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Christmas on Ganymede and Other Stories
Cover art by James Warhola. This anthology contains: The Pony by Connie Willis; To Hell with the Stars by Jack McDevitt; A Midwinter's Tale by Michael Swanwick; Christmas Roses by John Christopher; The Falcon and the Falconeer by Barry N. Malzberg; Happy Birthday Dear Jesus by Frederik Pohl; The War Beneath the Tree by Gene Wolfe; The Santa Claus Planet by Frank M. Robinson; O Little Town of Bethlehem II by Robert F. Young; The Christmas Present by Gordon R. Dickson; The Season of Forgiveness by Poul Anderson; Christmas without Rodney; and Christmas on Ganymede by Isaac Asimov; and Christmas Treason by James White.
243 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1990
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About the author
Martin H. Greenberg
910 books162 followersMartin Harry Greenberg was an American academic and speculative fiction anthologist. In all, he compiled 1,298 anthologies and commissioned over 8,200 original short stories. He founded Tekno Books, a packager of more than 2000 published books. In addition, he was a co-founder of the Sci-Fi Channel.
For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.
For the 1950s anthologist and publisher of Gnome Press, see Martin Greenberg.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 4, 2022
This is an anthology of fourteen Christmas-themed stories reprinted from science fiction magazines. It used to be something of a tradition for most of the genre journals to print a Christmas story or two in their December issues, and there have been a great many books assembled that collect the best of them into potential Christmas presents for science fiction fans. The oldest of the ones here is the titular story from 1941 by Isaac Asimov, and the newest one is from 1988 and was also written by The Good Doctor. (Is it wrong of me to be bemused by the idea that a seeemingly disproportionate number Christmas stories and their editors were Jewish?) Anyway, my favorites in this volume were stories by Gene Wolfe, Michael Swanwick, Frederik Pohl, and James White. And, of course, Connie Willis... Connie Willis owns Christmas... you could look it up.
December 11, 2012
I really enjoyed this collection of out-of-this-world holiday short stories, and what a treat to discover that at my advanced age, I may just be a science fiction fan after all.
Here are seasonal tales both delightful and frightful, many of them dealing with the disastrous consequences of attempting to recreate Christmas traditions on other planets.
Some of the highlights:
--Gene Wolf tells a sad story about what happens to the "old" toys when the new ones arrive on Christmas eve.
--Things get creepy when Connie Willis imagines an ominous, anonymous present waiting under the tree.
--And Frank M. Robinson describes a planet where gift giving has become a deadly game of one-upmanship.
My two favorites were both by Isaac Asimov - (I have GOT to read more by this man!) - Christmas without Rodney is about a family who decides to give their beloved robot the day off, and the hilarious title story about unexpected mayhem when "Santa" visits the natives of Ganymede.
And now I'd like to drink a toast to a New Year filled with lots more imaginative fiction!
Here are seasonal tales both delightful and frightful, many of them dealing with the disastrous consequences of attempting to recreate Christmas traditions on other planets.
Some of the highlights:
--Gene Wolf tells a sad story about what happens to the "old" toys when the new ones arrive on Christmas eve.
--Things get creepy when Connie Willis imagines an ominous, anonymous present waiting under the tree.
--And Frank M. Robinson describes a planet where gift giving has become a deadly game of one-upmanship.
My two favorites were both by Isaac Asimov - (I have GOT to read more by this man!) - Christmas without Rodney is about a family who decides to give their beloved robot the day off, and the hilarious title story about unexpected mayhem when "Santa" visits the natives of Ganymede.
And now I'd like to drink a toast to a New Year filled with lots more imaginative fiction!
January 4, 2014
The late Greenberg (he died in 2011) was a tireless editor of themed genre short fiction anthologies. I picked up and read a copy of this Christmas-themed one about 20 years ago (like most books I read long ago, I'm not really sure of the exact date!) and had thought I'd reviewed here on Goodreads years ago. The other day, I discovered I hadn't; and since we've recently celebrated Christmas, I thought it might be a timely subject for a review.
