Collection of science fiction short stories by Anne McCaffrey
Get Off the Unicorn is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Anne McCaffrey, first published in paperback by Del Rey Books in June 1977. Eleven of the fourteen stories were previously published in various magazines and anthologies. Initial sales were brisk; two additional printings were required by year's end. Del Rey reprinted "Get off the Unicorn" regularly throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and its edition remains in print as of 2015. Corgi issued a British edition in 1979 and an Australian edition in 1980. An audiobook based on the Corgi edition was released in 1985. Severn House issued a hardcover edition in 1982.
The title was derived by accident: McCaffrey's working title had been "Get of the Unicorn" but this was misprinted as "Get Off the Unicorn" in Ballantine's roster of unfilled contracts. After McCaffrey's editor, Judy-Lynn del Rey, was repeatedly asked what "Get Off the Unicorn" was, del Rey asked McCaffrey what she could do about that theme.
Reception.
Evie Wilson and Michael McCue praised the collection, citing McCaffrey's introductory anecdotes as a highlight of the work. Others have commented that the collection's stories "demonstrate the limits of McCaffrey's range of emotions and subjects". McCaffrey biographer Robin Roberts wrote that the collection demonstrates McCaffrey's status in the field, showing "the power and appeal of [her] reputation as an author . . . [and] the power of her name to sell books". Duncan Lunan, however, reviewing the first hardcover edition for the Glasgow Herald, received the collection without enthusiasm; he was particularly critical of "The Smallest Dragonboy", declaring that "the grimness [of the Pern series] has gone, and the grandeur has gone along with it".
References.
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