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Dec 01, 2011

Ceridwen rated it:

A solid collection of zombie or unicorn themed short-stories. Sadly, there was only one story that featured both, which let me down a little. Of course, when I think about it, a bunch of stories that only were about zombies fighting unicorns would have gotten old fast, but I really would have liked to see just one zed/uni battle. Just one. Somebody write this for me, please? I did not like the “humorous” “banter” between the two “Teams” - it felt like semi-witty Internet banter which is hilariou More...

10 comments like (28 people liked it)

Dec 05, 2011

Catie rated it:

Beatles vs. Rolling Stones. Cats vs. Dogs. Coke vs. Pepsi.

Zombies vs….Unicorns? Who knew? Apparently this is the divisive question of our time. And now, thanks to this anthology of stories, there’s a handy rubric for determining just how you should answer.

I listened to the audiobook, which was excellent. Phil Gigante, who some of you may be more familiar with as the voice of Jericho Z. Barrons, delivers many an eargasm as master of ceremonies. Holly Black and Justi More...

7 comments like (14 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2011

Annalisa rated it:

I'm a sucker for amusing zombie stories. No really, I am. And I grew up on The Last Unicorn, bad singing and all. So when I heard of the concept of this book, what makes better fiction, zombies or unicorns? I had to smile. What a fun idea for a short story anthology.

I cracked the cover thinking "zombies for the win, all the way." I never laugh when I read, crack a smile at most, but not laugh. The introduction alone, a debate between editors Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier More...

8 comments like (10 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2012

Megan rated it:

Zombies Vs. Unicorns and who is the winner?

Zombies! Thanks to Carrie Ryan's Bougainvillea. Undoubtedly the creepiest, most spine-tingly zombie story I have read since... well, since Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Haters of that book shouldn't be dissuaded though. This story is lacking the angst and lurve triangles found in Forrest. Instead, we get complex, unique, sympathetic and believable characters in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. And of course a healthy dose of the zom More...

18 comments like (13 people liked it)

Apr 30, 2010

Ellen rated it:

I'm not a big anthology reader, because there are usually as many stories I don't like as ones I do, and it's easy to put them down between stories. As far as I can recall, I liked every single story in Zombies vs. Unicorns, and I couldn't put it down even between stories. Chances are, if you're a YA SFF reader, there are at least a few authors in here you love; there was only one name I didn't recognize.

Special mentions to Naomi Novik's awesome New York-set unicorn story; Diana Pete More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 08, 2010

stephanie rated it:

so, i'm not really a huge fan of short story collections, as i'm not really a fan of short stories. however, a lot of my favorite YA authors have chosen this year to be part of anthologies (Diana Peterfreund, Claudia Gray, i'm looking at you!), i have found myself reading more of them.

which makes them a little hard to review - having so many different stories and authors.

however, i think this is the best collection i've read in a long time. first of all, you have zombie More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Aug 21, 2010

Kat rated it:

Zombies...

Unicorns...

How could this possibly go wrong?

I mean, they're just so awesome!

I'll review what I've read so far and update as I go.

The Highest Justice by Garth Nix.

Nix! You're one of my favourite authors! This story was kind of awesome in that I felt like this should have been the beginning to one of your amazing big adventure series. Instead, just as it got started and became exciting, it ended! It was too big an idea sque More...

15 comments like (9 people liked it)

Nov 30, 2010

Penny rated it:

Anthologies are so difficult to review because they're a mixed bag, ya know? So even though this anthology had a handful of brilliant stories I'd have to say it was all sullied by a short story that contained bestiality. Oh, yeah, and all the zombie romances--between zombies and humans (What the what?!). Ew. And so, so wrong. So wrong.

If I have time I'll review each short story separately.
***
Why it has taken this long for such a book to be conceived and written is be More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Feb 16, 2012

Giselle rated it:

Note: As part of Zombies vs Unicorns month, I will be updating this with the new stories that I review. They will be reviewed in "bunches" (2+ reviewed together). The rating will be from what I have read so far (so it may change)

Review of Inoculata by Scott Westerfeld & Cold Hands by Cassandra Clare
From Uglies and Mortal Instruments... to zombies! Seems like everyone is converting to zombies! I don't blame them, team zombie really is where it's at!

