Acorna

Acorna the Unicorn Girl (and Margaret Ball) (1997) .
	"It had started as a pleasure-cruise spaceship, but as the Khleevi moved closer to them it threatened to turn into a death chamber. They knew there was no hope for them, the adults, but they took a chance on their youngling, nestled her into a pod and ejected her into space before exploding themselves and the hated Khleevi with them. It was three young space prospectors in an asteroid mining ship who hauled the piece of "space debris" aboard and opened it up. It contained an alien youngling. Silvery hair curled down over the shoulder-blades and, in the center of the forehead was the beginning of a small horn. The feet ended in tiny cleft hooves. The little alien was frightened, affectionate, and she was to become their mascot, their miracle girl. Many people on many planets wanted her and the mysterious powers she possessed, but Acorna had her own ideas of the tasks she was to accomplish in the worlds of space."

Acorna's Quest (and Margaret Ball) (1998) .
	"Found as an infant drifting alone in an escape pod in deep space, she was raised by three grizzled asteroid prospectors who hid her from the authorities, who wanted to cut off her "deformity" and make her "normal". Seeking refuge on the grim planet Kezdet, Acorna freed the enslaved children from the mines, winning their eternal gratitude. Now Acorna has become a young woman, with all of youth's dreams and sorrows. She still has the tiny, translucent horn in the centre of her forehead. She still has her "funny" feet and hands, her beautiful silver hair, as well as her miraculous ability to purify air and water, make plants grow, and heal human sickness. But Acorna has troubling dreams of a shining world with blue grass and green skies, and of a gentle folk who mind-speak by touching their horns together. She yearns for answers to questions about her in the past: Who taught her the alien language she has all but forgotten? Who gave her life and then abandoned her? Why was she left alone in a tiny escape pod? With one of her uncles, the gruff miner Calum, Acorna sets off on a quest to find her own kind. But even as the spaceship Acadecki sets off for unknown worlds, new developments back home are shaping Acorna's destiny. For a mysterious craft has appeared, piloted by the Linyaari, a gentle race with telepathic powers. These telepaths are roaming the galaxy spreading alarm about the Khleevi, terrible invaders devoted to torture and death. The Linyaari are also searching for a beloved infant they had given up for lost long ago…"

Acorna's People (and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough) (1999) .
	"Filled with adventure and wonder, Acorna's People continues the enthralling saga of Acorna, the beautiful, brave, and kindhearted creature known as the Unicorn Girl. "WELCOME HOME, LINYAARI CHILD!" With the help of her "uncles" and the thousands of humans who love and admire her true people, the peaceful, telepathic Linyaari. But Acorna still has much to do before she can enjoy her new world. The legendary resting place of the Linyaari ancestors has yet to be found. And with the help of a rogue spacetrader and his feline sidekick, Acorna must strive to right an unspeakable wrong and defeat an enemy even crueler than the Khleevi. Along the way, she will at last uncover the Universe's most carefully guarded secret - the true nature of the ancient link between the Linyaari and the space-faring humans she has also come to think of as her "people." "

Acorna's World (and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough) (2000) .
	"Although she has made peace with her Linyaari heritage, Acorns knows that only by returning to the frozen stillness of space will she ever truly feel at home. But the solitude she desires must wait. Answering a faint distress call leads Acorna into a strange, intoxicating perfumed world if intelligent and sentient plants. There she finds a burned-out spaceship with all the signs of a Khleevi attack. And suddenly all that Acorna holds dear is in grave peril. Because the devastation that was wrought here was no isolated occurrence, but the opening move in a planned onslaught that will decimate the two races to which Acorna is culturally, emotionally and genetically tied. Facing the annihilation of BOTH her races, Acorna must discover the Khleevi's weakness - and strike first."

Acorna's Search (and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough) (2001) .
	"Acorna's people, the Linyaari, are once more without a home. Though they survived the brutal attack from the cold-blooded Khleevi, the battle left their planet, Narhii-Vhiliinyar, horribly scarred. Banding together, the Linyaari decide to rebuild both narhii-Vhiliinyar and their homeworld Vhiliinyar. But just as work begins to get under way Linyaari begin mysteriously disappearing - including Acorna's lifemate, Aari Searching for Aari, Acorna makes an astonishing discovery: the remains of the subterranean world of the legendary Friends - a technologically advanced society that populated Vhiliinyar before the time of the Ancestors. What happened to the Friends? Where did they go and why has so little survived of their society? Acorna knows that to save Aari and the rest of the missing Linyaari she must begin to seek the answers - a quest that will once again take her deep into the realms of space to find the origins of her people..."

