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Unicorns of Balinor #8
Shadows Over Balinor
Princess Arianna seeks the ancient archivist who holds the map of the Forgotten Fields, where her parents, the King and Queen, are being held captive.
111 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2000
About the author
Mary Stanton
34 books309 followersMary Stanton was born in Florida and grew up in Japan and Hawaii, after which she returned to the United States and received a B.A. in Philosophy and Literature from the University of Minnesota.
Stanton’s career as a fiction writer began with the publication of her first novel, The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West, in 1984. A beast fable similar in tone and theme to Watership Down, it was published in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. The sequel to that novel, Piper at the Gates, appeared in 1989. She sold her first mystery to The Berkley Publishing Group in 1994.
In all, Stanton has written nineteen mystery novels, two adult fantasy novels, eleven novels for middle-grade readers (including the successful series, The Unicorns of Balinor), and three scripts for a television cartoon series, Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, as well as edited three short story anthologies. Her nonfiction articles on horse care and veterinary medicine have appeared in national and regional magazines.
Stanton's newest series, The Beaufort & Company Mysteries, was launched in December 2008 with the publication of Defending Angels. Set in Savannah, Georgia, the paranormal mysteries chronicle the adventures of Bree Winston-Beaufort, a young lawyer who inherits her uncle's law firm and its deceased clientele, whom she represents in appeals before the Celestial Court.
The second book in the series, Angel's Advocate, was published in June 2009, followed by Avenging Angels in February 2010.
Mary also publishes the Hemlock Falls and Dr. McKenzie mysteries under the name Claudia Bishop. See the Claudia Bishop web site for more information.
Stanton’s interests outside writing have remained consistent over the years. She is a horsewoman, a goat aficionado, an enthusiastic (if inept) gardener, and a fan of gourmet food, but not an expert. She has developed a writing program for teens and middle grade readers that has had considerable success in schools.
Stanton has been a dedicated reader all her life, with particular emphasis on biography, history, veterinary science, medicine, psychology and current affairs. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America.
Stanton’s career as a fiction writer began with the publication of her first novel, The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West, in 1984. A beast fable similar in tone and theme to Watership Down, it was published in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. The sequel to that novel, Piper at the Gates, appeared in 1989. She sold her first mystery to The Berkley Publishing Group in 1994.
In all, Stanton has written nineteen mystery novels, two adult fantasy novels, eleven novels for middle-grade readers (including the successful series, The Unicorns of Balinor), and three scripts for a television cartoon series, Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, as well as edited three short story anthologies. Her nonfiction articles on horse care and veterinary medicine have appeared in national and regional magazines.
Stanton's newest series, The Beaufort & Company Mysteries, was launched in December 2008 with the publication of Defending Angels. Set in Savannah, Georgia, the paranormal mysteries chronicle the adventures of Bree Winston-Beaufort, a young lawyer who inherits her uncle's law firm and its deceased clientele, whom she represents in appeals before the Celestial Court.
The second book in the series, Angel's Advocate, was published in June 2009, followed by Avenging Angels in February 2010.
Mary also publishes the Hemlock Falls and Dr. McKenzie mysteries under the name Claudia Bishop. See the Claudia Bishop web site for more information.
Stanton’s interests outside writing have remained consistent over the years. She is a horsewoman, a goat aficionado, an enthusiastic (if inept) gardener, and a fan of gourmet food, but not an expert. She has developed a writing program for teens and middle grade readers that has had considerable success in schools.
Stanton has been a dedicated reader all her life, with particular emphasis on biography, history, veterinary science, medicine, psychology and current affairs. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 14, 2012
Alrighty. Here we are, finally at the end of the Unicorns of Balinor series. (Thank goodness!) Before I talk about the book, I'd like to paint you a picture.
Sometime around 2000, I was an elementary schooler with a love of reading. I had discovered the Unicorns of Balinor series, and while I wasn't massively impressed (that honor went to Harry Potter and Song of the Lioness), I enjoyed the series enough to quickly read to the end. I finished Shadows Over Balinor, returned it to the out-of-town library I'd got it from, and eagerly went over to the shelf for the next book.
