This book was (fittingly) my introduction to the Secret of the Unicorn Queen series, and I count myself lucky to have gotten ahold of the first book... well... first. If you take a look at the guestbook you'll discover that certainly wasn't the case with everyone.
Swept Away is the first of two books in this collection written by Josepha Sherman, an established author who has written many other books prior to and following after her work here. In other words, this book was penned by a "professional," and it shows.
Having said that, I also have to admit that I don't have a lot of really specific memories about it, other than Sheila's first meeting with Illyria and her group. Obviously I loved it all, but for some reason that's the only scene that really stands out in my mind now as I think back. Swept Away was simply a great story that started things out perfectly and had me coming back (very) quickly for more.
I can say that I loved Dr. Reit, and the description of his laboratory. I loved the "diversity" of Illyria's (almost) all-female group and the fact that none of them were willing to take any shit from anybody. I loved that they were women warriors, and that they rode unicorns (which, yes, I was very into as a girl).
I've long since gotten over the whole unicorn thing, but what I still find unique and memorable about the unicorns in this series is that they actually fought and even killed people at times. Prior to reading the SUQ series (and, to a larger degree, the Firebringer Trilogy) I'd never seen unicorns characterized in such a way.
More than anything else, though, I loved the entire concept of the story: a "normal" girl from Earth - being herself a fan of fantasy and science-fiction - accidentally falls through a kind of door in space, lands in a real fantasy world, and very shortly finds herself riding a unicorn, carrying a sword, being called a "sorceress" and basically saving the day. It could be argued that the basic idea there has become rather cliche, but hey - when you're 12, what's not to love?
Also, as a side note: I always thought that the cover art for this book - created by Rowena Morrill - was by far the best out of the original six.
MY RATING: 
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