Into the Land of the Unicorns: Welcome to Luster, a World Filled with Magic...and Danger!
Written by Bruce Coville
Narrated by Bruce Coville and Full Cast
4/5
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About this audiobook
On a snowy night, Cara and her grandmother are pursued into St. Christopher's church by an unknown man. Clutching her grandmother's mysterious amulet, and following the old woman's instructions, Cara escapes their pursuer and falls into Luster, the world of the unicorns.
Attacked by a monstrous little creature called a "delver," Cara is rescued by a shambling, manlike beast known only as "the Dimblethum". Soon Cara has also met a rebellious young unicorn named Lightfoot, and a ridiculous little creature called "the Squijum." With their help, Cara embarks on a journey across Luster to deliver a message from her grandmother to the queen of the unicorns.
But to survive the trip, Cara must come face to face with her greatest hope, and her greatest fear.
©1994 Bruce Coville; (P)2009 Full Cast Audio
Bruce Coville
BRUCE COVILLE is the author of over 100 books for children and young adults, including the international bestseller My Teacher is an Alien, the Unicorn Chronicles series, and the much-beloved Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. His work has appeared in a dozen languages and won children's choice awards in a dozen states. Before becoming a full time writer Bruce was a teacher, a toymaker, a magazine editor, a gravedigger, and a cookware salesman. He is also the creator of Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company devoted to producing full cast, unabridged recordings of material for family listening and has produced over a hundred audiobooks, directing and/or acting in most of them. Bruce lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife, illustrator and author Katherine Coville.
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Into the Land of the Unicorns: Welcome to Luster, a World Filled with Magic...and Danger! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dark Whispers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Into the Land of the Unicorns
304 ratings14 reviews
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Author couldn't decide if this was to be a book for children or young adult. It wavers in and out of both.
Promises made are delivered, in the manner of a paragraph scrawled on butcher paper that is taped to the box of the story. An afterthought that leaves the reader flustered and feeling cheated.
The story was cut off in the middle of the second act and an ending slapped on for the last few paragraphs.
It would have been more satisfying to point the story to the climax and left the ending to another book. Or continuing to the promised ending and building the climax to that conclusion.
Needless to day, I'm not happy with the story, though it did have a few bright points, they were few and too far between. i can't recommend that anyone, other than the author read the story, if only to find where more plotting and editing are desperately needed. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I remember reading this out loud to my young brother when I was eight or ten years old and we both loved it. It's epic fantasy for kids! With unicorns! I recently recommended it to a friend's son who is about ten, and he enjoyed it too and even got the next books in the series. I didn't know there were follow up books, because they didn't come out when I was a kid. I might be curious to hunt them down now, though. Cara is a young girl living with her grandmother, having been abandoned by her parents. The story starts right in the action, as Cara and her grandmother are stalked by a sinister man, who chases them into a church. Cara's grandmother gives her a special amulet with a strand of white hair in it that her grandmother has always claimed came from a unicorn's mane. Soon, Cara finds herself in another world - Luster, the land of the unicorns. She meets new friends, the beautiful unicorn Lightfoot, the man-bear called the Dimblethum, and a funny squirrel-monkey called the Squijum. They start on a quest to take Cara's special amulet to the unicorn queen, but they are pursued by the nasty delvers. There's even an old dragon named Firethroat to deal with. A fun read."Never was a chain that couldn't be broken. Sometimes it's even a good idea." (p. 91)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Cara and her grandmother are suddenly pursued by an unknown man, the grandmother gives a precious amulet to Cara and tells her to jump through a portal and into a new world, one filled with magical creatures and monsters, including dragons and unicorns. Cara sets off on a quest to take the amulet to the queen of the unicorns, and she and the friends she makes long the way must face dangers and wonders to get there.It reads like an early outline for a fantasy novel, but one that needs a lot of work. The story idea is good, but it's told in the barest of bones way, with very little in the way of details, and the characters are completely flat.