The Last Unicorn!

 Charming is the ideal word to describe Peter Beagle's classic The Last Unicorn. First published in 1968, story by Beagle's account is the continuation of a story he told as a young boy. Admittedly with a great deal more wit and social awareness.  Fantasy was a hot commodity in 1968 as Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings available in paperback and was inspiring imitators. The Last Unicorn is not one of those. I first bought the paperback in 1975 and read it then. I don't know that I've read it since. 

We are introduced to the last Unicorn of the title just as she is becoming aware of her singular status. Since unicorns live outside of time, being immortal, the fact that the numbers were dwindling was not of great moment. Nothing was or is exactly. Once realizing the possibility she might be the last she leaves the security of her protected and isolated wood and heads into an impossible world of fantasy and modern cultural reference. 

The characters in this story are aware of fairy tales and to greater and lesser degrees attempt to fit into these classic roles. Beagle punctures the texture of the world he creates with modern references just often enough to keep the reader from relaxing and treating the story in a classic fantasy way. Anyway, the Unicorn is captured by a traveling sideshow and shown off for what she is, though it takes a false horn to allow regular folks to see the myth. She meets a magician named Schmendrick, there who does recognize here helps her to escape though that is a dangerous thing as well. The Unicorn is not the only real mythical beast in the show and the other is downright dangerous. 

One of Beagle's stated inspirations for the novel is The Colt from Moon Mountain by Dorothy Lathrop from 1941 which put a unicorn in Kansas of all places. 

The Unicorn and the Magician meet up with a gang of bandits and out of that group they hook up with a woman named Molly Grue who also can see the Unicorn for what she is. They travel to castle of King Haggard, who it seems is the man who has used a magical Red Bull to gather and imprison all the unicorns. To keep the Unicorn from becoming his next victim Magician changes her into a woman he names  Alamathea. The trio end up in Haggard's castle and eventually do find their way to the lair of the Red Bull and discover the secret of the missing unicorns. 

I found the book surprisingly challenging to read this time. Some of that had to do with me not getting enough sleep, but also it is that the text demands your full attention. It's well worth the effort. Beagle has written a smattering of sequel short stories which have appeared here and there. 

In 1982 the Rankin/Bass animation outfit joined forces with ITC Films to produce a perfectly fine adaptation of the novel. It's more geared for the younger set than is the novel, as nearly all the social commentary is removed. The core story remains and it's not unpleasant to watch. Although I did specifically have to watch something a bit tougher afterwards to get the some of the saccharin off. 

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The Ape Man Of Mars!

When I first noticed the new collection of new short stories about John Carter of Mars titled Under the Moons of Mars edited by John Joseph Adams, I gave it a pass mostly because I am just up to my nose in stuff to read right now. But then a bit of research revealed what my careless scan at the bookstore had not found, the great Peter S. Beagle had contributed a story to the volume, and not only that, but the story featured a meeting of John Carter and Edgar Rice Burrough's other more famous creation Tarzan the Ape Man. The book instantly became a must have.

A new Peter Beagle story. A new Mars story by Beagle. A new Tarzan story by Beagle. Three good reasons to snatch up the book regardless of the quality of the remainder of it. It turns out the book also has some artwork by Mike Kaluta and Charles Vess, among many others, two more good reasons to give it a tumble.

It took a bit of looking, but I found a copy and snagged it. Yesterday I read the Beagle story to my great delight. Spoilers beyond this point.


Beagle has given us a story told from Tarzan's perspective. We find the Ape Man in the jungles of Africa pondering Mars and before you know it his astral self has migrated to the Red Planet. He adapts quickly to the gravity and takes in his new environment with the fatalistic aplomb so familiar from the ERB novels. He chooses not to eat the baby Tharks, but does use the incubators for warmth. He is soon enough discovered by John Carter and Dejah Thoris and the Tharks and he and Carter don't hit it off at all. Carter is furious with Tarzan's British heritage since Carter holds a grudge against Britain for failing to help during "The Great War of Northern Aggression". Nonetheless they give the naked Tarzan some duds and take him to Helium, where Tarzan despite being married finds himself very attracted to the lovely Dejah Thoris. She seems to find him something to marvel at too. But Tarzan is most surprised to find that he can communicate with a great White Ape of Mars, and assumes that the parallel biology of the species must have something to do with the Earth-Mars astral migration technique. Tarzan is furious that the White Apes are treated as vermin by Carter and the the rest of the Martians and this in addition to the other points of friction results in the Tarzan and Carter having a rough and tumble battle which is abruptly ended when Dejah hits Tarzan across the noggin with a pistol. He wakes up back on Earth, but never doubts the reality of his adventure.

End of spoilers.

Beagle packs a lot into a very short tale. His take on John Carter makes him seem more quixotic than I recollect from the ERB tales, but since this story is clearly from Tarzan's point of view, he seems to be given the benefit of a doubt when the two heroes clash. Carter as a Son of the South seems a bit too gung-ho about his allegiance, at least more than I remember.

The attraction between Tarzan and Dejah makes perfect sense, but I'm glad that Beagle had the two show some restraint here. Another writer might've shown less respect to their loyalty to their spouses.

What mostly struck me though was the equanimity Tarzan displays in the face of his arrival on Mars. He takes it all in and simply deals with the result. That's one of the absolute great things about Tarzan, his total acceptance of what life brings him. I only wish I could face life's trials with half the calm assurance the Ape Man brings to his toils and troubles. It's a quality to be much admired.

This is a dandy little tale, not a flawless gem by any means, but a gem nonetheless. I recommend getting hold of it if you can.

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