Unicorns, Unicorns, Rah, Rah, Rah!
ENTRY #51
1010.03
Book Review
ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS
Edited by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier
(Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010)
Pirates versus Ninjas? That argument over which is cooler is so last year. The argument now is, "Which is cooler -- unicorns or zombies?"
Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier have been arguing this question in various formats since February 2007. And now, they have dragged a dozen of their friends into the argument with the anthology Zombies Vs. Unicorns. (Sounds like a case to be argued before the Supreme Court, doesn't it?)
In one corner, you have Team Zombie, edited by Larbalestier: Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Maureen Johnson, Carrie Ryan, and Scott Westerfeld. In the other corner, you have Team Unicorn, edited by Black: Meg Cabot, Kathleen Duey, Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, and Diana Peterfreund. And just so the unsuspecting reader won't stumble upon a story featuring a creature that fills them with revulsion, each story is marked accordingly with a zombie or unicorn icon. Or as the Introduction states, "No unwary zombie fan will accidentally start reading a unicorn story or vice versa."
For the record, let me state that I am unabashedly a supporter of Team Unicorn. I was already a fan of both Cabot and Peterfreund, so that was an easy choice. Besides, I have very fond memories of reading Roger Zelazny's "Unicorn Variation" and James Thurber's "The Unicorn In The Garden" oh so many years ago. I don't have any fond memories of reading any zombie stories.
The stories in Zombies Vs. Unicorns alternate -- Unicorn, Zombie, Unicorn, Zombie. I have no idea how Black and Larbalestier decided upon which one would start the book (a Unicorn story, for the record), but I'm guessing that it wasn't some sort of battle to the death.
Peterfreund's story, "The Care And Feeding Of Your Baby Killer Unicorn," is set in the same fictional universe as her novels Rampant and Ascendant. And while Wen (the narrator of the story) does indeed fit Peterfreund's qualifications for being a unicorn hunter (a female virgin descendant of Alexander The Great), she does not appear in Rampant. (I'm not certain about Ascendant; I haven't read enough to determine that yet.) She has known about that little fact for about a year, since two of her cousins were killed by a unicorn. (Did I mention that Peterfreund's unicorns are vicious, venomous, ill-tempered killers? Well, they are.) Through a series of events that might be partially explained by Murphy's Law, Wen finds herself taking care of a baby unicorn. (I think this one is a zhi -- there are five different species of unicorns in Peterfreund's stories.)
In current pop culture, unicorns come in pastel colors, and are usually surrounded by rainbows, sparkles, and stars. Cabot's story "Princess Prettypants" gives us a unicorn with all of this and more. It has a flowing white mane and tail, soft blue muzzle, silvery hooves, and purple fetlocks. It has a sparkling lavender horn (three feet long). Its breath smells like honeysuckle, and it farts rainbows. And it, well she, is the birthday present of a 17-year-old girl. A very horrified 17-year-old girl, who has concluded that the aunt who found Princess Prettypants (yes, that's the unicorn's name) at an SCA event clearly doesn't realize that she is no longer 10 years old. But she also discovers that having a unicorn can change her from being the uncoolest girl in school to possibly one of the coolest. And somewhere along the line, she sends a message to a couple of total jerks, including the ex-boyfriend who had dumped her.
Naomi Novik's "Purity Test" takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the association with unicorns and virgins. A young runaway is sleeping on a bench in Central Park, hung over, and if things weren't bad enough, a unicorn wants her to assist him in rescuing five baby unicorns from an evil wizard. Even though she keeps trying to tell him that she's not . . . well, you know. Novik even manages to throw in a quick Harry Potter reference along the way.
Hmmm . . . I suppose at this point, I probably should give at least some mention to the Team Zombie stories. I am sure that there will be someone getting upset if I don't.
Strangely enough, most of the zombie stories seem to be love stories of one form or another. I mean, we're talking serious necrophilia here. (Not to mention a case or two of humorous necrophilia.)
Alaya Dawn Johnson's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" features what could be considered a half-zombie. The infection that causes zombification was partially brought under control. Oh, the guy still eats zombies, but he occasionally feels bad about doing it.
Libba Bray's "Prom Night" takes place in a small town somewhere in the west, where there are no adults. They went away when the zombie infection hit the town, because it almost always struck adults first. But the prom is still going on.
The zombies in Cassandra Clare's "Cold Hands" are more traditional zombies; their origins owe more to voodoo than any infection. The introduction describes them as "emo zombies who will love you forever." And you could probably describe the story as "Young Zombies In Love."
I am more than certain that Zombies Vs. Unicorns will not settle Black and Larbalestier's argument over which is cooler. If anything, the arguments they conducted in the introductions to the book and each story seem to only intensify their . . . disagreements. Maybe even enough to inspire a second anthology.
Of course, as I have already said, I already know which is cooler.
Unicorns are cooler.
And if there is a second anthology, the title needs to be Unicorns Vs. Zombies. Let's get the title right this time.
