The Fantasy Times

Review

Stalking the Vampire: A Fable of Tonight

Mike Resnick

The sequel to Stalking the Unicorn, Stalking the Vampire: A Fable of Tonight reunites the reader with Private Detective John Justin Mallory as he searches Other Manhattan for the vampire who bit the nephew of his partner.

The story begins with Mallory’s partner, Winnifred Carruthers complaining about not feeling well and, since Mallory is an astounding detective, it is found that she is pale and has 2 holes in her neck. Sleuthing his away towards the vampire that bit her leads him to Rupert, Winnefred’s nephew, who bolts when they go in search of some plasma to tide him over.

Finding him becomes Mallory’s concern but it is made more difficult as it is Halloween, the greatest holiday in Other Manhattan. Mallory decides to go after the vampire that bit Rupert, the Vampire Vlad. Mallory invades a Vampire Convention and places like the Vampire State Building and Madison Round Garden as he follows the straight up clues and hints through the story to the end of the novel.

This linear story progression is one of the things that I didn’t like about this novel even though I expected it after reading Stalking the Unicorn. Both stories are very linear with an emphasis on charming characters and clever dialogue to keep the reader entertained.

Even with the addition of Bats McGuire and Jack “Scaly Jim” Chandler, cannot quite take the story to the next level although they add humorous dialogue. What’s missing this time around is the witty banter that made Stalking Unicorn so funny. My favorite parts of the novel were the Goblins who attempted to sell useless things to Mallory along the way.

Stalking the Vampire is best read with film noir music going through your head. It is humorous at times but never really hits the “witty” button. With the feel of a young adult novel because of its linear story line and obvious jokes, I can recommend reading this after a heavy novel or when you need a little cheering up.

Fantasy Times Rating: 8.2