The Pig, the Prince & the Unicorn

In the war against Chaos, it's the good, the bad and the adorable!

The Dark Things Wait

Behind the Gate lurks chaos, carnage, horror vast and evil unimaginable. And the Gate must be locked every hundred years, or the world will be plunged into darkness.

The Key Bearer must be fearsome enough to fight Pitch Fiends, wage war against the Water Demons, defy Death Wings and master the Manslayers.

The Key Bearer is chosen by the key iteself. And this century it has chosen an unlikely hero. Instead of awesome, he's winsome. Instead of behinding his enemies, he befriends them. Instead of a way-hungry sword, he has a curly tail. He's bigger than a bread box, but barely...

Hello friends!

I really wanted to find a fun book for my first book review, and man, did this title deliver! It has all the things I was hoping for. Very few people seem to have heard of this book, it has one of those weird, old covers that would never fly on a new publication, and it was a complete diamond in the rough!

The Pig, the Prince and the Unicorn was written by Karen A. Brush, and published by Avon Books in 1987, making this beauty the same age as me! Avon Books is still around as an imprint of HarperCollins. Their website says that they publish romance novels, and I must say, things must have been wildly different in 1987! This book is a lot of things, but you'd have to stretch the definition quite a bit to call it a romance.

Karen A. Brush has no wikipedia page, and only the barest of Amazon author pages. She is credited with writing two books, The Pig, the Prince and the Unicorn and its sequel, The Demon Pig. I could find no other information about this book or its author.

Online you can still find used copies of The Pig, the Prince and the Unicorn in circulation, but they appear to be somewhat rare. I found listings between $3 and $21, though most of them are on the lower end of the price range. I will link some of those listings below, in case you'd like to pick up a copy of your own.

The most important part of any book review, of course, is this: Is it worth reading? The answer for this one is: Definitely. Yes.

The main character of The Pig, the Prince and the Unicorn is Quadroped, or Quadro for short. He is a fourteen inch tall white pig with purple eyes. He is the latest in a long line of fairy pigs. He is neither magical nor a good fighter, though he can talk. Quadro is mostly concerned with keeping his belly full. Our first introduction to him is to find him rummaging under a tree for acorns where he is struck on the head by a falling key. Though he complains that he has never been allowed to go on a proper adventure, the key brings him an adventure that he tries to decline almost at every turn. You see, Quadro is the Key Bearer, someone chosen once every hundred years to lock the Chaos Gate, saving the world from another terrible war waged by the Black Unicorn. It is a very big job, and Quadro is fairly certain someone else should have been picked. Anyone else, really.

This story is written in the classic adventure fantasy style, reminiscent of The Hobbit. I don't know if it was originally intended for children, but throughout the book I kept thinking about how much my own children would enjoy the story. Quadro, though not human, is entirely relatable. He finds much of his adventure too much of a bother. He is often scared or shy or grouchy. He regularly questions his travelling companions, particularly if there are a lot of stairs. He encounters new and interesting characters in each chapter, and by the end they all have been charmed by the little piglet who really just wants another bowl of acorns and a nice nap. I, too, was charmed by Quadro, and his innocent perspective on a classic good versus evil conflict.

Along the way, Quadro travels with a bard named Glasgerion (the prince, though he doesn't look like one). Glasgerion is in love with a witch named Morragwen. These characters have an established relationship that takes up very little room on the page, though it is an important detail as they move along. Technically, a romance story line, it is very much in the backseat to the adventure.

The Pig, the Prince and the Unicorn is a clean read. There is a single swear word, on the first page (naughty Quadro!). There are no drugs or sexual content. There is some violence, but it is not graphic. Even the ghost they encounter is well-mannered. A large portion at the beginning takes place underwater, though it is made clear that everyone can breath and is in no danger of drowning. I really can think of no potential "triggers" a reader might encounter with this story.

If you find a copy of The Pig, the Prince and the Unicorn, I would advise you to snatch it up immediately. You may not find another copy again! If you have kids in your life, this would be a great one to read together. If you just need a light read that will remind you that all of humanity isn't terrible, this is a good candidate as well. There is adventure, romance, humor, intrigue, and even some plot twisting toward the end. Mostly, it is a story about unexpected characters beating the odds, and about friendship. If that sounds like something you'd like to read, this is the book for you.

I read The Pig, the Prince and the Unicorn while drinking lemon tea (technically a detox tea, but I just like the flavor). Quadro eats a lot of things in this book, though his favorite seems to be roasted acorns. As I am not an acorn afficionado, I might instead recommend a jam cake, which Quadro eats when he meets Glasgerion's lady love.

My own copy of The Pig, the Prince and the Unicorn will be for sale here. I will include a surprise set of stickers for whoever buys it. I only have one copy, so if you are interested, don't wait!

Here are a few other listings for the book:

Amazon

Half Priced Books

Thriftbooks

I really enjoyed this book, and I hope you do as well! I'm already looking forward to next month's book! Keep an eye out on my social media pages for more information about upcoming book reviews.

Til next month, keep reading, friends!❤️