Secrets of the Scepter

Unicorns of Balinor #6

by Mary Stanton

Beginning a pilgrimage to learn the powers of the recently acquired Royal Scepter, Princess Arianna hopes to reach the celestial unicorns before the evil Shifter attacks again

Genres: Fantasy, Unicorns, Middle Grade, Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Horses

113 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Mary 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.

Reviews

[Amara Tanith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm very glad to be near finished with this series. When it started out weak, I was sure it was going to get better. Unless something amazing happens in the last two books, it looks like I was wrong--things have actually gotten worse over the course of the past few books. Ari has turned into one of the worst Sues I've ever read, and any nostalgia I had for this series has been duly purged.

Really, I'm genuinely confused as to how I could ever have enjoyed this series. As I am now, it hits just about all of my least favorite fantasy and children's lit cliches: hypocritical pseudo-hippy spiels, an exceptionally hypocritical Messiah protagonist, a pseudo-Christian deity whose supposed supremacy and holy righteousness goes completely unquestioned, strict black and white morality, and villains that even Disney would have rejected for being too stereotypical. Oh, and everyone's white. Everyone.

Generalities aside, Secrets of the Scepter is the low point of an already disappointing series. After retrieving the Scepter and removing the immediate threat the Shifter posed when he had the Indigo Star, Ari must learn how to use her new magic properly. To do so, the Scepter must be joined with three golden rings. (At this point, even Ari seems to realize the "making it up as we go along" nature of this series. These rings are supposedly part of a tradition as old as her royal family, but even she's never frickin' heard of it before.)

So to find these rings, Ari runs around the wilderness of Balinor, foisting her opinions on people and animals who want nothing to do with her. And when the various groups expressly inform her that she has zero authority in their domain, everybody looses their shit. Chase starts roaring about how the land belongs to no one but a thinly-veiled Expy of the Judeo-Christian God, and how Ari has authority over everyone on her side of the Gap because God gave her family the Scepter.

Seriously, that's her argument. God gave her family the Scepter, so she gets to tell everyone what to do. Because monarchies touting claims of Divine Right are always the right way to go.

And gods freakin' forbid anyone doesn't bow at her feet. Secrets of the Scepter introduces a bit more background into Balinor, most prominently of which are the Lords of the three remaining Houses. Two of them are bumbling dunderheads ready to go along with anyone who claims to be part of the royal family. Rexel, on the other hand, is not.

Lord Rexel demands proof that Ari is who she claims to be. Reasonable enough, right? Apparently not, because everyone loses their shit about this, too. Ari launches into a rant about how he's always enjoyed causing problems for her parents and now he's doing it to her, too.

Because he wants her to prove who she is and isn't ready to risk his people on a war that might just be one of Entia's tricks, Rexel is absolutely vilified. Besides Lori, he's is the first person in the series to show an ounce of critical thinking, and he so obviously he's cruel, hateful, and possibly villainous.

What problems, then, has he been causing Ari's parents for years? He questions their decisions and makes some of his own. (God, no; someone stop him!) Worse yet, he insists on calling his castle a castle! Everyone knows that only the royal family is allowed to live in a castle! (Quick, off with his head before he does something crazy!)

...seriously, what is going on here? If I hadn't already realized Ari was a self-righteous little brat, I would be surprised that her supposedly noble and well-loved family is such a bunch of pricks. At this point I'm sure that if I were living in Balinor, I'd probably signed up to work with the Shifter by now. Because this is ridiculous. Start a revolution, people. Where's your George Washington?

Kidding aside, the Shifter's rarely-seen subplot is the last bit of potential interest this series has to offer. I'm so desperately hoping to see some awesomeness from him in the last two books. Let's at least try to end this with a bang, please?

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: This review contains spoilers.

Secrets of the Scepter was another solid Balinor addition. It is not really a stand-alone book. Stanton recaps on the basic details of what has taken place in previous books in the series, but for a reader who is not really familiar with it, this might seem disjointed and boring.

I really enjoyed the series of challenges that Ari had to undergo in order to earn the gold rings that were to crown the scepter. She acted as a royal diplomat in a dispute between centaurs, gave a solid and persuasive argument for reuniting a certain breed of baby unicorns with their mother, and she had to choose to leave an old friend behind for the greater good of her kingdom. There wasn't as much of a questing atmosphere in this book, but that is because Ari has to let the opportunities come to her.

