Review by Sandy Amazeen
Published August 20, 2008

It's All Hallows' Eve, the biggest night of the year in Resnick's alternate Manhattan populated by a host of goblins, ghosts and zombies and home to private eye John Mallory, a former resident of this dimension. When Mallory's partner, Winnifred Carruthers drags herself into their office pale and dizzy, there is reason to suspect her nephew Rupert helped himself to a midnight snack. Further investigation revealed Rupert had recently shared a ship voyage with a vampire poet making a rare appearance in the U.S. so naturally, Mallory decides to pay him a post performance visit.

With Rupert's murder, Mallory discovers things are more complicated then they first appeared as he attempts to track down none other then the legendary Vlad. Good, bad or otherwise, Mallory won't be hunting alone, he has the dubious assistance of "vampire expert" Bats McGuire, wantabe author Scaly Jim the dragon and the ever hungry catgirl, Felina. With help like that, Mallory will need every bit of his quick wit to locate the elusive vampire before dawn and rescue Winnifred.

Resnick's alternative Manhattan is a hoot with such well known landmarks as the Madison Round Garden and Vampire State Building along with less popular destination points like Hills of Home Mortuary, Cemetery & Deli. This sequel to Stalking the Unicorn features offbeat humor, amusing dialog and a zany cast of characters that is sure to entertain the most jaded sci-fi fan and spark plenty of interest in an emerging series.