Except there wasn't a next book. Some quick OPAC (remember that term? I don't think I've heard it since 2003) research proved that Shadows Over Balinor was the end of the series, and my tiny little child-brain didn't understand. I honestly wondered if Mary Stanton had died before managing to finish the series. I was stunned that the end of the series had come and gone without addressing the lingering plot threads.
My Night of the Shifter's Moon review outlined these, so I'll revisit them in order of importance.
What's the secret behind Linc's mysterious past, and will he have to go back to Glacier River Farm?
Both of these questions are answered, but in what's possibly silliest sequence of events to be found in children's fantasy. I won't ruin the answer for you, because if you read this you will want to be surprised. It's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read, and I could never take that WTF away from anyone.
Will Lori ever get home, or is she going to stay in Balinor forever?
This isn't resolved. At all. The series ends by implying Lori will go home someday, but that's it.
What's up with that Kraken guy, and is he supposed to be the new Big Bad?
This is answered, but it's vague and befuddingly. I'm still not sure what his deal was.
At first, Kraken is presented as some kind of demigod of evil. Then he was stated to be relatively neutral, if somewhat inclined toward "evil". Now suddenly he's playing Bigger Bad to Entia, a powerful evil that must be stopped at all costs. (And then he's stopped with literally zero cost.)
And I'm still puzzled by the explanation of his powers. Since magic in Balinor has to be balanced between good and evil, both the sides have to be relatively equal. But the goal of Shadows Over Balinor is to make sure Kraken stays weak... so how exactly does that work?
Entia has been defeated, which would mean that the "evil" side is now weaker than the "good". So Kraken rising makes sense; he's filling the gap that Entia left behind.
But by defeating Kraken, doesn't that leave an imbalance? Doesn't that upset the flow of magic? Doesn't weakening Kraken mean they're weakening themselves? Is that what they were trying to do? Or...?
See what you've done to me, book? I've been reduced to gifs. For shame.
Where is Ari's family, and will they ever be rescued?
This is pretty much the single most important facet of the series, beyond overthrowing Entia (which happened a whole book ago).
And it's never resolved. Ari's family is never recovered. At the end of the book, the characters just return home with a collective "eh, we'll get around to it sometime or other".
I... but... what...?
Sometime around 2000, I was an elementary schooler with a love of reading. I had discovered the Unicorns of Balinor series, and while I wasn't massively impressed (that honor went to Harry Potter and Song of the Lioness), I enjoyed the series enough to quickly read to the end. I finished Shadows Over Balinor, returned it to the out-of-town library I'd got it from, and eagerly went over to the shelf for the next book.
Except there wasn't a next book. Some quick OPAC (remember that term? I don't think I've heard it since 2003) research proved that Shadows Over Balinor was the end of the series, and my tiny little child-brain didn't understand. I honestly wondered if Mary Stanton had died before managing to finish the series. I was stunned that the end of the series had come and gone without addressing the lingering plot threads.
My Night of the Shifter's Moon review outlined these, so I'll revisit them in order of importance.
What's the secret behind Linc's mysterious past, and will he have to go back to Glacier River Farm?
Both of these questions are answered, but in what's possibly silliest sequence of events to be found in children's fantasy. I won't ruin the answer for you, because if you read this you will want to be surprised. It's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read, and I could never take that WTF away from anyone.
Will Lori ever get home, or is she going to stay in Balinor forever?
This isn't resolved. At all. The series ends by implying Lori will go home someday, but that's it.
What's up with that Kraken guy, and is he supposed to be the new Big Bad?
This is answered, but it's vague and befuddingly. I'm still not sure what his deal was.
At first, Kraken is presented as some kind of demigod of evil. Then he was stated to be relatively neutral, if somewhat inclined toward "evil". Now suddenly he's playing Bigger Bad to Entia, a powerful evil that must be stopped at all costs. (And then he's stopped with literally zero cost.)
