This came, to my pleasure, as an unexpected Christmas present from an author/editor to whom I’ve sold quite a number of stories over past years. And as I always enjoy his work I leaped upon it and read the whole thing in one gulp. I giggled and groaned as I read, and finally put it down with that best of feelings for a writer, that I would have liked more of it.
The chapbook contains five short stories, all of them with a wicked edge. And yes, a couple at least certainly are for ‘older kids,’ There’s a while new angle on Santa and a girl who stays up late, then there’s a country that doesn’t like him at all and takes very decisive steps about it, there’s the modernized sleigh and what arises over that, and there’s a Oriental slant on Christmas via one of David’s regular Chinese characters, and finally, the tales return to the characters in the first story with a risque tale of Christmas, Santa, and various comings and goings.
David says, that the tales are darker and more cynical than the usual Christmas stories, but some of us enjoy that, and he notes that the stories have not been commercially published – my suggestion is that they are. Because if other reader’s reactions to them are similar to mine, then they should do quite well I note too that the cover is amusing, that the presentation as usual is excellent, and that the chapbook has gone into my permanent library. All of which is a recommendation for those who would enjoy a more sardonic view of the holiday season and some of its characters.
