Ascendant

by Diana Peterfreund Narrated by Luci Christian Bell

Overview

Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns. The fluffy, sparkly, friendly “horses” so popular the world over don't exist. Real unicorns are killers. Don't miss book 2 in the thrilling Killer Unicorn series!

Beasts the size of elephants, with cloven hooves that shake the earth, hides impervious to bullets, and horns that contain a deadly poison, unicorns can outrun a sports car and smell a human from a mile away.

And they can only be killed by virgin warriors descended from Alexander the Great.

Astrid Llewelyn is now a fully trained unicorn hunter, but she can't solve all her problems with just a bow and arrow. Her boyfriend, Giovanni, has decided to leave Rome, the Cloisters is in dire financial straits, her best friend's powers are mysteriously disintegrating, and Astrid can't help but feel that school, home, and her hopes of becoming a scientist are impossible dreams.

So when she's given the opportunity to leave the Cloisters and put her skills to use as part of a scientific quest to discover the Remedy, Astrid leaps at the chance. Finally, she can have exactly what she wants-or can she?

At Gordian headquarters in the French countryside, Astrid begins to question everything she thought she believed: her love for Giovanni, her loyalty to the Cloisters, and-most of all-her duty as a hunter.

Should Astrid be saving the world from killer unicorns, or saving the unicorns from the world?

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In this thrilling sequel to Peterfreund's Rampant, Astrid Llewelyn has come to terms with her magical abilities to hunt poisonous flesh-eating unicorns, but not with the cloistered, nun-like lifestyle it demands of her, nor of the changes to her body ("I looked like a bodybuilder. It wasn't feminine. It wasn't beautiful"). Fate in the form of Isabeau Jaeger, the wife of an old enemy, offers Astrid a new job that appears tailor-made for reconciling her present life with her earlier dreams of a medical career: guarding a herd of captive unicorns, paired with university science classes, all for greater good of researching the Remedy, the legendary unicorn-sourced cure-all. But luxurious surroundings, fancy new clothes, and a renewed friendship with an ex-boyfriend-turned-research-colleague fail to still Astrid's growing unease about the ethics of unicorn treatment and her role in determining the future of the unicorn species, as well as her own destiny. The strong yet vulnerable heroine, compelling conflicts, and exquisite settings should find a voracious audience in those familiar with the first installment, though the complexities of Peterfreund's world will be more challenging for readers beginning mid-series. Ages 14–up. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

In this thrilling sequel to Peterfreund’s Rampant...the strong yet vulnerable heroine, compelling conflicts, and exquisite settings should find a voracious audience.” — Publishers Weekly

“For those teens interested in different perspectives on unicorn lore and who like action-packed fantasy, this will be a sure bet. ” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

“Ascendant is fast paced, fresh and engrossing—plus it has killer unicorns, what could be better? I love this book!” — Carrie Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves Carrie Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth & The Dead-Tossed Waves

“I was riveted by Ascendant. It’s not only about killer unicorns; it’s also about finding the courage to make tough decisions—and to be true to yourself. I think Astrid rocks!” — Malinda Lo, author of ASH

“Astrid is painted with a strong brush.” — ALA Booklist

Praise for Rampant: “Tired of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Try Astrid the Unicorn Hunter.” — Locus

Praise for Rampant: “This gripping page-turner evokes the same grrl-power spirit as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, packed with action, mystery and a complex and intriguing mythology.” — Publishers Weekly

Carrie Ryan

Ascendant is fast paced, fresh and engrossing—plus it has killer unicorns, what could be better? I love this book!

Malinda Lo

I was riveted by Ascendant. It’s not only about killer unicorns; it’s also about finding the courage to make tough decisions—and to be true to yourself. I think Astrid rocks!

ALA Booklist

Astrid is painted with a strong brush.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

For those teens interested in different perspectives on unicorn lore and who like action-packed fantasy, this will be a sure bet.

Locus

Praise for Rampant: “Tired of Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Try Astrid the Unicorn Hunter.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Second novels sometimes pale in comparison to the series opener. Ascendant is not one of them. More sophisticated in both content and structure than the straightforward Rampant (HarperTeen, 2009), this title echoes the growing development of narrator Astrid as she questions the ethical complexities of her new life as a unicorn hunter. The threat of man-eating unicorns is increasing worldwide, and only the virgin descendants of Alexander the Great can stand against them. Many girls are choosing to give up their eligibility rather than accept the challenge, making new hunters difficult to find and train. Astrid, who hates hunting even while loving the powers that her calling gives her, takes a job with a pharmaceutical company, guarding the unicorns they use for testing. Once, she hoped to become a doctor, and her search for the recipe for the Remedy, a unicorn-based cure-all, appeals to her as an echo of the life she once wanted. But faced with the realities of animal testing and dubious behavior on the part of her employers, Astrid must decide where her loyalties lie, and the impact of that choice takes her in a direction she never imagined possible. Peterfreund is sure to gain a stronger following with Ascendant, and fans will eagerly await further titles in the series.—Alana Joli Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT

Kirkus Reviews

Picking up where Rampant (2009) ended, this meandering and often slow sequel finds Astrid Llewelyn questioning her life as a virginal unicorn hunter in a camouflage habit (now required by the Church and the novel's only bit of humor), wanting to return to freedom and her education and saying goodbye to her college-bound boyfriend. She may have found a compromise when Isabeau Jaeger, the wife of the mad scientist killed in the series opener and new head of Gordian Pharmaceuticals, invites her to live in Limoges, France, in exchange for her help with unicorns held captive to research and create more of the Remedy against their poison. Although it continues the themes of feminism and mythology (including the story of Diana and Actaeon) begun earlier, this sequel is less about unicorn battles and more about Astrid's search for self as she ponders the ethics of animal testing, the conundrum of saving humans from deadly animals and the ramifications of driving them extinct as well as the meaning of her virginity and advances from her ex-boyfriend. Unanswered questions beg for a sequel. (Fantasy. YA)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173790538
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/07/2012
Series:	Killer Unicorns , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged

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