Stalking the Dragon: A Fable of Tonight (John Justin Mallory Mystery) [Paperback]

Mike Resnick (Author)

Book Description

Series: John Justin Mallory Mystery | Publication Date: August 25, 2009

It is Valentine's Day and private detective John Justin Mallory is planning on closing up the office early and taking his partner, Colonel Winnifred Carruthers, out to dinner, since he's sure no one else will do so. But before he can turn off the lights and lock the door, a panic-stricken Buffalo Bill Brody visits them. It seems that the Eastminster pet show is being held the next day, and his dragon, Fluffy, the heavy favourite, has been kidnapped. Mallory's nocturnal hunt for the miniature dragon takes him to some of the stranger sections of this Manhattan - Greenwitch Village (which is right around the corner from Greenwich Village and is populated by witches and covens); a wax museum where figures of Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre come alive; Gracie Mansion (which is haunted by the ghosts of former mayors); and the Bureau of Missing Creatures, a movie set where they're filming a PBS documentary on zombies and various other denizens of the Manhattan night. As Mallory follows the leads and hunts for clues, he comes up against one dead end after another. Along the way he meets a few old friends and enemies, and a host of strange new inhabitants of this otherworldly Manhattan. Aided by a strange goblin named Jeeves, Mallory has only one night to find a tiny dragon that's hidden somewhere in a city of seven million.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The freshness and imagination on display in 1987's Stalking the Unicorn and 2008's Stalking the Vampire are renewed for this noirish mystery that mixes offbeat humor and the supernatural. Hard-boiled PI John Justin Mallory, stuck in a parallel Manhattan occupied by demons and wizards, takes an especially offbeat assignment in homage to Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story Silver Blaze. On the eve of the Eastminster Dragon Show, Fluffy, a toy dragon and the favorite for Best in Show, is kidnapped. Aided by his usual motley assortment of assistants, including catlike Felina and obsequious gremlin Jeeves, Mallory races the clock to get her back to the show before the award goes to another dragon. Resnick's light touch will leave readers grinning and eager for more. (Aug.)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Pyr; Original edition (August 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591027454
• ISBN-13: 978-1591027454
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,061,490 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mike Resnick is the author of numerous science fiction novels and short stories, including Dragon America, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Amulet of Power, Mutiny, Return to Santiago, and Santiago. He is the editor of This Is My Funniest and has won five Hugo Awards and the Nebula Award. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fluffy the dragon is missing, February 7, 2010

By 

E. M. Van Court "Van, emvc (at) lycos.com" (Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Stalking the Dragon: A Fable of Tonight (John Justin Mallory Mystery) (Paperback)

And John Justin Mallory is on the case.

The leading contender in the Eastminister show has gone missing. The owner has hired John Justin Mallory, his partner Winifred Carruthers, and their usual tagalongs, Felina the cat person, a new character just wants John Justin to hold her and punch her buttons, the dragon's gremlin handler, and others. To complicate things, the Grundy, the most powerful demon on the East Coast has involved himself and hired our hero to find the dragon too.

Resnick's Manhattan is a lot livelier than ours (and that's saying something), even when the undead are involved. Goblins hawking anything they can from any ally, pet chimeras, elephant taxis, and other fantastic bits fill the backdrop to a fast paced but other worldly mystery. In the end, John Justin solves the case and goes head to head with the Grundy.

This one wasn't quite as lively as the first two in this series. As John Justin spends more time in the other Manhattan, the extraordinary becomes mundane. Despite this, it was an excellent tale with a light-hearted spin on a fantasy hard-boiled, noir mystery.

Great reading fantasy mystery.

E.M. Van Court

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard boiled PI in Fantasy Land, August 30, 2009

By 

Dave in Missouri - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stalking the Dragon: A Fable of Tonight (John Justin Mallory Mystery) (Paperback)

Another satisfying John Justin Mallory adventure.
This time the decidedly odd crew is out to find a kidnapped (dragonnapped??) miniature show dragon named Fluffy.

Things would go so much faster if the street goblins selling totally useless junk would get out of the way and people would stop trying to put bullets into Mallory.

With The Grundy paying the tab, a zombie collector for a bookie, a fat candy lover, a horny cell phone, a martial arts goblin, and the always hungry Felina in tow, Mallory travels to such famous New York locations as Frump Tower and the Vampire State building. (Well, famous in THAT New York).

Mallory's deadpan wise cracks make the trip interesting, and the story has some strange turns down some weird streets in a New York that's been turned about a bubble and a half off kilter.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars jocular urban noir, August 29, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stalking the Dragon: A Fable of Tonight (John Justin Mallory Mystery) (Paperback)

In Manhattan, many folks look forward to the Eastminster Dragon Show. The favorite to win the Best in Show award at the competition this year is Fluffy the toy dragon. However, on the eve of the event, someone abducts Fluffy.

Private investigator John Justin Mallory still struggles with adjusting to a New York City unlike the one he comes from as the mythos do not live in his birth Big Apple. He is hired to find and rescue Fluffy in time for the show. Accompanied by his staff Felina and Jeeves, Mallory investigates the snatch even as time is running out on Fluffy making an appearance let alone be ready to win

The third Mallory in a rather different Manhattan is a jocular urban noir (see STALKING THE UNICORN and STALKING THE VAMPIRE) because of Mike Resnick's lampooning of the city starting with the Eastminster Dragon Show and a trip to "Greenwitch Village". The investigation is a lighthearted and engaging tour of an alternate Manhattan. Although the plot is lighthearted Fluffy fun thin, fans will enjoy Mallory and his team as they are STALKING THE DRAGON to rescue the toy dragon in time as the show must go on with or without the star.

Harriet Klausner