And I'm still puzzled by the explanation of his powers. Since magic in Balinor has to be balanced between good and evil, both the sides have to be relatively equal. But the goal of Shadows Over Balinor is to make sure Kraken stays weak... so how exactly does that work?
Entia has been defeated, which would mean that the "evil" side is now weaker than the "good". So Kraken rising makes sense; he's filling the gap that Entia left behind.
But by defeating Kraken, doesn't that leave an imbalance? Doesn't that upset the flow of magic? Doesn't weakening Kraken mean they're weakening themselves? Is that what they were trying to do? Or...?
See what you've done to me, book? I've been reduced to gifs. For shame.
Where is Ari's family, and will they ever be rescued?
This is pretty much the single most important facet of the series, beyond overthrowing Entia (which happened a whole book ago).
And it's never resolved. Ari's family is never recovered. At the end of the book, the characters just return home with a collective "eh, we'll get around to it sometime or other".
I... but... what...?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2016
I am starting this review by saying I have not read these books in well over ten years so this will not be a thorough detailed review. I did, however, recently stumble upon this series hidden away in my house and felt obligated to review, in particular this book, on behalf of little me. I absolutely loved this series as a kid and remember being really excited to get this final book. The problem is the book never resolved any of the original problems and left more questions then answers. I left feeling as if there was supposed to either be another book or the author just decided to completely stop the series. My young self was very much not happy with this conclusion to a series I loved and hence why I felt obligated to leave this review.
January 9, 2009
wish it wouldn't of ended! But I still think their is anther book to the series, still haven't found out if it's true.
October 31, 2017
So sad Mary Stanton didn't finish this series! I really still wanna know, even 15 years later, what happened to Ari's parents! And I'm definitely naming my daughter Arianna, all based on this series!
June 7, 2011
SPOILER ALERT: All in all, I like the characters and personalities in these books. I didn't like the way the author wrote. And I have to say, the 8th book disapointed me a great deal. Throughout all the books, it seemed to me that the whole point of all these adventures was to find her parents and restore them to the throne. I mean, that seemed to be the MAJOR issue, the absence of the king, queen and princes. Yet at the end of the 8th book it was like "oh, I'll do it tomorrow". Woah. What happened here! I am glad Lincoln remained a Collie though, that was a HUGE plus. Still... though I'm glad I read them, it seemed to all fall apart in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2013
This was a favorite series of mine when I was a little girl and I loved re reading it. I liked finding out more secrets that the world of Balinor had in this book and loved little Odie. However, I was very disappointed in the cliff-hanger ending. I heard rumors that this wasn't intended and that the publisher wasn't interested in making another Unicorns of Balinor book (which is silly). I would have liked to see more things about Odie and mostly, if Arianna ever rescued her parents and returned Lori back through the Gap. But this leads to a very interesting creative writing assignment :)
August 11, 2011
This was my most favorite book series when I was little. I've read all eight books at least three times. I breathed this books. Every child should read these. They taught me so much about love, adventure, and growing up. And it had unicorns as well! What could be better? :D
October 14, 2010
if you like unicorns, magic, princesses, and good fighting evil, you should read this book!
December 21, 2010
I love this book because i grew up with it .
August 31, 2012
my favorite was when arianna gets rid of kraken a new evil person.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 6, 2017
I have confusing, mixed feelings about this series. On one hand, I found it boring and heavy with exposition. Every time a conflict arose, it was instantly resolved, so there was no tension or any real excitement. The final battle in book seven and the one in book eight were both simplistic and took only a paragraph to complete. I was disappointed in Lori, who kept almost having character growth, but it never quite stuck.
On the other hand, I stayed with this series for eight books. The world was fun and felt well-rounded. I really enjoyed the unicorns. I kind of feel like I stayed entirely for the unicorns. And because I did genuinely like Ari.
