DAY 14 SHORT STORIES

Many years ago I bought a book called Zombies vs Unicorns.  I bought it because it was called Zombies vs Unicorns. I was sure that I needed that book on my bookshelf regardless of its content.  The title was enough for me.  The cover is pretty great too.  Not so long ago I decided I should read this very amusingly titled book.  I opened it up to find it was a collection of short stories which alternated between zombies and unicorns.  Well, short stories have never been my favorite sort of reading, but I started in any way. Each story is prefaced by a note from the editors commenting on which side of the zombie/unicorn battle has a better chance and briefly commenting on the merit of the content of the story as it supports one side or the other. 

The first story, "Highest Justice," by Garth Nix is about a unicorn which can bring life back to the dead.  At first, the dead person seems whole and hale, but as time passes the blessing is reduced and the dead begins to fall back into decay becoming a zombie. I thought that was a pretty clever start.  There was a virgin princess, a dead queen, and a cheat king- all great stuff- and it wrapped up nicely at the end.

It was in the second story when I started to remember that I never really liked short story collections.

"Love Will Tear Us Apart," by Alaya Johnson was about a young zombie who was only partially infected- he wanted to eat people, but he could control his hunger for a time-- ok.  The descriptions of the zombie hunger were clever.  Since he was a lucid zombie (good twist) he could talk about his feelings and desires.  The zombie character was well developed. The love interest and disapproving dad combo a bit week.  I was disappointed by the ending. The ending could have been the beginning of another
story or book, but I wouldn't have committed to reading it. 

"Purity Test," by Naomi Novik was a tongue-in-cheek story about a modern day unicorn who went to NYC to find a virgin to help him rescue the kidnapped baby unicorns, which were being held in the basement of a brownstone.  She kept trying to tell the unicorn she wasn't a virgin, but instead, she was a down-on-her-luck, drunk, veteran.  "La-la-la!"  shouted the unicorn.  Not knowing is half the battle. It didn't require much investment.  The story was funny and short, the characters were sarcastic and piquant.  The ending was not unexpected, but it did wrap up the story satisfactorily. 

"Bougainvillea" was a really good read about an island population which was ruthless in its attempts to keep the community alive and keep the zombie hordes out.  The characters and setting are well developed and I thought, 'I would read a book of this.'  So, when the ending came I was disappointed not because the story was lacking, but because I wished there were more.

"A Thousand Flowers" by Margo Lanagan would have certainly been my favorite if I had not read the preface. I felt betrayed by one piece of information- which if I had not known would have made a beautiful surprise ending. I will say no more so as not to ruin it for you if you want to read it yourself.

"Children of the Revolution" - meh. I mean the writing was okay the generalizations may be more appealing to a younger audience- but the storyline was expected and the ending was a big disappointment to me.  I was reading the story to find the answer to a different question than the one the ending provided.

I'm halfway through the book.  I just finished "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn."  I enjoyed this story.  The author puts an interesting twist on the unicorn myth. The world is one I would like to see explored in a novel form.  The story ends as if it were the beginning of another story.  UGH!  Come on Diana Peterfreund!  You left me hanging! 

And I can finally articulate why I've never enjoyed reading short stories.  The ones which aren't good or even mediocre have wasted my time.  Why did I  invest my time in this story with underdeveloped characters, a predictable storyline and an unsatisfying ending?  I feel disappointed.

The good ones draw me in quickly.  I feel involved and invested in this story.  I love the character development, the story is interesting, the setting is unique.  When I get the end I want more!  I feel disappointed because it is over.

The great ones have witty, full characters, a storyline which keeps me guessing, a setting that is beautifully described, and a twisty- unexpected, fulfilling and perfect in its completeness ending (which nobody has ruined by pushing out details in the preface.)

And for me- these stories are very difficult to find- I'm not sure it is worth wading through an anthology of short stories to discover the one which I find great.