Mallory und die Nacht der Toten

John Justin Mallory Mystery #2

by Mike Resnick

Es ist Halloween, und John Justin Mallorys Partnerin Winnifred hat sich auf diesen großen Feiertag so emsig vorbereitet, dass sie nun ausgemergelt und bleich aussieht. Mallory befürchtet, dass sie zu hart gearbeitet hat. Dann fallen ihm die beiden Punkte an ihrem Hals auf ... In einer Nacht, in der Geister und Goblins gemeinsam feiern, muss Mallory den Vampir aufspüren, der seine Partnerin bedroht. Er befragt sowohl die Lebenden als auch die Toten, geht zum jährlichen Zombie-Ball, um mehr über Untote zu erfahren, und landet schließlich auf den Hügeln des Friedhofs, wo der Vampir tagsüber ruht. Mallory hat nur Zeit bis zum Morgengrauen, um seinen Jahrtausende alten Gegner zu stellen. Sonst ist seine geschätzte Partnerin für immer verloren ...

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Vampires, Humor, Audiobook, Fiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 2008

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, I think I've overloaded on Resnick now. I burned out. The humor is a bit lame, strained, and over-done. The story needs (I believe) to decide whether it's going to be serious urban fantasy or humorous parody. As it is now it's (as the cliche says) neither fish nor fowl... and pretty labored.

The story concerns our hero (John Justin Mallory), now trapped in the alternate New York. He has taken over an apartment (see Stalking The Unicorn) where he has opened a "new" office and gone back into business as a private investigator. He also has an apartment near by...never actually explains why he turned one apartment into an office and then got another apartment. He also seems to have reclaimed a magic mirror from some artificial soldiers...and I'm not sure if he's still using the P.I. license from the "old" New York or if he got a new one in his new world, oh well. He has in any event gone back into business with his new partner Col. Winifred and of course Felina (the cat-girl) who helps out "as she sees fit". This time out out Winifred's nephew has come to visit...and when she shows up at the office she's suspiciously dizzy, weak, and pale. Oops. It seems he's in the process of changing. And I don't mean his attitude. He's changing his sleeping habits (day light hours), and his eating habits (warm liquid protein). Thus the title of the book.

If you choose to stay with the story throughout it's length you will meet (more) goblins, elves, "demons", a dragon, and (of course) vampires (including a familiar name).

I won't say I actually dislike this book, but maybe a third of the way through it began to seem interminable... I probably won't bee searching out any other books by Resnick soon. It has some "funny" moments but somehow it just didn't stay funny. I suppose the book could work as a straight humor piece (as it almost is) but I think it needs to admit to itself that it's a comedy...maybe.

Anyway, not a horrible, repulsive book but not one that held my interest. I wish it had been, but it wasn't. So, as I've said soooo often before, if you like it I'm happy for you. But I just lost interest and didn't care to put my time into it when I have so many other books waiting that I'd just rather read. again as I've said so often before...oh well.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second in the series featuring John Justin Mallory, detective in an alternate Manhattan. In this one, he is on the track of a vampire. Mike Resnick is just one of the best storytellers out there, and this series is a light comic fantasy. I enjoyed it, as he kept the story moving and filled it with wonderful characters. But I prefer Mike's stories that are in the classic SF vein, such as "Santiago" or "Ivory." His brilliant Kirinyaga stories reflect his knowledge of Africa based on his travels there and I found them to be most remarkable...

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very optimistic when I picked this book up because: a. the cover is beautiful and b. I love books that fuse genres. I really enjoy noir as a genre, though I'll admit I'm not very versed in it, so it seemed like a good match.

Unfortunately, there were a few things that got in the way of me really enjoying this book.

For one thing, the banter, though good, was a little too much. The degree to which the main characters argued or misunderstood each other got in the way of the plot for me, even understanding that it's a satire. I often felt the same way about the jokes, like the plot's point was to set up jokes, rather than the other way around. Often the side characters they met (like the goblins) did little to advance the plot, and since many of them followed the same kind of formula (weird creature tries to sell Mallory something/has quirky problem he solves), they eventually felt like little more than world-building pieces or joke setups.

The biggest issue I had, however, was the treatment of pornography. It's a noir detective novel. I get that. Characters like Mallory and McGuire often have problems with porn. I get that too. But the degree to which they (and many of the other characters) either downplayed it as a joke or normal, okay behavior really bothered me. And while I can acknowledge genre expectations, that this was a satire half-poking fun at it (for example Nathan's Wings O'Bannon character) and the fact that yes, most men do struggle with pornography, it still bothered me not to see it treated a little more seriously/tragically. I'm not sure what would have fixed this other than having less of it, as that's not really what this kind of book is for, but it just made it less enjoyable for me.

