An Exhilarating New Adventure: Read Our Review of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A.F. Steadman

New paperback edition out now! 

Unicorns don’t belong in fairy tales; they belong in nightmares.

So begins Skandar and the Unicorn Thief. Soar into a world where unicorns are real – and they’re deadly. They can only be tamed by the rider who hatches them.

Thirteen-year-old Skandar Smith has only ever wanted to be a unicorn rider, and the time has finally come for him to take his Hatchery Exam, which will determine whether he is destined to hatch a unicorn egg. But when Skandar is stopped from taking the exam, and the mysterious and frightening Weaver steals the most powerful unicorn in the world, becoming a rider proves a lot more dangerous than he could ever have imagined. And what if Skandar was always destined to be the villain rather than the hero?

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief is A.F. Steadman’s debut and the first book in a hotly anticipated new fantasy adventure series for readers age 9+. If you like Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Eragon or His Dark Materials, you’ll love this!

There’s been a lot of hype around Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, and it definitely lives up to its expectations. It has all the classic tropes of middle-grade fiction that we know and love: an unlikely hero, magic, adventure and self-discovery. But this novel’s point of difference is in the world-building and character development.

Skandar resides in a magical world that isn’t so far away from our own, and Steadman gives us a clear understanding of this intriguing society with insight into its history. Steadman’s world-building fully immerses the reader in an easy-to-digest way; there’s enough relatability with just the right dose of magic.

Unlike the many extroverted and determined protagonists we typically see in middle-grade fiction, Skandar is reserved and quiet. Reminiscent of Harry Potter, Skandar is the ‘chosen one’ and seeing him come into his own and learn to stand up for what he believes in is both inspiring and relatable. I also appreciated the diversity of characters and the various religious and cultural holidays mentioned throughout.

But get ready to have all your notions about unicorns changed forever. In Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, the unicorns are definitely not what you think. Steadman did an incredible job of turning a creature we typically perceive as sweet and soft into bloodthirsty and vicious. A unicorn can only be tamed when bonded with a rider and the experience is intense yet exhilarating, and I thought it was a fantastic concept overall.

So get ready for unlikely heroes, elemental magic, fierce sky battles, ancient secrets, nail-biting races and, of course, bloodthirsty unicorns. I predict this will be the biggest new series of 2022 and I’m (not so) patiently awaiting the sequel!

Buy a copy of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief here.