Scott Wester More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 23, 2011

Joyzi marked it as to-read

This is so cool!

Are you Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

13 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 17, 2011

Rachel rated it:

This book was one of the best fantasy books I've ever read. It has all the perfect stories compiled all in one book. The things I like best about reading books with lots of short stories is that if you don't like one or is getting tired of it, its over withen the chapter. Also it has just great sarcastic/humerous writing throughout it and I feel that keeps it fresh. This book goes through all the stereotypical thoughts about Unicorns and Zombies. Then it steps out into a complete different zone, More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 06, 2012

Hallie rated it:

Something's not right with the audiobook, as it launches straight into the first story without saying the name or who it's by, and there isn't the debate between editors about zombies or unicorns being the best. Will keep listening, though haven't been very taken with anything so far.

Okay, I have to make one thing very clear, and that is that my rating is for the audiobook, and the book might have got a significantly higher rating if I'd read instead of listened. The audiobook is not More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 01, 2011

Julia rated it:

When I began, I thought for sure that I would be Team Zombie! Well, I think that I am still Team Zombie, but I must admit that I have more respect for unicorns now. As shown in some of the stories, they would be useful pets.

My favorite story was "Children of the Revolution", a zombie story. The best unicorn stories were "Princess Prettypants" and "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn".

The worst stories were "Thousand Flower More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 21, 2010

Fiction State Of Mind (Kai Charles) rated it:

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (...more It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half sho More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 24, 2010

Katieb (MundieMoms) rated it:

Let the debate begin! With a collection of 12 short stories, from 12 different authors, I'm sure this is one debate that will continue on for some time. Zombies vs Unicorns gives fans 12 stories, with every other story alternating from the Zombie Team and the Unicorn Team. Readers will enjoy short stories from Cassandra Clare, Carrie Ryan, Diana Peterfreund, Meg Cabot, Libby Bray, Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld and more. The debate gets even wittier as Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier's d More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 01, 2011

Kaethe rated it:

The KitKatPandaBatWolf came up with a marvelous solution to the question posed by the title. She will turn the unicorn into a zombie, and use its razor-sharp horn as a bottle-opener to crack the skulls of her victims, enabling her to easily eat those delicious brains. And as a bonus, she can ride the unicorn and not have to drag her decaying flesh around all by herself.

***

When she asks her 3rd-grade classmates "zombies vs. unicorns" apparently they ALL respond " More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 06, 2011

Liz rated it:

I don't usually read short story collections but this one blew me away. Some of the stories (of course) were stronger than others but all of them were enjoyable. It might be my personal macabre leanings, but I thought that the zombie tales were particularly strong and tended to have a bit more to say about the human condition (but how can zombie stories not reflect the human condition). For those who enjoyed these tales as well, I also recommend Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 03, 2011

Joseph rated it:

Very interesting and funny book. This book is actually cut up in different chapters written by different author's. Some authors describe the unicorns and how they are better than zombies and the other authors describe how zombies are better than unicorns. Hilarious, especially if you look at the cover, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something interesting about peoples opinions about zombies and unicorns, especially if the book is written by several authors, the author's More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 10, 2011

Betsy rated it:

You guys. You guys. From the moment I first heard about this book—on Twitter, many moons ago—I thought it sounded ridiculous. Stupid. Trendy and pandering to all the worst things about young adult literature.

And, eh, okay, maybe it is trendy. And maybe—well, definitely—it’s ridiculous. But I haven’t even finished it yet, and I’m already going to heartily recommend it to you based only on the two stories I quoted above. Not every selection in this anthology is so great (some are More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 27, 2011

Larissa rated it:

How many times have you asked yourself 'which is the better creature, Zombies or Unicorns?' Now you can wonder no longer as this anthology puts that question to rest, or slays it with a sharp pointy object depending on your view point. Then again it may just dig up a whole pile of gross human remains which only goes to spark this debate once again.

Zombies, although only born in more recent times, have a wide reaching appeal. But not all zombies are slow mindless creatures, although som More...

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Feb 19, 2012

Caro rated it:

I thought I was never going to finish this one. A friend of mine lend me her copy, and I liked the concept. Unfortunately, I'm bad with anthologies. I always feel like the stories are too short, or badly writte, or just not interesting.

