicorn who meet after all things technological cease to work. Magical beasts show up all over the world- chaos ensues and a young boy is left to fend for himself.
The adventures in this book are heartwrenching, suspenseful and fun! All around the best read I have ever had! Too bad there wasnt a sequel that I know of. Try out this book, if you don't like it I'm sure you don't have a heart!

Boyett has thrown reality for a loop. The post-apocolyptic feel to Ariel is not only atypical, but entertaining (such as Washington DC going to war with NY.) The general feeling of "every man for himself" really hits home. You begin to feel very close to the characters of Pete and Ariel, as their friendship takes strange turns in every different direction imaginable. It truly shows you what it's like to fight for the ones you love and the causes you believe in. The friends they made along the way were wonderful, Malachi Lee being my particular favorite. There's nothing like a samurai swordsman with a sense of humor.
As for the chosen quotes at the beginning of every chapter, they were very well thought out, and seem to go right along with the entire storyline.
I've been reading this book over and over, time and again, for over 10 years now, and my copy is very dog-eared and well-loved. I hope to have it for the rest of my life, for Ariel was the start of my love of fantasy and sci-fi---I haven't stopped reading since. Boyett is truly in a league of his own.
Ariel is has everything you could ever need in a book. From humor to bloody swordplay, from fantasy creatures to sorcery and necromancers. It has it all.

I agreee with most of the other reviewers who have posted here. 'Ariel' is a wonderful book. I stopped reading alot of fantasy in the early '90s when Eddings, Jordan, Dragonlance et al took over. Most of the newer stuff is pure kack, and unreadable. Books like 'Ariel' helped make my own personal 'golden age of SF' special. I want to tell you all about two other books I find very similar. (Sadly also out of print) Try 'World Enough and Time' and 'Time's Dark Laughter', both by James Kahn. These books take place in California long after the fall of civilization. Fantasy creatures, such as vampires, centaurs and dragons, (yeah, unicorns too.) share the earth with man, although they are products of genetic engineering, rather than magic. In spite of the technological rationale, the books have the feel of true epic fantasy. The scene in 'World Enough...' where the heroes fight a dragon seems to have been the direct inspiration for a similar scene in 'Ariel' which was published 6 years later. Trust me... If you love 'Ariel', you are sure to love James Kahn's books too. I recommend you find copies right away.

'Ariel' is one of those books which hold you long after you've read it. Aside from the 'fantasy becomes reality' premise of the book, the problem addressed is one that I've seen nowhere else in fantasy literature: how does a healthy teen-age male stay faithful to his unicorn (read: virgin pure). The characters in this book are marvelous, particularly Malachi Lee and, of course, Ariel the unicorn. Perhaps the only downside is that the book degenerates in the last third into a combination Mad Max takes Manhattan/Point Break/Really Bad kung fu flick. Don't get me wrong, this is a book you'll likely treasure. But you'll only be completely satisfied if you're into karate or hang gliding!

I was captivated by the original cover art - a boy and his unicorn against a city skyline, and picked it up. I've never regretted it. I recently reread the electronic edition with the author's notes, and find that even with the added knowledge of how it came into print, I still really enjoy the fantasy world Mr. Boyett creates - a changed world in which certain things work, mythological creatures exist, and a young man tries to live by fighting, when necessary, to survive. If you're intrigued by magic, have a fascination for mythological creatures or survival in a world where swords are the preferred weapons, this is definitely worth checking out. I haven't read anything like this book since.

I just happened to take a peak at the used/rare book section on this website mainly to see how the hunt for Ariel was fairing. Obviously, there seems to be a theme with this book and its readers. I honestly felt like I was the only person to have read this book. I, too, lent my copy to a friend who lost it, and finally after many used book store searches found a lonely copy for a dollar. I gave the owner a 20 and told him to keep the change. I couldn't believe I had found it. It is amazing that this book has such a cult following. I am so excited to read these reviews. If Boyett ever happens upon this web site and reads this praise, and can imagine he would be extremely flattered. It's been probably 10-12 years since I have read it, and now I am inspired to go back. I have always considered this to one of the best (and most emotion producing) books I've ever read. I am extremely happy that the book didn't go unnoticed.

It's hard to imagine how Ariel could ever have gone out of print, when it has so many loyal fans. After reading the book for the first time when it came out in 1986, I passed it on to my two oldest sons, 15 and 13 at the time. I wanted to see if they loved it as much as I did. They read it, were completely blown away by it, and we discussed the book for weeks. Their sister, 19 that year, also read it and loved it. Recently she's started haunting used book sources for copies of it to give to her brothers so they can read it again. I hear similar stories from others who remember the book and are looking everywhere for it, or are hoarding their own copies. I've seen prices as high as $35 on a good-condition paperback edition. Ace (the book's publisher) should think about all the money they could have made if these people had been able to buy new copies, thereby putting much-deserved royalties in Mr. Boyett's bank account.

By the way, he wrote that book, I'm told by a reliable source, when he was 19 years old. I've read short stories he's published in Asimov's and Fantasy & Science Fiction since then, and if you think he was a great writer then, you should read him now!

I first encountered Ariel through a friend who got it at a used book store. He picked it up at random and bought it for a buck fifty. He read it and loved it and then lent it to me. To quote another great fantasy book... "Who can know when their life is about to change? Who can sense revelation in the wind?" This book became my favorite. I read it earnestly and repeatedly until I had to give it back. The book was circulated among everyone in my circle of friends and we all aree it's one of the best fantasy books around. I had first read it in 1988 and could not find my own copy until another friend found three in various bookstores in Austin, TX in 1997. This book is well worth the time it takes to hunt it down. The story revolves around the life of a young man, Pete Garey, who's life takes place after the change, where the laws of physics have been altered to where technology no longer functions and magic is standard. Pete befriends a young unicorn and the two share adventure and love in a hard post-apocalyptic world. There are several well-written characters and Boyett breathes new and more realistic life into dragons, griffins and unicorns. This book is a must for fantasy gamers, readers and live-action role players (such as sca-ers and amtgarders).