Did I like this series? I'm not really sure. I was disappointed when it was over, mainly because it didn't feel like a real ending. But, then, I was also relieved to move on to read something else. I guess this deserves its three stars. I enjoyed it, but probably won't ever reread it. But I might recommend it to another kid who loved unicorns.
On the other hand, I stayed with this series for eight books. The world was fun and felt well-rounded. I really enjoyed the unicorns. I kind of feel like I stayed entirely for the unicorns. And because I did genuinely like Ari.
Did I like this series? I'm not really sure. I was disappointed when it was over, mainly because it didn't feel like a real ending. But, then, I was also relieved to move on to read something else. I guess this deserves its three stars. I enjoyed it, but probably won't ever reread it. But I might recommend it to another kid who loved unicorns.
October 11, 2021
So this was the final book in this series but let's do a review:
The Shifter has been defeated. It took all of one paragraph in the last book to defeat him. There's a new BIG BAD suddenly, Lori still hasn't returned home and we still haven't found Arianna's family. This book should have wrapped things up. But it doesn't.
We get a new character and have more of the Royal Unicorns in this book. Odie is totally my spirit animal and I love her so much. She's is all about the sass and has a love/hate relationship with Lincoln immediately.
The book was all about the build up and was very anticlimactic. The Big Bad is defeated in about 30 seconds. We discover who Lincoln is. Lori does not go home. The Scepter stops working and starts again like usual (par for the course) and we still haven't found Arianna's family.
The author was going for book 9 it seems but never released it. She should have self published the last book, IMHO. I'm a bit angry and a bit butt hurt that I was waiting for the last book with such anticipation and this happened..... Ugh
The Shifter has been defeated. It took all of one paragraph in the last book to defeat him. There's a new BIG BAD suddenly, Lori still hasn't returned home and we still haven't found Arianna's family. This book should have wrapped things up. But it doesn't.
We get a new character and have more of the Royal Unicorns in this book. Odie is totally my spirit animal and I love her so much. She's is all about the sass and has a love/hate relationship with Lincoln immediately.
The book was all about the build up and was very anticlimactic. The Big Bad is defeated in about 30 seconds. We discover who Lincoln is. Lori does not go home. The Scepter stops working and starts again like usual (par for the course) and we still haven't found Arianna's family.
The author was going for book 9 it seems but never released it. She should have self published the last book, IMHO. I'm a bit angry and a bit butt hurt that I was waiting for the last book with such anticipation and this happened..... Ugh
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2018
I'll preface this review by saying my 7/8 year old daughter loved this series. It was a read aloud for us and I believe she'll read it again on her own. That being said...
IT DOES NOT END!!! The storylines carelessly woven through 8 books are left hanging in an ugly cliffhanger. Well not so much a cliffhanger but one of those roads you see that ends abruptly in a grassy field. You are left thinking "but what about -->insert major plot point <---!?!?!" It would be a great middle-school exercise in writing what happens next if you didn't have to read 8 poorly plotted books to get to it. From what I gather there was supposed to be a 9th book but it wasn't picked up by the publisher.
This book and series may be a great nostalgia read for those who read it as children but I would give it a hard pass. There are too many other books out there to spend time with these.
IT DOES NOT END!!! The storylines carelessly woven through 8 books are left hanging in an ugly cliffhanger. Well not so much a cliffhanger but one of those roads you see that ends abruptly in a grassy field. You are left thinking "but what about -->insert major plot point <---!?!?!" It would be a great middle-school exercise in writing what happens next if you didn't have to read 8 poorly plotted books to get to it. From what I gather there was supposed to be a 9th book but it wasn't picked up by the publisher.
This book and series may be a great nostalgia read for those who read it as children but I would give it a hard pass. There are too many other books out there to spend time with these.
April 17, 2021
In and of itself this is a good book as Ari and her friends have to stop the Kraken, an evil force from the Deep Magic, from gaining enough power to threaten Balinor. It is not a good end to the series. Ari's family is still missing, and they are no closer to being found. The series really needed on or two more books, or this one should have resolved that.
