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Title | The Road to Balinor
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Author | Mary Stanton
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Cover Art | D. Craig
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Publisher | Scholastic - 1999
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First Printing | Scholastic - 1999
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Title | Sunchaser's Quest
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Author | Mary Stanton
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Cover Art | D. Craig
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Publisher | Scholastic - 1999
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First Printing | Scholastic - 1999
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Title | Valley of Fear
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Author | Mary Stanton
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Cover Art | D. Craig
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Publisher | Scholastic - 1999
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First Printing | Scholastic - 1999
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Title | By Fire, By Moonlight
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Author | Mary Stanton
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Cover Art | D. Craig
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Publisher | Scholastic - 1999
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First Printing | Scholastic - 1999
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Title | Search for the Star
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Author | Mary Stanton
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Cover Art | D. Craig
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Publisher | Scholastic - 1999
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First Printing | Scholastic - 1999
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Title | Secrets of the Scepter
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Author | Mary Stanton
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Cover Art | D. Craig
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Publisher | Scholastic - 2000
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First Printing | Scholastic - 2000
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Title | Night of the Shifter's Moon
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Author | Mary Stanton
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Cover Art | D. Craig
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Publisher | Scholastic - 2000
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First Printing | Scholastic - 2000
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Title | Shadows Over Balinor
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Author | Mary Stanton
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Cover Art | D. Craig
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Publisher | Scholastic - 2000
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First Printing | Scholastic - 2000
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Category | Children
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Warnings | None
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Main Characters | Princess Arianna, Sunchaser, Atalanta, Lori, Lincoln
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Main Elements | Unicorns, wizards, shape-shifters, dragons
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Website | www.marystanton.com
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 The Road to Balinor
Cross over to Balinor.
In the crevices of a glacier mountain ridge there is a secret place - a place that connect our world to the world of Balinor. It is a peaceful, magical world watched over by a herd of beautiful unicorns.
But darkness had fallen over Balinor.
The royal princess and her majestic unicorn, Sunchaser, are sent from Balinor to our world to find safety. But they can't stay for long. Danger has followed them.
Princess Arianna and her unicorn are the only ones who can truly save the kingdom.
It is time for the princess to find her way back to Balinor.
Sunchaser's Quest
A dangerous journey.
Princess Arianna has returned to Balinor - a peaceful, magical world watched over by a herd of beautiful unicorns. But a dark presence has invaded the land. And Arianna has no memory of her past or how to tend to her wounded unicorn, Sunchaser.
The unicorn's horn was broken in battle and he is very weak. The journey to get Sunchaser's horn restored will be long and very dangerous.
But it is Sunchaser's only hope. And - as Arianna and Sunchaser soon learn - they only hope for all of Balinor.
Valley of Fear
Through the valley.
The dark forces of Evil are growing in Balinor. The Celestial unicorns who watch over the land are not pleased. They know that only the Bonded Pair, Princess Arianna and her unicorn, Sunchaser, can attempt to battle the darkness.
Princess Arianna and Sunchaser seek advice from the Old Mare on the Mountain. Upon her request, the two set out to reclaim the royal scepter - with its powers unknown to them.
The journey takes the pair through the Valley of Fear, the land where the dangerous black unicorns reign. but the royal scepter must be reclaimed by the princess if she is to win the battles in Balinor. Every moment counts.
By Fire, By Moonlight
The scales of magic.
Atalanta, the Dreamspeaker of the Celestial herd of unicorns, is concerned - and frightened. Arianna and her unicorn, Sunchaser, have fallen back through the Gap to Glacier River Farm. There has been a great mistake - the Bonded Pair was not supposed to make that journey.
Now the balance of magic has been altered.
Arianna must overcome certain obstacles to reenter Balinor. She must conquer the challenges quickly for Balinor awaits her return - with hopes that she can balance the scales of magic.
Search for the Star
Chasing the Indigo Star
Deep in the lair at Blue Mountain, Naytin the dragon safely guards the Indigo Star. The jewel's magic has always protected the indigo herd. Until now.
The evil Shifter has captured the Indigo Star and gained control over the band of unicorns. As the Shifter's darknes creeps through Balinor, now not even the unicorns are safe.
The indigo unicorns are fading, and so are their spirits. Princess Arianna and the Sunchaser must reclaim the jewel - before the unicorns slip into the shadows of the Shifter.
Secrets of the Scepter
With the Royal Scepter in Princess Arianna's possession, the balance of magic has finally been restored. Now hope of defeating the evil Shifter is spreading throughout Balinor. But first Arianna must learn how to control the Scepter's mystical power.
As her pilgrimmage to discover the secrets of the Scepter begins, the Princess is faced with many dangers. She must move quickly before the Shifter's next evil attack. If only she could reach the Celesital unicorns and uncover the truth of the ancient magic...
Night of the Shifter's Moon
The battle for the throne.
As the moon wanes, Balinor readies for battle. On the night of the new mooon - the night of the Shifter's moon - Princess Arianna will lead the fight for reclaiming the Royal throne.
With Sunchaser and the rest of her band, Arianna is ready to conquer the evil Entia, once and for all. With the aid of the Celestial unicorns, the Princess is confident.
Yet there is more evil looming in Balinor - a stronger force than Entia's will. Arianna must remain focused as she leads the battel to reclaim her home.
Shadows Over Balinor
A mysterious map.
Now that Entia and his evil empire have been defeated, there are grand celebrations in the Royal Palace and in the Celestial Valley. But there is still something Princess Arianna wants - to find her Royal parents.
Atalanta, the Dreamspeaker of the Celestial herd, learns that the King and Queen are being held in the Forgotten Fields. The Princess and her unicorn must first find the ancient archivist who has the map of the mysterious and magical fields.
The quest for the map makes Arianna stronger and more sure than ever that she will return her parents to the throne and restore peace throughout Balinor.
I'm not ashamed to admit it, I allowed myself to judge this series by its cover, after all, the covers are simply stunning! So I was already somewhat out of the target age range when I first started collecting the series, but I was still young at heart and just barely out of my teens.
Over a decade later I was struggling to complete the set. I had trouble hunting them down, on in particular being tough to find. It became this challenge I set to myself, to hunt through every used bookstore I would come across, and at least, I had success!
Thus I sat down to read the whole series over the course of a week. I was afraid they might not appeal to me as they might have had I been younger, but I was pleasantly surprised! We start off in our world, with Ari, a young girl in a hospital recovery from serious injuries, and her horse, who had a strange scar on his forehead. Before long though, they find themselves in the world of Balinor, their home, which neither can remember. Ari is in fact Princess Arianna, and her horse is a Celestial unicorn named the Sunchaser, but she's not feeling much like a princess, and she's suddenly expected to save a world she doesn't even recall.
Wonderful characters, one nasty villain, mysterious Deep Magic, and herds of magical, beautiful unicorns, what more could one ask for? It was worth the effort of collecting this series, and if I were younger, I'm sure I would have truly loved this series. There were only a couple things I didn't like about it. The big battle to defeat the Shifter lasted simply moments, even after several books building up to that moment. And it was a little strange how unicorn riders rode as if they were on horses, the unicorns were intelligent so you wouldn't be kicking at them to get them to go, or using the reins to direct them.
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