Zombies vs. Unicorns

Wow, Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black weren’t kidding around when they recruited the authors for this new book of short stories: Garth Nix, Scott Westerfeld, Libba Bray…just to name a few.  Justine Larbalestier says that zombies are our own walking deaths.  Funny, grim, and terrifying, they cannot be escaped.  Unicorns are sparkly and pastel and fart rainbows (sorry, she said it, not me).  Holly Black says that unicorns are healers, arbiters of justice, and, occasionally, majestic man-killers.  Zombies drool and shed and probably carry diseases.  So, according to Justine and Holly, one question has dominated all others since the dawn of time: Zombies or Unicorns?  If you want to read the background on this epic argument, check out Justine’s blog http://justinelarbalestier.com/books/zombies-vs-unicorns/introduction/

I think my favorite thing about this book is how Justine and Holly use each story as another opportunity to further expound on their position regarding the relative superiority of their favorite genre of fantastic beings: zombies or unicorns.  They are both incredibly and hilariously outspoken regarding their chosen ones.  In the introduction to Alaya Dawn Johnson’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” Justine writes, “Hallelujah!  After wading through Garth Nix’s ye oldey unicorn muck you now get to read a proper zombie story.” And writing about Libba Bray’s “Prom Night,” Holly says, “’Prom Night’ creeped me right out.  You know what I need? A nice unicorn story to get the taste of zombies out of my mouth!”