We do finally get answers for where Lincoln comes from, which I enjoyed, and Odie, the little cat, was an adorable addition.
We do finally get answers for where Lincoln comes from, which I enjoyed, and Odie, the little cat, was an adorable addition.
July 23, 2018
Oh no! The story doesn't wrap up in this book at all :( We get an answer to who Lincoln really is (but it's a little disturbing) but we don't see Ari find her family and return Balinor to its original state. Oh well, at least I finished the series, I always did wonder what happened in the end and now I know!
April 5, 2019
This was the first series that I read and choose to read in school. It created my love of reading. I just wish she finished the series. But glad I fell in love with this series that I never stopped reading in the last 15-16years.
September 15, 2021
This rating is solely based on childhood nostalgia. Would I love it now? Probably not, but I was in love with horses as a little kid, and this series was a big part of it.
July 4, 2017
Series Overview
The books are easy reading and much easier understanding to beginning readers so they may be a much better choice for younger crowds for whom they are more directed to. Also the author Mary Stanton does have a beautiful way with words when she describes the Celestial Valley while her imagination has done a great job with the forming of her unicorns within the story.
Strangely enough I have to say this may have to be the best of the Balinor books for it didn't read like the rest of the series and had a completely different tone. Sadly I cannot say what made the tone so different for Ari was still trying to do everything herself, Lori was the same pain in the neck and it was the same conflict.
In this one I would say the secondary animal characters stood out the most while you are told the secret of Lincoln. His whole backstory wasn't complete while leaving a few questions while he also seems to have changed personality-wise within this book.
Finally what threw me was the fact that I thought she was finally going to find her family and get them freed but this instead prolongs the series just a bit more by adding more darkness. Slightly disappointed to see that we couldn't see that but also happy the series has finished.
Truthfully with the series I may have enjoyed its simplistic story when I was a child and before reading the "Unicorn Chronicles" but since I have done both it just irks me. I would offer the first two books to a child who may be interested but if their eye isn't caught I would force it any further on them to read the rest of the series.
The books are easy reading and much easier understanding to beginning readers so they may be a much better choice for younger crowds for whom they are more directed to. Also the author Mary Stanton does have a beautiful way with words when she describes the Celestial Valley while her imagination has done a great job with the forming of her unicorns within the story.
Strangely enough I have to say this may have to be the best of the Balinor books for it didn't read like the rest of the series and had a completely different tone. Sadly I cannot say what made the tone so different for Ari was still trying to do everything herself, Lori was the same pain in the neck and it was the same conflict.
In this one I would say the secondary animal characters stood out the most while you are told the secret of Lincoln. His whole backstory wasn't complete while leaving a few questions while he also seems to have changed personality-wise within this book.
Finally what threw me was the fact that I thought she was finally going to find her family and get them freed but this instead prolongs the series just a bit more by adding more darkness. Slightly disappointed to see that we couldn't see that but also happy the series has finished.
Truthfully with the series I may have enjoyed its simplistic story when I was a child and before reading the "Unicorn Chronicles" but since I have done both it just irks me. I would offer the first two books to a child who may be interested but if their eye isn't caught I would force it any further on them to read the rest of the series.
October 19, 2014
I'm reviewing this series as a whole.
I originally read this series way back in 6th grade. I remember loving it, mostly because I loved both horses and fantasy. Going back as an adult, I see it's still good, but I also see some large issues that my younger self missed - or forgot.
1) Lori. Lori is so effing annoying. Stanton kept teasing me with the possibility that she'd finally go away, only for her to find some way to stick around and complain. Or almost get everyone killed.
2) The ending. Talk about anticlimactic. Stanton introduces a new evil for the last book, one considerably more powerful than the Shifter. Stanton then delivers the dullest ending ever. Practically nothing happens, including wrapping up all those loose ends. We never find out what happened to Ari's family or even Doctor Bones.
3) The writing was painfully repetitive. Each book has to rehash the same description every time we revisit a character. I contemplated making a drinking game where I'd take a shot every time I read about Chase's shiny bronze coat or how pretty the Dreamspeaker is. But then I'd be unable to write this review.
