Rating: 
Summary: Highly imaginative fantasy
Review: I was captivated by the original cover art - a boy and his unicorn against a city skyline, and picked it up. I've never regretted it. I recently reread the electronic edition with the author's notes, and find that even with the added knowledge of how it came into print, I still really enjoy the fantasy world Mr. Boyett creates - a changed world in which certain things work, mythological creatures exist, and a young man tries to live by fighting, when necessary, to survive. If you're intrigued by magic, have a fascination for mythological creatures or survival in a world where swords are the preferred weapons, this is definitely worth checking out. I haven't read anything like this book since.
Rating: 
Summary: Ariel- the book of the change
Review: This book happens to be my favorite book of all time. I read the first copy I had so many times that the pages fell out. The second one was lent to a foriegn exchange student who went back home to spain with my book.
Why should you read this book? First it will keep you interested from first page to last. The messages in this book are about survival, love, friendship and trust.
Along with all that you'll get a full dose of action and suspense. There is a full range of emotions trapped between the pages of this book. Ariel is about a boy and a unicorn who meet after all things technological cease to work. Magical beasts show up all over the world- chaos ensues and a young boy is left to fend for himself.
The adventures in this book are heartwrenching, suspenseful and fun! All around the best read I have ever had! Too bad there wasnt a sequel that I know of. Try out this book, if you don't like it I'm sure you don't have a heart!
Rating:
Summary: Masterful storytelling!
Review: I usually like to study a book when I first pick it up off of the book store shelf. I read the back first, ponder the cover art, then open to Page 1 and skim a few pages. In 1984, I found "Ariel" in my favorite bookstore, began my ritual, and ended up sitting on the floor for 1 hour, completely and utterly entranced. I was captivated by the very first sentence: "I was bathing in a lake when I saw the unicorn." Mr. Boyett's imagination hits stratospheric heights in his storytelling. His words paint a portrait so vivid that I feel like I'm right there beside Pete, traipsing all the way up I-95 and swimming with the dolphins on the way to New York. My teenage bedroom became a fantasy haven in its honor, and a huge stuffed unicorn (named Ariel, of course) dominated my bed. The stuffed unicorn is long gone, but I still have that copy of "Ariel," and it's now as delapidated as Pete's backpack - taped, wrinkled, tattered, and laminated. And I wouldn't trade it or get rid of it for anything. I get it out every now and then and re-immerse myself in it, just for old time's sake. If you are lucky enough to get a copy of this book, count it amongst your finest treasures - for a treasure it certainly is. I'll never understand why it's out of print. This is one story that should be back on the shelves for other readers to sit with on the bookstore floors of the world.
Rating:
Summary: One of my most treasured books.
Review: I ran into "Ariel" shortly after its publishing in 1986 or thereabouts. I was 16, a gangly adolescent who read too much. When I went to college, the book was lost. I'm 32 now and just found my copy in a box of things my mom sent from her attic -- I almost cried, I was so happy to see it again. Why? Because "Ariel" is special. It's about a young man in modern-day America trying to navigate his world after a traumatic Change that has rendered machines inoperative, guns impotent, and electricity defunct. Nothing more complicated than a Coleman lantern works in his world now -- cars stopped in their tracks, elevators fell instantly, and in general society fell apart. In exchange for these staggering losses, magic now works -- and magical beasts once found only in fantasy novels now wander the earth. One of these beasts, a young unicorn, joins up with the hero, and they go wandering. Eventually they find a quest to go on and meet lots of interesting people, including a bunch of Society for Creative Anachronism members who have found adjustment to the new world remarkably easy. The writing is easy to read and fluid; characterizations are excellent. I found the plotting very realistic as well, considering what the Change involves. The ending is not a bubbly, happy ending, but it's realistic and something I could live with. The deft humorous touches are enough of a presence to leaven the very serious tone of the book. (Let's face it, if unicorns did exist today, they probably WOULD like peppermint candies.) The unicorn, in particular, is a fascinating blend of the vulgar and the divine. In short, it's easy for me to understand why this work has such a cult following. It's what fantasy wonks have always dreamed of happening.
