Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Ariel (Change. Bk 1)

Ariel (Change. Bk 1)
annapi avatar reviewed on + 334 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3


Five years ago, the Earth went through the Change - technology stopped working and magic suddenly became reality. Pete Garey, a young boy who survived the upheaval of the Change, becomes a loner and wandering scavenger, warily defending himself against the lawless who abound in a world of anarchy. Then he meets an injured unicorn and an unlikely friendship is formed. But a necromancer discovers her existence and is determined to take her horn for its magical powers, and Pete must find a way to stop him.

Originally published in 1983 and newly reprinted, this novel reflects the time in which it was written (the Twin Towers still exist), as well as the youth of the author, who wrote it at 19 and eventually got it published at 21. It requires a hefty dose of suspension of disbelief, and readers must also ignore inconsistencies in the Changed world, but once over those roadblocks the story is ok. I found it a bit of a ramble, and while it had a plot there were several instances that did not seem to have a point. Still, the post-apocalyptic world is interesting, the magic not too overblown and the character-building satisfactory if a little over-simplified, with a touch of corn here and there. It would be more suited to older youths.