My overall three star-rating reflects the fact that the stories are a mixed bag; some I didn't get into (and several didn't make enough impression on my memory that I could really review them now, which says something in itself), but others were outstandingly good. Many of them aren't particularly "Christmassy;" they just happen to be set wholly or partly on Christmas. The 13 authors of the 14 selections (Isaac Asimov is represented twice) range from SF genre stars like Asimov, Frederick Pohl, Gordon R. Dickson, etc. to others I've never heard of elsewhere. Most of the tales date from the 70s and 80s; a handful (which includes some of the best ones) are older, the 1941 title story by Asimov being the oldest. In tone, they range from humorous, through serious and thought-provoking, sometimes poignant, to dark and cynical.
Only two of the stories really come to grips with the real meaning of Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Christ: Pohl's "Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem II" by Robert F. Young, a writer I've never encountered elsewhere. (Not surprisingly, those are my favorites.) Pohl worked briefly in the advertising industry, an experience that left him with a lasting detestation of crass materialism and hucksterish manipulation. That's a theme of some of his best work, as here, where a young executive in a future hedonistic world of capitalism run amok, where Christmas is nothing more than an exploitative commercial orgy, runs into a young Christian woman and her family for whom the day isn't about buying and getting expensive presents. (As far as I know, Pohl himself wasn't a Christian, but his treatment of Christianity here is very positive.) Young's story could serve as a sort of meditation on the comment of Benjamin Franklin, to the effect that there are so many who celebrate Christ's birth and so few who observe his teachings --but it packs a punch only if you take those teachings seriously.
The title story is the best of the humorous ones here; it's a hoot! The other Asimov story, "Christmas Without Rodney," is one of his robot-themed yarns, written long after the stories collected in I, Robot, but reflecting the same milieu. Gordon R. Dickson delivers a powerful masterpiece in "The Christmas Present" (it's difficult to say much else about it without a spoiler). Poul Anderson's "The Season of Forgiveness," set in the far future on a planet with a very well-realized alien culture, is another standout. James White's masterful "Christmas Treason," written in the height of the Cold War, has child protagonists, but it's a story that takes adults to fully appreciate. The Jack McDevitt selection deals with the reality that the FTL travel that SF writers in the genre's "Golden Age" so casually posited is actually impossible (though some of us regard his vision of a future Utopian society in that story as being as far-fetched as FTL travel). Gene Wolfe's "The War Beneath the Tree," one of the darker selections, could be described as the idea of the Toy Story movies written by somebody high on angel dust; it's well-crafted (and the ending is a gut punch) but I wouldn't say I liked it. Another story I didn't get into is Michael Swanwick's "A Midwinter's Tale;" its premise of an alien species that can absorb highly developed concepts by eating and digesting a victim's brains is scientifically implausible. (I can appreciate soft SF, where the way the premises work is unexplained; that's not the same thing as explanations that patently can't hold water.)
All in all, this is a collection that's worth a sampling, if you like SF and short stories. (The selections I didn't like might be some of your favorites!)
My overall three star-rating reflects the fact that the stories are a mixed bag; some I didn't get into (and several didn't make enough impression on my memory that I could really review them now, which says something in itself), but others were outstandingly good. Many of them aren't particularly "Christmassy;" they just happen to be set wholly or partly on Christmas. The 13 authors of the 14 selections (Isaac Asimov is represented twice) range from SF genre stars like Asimov, Frederick Pohl, Gordon R. Dickson, etc. to others I've never heard of elsewhere. Most of the tales date from the 70s and 80s; a handful (which includes some of the best ones) are older, the 1941 title story by Asimov being the oldest. In tone, they range from humorous, through serious and thought-provoking, sometimes poignant, to dark and cynical.
Only two of the stories really come to grips with the real meaning of Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Christ: Pohl's "Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem II" by Robert F. Young, a writer I've never encountered elsewhere. (Not surprisingly, those are my favorites.) Pohl worked briefly in the advertising industry, an experience that left him with a lasting detestation of crass materialism and hucksterish manipulation. That's a theme of some of his best work, as here, where a young executive in a future hedonistic world of capitalism run amok, where Christmas is nothing more than an exploitative commercial orgy, runs into a young Christian woman and her family for whom the day isn't about buying and getting expensive presents. (As far as I know, Pohl himself wasn't a Christian, but his treatment of Christianity here is very positive.) Young's story could serve as a sort of meditation on the comment of Benjamin Franklin, to the effect that there are so many who celebrate Christ's birth and so few who observe his teachings --but it packs a punch only if you take those teachings seriously.