Rating:
Summary: There is a god
Review: Thank you sweet Jesus! I've been looking for this book since my copy was given to Goodwill by my mother somewhere around 4th grade. It was the book that got me interested in Sci-Fi. I kept telling all my friends (for 7 years now) to find the book and read it, although I couldn't remember who wrote it. Naturally,they assumed I was nuts, I had given up all hope until now. Haven't ordered yet(just found this page) and I figured I'd tell everyone who hadn't read it to do so. The actual words that inspired me to search were actually from LoTR "A-si u Thuath orthor" meaning : "The Shadow has not yet fallen" and by jingo it hasn't!
Rating:
Summary: Fantasy. Life.
Review: I had the pleasure of reading this book when it was first released in 1983. I re-read it two years later with equal joy and made the mistake of lending it out. Never saw it again. The Change that Steven Boyett chronicles in this story is something like the world of H.P. Lovecraft stories with a twist. This setting is modern times and with the return of magic, technology becomes a myth. Thus, from one moment to the next, our world switches off, literally -- cars stop, planes fall from the sky and civilization is turned on its ear. What follows is a spell binding tale of emerging from adolesence and learning to live in a world you did not create. Ariel, the Unicorn named in the title, and young Peter share a destiny that is wonderous as it unfolds. Their story takes you in, making this book hard to put down. Indeed, I read it straight through the first time. Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and yes, just plain Fiction fans, this book is a must read. Character development is top rate and Mr. Boyett has created quite a universe for you to get lost in. If there were ever a book or a world I would like to see brought to the screen, this is it. Meanwhile, we have Steven Boyett's capable storytelling and our own imagination to work with. Enjoy!
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Summary: angst
Review: I have read some of the other reviews and they say the book came out in 1986, but I swear I read it when i was 12 or 13 which would have been about 1983.Some friends and I were staying the night at another friends house and his sister gave it to me (I think she got it from a book club)I remember thinking "yeah right, i'm gonna read about a unicorn-unicorns are for girls." Turned out to be one of the best books i've ever read-I list it among my top 10 and maybe my top 5.The thing is, it creates an angst. Im a musician and I have a love-hate relationship with angst.You will not be able to roll over and go to sleep after reading this book- you have to get out-its like spring fever. When I was about 23 a girlfriend got me another copy from an out of print bookstore, and I would loan this book out to friends or family but not without a promise that they would treat it like gold.It's a very classy book, certainly at the top of it's genre.
Rating:
Summary: I Found My Old Friend!!
Review: I first read this book when I was a teenager and adored it! Alas! I loaned it out and of course it was never returned!!!
Imagine my joy!!! After eighteen years of searching used book stores I located a copy-in great condition-on-line!!
I was afraid after all of these years that the book would have lost it's charm!! I reread it and found it to be just as good as it was when I first read it!! As a matter of fact when I first purchased this book I immediately turned right around and read it again!! It is a great post-apocolyptic read, and a wonderful coming of age novel!! I am delighted to find that this book has a cult following-maybe it will be re-issued! In any case, borrow, scour the used book stores, get the e-book version, or order it online! You'll be glad you did!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Still Great After All These Years
Review: Just re-read this (the ebook version) after 15 years and it's still one of the best urban fantasy novels out there. Ariel is a magical yet down-to-earth fantasy with human and non-human characters you can believe in, even love. It's written with an intelligence and maturity that set it apart from your average book with a unicorn on the cover. The ebook version contains at least one chapter that did not appear in the print version, and a very cool afterword by Boyett. For years I'd buy every copy of Ariel I found in used book stores to give to friends. Now they're an endangered species. I recommend finding a copy of this book in whatever form and adding it to the list of books you'll re-read every decade or so.
Rating:
Summary: ariel
Review: I loved this book and have gone thru several copys purchased used over the years. Am I the only person to have a misbound copy? Page 1-166 then it skips to 231-262 then 199-325 and so I am without pages 167-198. This is the second copy I have owned with this problem, fortunatly the firs time I read Ariel the book was complete.
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