That being said, I do understand that that wasn't the point of the book, and outside of those things, I still really enjoyed the idea of the world. I found Mallory a likable and capable detective, and really liked other aspects of the satire, such as his constant correction and contrast of Nathan's understanding of detective work. I liked Winnifred a great deal (and wish she would have been in it more, which is what I get for not starting with the first book), and adored Felina even if her constant bargaining did start to feel a bit tired by the end of the book. The writing on its own was great as well, if repetitive by the end, and while the ending did feel a little anti-climactic, I was surprised by Mallory's final plan.

Like I said, though Resnick's treatment of sex and porn are not my cup of tea (though massive credit to him for not being explicit), overall, I enjoyed it. 2.5 stars.

[Geoff · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ridiculous could be used as a one word summary for this book. Stalking the Vampire is a pure comedy that is set in a fantastical New York where vampires, and every other form of fairy tale beasts, such as goblins, exists. The protagonist is a Private Investigator named John Justin Mallory, and his partner’s nephew was killed by a vampire on a ship ride to New York. The story is the adventure of Mallory and his gang, that tries to hunt down this said vampire. The idea isn’t that bad, but the humor is. Every single sentence is encased in humor, and there are no serious lines throughout the tale. It just never let's up, and is too much. Now if you don’t care for this type of humor you’re out of luck, as I was. I almost gave up many times with this book, but I’m a glutton for punishment and I finally finished it. I’ll never revisit this book, nor try the other two that are in this series. Resnick’s serious work is good and I will continue to read those works, but his comedy is often ridiculous, and in the case of this book, it is over the top and I was disappointed. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

[Cami · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got to page 123 of 268 and I had to stop.
The book was really appealing at the first (I loved the cover art as well), but the dialogue was seriously slowing down the action.
Seems like this was meant to be a Sam Spade-type of cool detective novel set in an alternative Manhattan, filled with harpies, goblins, and vampires as the norm, but these characters all had too much atmosphere to add and it got too jumbled and BORING.
Every new character (and there were plenty) had to add one more pun, joke, snide comment, comic interlude...this novel is short anyway, it would've been little more than a short story without all this impossible dialog. Seems like there wasn't enough of a story here to begin with.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun and funny fantasy featuring Resnick's private eye John Justin Mallory. It features many of the characters from the previous volumes in their alternate-Manhattan world, set, as always, as a Fable of Tonight. Good stuff!

[Tessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat entertaining. Very simple book. The dialogue is very cringe worthy.

[A.J. J Naylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard boiled parody set in an alternative Manhattan.

Full of strange interactions between mythical, bizarre and classical monsters. Some of which are funny but mostly pause the story for a few pages. We meet far too many periphery characters and John Justin Mallory easily solves or advises on their predicaments.

There are far too many adverbs in this story.
'Someone said/replied', and pick one from below;
wearily, angrily, tiredly, patiently, enthusiastically, dubiously, excitedly, slowly, happily, expectantly, nervously, weakly, sardonically, meaningfully, bluntly, cautiously, irritably, heatedly, coaxingly or pleasantly.

Great idea for a drinking game, every time they say something '-ly', take a shot, but a little too tell, not show.

The actual story is interesting. Mallory's hunting an ancient vampire who could possible be the first ever vampire, and he needs to stop him before he slaughters all of Manhattan.

He needs to follow leads, meet stranger and stranger creatures, gather information and detect, but the constant dialogue and endless adverbs, slows the story down.

Great and weird world, interesting and strange characters, but far too much dialogue.

[Gerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entäuschender zweiter Band zum bereits schwachen Ersten.

Mike Resnick kalauert sich Seite um Seite durch eine Geschichte die zunehmend hanebüchen wird. Das ist zu Beginn noch ganz amüsant, wird dann nervig und zum Ende hin einfach nur noch ärgerlich. Die Geschichte selbst, soweit sie sich bis zu ihrem wenig überzeugenden Finale verfolgen lässt hätte kaum für eine Kurzgeschichte gereicht, geschweige denn um ein Buch damit zu füllen. Und so erwarten einen seitenweise Kalauer, dümmliche Wortspielchen und leider auch eine Unmnege an "Witzen" über Kinderprostitution und verführung Minderjähriger... der Wandel der Zeit ist offenbar spurlos an Resnick vorübergegangen wenn er solcherlei geschmacklosigkeit für angebracht, ja gar komisch hält.
Trotzdem gibt es für das Buch noch wohlwollende zwei Sterne von mir, denn Katzenmädchen Felina hat es mir durchaus angetan, und sie rettet des Buch vor dem völligen Untergang.

