A Yuletide Universe

November 1, 2003
A Yuletide Universe: Sixteen Fantastical Tales, a reprint anthology edited by Brian M. Thomsen (The American Fantasy Tradition), boasts an all-star cast of contributors, from L. Frank Baum and Bret Harte to Clive Barker and William Gibson. The cover art of a Santa unloading his sack before a tree and fireplace, with a wizard, a robot and an elf secretly watching in the background, nicely captures the book's otherworldly holiday spirit.

October 15, 2003
From a trio of short, short stories by Neil Gaiman, William Gibson, and Richard Matheson to Donald Westlake's chilling tale of an evil Santa Claus ("Nackles") and James Powell's recounting of a conspiracy that strikes at the spirit of Christmas ("The Plot Against Santa Claus"), the 16 pieces in this collection pay tribute to the Christmas holiday season. Many of the contributions have been published only in periodicals. With works by Connie Willis, L. Frank Baum, Anne McCaffrey, Harlan Ellison, and others, this volume is a good addition to collections of seasonal literature.

Copyright 2003 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2003
Anticipating pop singers, genre (i.e., "pop") fiction writers have put out "Christmas albums" ever since Dickens--the prototypical pop novelist, after all--"sang" " A Christmas Carol" . This fine anthology demonstrates that, on the whole, this has been a good thing. Editor Thomsen re-presents Christmas tales by sf and fantasy hands, mostly, although yarns by two mystery scribes, Donald E. Westlake and James Powell (obscurer than the delicious "Plot against Santa Claus" entitles him to be); Oz-inventor L. Frank Baum; and ur-western writer Bret Harte (in fine form in "How Santa Claus Came to Simpson's Bar") appear, too. Short-shorts by Neil Gaiman, William Gibson, and Richard Christian Matheson open the collection, and four Santa-substitute stories follow (points of interest: Gaiman's "Nicholas Was . . ." began as a greeting card, and Harlan Ellison's "Santa Claus vs. S.P.I.D.E.R." is as nasty as its date, 1968). Then come five first-raters, of which Clive Barker's "The Yattering and Jack" is probably the best known, but Connie Willis' "Miracle," a fantasia based on two classic Christmas movies, is the best. Maureen F. McHugh's pensive "A Foreigner's Christmas in China" and, in the section with "classic" authors Harte and Baum, Anne McCaffrey's philosophical "A Proper Santa Claus" tie for next best. Regard this as your one-stop source of great "new" readings for Christmas story hours. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)