A friend gave me a copy of The Well of the Unicorn by Fletcher Pratt, in order to reduce my appalling ignorance of some of the classics in my own genre. Having read it, I can see why it’s a (kind of a) classic, but also, I think, why it will probably never have a passionate following.

Fletcher Pratt, a prolific author who worked in many genres, as well as nonfiction, in the early part of the 20th Century, was a very fine author. The single thing that impressed me most about The Well of the Unicorn was the fact that he uses antique diction, but unlike most authors he actually uses it well. He very clearly understands the old words and idioms he employs, giving the whole story a flavor of authenticity.

On the other hand, that same diction can be an obstacle to the reader. I have a pretty extensive vocabulary, and I still found the prose a bit of a slog.

And it was a slog through a long book. The Well of the Unicorn is nearly 400 pages, in fairly small print. It does not fly by.

Although there’s plenty of action, and a pretty good love story, the whole thing seems kind of leisurely in pace. That’s an illusion. Actually a good amount of time and quite a lot of space are covered, but that slow prose bogs the reader down at every step.

The theme seems to be primarily political. In the world of the story, one which seems based on medieval Scandinavia (with Denmark omitted), a traditionally democratic people, the Dalecarles, are ruled by despotic conquerors, the Vulkings, but all under the overlordship of an Emperor. Airar Alvarson, the hero, a dispossessed smallholder with some training in magic (he comes from a farm called Trangsted, which is Norwegian for “narrow place.” Pratt’s wife was a Norwegian girl from North Dakota) gets involved in a popular uprising against the Vulkings, rising to the leadership of the armies of the Dalecarles and their allies. He frets a great deal over whether a democracy can overcome the efficiency of despotism, and over the value of magic, which is forbidden by the cult of the Well of the Unicorn, to which the girl he comes to love is devoted.

Religion is treated in an interesting way. Although we’re dealing with a fantasy world, there is a Church which seems, so far as the reader can tell, identical in every way to the Catholic Church of our world. Except that it’s more tolerant of magic. How the Well of the Unicorn relates to the Church is hard to say.

The characters are well drawn, the story inventive and epic. Nevertheless, because of the density of the prose, I can only recommend this book to readers with a high reading level and a certain dedication.

Minor cautions for adult themes.