Acorna's Rebels (and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough) (2003) .
	"Acorna's people, the Linyaari, have started to reclaim their homeworld from the ravages of the brutal alien Khleevi. But the expedition has unlocked a larger mystery about the origins of the Linyaari people - one that has led Aari, Acorna's lifemate, into a dangerous journey through time and space. Now Acorna, joined by Captain Becker, Mac, Nadhari, and RK, sets off on a mission to save her beloved Aari. But a crash landing brings the crew to the exotic jungle world of Makahomia, home to the mysterious Temple Cats. Beautiful and barbaric, Makahomia has been blockaded for years to protect itself - and the Federation. Racing to save the Temple Cats from a deadly disease, Acorna uncovers a plot to destroy the sacred felines and exploit Makahomia's people, and finds herself leading a small band of rebels determined to stop the conspiracy - a quest that takes them into the hidden sanctuaries of that world. But within one sacred shrine Acorna discovers shocking information that may lead to Aari...or to disaster."

Acorna's Triumph (and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough) (2004) .
	"Beloved by millions of readers, Anne McCaffrey is one science fiction' favourite authors. Writing with award-winning author Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, she has created the bestselling Acorna series, focusing on the adventures of the brave unicorn girl. Now, with Acorna's Triumph, they turn to the dramatic conclusion of the series, as Acorna faces her most difficult challenge ever. She has defeated slavers, a deadly international conspiracy, and the vicious alien Khleevi, only to endure the loss of her beloved Aari, distant in both time and space. Now, finally, Aari has returned, and together, they can finish rebuilding their home world. But Aari is oddly changed, to the point where he barely remembers Acorna - much less their love - and his actions grow more and more sinister... As Acorna tried to stop a vicious criminal from destroying innocents, a new complication arises. Sensing the Linyaari weakness, the deadly Khleevi return, determined to take back the planet -- for good. In this dark time, it will take all of the unicorn girl's courage and determination to rescue Aari and stop the alien menace once and for all."

First Warning (and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough) (2005) .
	"Khorii, daughter of the near-mythic Acorna and her lifemate, Aari, must contend with an overwhelming legacy to forge a path of her own through a universe filled with new adversaries and adventures. A simple journey home to visit her parents turns into a race against time when Khorii happens upon a derelict spacecraft drifting in space, its crew dead in their seats. But this gruesome discovery is only a dread harbinger -- a deadly plague is spreading across the universe and not even the healing powers of the Linyaari can slow its horrific advance. Khorii, one of the few unaffected by the outbreak, must find the nefarious perpetrators and a cure before the disease consumes all in its path - including her beloved parents."

Graphic Novel

The Unicorn Girl: The Illustrated Adventures (with stories by Mickey Zucker Reichert, Jody Lynn Nye, and Roman A. Ranieri) (1997) .
	"Behold Acorna, The Unicorn Girl. Discovered as an infant and adopted by three gruff asteroid miners, she has now grown into a beautiful young woman with delicate ivory fur and silken skin, the tiny horn on her forehead all but hidden by her silvery locks. Acorna is known as Lukia of the Light by the grateful children she rescued from brutal slavery in the mines of Kezdet. She is helping the to recover and enjoying life with her guardian "uncles" when she receives a mysterious and disturbing message: There are yet more children enslaved on Kezdet, overlooked by the Child Labour League, children suffering a cruel, almost unimaginable fate. Only Acorna, with her healing powers, can rescue them from the enigmatic figure known as "the dodger". But to save the children, she must deceive Pal Kendoro, the man she is beginning to love in spite of herself. Inspired by Anne McCaffrey's and Margaret Ball's unforgettable novel Acorna, the soaring adventures in this extraordinary volume are written by some of today's most celebrated fantasy authors and illustrated by world acclaimed artists. Here you will read about (and see!) Acorna's heartbreaking search for her home planet. Acorna's fight to stop a deadly plague on the beautiful and fabled planet, earth. Acorna's first love affair...with a human. Don't miss the wonder and excitement of Anne McCaffrey's most beloved creation, the unicorn girl, brought to life by modern fantasists Mickey Zucker Reichert, Jody Lynn Nye and Roman A Ranieri. These beautifully illustrated stories will delight all who believe in the magic of truth, the healing power of beauty - and the reality of unicorns!"