The title story is the best of the humorous ones here; it's a hoot! The other Asimov story, "Christmas Without Rodney," is one of his robot-themed yarns, written long after the stories collected in I, Robot, but reflecting the same milieu. Gordon R. Dickson delivers a powerful masterpiece in "The Christmas Present" (it's difficult to say much else about it without a spoiler). Poul Anderson's "The Season of Forgiveness," set in the far future on a planet with a very well-realized alien culture, is another standout. James White's masterful "Christmas Treason," written in the height of the Cold War, has child protagonists, but it's a story that takes adults to fully appreciate. The Jack McDevitt selection deals with the reality that the FTL travel that SF writers in the genre's "Golden Age" so casually posited is actually impossible (though some of us regard his vision of a future Utopian society in that story as being as far-fetched as FTL travel). Gene Wolfe's "The War Beneath the Tree," one of the darker selections, could be described as the idea of the Toy Story movies written by somebody high on angel dust; it's well-crafted (and the ending is a gut punch) but I wouldn't say I liked it. Another story I didn't get into is Michael Swanwick's "A Midwinter's Tale;" its premise of an alien species that can absorb highly developed concepts by eating and digesting a victim's brains is scientifically implausible. (I can appreciate soft SF, where the way the premises work is unexplained; that's not the same thing as explanations that patently can't hold water.)
All in all, this is a collection that's worth a sampling, if you like SF and short stories. (The selections I didn't like might be some of your favorites!)
December 19, 2022
Christmas on Ganymede and Other Stories is a collection of fourteen short stories that are billed as Christmas-themed science fiction. The stories span multiple decades, with the oldest being from 1941 and the latest from 1988. The book itself was published in 1990. There are some pretty cool authors that have stories in here, including Isaac Asimov (he has two stories in this collection), Frederik Pohl, and Gene Wolfe.
I was really looking forward to this book, but unfortunately most of the stories are pretty disappointing. One that comes to mind is Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus, which was written by an author whose novels I've enjoyed, Frederik Pohl. But that story was not only really bad...it wasn't even science fiction. There wasn't a single science fiction element in that story, that I can recall. And yet Pohl is actually listed in big letters as one of the story authors on the front of the book...for his disappointing story that isn't even science fiction. In a book that advertises itself on the front cover as "Science Fiction with a Festive Flair". That rubbed me the wrong way, because it's borderline false advertising.
Other stories were very mediocre, and some were unbelievably predictable. One story, The Santa Claus Planet, built towards a plot reveal that I knew was going to happen probably five pages in. Sadly, it was over thirty pages long (it's the longest story in the entire book, in fact), and it was somewhat painful to have to read that many pages just to watch something play out that you could see coming from a mile away.
Author Connie Willis, who is apparently known for her excellent Christmas stories, has a story in here called The Pony. However, in this two-hundred-and-forty-three-page collection, this lone contribution of hers was only seven pages of that. And even that story was pretty disappointing and, again, was not a science fiction story in any way, shape, or form.
Overall, this collection was pretty mediocre, and the stories were one-note (the majority of them dealt with the same basic story: Earthlings colonize or travel to another planet and try to bring Christmas there, and it ends badly) and disappointing. This book failed to get me into the Christmas spirit, which is what I was hoping for from it. I personally don't recommend seeking it out. It wasn't a complete waste of time, but for the most part it was, in my opinion.
My ratings for each story, and for the book as a whole, are below:
To Hell with the Stars: 3.5/5
A Midwinter's Tale: 2/5
Christmas on Ganymede: 4/5
The Falcon and the Falconeer: 1/5
Christmas Roses: 3.5/5
Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus: 1/5
The War Beneath the Tree: 2/5
The Santa Claus Planet: 2/5
The Pony: 2.5/5
O Little Town of Bethlehem II: 3/5
The Christmas Present: 3.5/5
The Season of Forgiveness: 2.5/5
Christmas without Rodney: 3.5/5
Christmas Treason: 3.5/5
= 37.5 / 70 = 53.57% = 2.67 stars
I was really looking forward to this book, but unfortunately most of the stories are pretty disappointing. One that comes to mind is Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus, which was written by an author whose novels I've enjoyed, Frederik Pohl. But that story was not only really bad...it wasn't even science fiction. There wasn't a single science fiction element in that story, that I can recall. And yet Pohl is actually listed in big letters as one of the story authors on the front of the book...for his disappointing story that isn't even science fiction. In a book that advertises itself on the front cover as "Science Fiction with a Festive Flair". That rubbed me the wrong way, because it's borderline false advertising.
