From Booklist
*Starred Review* 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. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
From A Christmas Carol to Connie Willis' Miracle and other Christmas Stories to the stories of Mistletoe Mysteries, jolly St. Nick and other memorable Yuletide visitors have provided creative fodder for a host of writers commemorating the holiday season throughout the ages. A YULETIDE UNIVERSE collects the most memorable takes on the holiday season by some of fantasy and science fiction's brighter lights of the past and present including such "Christmas stars" as Clive Barker, Anne McCaffrey, Connie Willis, William Gibson, Harlan Ellison, and Neil Gaiman.


About the Author
Brian M. Thomsen is an editor of science fiction who has worked at Warner Books and TSR, Inc. A Hugo award nominee and the author of two novels Once Around the Realms and The Mage in the Iron Mask and over 40 short stories, Brian has also edited several anthologies including Oceans of Space, Oceans of Magic, and The Repentant. He has just published a critical anthology titled The American Fantasy Tradition. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Donna and two cats.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
A Yuletide Universe is a diverse collection of 16 holiday-themed short stories by some of the masters of fantastical fiction, including Neil Gaiman, William Gibson, Anne McCaffrey, Clive Barker, and Harlan Ellison, to name but a few.

Jolly old Saint Nick is seen in several different lights -- sometimes comical, sometimes dark and disturbing -- in several of these wondrous stories. Neil Gaiman's "Nicholas Was￯﾿ﾽ" portrays Santa as an immortal deity condemned once a year to journey into Endless Night: "Older than sin, and his beard could grow no whiter. He wanted to die." Harlan Ellison's "Santa Claus vs. S.P.I.D.E.R." sees Santa as a secret agent/assassin battling alien-possessed politicians; and in "Icicle Music" by Michael Bishop, Santa is a vengeful deadbeat dad. Chet Williamson's "O Come Little Children￯﾿ﾽ" is an eerie story about a little boy's relationship with a strange mall Santa. This disconcerting story is guaranteed to stay with readers for a long time.

Also included in this collection are classics by L. Frank Baum and Donald E. Westlake. In Baum's "A Kidnapped Santa Claus," originally published in 1904, Santa is abducted by demons plotting to ruin Christmas. Westlake's "Nackles" (1964) is about a miserable father who makes up a holiday demon to cow his children -- with disastrous results.

After reading this Christmas anthology, you'll never look at Santa Claus the same way again. Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From A Christmas Carol to Connie Willis' Miracle and other Christmas Stories to the stories of Mistletoe Mysteries, jolly St. Nick and other memorable Yuletide visitors have provided creative fodder for a host of writers commemorating the holiday season throughout the ages. A Yuletide Universe collects the most memorable takes on the holiday season by some of fantasy and science fiction's brighter lights of the past and present including such "Christmas stars" as Clive Barker, Anne McCaffrey, Connie Willis, William Gibson, Harlan Ellison, and Neil Gaiman.

Author Biography: Brian M. Thomsen is an editor of science fiction who has worked at Warner Books and TSR, Inc. A Hugo award nominee and the author of two novels Once Around the Realms and The Mage in the Iron Mask and over 40 short stories, Brian has also edited several anthologies including Oceans of Space, Oceans of Magic, and The Repentant. He has just published a critical anthology titled The American Fantasy Tradition. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Donna and two cats.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Drawing on her experience as a veterinarian, Claire spins a sweet confection about a couple torn apart by tragedy and brought together again by a big, adorable dog. The year after her friend Jenny died in a car crash, Joy left Wharton, Ky., unsure whether she would ever return. Now, 17 years later, she's back to help out during her father's illness and to open her own mobile vet clinic. Rather than live at home ("The moment I walked into my parents' olive green living room, eleven years of higher education and seven years as a practicing professional melted off my psyche like butter"), Joy moves into Jenny's old house. During a foggy morning drive to the hospital, Joy hits a dog belonging to Dr. Jeff Bradford, who was driving Jenny the night of her accident. Joy has never forgiven Jeff for driving drunk, but his dog's injury is an effective tool in bringing the two together. The contrived conflict created by the couple's miscommunication Jeff, it turns out, wasn't drunk at the time of the accident is easily resolved, but Joy's reoccurring nightmares about Jenny's death, ghostly visits from Jenny and a murderer plump the plot to near bursting. While lacking in originality, the book has an abundance of charm, and Joy's perky first-person narration carries readers nimbly along to a warm, gratifying conclusion. (Dec.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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