Acorna
Encyclopedia
Acorna is a "Unicorn Girl", a fantasy fiction character created by Anne McCaffrey
and Margaret Ball
in their novel Acorna: The Unicorn Girl (1997).
Acorna is also one name for the Acorna Universe series: ten fantasy
or science fiction
novels by McCaffrey and Ball (the first two) or McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
(eight more, 1999 to 2007).
The series focuses primarily on the character, the orphaned Unicorn
-girl introduced in the first book. Acorna has special powers including the abilities to heal, make things grow, detect venom, detect chemical imbalances, detect mineral and metal deposits, purify water and air, and communicate telepathically. The first book introduces her as a "youngling" and features her journey of understanding her individualism.
Acorna is also born more mature than human infants and grows to adulthood within four years. She is unusually intelligent and can learn extremely quickly. Acorna is strictly vegetarian.
when she encounters her aunt and her fellow shipmates. The Linyaari are a peaceful race whose planet, Vhiliinyar, or "Home of the People", was invaded by the insect-like Khleevii, forcing them to move to narhii-Vhiliinyar, or New Home. They flee shortly before the Khleevii invasion, which destroys their home world Vhiliinyar in search of an unknown objective. They are a beautiful race, tall and graceful, with abilities to heal wounds and purify substances such as air and water. They can also communicate telepathically with each other.
Acorna's Children
Anne McCaffrey
Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...
and Margaret Ball
Margaret Ball (writer)
Margaret Ball is a science fiction and fantasy author who lives in Austin, Texas. Married and with two kids, she spends time writing, making quilts, embeadery, and taking care of kids at her home. She has a B.A. in mathematics and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas...
in their novel Acorna: The Unicorn Girl (1997).
Acorna is also one name for the Acorna Universe series: ten fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
or science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels by McCaffrey and Ball (the first two) or McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough was born March 23, 1947 and lives in Port Townsend, Washington. Scarborough won a Nebula Award in 1989 for her novel The Healer's War, and has written more than a dozen other novels...
(eight more, 1999 to 2007).
The series focuses primarily on the character, the orphaned Unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
-girl introduced in the first book. Acorna has special powers including the abilities to heal, make things grow, detect venom, detect chemical imbalances, detect mineral and metal deposits, purify water and air, and communicate telepathically. The first book introduces her as a "youngling" and features her journey of understanding her individualism.
Acorna's appearance
Besides the single horn, situated half way between her brow and her forehead, Acorna can, with the right attires, pass as a tall and graceful young lady. However, a closer look would reveal that she is not human. The following are her distinguishing features:- A flowing silvery mane from her head down to her back, similar to that of a horse. The same silvery curls are also on her calves.
- Her feet end in hooves similar to those of a horse.
- Her fingers only have two joints.
- Her eyes are silvery and narrow into a silver sliver when she is disappointed or sad.
Acorna is also born more mature than human infants and grows to adulthood within four years. She is unusually intelligent and can learn extremely quickly. Acorna is strictly vegetarian.
Origin
When we first meet Acorna, she is still a youngling in her parents' spaceship. They eject her in an escape pod just before blowing up their own spaceship, deliberately killing themselves in order to destroy the pursuing Khleevi. Acorna's pod is found by space miners: Gill, Rafik, and Calum. They end up raising the unusual child as a daughter. The event is chronicled in Acorna: The Unicorn Girl.Race
Acorna belongs to a race of humanoids called Linyaari. She finds this out in Acorna's QuestAcorna's Quest
Acorna's Quest is a fantasy or science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball. It is the sequel to their Acorna: The Unicorn Girl; those two were the first books in the Acorna Universe series that comprises ten books as of 2011...
when she encounters her aunt and her fellow shipmates. The Linyaari are a peaceful race whose planet, Vhiliinyar, or "Home of the People", was invaded by the insect-like Khleevii, forcing them to move to narhii-Vhiliinyar, or New Home. They flee shortly before the Khleevii invasion, which destroys their home world Vhiliinyar in search of an unknown objective. They are a beautiful race, tall and graceful, with abilities to heal wounds and purify substances such as air and water. They can also communicate telepathically with each other.
Relationship
In the third book Acorna meets Aari, a Linyaari who was captured and tortured by the Khleevi after the evacuation of the home world. At first she feels only pity for him and he feels first no reason to live, then that she is much too good for him, after time though spent together and a Kheevi nearly killing her they realize the feelings they have for each other. When they make it back to Moon Of Opportunity the children there use holograms to have them admit their feelings. In the next book Aari is kidnapped by an ancient race of time travelers until the last book where they are reunited near the end and have two daughters who are the focus for the second series.Acorna novels
Acorna- Acorna: The Unicorn Girl (1997)
- Acorna's QuestAcorna's QuestAcorna's Quest is a fantasy or science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball. It is the sequel to their Acorna: The Unicorn Girl; those two were the first books in the Acorna Universe series that comprises ten books as of 2011...
(1998) - Acorna's PeopleAcorna's PeopleAcorna's People is a fantasy or science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. It was the third book published in the Acorna Universe series initiated by McCaffrey and Margaret Ball in Acorna: The Unicorn Girl ; McCaffrey and Scarborough have extended the series through ten...
(1999) - Acorna's WorldAcorna's WorldAcorna's World is a fantasy or science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. It was the fourth in the Acorna Universe series initiated by McCaffrey and Margaret Ball in Acorna: The Unicorn Girl...
(2000) - Acorna's SearchAcorna's SearchAcorna's Search is a fantasy or science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. It was the fifth in the Acorna Universe series initiated by McCaffrey and Margaret Ball in Acorna: The Unicorn Girl...
(2001) - Acorna's RebelsAcorna's RebelsAcorna's Rebels is a fantasy or science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. It was the sixth in the Acorna Universe series initiated by McCaffrey and Margaret Ball in Acorna: The Unicorn Girl...
(2003) - Acorna's TriumphAcorna's TriumphAcorna's Triumph is a fantasy or science fiction novel by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. It was the seventh book in the Acorna Universe series, which McCaffrey and Margaret Ball initiated in Acorna: The Unicorn Girl . Triumph completed Acorna's biography, which is sometimes called...
(2004)
Acorna's Children
- First Warning (2005)
- Second Wave (2006)
- Third Watch (2007)