Stalking the Unicorn

A Fable of Tonight

By: Mike Resnick

Narrated by: Peter Ganim

It's New Year's Eve and the elf perched on John Justin Mallory's desk wants his missing unicorn back. And that's the easy part. Mallory's wife has run off with his partner, his detective business is in ruins, and the mob's out to get him. With so many wonderful things happening, Mallory decides that a case involving a trip from reality might not be so bad. After all, what more can he lose?

Mallory soon finds that he might lose it all as he enters a Manhattan that just couldn't be. Dodging nasty gnomes and mischievous felines (not to mention rampaging elephants down Fifth Avenue), he discovers that the malevolent demon Grundy also seeks the fabled beast, and will stop at nothing.

Mallory is no Philip Marlowe, and will have to do some pretty fancy footwork just to stay alive. For if the Grundy wins, not only Mallory's life but his world will be forfeit.

©1987 Mike Resnick (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The crisp dialogue and imaginative setting will have many fantasy readers wanting to revisit Manhattan's magical side." (Publishers Weekly)
"Mike Resnick is a journeyman in a world of apprentices, one who knows his craft. His name on a book guarantees a solid story and believable characters, constructed with imagination and grace. Most importantly of all, it guarantees entertainment." (Raymond Feist)

Read at about 1.25 speed

Don’t know what happened during recording, but the narration is much better if sped up just a little- this was a great book where the main character doesn’t have some super power that would otherwise kill my interest.

The city is a lady . . .

If you don't know about cheap detective novels, you might want to read up on them a bit. My father loved Mickey Spillane and Boston Blackey, or more recently John D. McDonald's, Travis Magee. That is the tradition that Mike Resnick uses to write about the hidden Manhattan. "Stalking the Unicorn," really does do a great job at taking a humorous jaunt. The genre isn't about deep character development, that's not the point of this kind of literature. It is more about just enjoying the story about someone's experience. It is like buying someone a beer to hear a humorous story. You don't need details about their life, it is just a story.

Peter Ganim does a fine job at reading. Through the entire book I kept thinking his interpretation of the main character's voice sounded familiar. Then it dawned on me, Steven Wright. If you like deadpan humor, you are going to love Ganim's reading.

love this series

I love John Taylor, cat girl and the Colonel. I enjoy that other world just out of sight. The gnomes of the subway eat subway tokens. This keeps the token industry going strong. I wonder if they have a relative. The penny cruncher, who hides that last penny you need only to have it show up later. Reader does great job. His voice fits the detective very well. He does a great job w the other voices too,

Really enjoyed listening to it

I love this type of alternative world mystery and Resnick spoofs the mystery and fantasy genres very well in this book. Every cliche is in this story, typically turned on its side.

I bought this book when it first came out and am glad to see that Audible now has it.

Not What I Was Looking For

I found it very difficult to become engaged with this story. The dialogue is stiff and rather flat. The world's setting is awkward and weird. And the attempt to capture the pulp-noir feel and mix it with urban fantasy doesn't come off well. I don't mean to infer that it's a terrible nozzle, it's not, and I finished it. I just didn't find any particular enjoyment in the story, the characters, or the setting.