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cara and her grandmother, whom she has lived with since her mother died and her father left, are on their way home from the library when they realize they are being followed. Cara is surprised and frightened when her grandmother agrees they are really being followed--and that the man is a threat. It's not long before Cara, wearing her grandmother's special necklace, is standing at the top of a bell tower, about to follow Grandma's instructions to wait for the the twelfth toll of the bell, call out "Luster, bring me home," and jump.She does it, and finds herself in a magical new world.Luster is a magical place, and she meets magical, wonderful creatures, especially the unicorn, Lightfoot, and Dimblethum, a hairy creature who looks to be somewhere between a man and a bear. Unfortunately, the hunter who was following her and her grandmother has also managed to follow her across, and nasty creatures called Delvers are helping him hunt her. He's after the necklace, or rather amulet, that her grandmother gave her, and wants to use it to bring other hunters--other unicorn hunters--to Luster to wipe out the unicorns. Cara needs to reach the Queen of the unicorns, to bring a message from her grandmother, and to keep the amulet safe. Along the way, she meets Grimwold the dwarf and recorder of unicorn stories, Thomas the Tinker who can fix almost anything and has a truly impressive wagon, and Firethroat the dragon.It's a great children's adventure, and Cara is a very believable young girl, brave and smart and quite believably scared by some of the things she encounters and experiences. It's a lot of fun. Recommended.I bought this audiobook.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This cover is etched onto my brain but I didn't recall any details from elementary school, which made for a fresh reread. Enchanting! Lucky to have the hook up on the rest of the series as I hear they are difficult to obtain.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I read this book for the first time when I was 9 or 10, and I loved it. I was a little concerned that it wouldn't hold up over the years, and while I probably wouldn't have liked had this been my first read, I could absolutely see what my 10-year-old self loved about it, and it was delightful to rediscover and remember it as I read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In 5th grade, this series was my teacher's read-aloud and as far as I know, no one disliked it.
I loved Cara and the story! There's nothing I would change and I hope to read this book again! - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not my favorite Coville book, but a good solid story. My only complaint is that the other installments took too long to come out, making it hard to be excited about reading them!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This suspensful fairytale tells of Cara's journey into the land of unicorns. Cara faces many challenges on her journey while trying to find the Queen so that she can return home to her grandmother. Cara encounters many magical creatures. Some become her friends and help her along the way. Others are trying to take the amulet that her grandmother gave her. This is the first book in the series.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A nice story that draws you in at the very beginning and keeps you throughout the book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book is great. The story hooks you in from the beginning and keep your focus all the way through.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book is phenomenal for anyone under the age of thirteen, but it is also a good read for those older who'd like to be reminded of what it felt like to believe in the land of unicorns, fairies, and dragons. Bruce Coville I've met myself at a book signing (yes, I still have it) many years ago, and from what I can remember he was a very humble, very gentle man who got along quite easily with the children he was speaking with. All in all, it is a great tale of Cara's adventures, and I am proud to have met Mr. Coville.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A pretty good book but kinda creepy. I really like it. :)
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the story of how Cara, a young girl still dealing with the loss of her parents many years before, gets transported to Luster, a planet inhabited by unicorns. While there, she must safely bring the amulet that brought her to Luster to the queen, accompanied by only a few companions (a unicorn, a man-bear, a squirrel monkey, and later a tinker). They move with speed and escape attack, but the greatest danger is the hunter who has followed them. This hunter, Cara has realized, is actually her father, and he tries to use her to get the amulet. Cara is too wily, however, she manages to keep the amulet from him, and get the dragon's heart from him. She commands the dragon to bring him to earth and receives the dragon's thanks when she returns the heart. The dragon gives her the gift of tongues, so she can understand all languages. She goes to the queen and gives her her grandmother's message, "The wanderer is weary." I enjoyed this book, and I will certainly be looking for the sequel.