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Stalking the Unicorn
A beleaguered PI searches for a missing unicorn in a city full of strange creatures in this classic humorous fantasy by a five-time Hugo Award winner.
It's New Year's Eve, and private investigator John Justin Mallory is drowning his sorrows in whiskey. His wife ran off with his partner, his business is in bad shape, and the mob is out to get him. He begins to wonder if he's had enough to drink when his next client walks in. Mürgenstürm the elf is missing his unicorn, and if he doesn't get it back by dawn, his guild will kill him.
Mallory's search soon leads him into a fantastical world—a shadowy side of Manhattan full of strange creatures including goblins, trolls, cat people, ghosts in the Stock Exchange, and gnomes in the subway. But in this world of new friends and unusual rules, there's also a malevolent demon named Grundy. He will do anything to get his hands on the unicorn, and if he succeeds, Mallory's client won't be the only being who suffers . . .
A terrific choice for fans of Alan Dean Foster.
"[An] enchanting blend of fantasy and hard-boiled detection. . . . The crisp dialogue and imaginative setting will have many fantasy readers wanting to revisit Manhattan's magical side." —Publishers Weekly
"It's clever, funny, and exciting, with a likable hero, plenty of offbeat supporting characters, and that beguiling blend of fantasy and mystery." —Booklist
It's New Year's Eve, and private investigator John Justin Mallory is drowning his sorrows in whiskey. His wife ran off with his partner, his business is in bad shape, and the mob is out to get him. He begins to wonder if he's had enough to drink when his next client walks in. Mürgenstürm the elf is missing his unicorn, and if he doesn't get it back by dawn, his guild will kill him.
Mallory's search soon leads him into a fantastical world—a shadowy side of Manhattan full of strange creatures including goblins, trolls, cat people, ghosts in the Stock Exchange, and gnomes in the subway. But in this world of new friends and unusual rules, there's also a malevolent demon named Grundy. He will do anything to get his hands on the unicorn, and if he succeeds, Mallory's client won't be the only being who suffers . . .
A terrific choice for fans of Alan Dean Foster.
"[An] enchanting blend of fantasy and hard-boiled detection. . . . The crisp dialogue and imaginative setting will have many fantasy readers wanting to revisit Manhattan's magical side." —Publishers Weekly
"It's clever, funny, and exciting, with a likable hero, plenty of offbeat supporting characters, and that beguiling blend of fantasy and mystery." —Booklist
- GenresFantasy
284 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 24, 2024
52 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Mike Resnick
815 books554 followersMichael "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.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 8, 2026
As is my habit these days, this review is for my personal memory of the book. If you might be interested in reading the book, do so, do not let this review sway you one way or the other.
So, future self looking back at this note to remember what present self (past self in your present) thought of the book, here we go.
At a high level I liked the book. The main character was interesting and showed growth and development during the story. Some nice twists and turns in the path of the story and some odd, side bars of no purpose other than humour, enjoyment, and environment setting.
The choices the characters made throughout the story were in line with their presented character and motivations. At the same time many of the characters were not limited to being one dimensional and had a medium amount of depth. There were some one dimensional characters but it did not detract from the story.
The ending was pleasant and comfortable without being overly saccharine.
An enjoyable story to read that makes me want to read another book in the series, if there is one. Not strong enough to make me want to read it a second time.
So, future self looking back at this note to remember what present self (past self in your present) thought of the book, here we go.
At a high level I liked the book. The main character was interesting and showed growth and development during the story. Some nice twists and turns in the path of the story and some odd, side bars of no purpose other than humour, enjoyment, and environment setting.
The choices the characters made throughout the story were in line with their presented character and motivations. At the same time many of the characters were not limited to being one dimensional and had a medium amount of depth. There were some one dimensional characters but it did not detract from the story.
The ending was pleasant and comfortable without being overly saccharine.
An enjoyable story to read that makes me want to read another book in the series, if there is one. Not strong enough to make me want to read it a second time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review