I'll just go through the stories in this one chronologically:

The Highest Justice (Unicorn) by Garth Nix
The story was kind of strange, but it wasn't exactly horrible. 2 Stars.

Love Will Tear Us Apart (Zombies) by Alaya Dawn Johnson More...

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Feb 08, 2012

Emily rated it:

Why I picked it up: The title is zombies vs. unicorns. That’s enough.

This is a collection of short stories by contemporary YA authors. Half the stories are about unicorns; half the stories are about zombies. Apparently the 2 editors, Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier, got into an argument on a blog about which is better, zombies or unicorns, hence the collection.

After reading the stories, it is clear I belong on Team Unicorn. I never really had any strong feelings a More...

0 comments like

Feb 06, 2012

Reading rated it:

As I started to write my review for this (amazingly fantastic) book, I realized that writing it all together would be completely impossible. It would be like trying to review twelve different books at the same time. Therefore, allow me to present My Reviews in a Sentence:

The Highest Justice by Garth Nix (Unicorn):

I loved it and wished I could have had more of the story, but it was my first short story so I soon became acquainted with the fact that they often just More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 25, 2012

Liz rated it:

First, there was the strange yet intriguing debate of Pirates vs. Ninjas. Now, editors Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier present Zombies vs. Unicorns, an anthology of six zombie stories and six unicorn stories selected to answer that ages-old question: do the undead have what it takes to beat those one-horned wimps to the title of “fan favorite”? Or will the power of rainbows wipe the floor with our brain-munching friends? The anthology consists of a wide variety of interpretations on these c More...

0 comments like

Jan 20, 2012

Isaiah rated it:

“Zombies vs. Unicorns” is collection of short stories that venture into several twisted realties,

half of which have been disenchanted by the existence of zombies. In “Prom Night” by Libba

Bray, a pair of best friends along with their entire high school class have been left to defend

themselves and find delight in a post-apocalyptic world. Bray’s dialogue exhibits the spirit and

humor of today’s youth. Throughout the story the two main protagonists exchange co More...

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Jan 04, 2012

Kristina rated it:

Are you tired of the same old zombie apocalypse story? Then you may be suffering from zombie fatigue. Zombie fatigue can hit anyone at anytime; symptoms include forgetting who Max Brooks is, incoherent grunts while friends talk about The Walking Dead, and blank staring when asked about your zombie survival tactics. Fight against zombie fatigue with Zombies vs. Unicorns, a collection of stories by the best and brightest teen and adult horror and fantasy authors. Does the word "unicorn" More...

0 comments like

Jul 30, 2011

Meggy rated it:

Probably the worst anthology I've ever read. The stories themselves weren't that bad, although some of them were pretty... out there. Not many of them made sense or kept to the overall theme of the actual collection. And I don't mean that I expected the stories to be about zombies and unicorns having it out, but I expected the stories to at least center around zombies and/or unicorns. But the majority of the stories only mentioned unicorns or zombies briefly. The zombie stories were the worst of More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jun 27, 2011

Terry rated it:

A consistently entertaining, well-written YA short story collection with a clever premise: the stories alternate between zombie and unicorn fiction. The editors set it up as a sort of competition--which makes things simple for this review. It all boils down to just one question: Zombies or unicorns, who makes for the more interesting story? And, the winner is...

Well, before that, a quick run-down of the stories:

The good: "Bougainvillea" by Carrie Ryan about the gove More...

0 comments like

Jun 23, 2011

Erika rated it:

This is an amazing collection of short stories. They range from the outright disturbing (like the tale of the unicorn that was addicted to pain and killing), to the wildly preposterous (such as Cabot's story of Princess Prettypants the unicorn), to the heart-warming (like Cassandra Clare's zombie-human love tale). I devoured (pun intended) this book in just under three and a half hours, and I have to say, Justine and Holly's introductions to each tale were hysterically funny. There was one story More...

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Jun 06, 2011

Andrea rated it:

What began as a debate between Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier on their blogs has now become a rather fabulous anthology.

Holly Black is thoroughly on the side of unicorns, which she says are noble and beautiful and far better than those icky, shambling zombies (she disapproves of shambling).

Justine Larbalestier thinks unicorns are rainbow farting freaks, while zombies clearly symbolize the human condition and can comment on any aspect of our existence.

So each w More...

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