Tag Archives: Sam Knight

A Fantastic Holiday Season edited by Kevin J. Anderson and Keith J. Olexa

Overview
A Fantastic Holiday Season

Title: A Fantastic Holiday Season
Author: Kevin J. Anderson, Keith J. Olexa, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Brad R. Torgersen, Mercedes Lackey, Quincy J. Allen, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Jonathan Maberry, Ken Scholes, Heather Graham, Sam Knight, Mike Resnick, David Boop, Eric James Stone & Patricia Briggs
In: A Fantastic Holiday Season (Kevin J. Anderson & Keith J. Olexa)
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: ChristmasShort story collections, Urban fantasy
Dates read: 16th November 2018 – 29th January 2019
Pace: Medium
Format: Anthology
Publisher: World Fire Press
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: Of course it wasn’t possible that Jimmy had actually ridden in a hyperspace sleigh back to Ceres, when the journey from Ceres to Mars, and vice versa, ordinarily took weeks.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

‘Tis the Season-for 14 more magical, macabre and merry tales to make your Holidays … Fantastic! Gingerbread houses, caroling carolers, brightly trimmed trees, big family dinners, pristine snowfalls … the familiar pleasures of the season. But what better pleasure is there than a good holiday story? So open this winter solstice sampler and indulge in funny festive fantasies, nightmares before Christmas, and stunning space-age celebrations … these stories will warms hearts and minds like a blazing Yule log. Fantastic Holiday Stories by Kevin J. Anderson, Mercedes Lackey, Mike Resnick, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Jonathan Maberry, Eric James Stone, Nina Kiriki Hoffman., Quincy J Allen, Ken Scholes, Sam Knight, David Boop, Heather Graham, Brad R. Torgersen, Patricia Briggs

Thoughts

I bought this collection because the very last story is a short story in the Mercedes Thompson series that I don’t yet have. And I started reading this last year to try and get me into the Christmas spirit. And it worked. Beautifully. Fantastically. I’m actually sad that it’s over, even if I finished it after the Holiday Season…

The stories in this collection run the gambit from cutsie little fantasy tales to convoluted and entertaining science fiction tales. They fit into series and stand by themselves. And it’s this range that I truly love. After all, the reason why I tend to read so many short story collections at once is that they get a bit same-same with their tales. The fact that these are far more varied made this collection a little more difficult to put down, and a lot more fun to read than usual.

 <- Unappreciated Gifts ReviewNaughty & Nice Review ->
Image source: Goodreads
Advertisement

Yes, Virginia2097c, There is a Santa Claus by Sam Knight

Overview
A Fantastic Holiday Season

Title: Yes, Virginia2097c, There is a Santa Claus
Author: Sam Knight
In: A Fantastic Holiday Season (Kevin J. Anderson & Keith J. Olexa)
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: ChristmasScience fiction
Pace: Medium
Format: Short story
Publisher: World Fire Press
Year: 2014
5th sentence, 74th page: Viriginia didn’t answer.

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide
Synopsis

Virginia needs to do a project for school, but what if she’s really discovered the truth behind Santa Claus?

Thoughts

I’ve noticed that over the past few years, my Christmas spirit just hasn’t been all that… Christmassy. And I know that part of it is the fact that I’m getting older and so not as deliriously excitable about Christmas presents (plus, no one ever gets me books anymore)… yet, I think that the other part of it is the fact that Christmas is so commercial. There is this overwhelming idea that you have to have certain feelings, buy certain things and do things in a very specific way.

Obviously, Knight kind of feels the same. Set in a future sci-fi world in which your every move is monitored, a young girl has to fight to understand the holiday season. What is going on around her and outsmart a computer system to find her own freedom. All in a very few pages. It’s needlessly fun and a great reminder that maybe we don’t all have to feel excited about Christmas. Or even celebrate it in the same way.

 <- Santa’s Mortuary ReviewChristmas Eve at Harvey Wallbanger’s Review ->
Image source: Goodreads