[Laura Lavender-blackwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book all the way up until the end. I have a few problems with it and a few praises for it. The problem I have is he never went into why Rupert was killed just that he was. Ok but I want to know why that really burns me. Because now I feel like the book is not complete. The ending was quite boring. My praise I loved the banter between the goblins and Mallory with the goblins trying to sell selling unuseable items. I laughed out loud several times during the book. It makes me want to visit this other Manhattan. I will continue in this series cause how else can I get my fix of Mallory if I don't.

[Ema Nmyton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the worst, but not as good as the last one, which was already slow. In fact, it's pretty boring, despite the vampires. Just like last time, there’s the major issue that it’s mostly dialoguing that wastes time, and it doubles the mindless wandering. We don’t even see the villain till the end, and the final confrontation is lackluster, to say the least.

[Sai]

🤨

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Today's post is on 'Stalking the Vampire' by Mike Resnick. It is the second novel following John Justin Mallory. It is published by Pyr books which is an imprint of Prometheus Books and was published in 2007. The cover has John Justin with a gun in one hand and a stake in the other in front of a wall with missing person pictures and a ominous shadow in front of him. It is 264 pages long with three appendixes in the back with more fun information like a speech from John Justin's partner on hunting vampires. The story is told in third person close point of view. The intended reader is urban fantasy fans but anyone who likes humor, urban fantasy tropes, and good writing will enjoy this. There is nothing in this book to make any parents uncomfortable so all ages over 12 should be fine. There Be Spoilers Ahead.



From the Dust jacket- It's Halloween and John Justin Mallory's partner, Winnifred Carruthers, has been so busy preparing for the biggest holiday of the year (in this Manhattan, anyway) that she seems short of energy and pale. Then he notices the two puncture marks on her neck...
On this night when ghosts and goblins are out celebrating, detective Mallory must stalk the vampire who has threatened his partner and killed her nephew. With the aid of Felina the cat-girl, Mallory and Carruthers investigate clubs and lairs that only seem to exist on this one night of the year.
His hunt takes him to Creepy Conrad's Cut-Rate-All-Night Mortuary, where he questions the living and the dead, to the Vampire State Building; to the annual Zombies' Ball, to learn more about the undead; to the Hills of Home Mortuary, Cemetery & Delicatessen, where the vampire sleeps by day; and to Battery Park, where all of Manhattan's bats come to feed and sleep. Along the way he meets a few old friends and enemies, and a host of strange new inhabitants of this otherworldly Manhattan.
Locked in an intriguing battle of wits with the millennia-old vampire, Mallory has until dawn if he is to save his trusted partner.



Review- This is the first book that I read by Mr. Resnick. I was not prepared for how wonderful and funny of a writer he is but now he is one of my favorite authors. The humor in this book is more than just the making fun of fantasy and urban fantasy tropes, it is in the way that John Justin is so normal. In the first book Stalking the Unicorn, John Justin is from our world and is now stuck in the other Manhattan. So he handles things in a way that makes prefect sense to me at the very least. The dialog is was shines in this book and that is where the humor really is. John Justin has a very dry sense of humor and that comes through in the writing, the reader gets an excellent sense of who he is. We only see the world through John Justin's eyes but that does not feel limiting, it feel like it is trying to help the reader not over-whelmed by how much the other Manhattan is like ours but so not ours. The more that you have read, as in read other books, the more jokes you are going to get because Resnick knows his literature. The characters are funny, fun, and clever so you are going to like the people that you will meet in this book and when John Justin defeats the bad guy I was so impressed with the cleverness of it that the final two chapters are my favorites.



I give book Five stars out of Five stars because it is just wonderful and you need to read it. Like now. I get nothing for my review and this book was bought as a gift for me from my spouse

[Brendan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mike Resnick's Stalking the Vampire tells the tale of hard-boiled detective John Justin Mallory, a real-world P.I. who has been transported (in a previous novel) into an alternate-world Manhattan in which Goblins roam the streets and all manner of fantastical beings inhabit the land. The story makes hyperbole of the hard-boiled story type, poking fun at both mythologies of fantasy and at the pulp detective novels in which the archetype grew up.

Like the premise and cover of the novel, the author holds great promise. I haven't read other work by Resnick, but apparently he's published dozens of books and won five Hugos, so you'd expect the writing to be excellent and the storytelling to sparkle.