-30-
1010.03
Book Review
ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS
Edited by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier
(Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010)
Pirates versus Ninjas? That argument over which is cooler is so last year. The argument now is, "Which is cooler -- unicorns or zombies?"
Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier have been arguing this question in various formats since February 2007. And now, they have dragged a dozen of their friends into the argument with the anthology Zombies Vs. Unicorns. (Sounds like a case to be argued before the Supreme Court, doesn't it?)
In one corner, you have Team Zombie, edited by Larbalestier: Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Maureen Johnson, Carrie Ryan, and Scott Westerfeld. In the other corner, you have Team Unicorn, edited by Black: Meg Cabot, Kathleen Duey, Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix, Naomi Novik, and Diana Peterfreund. And just so the unsuspecting reader won't stumble upon a story featuring a creature that fills them with revulsion, each story is marked accordingly with a zombie or unicorn icon. Or as the Introduction states, "No unwary zombie fan will accidentally start reading a unicorn story or vice versa."
For the record, let me state that I am unabashedly a supporter of Team Unicorn. I was already a fan of both Cabot and Peterfreund, so that was an easy choice. Besides, I have very fond memories of reading Roger Zelazny's "Unicorn Variation" and James Thurber's "The Unicorn In The Garden" oh so many years ago. I don't have any fond memories of reading any zombie stories.
The stories in Zombies Vs. Unicorns alternate -- Unicorn, Zombie, Unicorn, Zombie. I have no idea how Black and Larbalestier decided upon which one would start the book (a Unicorn story, for the record), but I'm guessing that it wasn't some sort of battle to the death.
Peterfreund's story, "The Care And Feeding Of Your Baby Killer Unicorn," is set in the same fictional universe as her novels Rampant and Ascendant. And while Wen (the narrator of the story) does indeed fit Peterfreund's qualifications for being a unicorn hunter (a female virgin descendant of Alexander The Great), she does not appear in Rampant. (I'm not certain about Ascendant; I haven't read enough to determine that yet.) She has known about that little fact for about a year, since two of her cousins were killed by a unicorn. (Did I mention that Peterfreund's unicorns are vicious, venomous, ill-tempered killers? Well, they are.) Through a series of events that might be partially explained by Murphy's Law, Wen finds herself taking care of a baby unicorn. (I think this one is a zhi -- there are five different species of unicorns in Peterfreund's stories.)
In current pop culture, unicorns come in pastel colors, and are usually surrounded by rainbows, sparkles, and stars. Cabot's story "Princess Prettypants" gives us a unicorn with all of this and more. It has a flowing white mane and tail, soft blue muzzle, silvery hooves, and purple fetlocks. It has a sparkling lavender horn (three feet long). Its breath smells like honeysuckle, and it farts rainbows. And it, well she, is the birthday present of a 17-year-old girl. A very horrified 17-year-old girl, who has concluded that the aunt who found Princess Prettypants (yes, that's the unicorn's name) at an SCA event clearly doesn't realize that she is no longer 10 years old. But she also discovers that having a unicorn can change her from being the uncoolest girl in school to possibly one of the coolest. And somewhere along the line, she sends a message to a couple of total jerks, including the ex-boyfriend who had dumped her.
Naomi Novik's "Purity Test" takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the association with unicorns and virgins. A young runaway is sleeping on a bench in Central Park, hung over, and if things weren't bad enough, a unicorn wants her to assist him in rescuing five baby unicorns from an evil wizard. Even though she keeps trying to tell him that she's not . . . well, you know. Novik even manages to throw in a quick Harry Potter reference along the way.
Hmmm . . . I suppose at this point, I probably should give at least some mention to the Team Zombie stories. I am sure that there will be someone getting upset if I don't.
Strangely enough, most of the zombie stories seem to be love stories of one form or another. I mean, we're talking serious necrophilia here. (Not to mention a case or two of humorous necrophilia.)
Alaya Dawn Johnson's "Love Will Tear Us Apart" features what could be considered a half-zombie. The infection that causes zombification was partially brought under control. Oh, the guy still eats zombies, but he occasionally feels bad about doing it.
Libba Bray's "Prom Night" takes place in a small town somewhere in the west, where there are no adults. They went away when the zombie infection hit the town, because it almost always struck adults first. But the prom is still going on.
The zombies in Cassandra Clare's "Cold Hands" are more traditional zombies; their origins owe more to voodoo than any infection. The introduction describes them as "emo zombies who will love you forever." And you could probably describe the story as "Young Zombies In Love."
I am more than certain that Zombies Vs. Unicorns will not settle Black and Larbalestier's argument over which is cooler. If anything, the arguments they conducted in the introductions to the book and each story seem to only intensify their . . . disagreements. Maybe even enough to inspire a second anthology.
Of course, as I have already said, I already know which is cooler.
Unicorns are cooler.
And if there is a second anthology, the title needs to be Unicorns Vs. Zombies. Let's get the title right this time.
-30-