The ever-annoying Lori actually shows a maternal side in this one, and watches over the baby unicorns. Ari also reveals herself as the princess in this one, and I'm not so sure that it was the best decision. Now the Shifter is going to know exactly who she is, so it seemed kind of stupid in that way. I also have suspicions about Lord Rexel. Due to Stanton's description of his evil-looking eyes, my guess is that he is the Shadow Rider, but I'll have to wait and see. The fact that Kylie is on the loose is also creeping me out. Can't stand her.

Speaking of descriptions, Stanton repeats the same keywords for her characters in every book. This is helpful if you haven't read the whole series, so it brings you up to speed. If, however, you have read all the preceding books, then this just gets plain annoying. I might just scream if I hear one more time about Numinor, the Golden One, who is the leader of all the unicorns in the Celestial Valley, who is mate of Atalanta, the Dreamspeaker, who constantly stands by the Watching Pool while her lavender mane flows in the wind, and while she sighs about the trouble in Balinor....

My favorite part of this book was the scepter. That is one sassy piece of wood! The sarcasm adds some spice to the story, which I feel would be really repetitive otherwise.

All in all, a fair job. The scepter and the way the challenge worked is what made the book, in my opinion.

[Ruth Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ariana finally publicly announces that she's the princess, but in order to get support from the three remaining Royal Houses to fight the Shifter she has to find her old nurse, Elaine Bohnes and get a signed certificate that she is the real princess. Along the way she has to find the three gold rings that go with the Royal Scepter, so that she can begin using its full power.

I missed Toby, he hasn't been the last few books very much and doesn't appear in this one at all, I don't see why he couldn't have gone along instead of the random unicorn they hire for Lori to ride. What I did like was seeing Ari really start to take on the role of a princess as she compromises with the Lords of the Royal Houses, settles a dispute between two factions of centaurs, and makes possibly the most difficult decisions she's faced thus far. Lori is also at her best in this book, as she puts aside her own complaints to take care of two baby unicorns they find lost on the road.

[Taylor Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may have choked up a bit

It was a nice way of seeing Ari step up into her role as a princess symbolically and literally. There is a ton of build up to the last two books and I can't wait for the pay off

[Jeannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unicorn babies!!!! These books are so cute and fun. Arianna is also a good role model for little girls.

[Randi · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Jayme · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

So far this is the best of the books within the series since I think it does show Ari finally maturing enough that she is helping out although at the same time she is trying to still be herself. It is a hard message and an unfortunate one but what we live with.

This book is basically about three adventures so you can say it is a mini-collection within the series to explain the lessons that she needs to learn. There are some more interesting characters introduced into the story although it makes you wonder why they all have to be outside of Balinor for her to actually learn a lesson that will be needed in her future.

Furthermore this is one book within the series that doesn't end in a cliffhanger but has a more nostalgic ending....

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 3 out of 5]

My love of reading started when i was young, and it gives me immense pleasure to provide books to Spread the Word Nevada, an organization that passes them on to children in the community. They are a terrific organization supporting an important cause. If your local I encourage you to check them out. For those living further a field, look in your own community, their may already be a similar program in place. And if not, you can always help start one.

http://spreadthewordnevada.org/

Myself, I go out on the weekends and
shop thrift store and bulk book lots to rescue books and donate them. Sometimes I'll find a book I remember reading when I was young and will read it again before passing it on.

I don't rate these books using my normal scale, instead I give most of them three stars. This isn't a Criticism of the book, simply my way of rating them as good for children.

[Christa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm enjoying these books though I don't really like the way the author writes and I'm having trouble getting used to it. I like the characters and the story line over all. This book however, is my favorite so far. If only for the reason that I think the Sceptor's personality is the most hysterical thing ever. Man I wish I had one of those! VERY clever on the author's part that's for sure! Really, they are good books, it's just the way she writes. Not sure how to explain it.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is getting increasingly complex and even more interesting, as Ari moves towards regaining her throne and winning over her people.

It's exciting to see her finally regain the Scepter and thus increase her power, and the Scepter's a really funny personality. Finn is still adorable, Lori is still annoying, but the rest of the cast grows increasingly endearing.

[Richard Blanchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just loved how the scepter actually worked!

[Star king · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good! Hard to follow if you've only read the first 3.

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F STA bk.6
Fantasy

[Twyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

arianna was going to get bak to balinor but she had to do alot to do it and she figured the secret of the scepter during the way there but she never got back yet

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

These were a favorite of mine growing up.

[Claire]

ONE OF BEST BOOK SERIES EVR- below molly moon tho!

[Rosemarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amanda likes this series... but this book slumped a bit.

[Katie (BooksRUs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

great series