Alas, neither expectation came to pass. There are a few clever bits in the novel, but for the most part it fails to be funny where it should be, is has no action at all, and most of the narrative advances through banter that's supposed to be witty but doesn't quite get there. Most annoying is Mallory's continued and banal arguing with his cat, who's always hungry. The novel also constructs a world where everything from our world has an analog, but it's all a little different. They visit Madison Round Garden. He meets P.J. Morgan and a magnate named Stonefeller. When these jokes fall flat, and they do often, it feels like Resnick decided to try and write a Discworld novel, but did it in a couple of long afternoons and then shipped the book off to his publisher. And in so doing, forgot that he isn't Terry Pratchett.

I'm sure his other books are great, and I look forward to reading something else by him, but Stalking the Vampire is just dull.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book and a good second outing for this series. The world felt more substantial and real and the characters felt more developed instead of just caricatures and tropes.
It was fun to watch as John Malllory finds his footing in this new world and finds ways to it work for him and to interact with more and more of the denizens of the New York.

I found myself enjoying the new characters introduced, Bats and Scaly Jim Chandler and wouldn’t mind seeing them return in future books.
And as enjoyable as the greater presence of Felina was I wish we could spend more time with Winnifred Carruthers, she seems like an awesome character and it's a shame she keeps getting relegated to the side lines.
The one thing that completely fell flat for me though was the use of the Grundy, his presence felt too much like a dues ex machina and a bit of a cop out. When he showed up it was jarring and unbelievable and took me out of the story, a little bit of him goes a long way.
The series continues to entertain and shows signs of growth though I would suggest taking a break between reading them to keep them from seeming to similar and stale.

[Suz · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Justin Mallory is a regular PI who became stuck in an alternate Manhattan in a previous book Stalking The Unicorn, and this adventure picks up some time after that, after Mallory has established his new business in this magically influenced place. For whatever reason, I read the third one after the first (my mistake).

I think I'm done with these Fables (if Resnick should write another one, I'll skip it). The story is supposed to be a humorous noir-type mystery, which was fun one or two times, but with the third the humor is getting a bit stale. This book was also the weakest of all three, so if I did go back, I just wouldn't bother with this one.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stalking the Vampire
Or
Who Needs Stakes, We Have Gumshoes!

I love Resnick's Fables of Tonight. They are monumentally tongue and cheek, witty, and clever as all get out.

There is not much of a mystery in this novel, but instead we are treated to a wild romp across alternate Manhattan. It's full of puns and jokes mocking vampires from classic literature to modern.

Also, it contains what is to me the Original Catgirl. I'd forgotten how much I adore Felina.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly fun book--perhaps because I didn't expect a satire, but a mystery-noir when I picked it up. The plot is simplistic and predictable, but I found myself liking the detective. This book is a must for Twilight fans as there are a series of running gags about Twilight and the popularity of vampire romance novels. Really funny!

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Justin Mallory returns - along with the oddball monstrous cast of an alternate New York - to track down a dangerous vampire. While Mallory, his nemesis the Grundy, and cat-girl Felina provide fantastic dueling personalities, the remainder of the supporting cast (and this mystery) seems to fall flat into bad horror puns.

[Arylin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the second John Justin Mallory book, it was, as was the first, a pleasent read, front to back full of the right blend of witty dialog and and dry humor. I really look forward to reading the third and final novel in this series, Stalking the Dragon. I highly recommend this series of books.

[Edmund Lester · Rating 3 out of 5]

SF Resnick does comedic dark fantasy. Full of oddities, over-the-top characters and a bizarre plot which has a private eye from our normal world in a twisted fairy-tale version of New York hunting a vampire.

It's quirky, occasionaly funny but I want Resnick writing sf.

[David Marshall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although there are moments when this is enjoyable, the humour is just too repetitive to maintain interest over a full-length novel. It's a shame because it would be quite good as an urban fantasy.

http://opionator.wordpress.com/2012/0...

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really grew tired of the same three jokes being told over and over and over and ... When I read Stalking the Unicorn, the oddities were interesting. In Stalking the Vampire the oddities were dull and redundant. I do not know why I read this one, but I know I won't read anymore in this series.

[Noah Stacy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite from Resnick, but a good page-turner nevertheless. The style was often a bit too sparse for my tastes, with details too frequently passed over with barely a mention.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very different book from what I normally read. It's a little difficult at first to envision an 'alternate' Manhattan, but Resnick creates an amusing, different tale.

[Kim Parkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book was better. This one is ok but it's missing a little something.

Audio Book.

[Sophie Slezak · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good idea with the alternate reality of NYC, but too repetitious. BORING!

[Caleb Westadt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters and the world are well developed. The ending wasn't as exciting as I would have hoped but it the ending follows the theme of the first book. Overall it was a fun quick read.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was hilarious and enjoyable. I highly recommend. Detective Noir meets fantasy under-Manhattan. Needless to say, this caper involves a vampire (or two).

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, offbeat, bumbling detective in an alternate universe.