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badseedgirl's review against another edition
3.0
Added to TBR June 2015
When a book combines two of my favorite genres, things can't really go wrong. Stalking the Unicorn, combines several wonderful genres, in this case Urban fantasy and Noir, which just a hint of cozy mystery. John J. Mallory is a down on his luck P.I, who ends up in an alternate New York City filled with fairy folks.
I wish there were more than four books in the series.
When a book combines two of my favorite genres, things can't really go wrong. Stalking the Unicorn, combines several wonderful genres, in this case Urban fantasy and Noir, which just a hint of cozy mystery. John J. Mallory is a down on his luck P.I, who ends up in an alternate New York City filled with fairy folks.
I wish there were more than four books in the series.
thewallflower00's review against another edition
2.0
It promises to be a hardboiled detective novel in a fantasy world (like Raymond Chandler meets Legend), but it’s more like a portal fantasy. Like Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth, most of the main character’s time is taken up with little sidequests, like the two people playing a game of chess that takes forever, or the bar with old-timey witches. It’s like a character just moves from station to station, interviewing these oddballs and characters of humor when he should be getting on with the main goal. Because unlike Alice and Phantom, this isn’t a quest, this is a mystery. So it has a bad case of the “get-on-with-its”.
This book doesn’t deliver on it’s promise because it’s not a detective story. There are no clues, no suspects, no witnesses. Garfield’s Babes and Bullets was more of a detective story than this. So no, I won’t be reading any more in the series. It’s too farcical to be taken seriously.
This book doesn’t deliver on it’s promise because it’s not a detective story. There are no clues, no suspects, no witnesses. Garfield’s Babes and Bullets was more of a detective story than this. So no, I won’t be reading any more in the series. It’s too farcical to be taken seriously.
suzemo's review against another edition
4.0
Stalking the Unicorn was a kicky and very fun little detective novel set in a fantasy universe.
In the story, John Justin Mallory is just another New York City PI who is hired to investigate a missing unicorn. He gets pulled into another New York, a fantastical one, and encounters all kinds of interesting creatures.
In the author's notes, Resnick talks about how this book is sort of an anti-epic-fantasy (ala Tolkein and every other author that loves dramatic wizards in big pointy hats) and he does a great, great job at having fun with fantasy.
Take a stereotypic dark and rainy detective novel, throw in some magical creatures and blend. Strain through a humor filter and you have this book. It's very fun.
In the story, John Justin Mallory is just another New York City PI who is hired to investigate a missing unicorn. He gets pulled into another New York, a fantastical one, and encounters all kinds of interesting creatures.
In the author's notes, Resnick talks about how this book is sort of an anti-epic-fantasy (ala Tolkein and every other author that loves dramatic wizards in big pointy hats) and he does a great, great job at having fun with fantasy.
Take a stereotypic dark and rainy detective novel, throw in some magical creatures and blend. Strain through a humor filter and you have this book. It's very fun.
eusorph's review against another edition
2.0
First quarter of the book is really good: funny, witty, creative. Then the story devolves into stereotypes and boringness. The bit in Wall Street... Really!? Then our detective pulling out the ending without the reader knowing anything about it--seems really ham handed. Not to talk about the religious ending--pure bs.
abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
1.0
Well, the premise is there, but the writing is not. This did not capture my attention nor would I read any other in this series.
hann_thea's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It was okay, nothing more but also nothing less
socr8sjohnson's review against another edition
3.0
It was kind of meh for parts. Other parts were mildly amusing. There have been short stories from Resnick about this world and character since the book, that have been very well down, so I'm willing to give him a pass and go check out the sequel, Stalking the Vampire.
bluejay1997's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
fleurette's review against another edition
2.0
For such a short book, I had an unbelievable long time with it. This is probably not a book for me.
This is one of those books in which the very complex and complicated world created by the author absolutely obscures the story. The actual story goes to the background. As a substitute Mallory wanders through this alternate Manhattan meeting more and more strange characters who do not contribute much to the general plot. This is not my favorite form of story. I definitely prefer it when the interesting plotline wins out over the overdeveloped imaginary world.
My other problem is humor, but it is probably just my problem. I don't like funny books because I rarely find them funny indeed and much more often they just irritate me. And I hate humor in the Prachett style the most. This book, unfortunately, sometimes came close to such a humor. I don't know what it is, because I generally like absurd humor, but Prachett's efforts have always seemed senseless and annoying to me. And here it annoyed me sometimes as well. Jokes sometimes seemed to me forced and did not lead to anything other than simple comic relieve. They lack the finesse and surprise element, they are more like archetypal banana peel. I read other books of this author and I didn't have such a problem with it, but here at times it really irritated me.
Another thought that came to me during this reading is that maybe I'm just too old for this book. I think if I was thirteen I would like it much more. After all, it's an uncomplicated funny story with a jumble of unconventional characters. Simple, unsophisticated entertainment just right for a teenager.
This is not a bad book, but it didn't really urge me to continue the series. I think I will miss Mallory's further adventures. At least until I forget how challenging it was for me to get through this book.
This is one of those books in which the very complex and complicated world created by the author absolutely obscures the story. The actual story goes to the background. As a substitute Mallory wanders through this alternate Manhattan meeting more and more strange characters who do not contribute much to the general plot. This is not my favorite form of story. I definitely prefer it when the interesting plotline wins out over the overdeveloped imaginary world.
My other problem is humor, but it is probably just my problem. I don't like funny books because I rarely find them funny indeed and much more often they just irritate me. And I hate humor in the Prachett style the most. This book, unfortunately, sometimes came close to such a humor. I don't know what it is, because I generally like absurd humor, but Prachett's efforts have always seemed senseless and annoying to me. And here it annoyed me sometimes as well. Jokes sometimes seemed to me forced and did not lead to anything other than simple comic relieve. They lack the finesse and surprise element, they are more like archetypal banana peel. I read other books of this author and I didn't have such a problem with it, but here at times it really irritated me.
Another thought that came to me during this reading is that maybe I'm just too old for this book. I think if I was thirteen I would like it much more. After all, it's an uncomplicated funny story with a jumble of unconventional characters. Simple, unsophisticated entertainment just right for a teenager.
This is not a bad book, but it didn't really urge me to continue the series. I think I will miss Mallory's further adventures. At least until I forget how challenging it was for me to get through this book.
kellswitch's review
4.0
Overall this was a lot of fun to read, it was quick, easy, entertaining and while it wasn't the deepest book I've ever read I did find myself enjoying and caring about the main characters, even the villains and enjoying the 1Cmystery 1D as it developed.
I thought there was a good balance with the strangeness of the alternate Manhattan, the humor and the overall plot and the ending really worked well for me but I would have preferred more character development instead of anther example of how different this Manhattan was from Mallory's Manhattan, as enjoyable as I found the characters they sort of felt flat and one dimensional though there is a lot of potential as the series goes on.
I was very engaged in the mystery of the stolen unicorn and I felt that the pacing and resolution worked really well, I never got bored and the ending felt like a natural progression of the story and not rushed or tagged on just to bring things to an end and I was very satisfied with how things were resolved.
I thought there was a good balance with the strangeness of the alternate Manhattan, the humor and the overall plot and the ending really worked well for me but I would have preferred more character development instead of anther example of how different this Manhattan was from Mallory's Manhattan, as enjoyable as I found the characters they sort of felt flat and one dimensional though there is a lot of potential as the series goes on.
I was very engaged in the mystery of the stolen unicorn and I felt that the pacing and resolution worked really well, I never got bored and the ending felt like a natural progression of the story and not rushed or tagged on just to bring things to an end and I was very satisfied with how things were resolved.
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