Overall, I'd recommend this to very young girls who love horses. If that was you back in the day, the nostalgia factor of rereading might be worth it.
I originally read this series way back in 6th grade. I remember loving it, mostly because I loved both horses and fantasy. Going back as an adult, I see it's still good, but I also see some large issues that my younger self missed - or forgot.
1) Lori. Lori is so effing annoying. Stanton kept teasing me with the possibility that she'd finally go away, only for her to find some way to stick around and complain. Or almost get everyone killed.
2) The ending. Talk about anticlimactic. Stanton introduces a new evil for the last book, one considerably more powerful than the Shifter. Stanton then delivers the dullest ending ever. Practically nothing happens, including wrapping up all those loose ends. We never find out what happened to Ari's family or even Doctor Bones.
3) The writing was painfully repetitive. Each book has to rehash the same description every time we revisit a character. I contemplated making a drinking game where I'd take a shot every time I read about Chase's shiny bronze coat or how pretty the Dreamspeaker is. But then I'd be unable to write this review.
Overall, I'd recommend this to very young girls who love horses. If that was you back in the day, the nostalgia factor of rereading might be worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2013
I love books with horses.This series is a cute short and sweet story.I plan on getting book one and reading the series from the beginning.
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Spoiler
Note to Self:
Princess Arianna("Ari",pal) & Sunchaser("Chase",her bonded unicorn,majesty),Atalanta(unicorn guardian,Dreamspeaker)+Numinor(golden one),Lincoln("Link",Gully,her dog,link to all lands), Odie(cat,new pal),Arc hon(royal archivist),Lori Carmichael(lady-in-waiting,pal),Finn(royal cavalry capt.),Tierza(royal unicorn),Beecher(royal unicorn),Rednal(celestial unicorn,stallion), Tobiano("Toby",celestial unicorn).
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Spoiler
Note to Self:
Princess Arianna("Ari",pal) & Sunchaser("Chase",her bonded unicorn,majesty),Atalanta(unicorn guardian,Dreamspeaker)+Numinor(golden one),Lincoln("Link",Gully,her dog,link to all lands), Odie(cat,new pal),Arc hon(royal archivist),Lori Carmichael(lady-in-waiting,pal),Finn(royal cavalry capt.),Tierza(royal unicorn),Beecher(royal unicorn),Rednal(celestial unicorn,stallion), Tobiano("Toby",celestial unicorn).
June 21, 2009
This last installment paled in comparison to the series. It was perhaps the weakest one; the final battle seemed anti-climatic compared to the complexity of the previous struggles between Arianna and the Shifter. Everything seems to have stopped towards the end, and we're left with an extremely vague passing mention of how it all tied up together. We know little of the characters' lives afterwards, nor is the mystery of Arianna's family ever solved. Did Stanton run out of steam, or lose interest in the story?
May 29, 2013
2.5 stars. Even reading this the first time when I was little, I was mad at the ultimate showdown. The entire series was building up to this – it should have been awesome! But instead Entia gets whipped in a paragraph and suddenly everything is over. Uh, what? I will forgive the very end (where they Still haven’t found Ari’s family) since I think there was supposed to be one more book in the series that never got published. :(
December 5, 2012
odd. witty.
July 18, 2013
These were my favorite books as a child.
August 7, 2016
I'm 25 and I'm still waiting for the 9th book.
As a young girl, this series brought me so much joy and inspired my little head to dream of amazing worlds, and those who live in them.
As a young girl, this series brought me so much joy and inspired my little head to dream of amazing worlds, and those who live in them.
February 5, 2014
Very disappointed that they didn't finish the story off with answering more questions. I'm going to have my daughter write down what she thinks happened to conclude her feelings on the book.
Read
June 7, 2014How do you read them on here
Want to read
March 17, 2015Good
July 4, 2016
great series
December 9, 2019
one of my absolute favorites growing up
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews