The Last Unicorn is one of fantasy’s most revered classics, beloved by generations of readers and with millions of copies in print. Revisiting the world of that novel, Beagle’s long-awaited Hugo and Nebula-Awards-winning “Two Hearts” introduced the irrepressible Sooz on a quest to save her village from a griffin, and explored the bonds she formed with unforgettable characters like the wise and wonderful Molly Grue and Schmendrick the Magician.

In the never-before-published “Sooz,” the events of “Two Hearts” are years behind its narrator, but a perilous journey lies ahead of her, in a story that is at once a tender meditation on love and loss, and a lesson in finding your true self.

The Way Home by Peter S. Beagle is enchantingly beautiful, almost achingly so. As you read the first few words, the incomparable voice of Peter S. Beagle is clear and layered with emotion. The stories, both of them, each novella set in the world of The Last Unicorn, are full of heart. “Two Hearts” deals with the progress of time and how we all change. It has a beautiful, valiant, and heartbreaking ending. Yet that end also has hope.  

In “Sooz” the story is full of complexity and emotional layers that tangle around your heart. It is authentic and profound, as glorious as The Last Unicorn. It is a meditation on love and loss, and finding your true self. It is suffused with Beagle’s warmth, lyricism, and wit, as well as his ability to create characters that feel real to the reader. Characters that reach out and grab you by the throat and that you fall in love with. 

If you love The Last Unicorn, you need to read these two novellas. They are full of wonder, magic of the soul and are enchantingly beautiful. Like the best poetry, the words will haunt your dreams and the characters will make you fall in love. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 dogs