Lanaia @ The Temporary Escape

First I should probably say that I don’t think I’ve ever read about unicorns before, so I’m not a particular fan and I went into this book with a slight caution. Team Zombie had an advantage in this that I generally really like reading zombie books, but I was curious to read some unicorn stories just to see how much I’d like them.

Zombies vs. Unicorns includes short stories of some really famous authors, some of which I already knew before and read their works, but it was also a nice opportunity to get to know some of the other authors’ writing style. Authors are split into Team Unicorn and Team Zombie, with Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier as leaders of each team. Their competitive bickering was a funny introduction to each short story and I was always looking forward to this part.

I’ve read this book over a month ago, but there are only two stories that really stuck with me, one with a unicorn and one with zombies. Princess Prettypants by Meg Cabot was surprisingly my favorite unicorn story. I’d never thought that’d be the case, but I preferred this rainbow unicorn with melodic farts to some creepy killing unicorns. Cabot’s story was funny but still had some deeper meaning and great ending, so it’s easily my favorite of Team Unicorn. The second favorite story was Prom Night by Libba Bray, a post-apocalyptic zombie story that for some reason I can’t forget and I mean that in a very positive sense. I would gladly read about this dystopian world in a whole-length book and I definitely can’t wait to read some of her books because I loved her writing style.

So the question is, am I Team Zombie or Team Unicorn? Sorry unicorns, but for me, zombies definitely win. I thought I’d like the idea of killer unicorns, but I found these creatures even more creepy than before I got to read this book. Most of their stories were really disturbing and one was so gross I can’t even think about, because I’d rather just have it erased from my memory. Unicorns are quite like faeries to me: they’re supposed to be all magical, good and sparkly, but they’re often twisted and evil little creatures. So I must say, unicorns are now much scarier to me than good old zombies.

Zombie vs. Unicorns is a dark, horrifying book, with a surprising amount of mature content, so I wouldn’t recommend it for younger readers. It’s a perfect horror book and I can guarantee that you won’t be able to forget some images for a long time. If you like unicorns, this is probably a good book for you, but unfortunately it ruined them for me. 

My ratings for each story:
The Highest Justice by Garth Nix: 4
Love Will Tear Us Apart by Alaya Dawn Johnson: 3
The Purity Test by Naomi Novik: 4
Bougainvillea by Carrie Ryan: 5
A Thousand Flowers by Margo Lanagan: 2
Children of the Revolution by Maureen Johnson: 5
The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund: 4
Inoculata by Scott Westerfield: 4
Princess Prettypants by Meg Cabot: 5
Cold Hands by Cassandra Clare: 5
The Third Virgin by Kathleen Duey: 4
Prom Night by Libba Bray: 5