Book Review – Periapsis Christmas By Katie Roome

This short story anthology is from the fantastic power couple from Periapsis Press and I’m a big fan of their mission and reviews. I know if a book is listed on their site I don’t need to read the review. Like this book, there are some that I like and others I liked more. This book has the theme of Christmas but the deeper theme is indie authors who believe in a transcendent nature that the spirit of Christmas resides. Here are my review of each story:

– Workshop Rebellion by TJ Marquis – A great way to kick off the anthology! The current day Santa comes from a long line who holds back the darkness and allows the light to flourish. This story does a good job in world-building what it needs to have you understand enough of the mythology. The use of theme and totems make Santa recognizable but also that this Kris Kringle lifts at the gym. Good atmosphere and action.

– Grandpa Got Run Over By A Bane Deer by Kaylena Radcliff – A very fun story. One that is slightly similar to Marquis’ in that it has a developed mythos you’re discovering with the main character. With short stories, it must be hard in just how much to develop your world to the audience but it’s clear Radcliff has one set for the characters. An ancestor of Jack Frost along with a few other Christmas-time characters stand at the precipice of our world and another world and stand against the darkness. I would have liked a little more to understand the world (and a slightly less silly title) but this mythos is exactly what I want in this type of collection.

– Julenisse Pays A Visit (A Reversed Black Maria Story) by Jeff Stoner – A fun story that is in that sci-fi fantasy world of something like John Carter of Mars. There’s a nice touch with the world of Vallalah being frozen over but there’s a bit more hope than what Ragnarök would call for. There’s a lot of story that sets the scene for what’s the main turn of the story in the last couple of pages. I’m not sure I understood the need for that much buildup but those last couple of pages are nice to see the myth of Christmas being carried to a new world.

– The Fairy Tree by William Jeffrey Rankin – The word for this story is joy. To say this story is simple is to not give it enough credit. I enjoy a good father-son story because it’s done well so little, if at all. This story is a grandfather and his grandson that has a mystery of a Narnia-esk feel and a family lineage being passed down that hints at being stretched back for a long time. There is just a hint of a fuller story and a fight against evil. I will say that the run through a creature was a bit of an odd choice where I was slightly confused and had to read that section again (a running from and to safety would have been a bit clearer). I would probably pick up a fuller book with the magic hinted at here.

– Christmas Spirits by Alexander Hellene – I would call this the only, true sci-fi story in the lot (technically not the only one). It’s also the one that’s less Christmasy Set in a space-western setting, the goal is getting a gift for the bounty hunter-like’s grandma. Good action and some funny dialogue with a good amount of world-building in a short amount of time. The ending is one of irony and it’s slightly off and peter’s out. If the story had some other examples of irony this would have struck home more.

If you’re looking for fantasy/sci-fi stories by talented authors who enjoy writing good stories, aren’t pushing of message of hating you the reader, and believe in the mythology of Christmas to create new worlds of enjoyment.