Other stories were very mediocre, and some were unbelievably predictable. One story, The Santa Claus Planet, built towards a plot reveal that I knew was going to happen probably five pages in. Sadly, it was over thirty pages long (it's the longest story in the entire book, in fact), and it was somewhat painful to have to read that many pages just to watch something play out that you could see coming from a mile away.
Author Connie Willis, who is apparently known for her excellent Christmas stories, has a story in here called The Pony. However, in this two-hundred-and-forty-three-page collection, this lone contribution of hers was only seven pages of that. And even that story was pretty disappointing and, again, was not a science fiction story in any way, shape, or form.
Overall, this collection was pretty mediocre, and the stories were one-note (the majority of them dealt with the same basic story: Earthlings colonize or travel to another planet and try to bring Christmas there, and it ends badly) and disappointing. This book failed to get me into the Christmas spirit, which is what I was hoping for from it. I personally don't recommend seeking it out. It wasn't a complete waste of time, but for the most part it was, in my opinion.
My ratings for each story, and for the book as a whole, are below:
To Hell with the Stars: 3.5/5
A Midwinter's Tale: 2/5
Christmas on Ganymede: 4/5
The Falcon and the Falconeer: 1/5
Christmas Roses: 3.5/5
Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus: 1/5
The War Beneath the Tree: 2/5
The Santa Claus Planet: 2/5
The Pony: 2.5/5
O Little Town of Bethlehem II: 3/5
The Christmas Present: 3.5/5
The Season of Forgiveness: 2.5/5
Christmas without Rodney: 3.5/5
Christmas Treason: 3.5/5
= 37.5 / 70 = 53.57% = 2.67 stars
December 23, 2025
Check out my full, spoiler free, video review HERE.
I was really interested to see what science fiction writers could do with Christmas themed stories, and I was not disappointed. While a few didn’t really have anything to do with xmas all the stories took different angles to the subject. There were a lot of stories about humans on far off planets dealing with aliens though. A fun read during the holidays.
My favorites were:
• The War Beneath the Tree by Gene Wolfe
• O Little Town of Bethlehem II by Robert F. Young
• Christmas Treason by James White
• Christmas Roses by John Christopher
• A Midwinter's Tale by Michael Swanwick
I was really interested to see what science fiction writers could do with Christmas themed stories, and I was not disappointed. While a few didn’t really have anything to do with xmas all the stories took different angles to the subject. There were a lot of stories about humans on far off planets dealing with aliens though. A fun read during the holidays.
My favorites were:
• The War Beneath the Tree by Gene Wolfe
• O Little Town of Bethlehem II by Robert F. Young
• Christmas Treason by James White
• Christmas Roses by John Christopher
• A Midwinter's Tale by Michael Swanwick
December 5, 2022
Rereading for an upcoming podcast episode. Original review below.
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I'd really give this 3-1/2 stars but the pleasure of reading so many old-style sf stories made me round up the rating.
I liked all but three of these stories. Those were early outliers of today's tendency to be depressing and dark just to remind us that humans are horrible. Which was never the point of a good Christmas story. A human may be horrible like Ebeneezer Scrooge but, as with that story, redemption is possible if the right chance is offered. These had no such chances in them.
The other stories ranged from excellent to good enough. I definitely recommend this collection.
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I'd really give this 3-1/2 stars but the pleasure of reading so many old-style sf stories made me round up the rating.
I liked all but three of these stories. Those were early outliers of today's tendency to be depressing and dark just to remind us that humans are horrible. Which was never the point of a good Christmas story. A human may be horrible like Ebeneezer Scrooge but, as with that story, redemption is possible if the right chance is offered. These had no such chances in them.
The other stories ranged from excellent to good enough. I definitely recommend this collection.
December 4, 2024
Ouvi em audiobook o conto "Christmas on Ganimede" de Isaac Asimov.
Um conto delicioso cheio de húmor e imaginação e que, se quisermos, pode dar-nos alguns pensamentos e alguma discussão.
Delicioso!
Um conto delicioso cheio de húmor e imaginação e que, se quisermos, pode dar-nos alguns pensamentos e alguma discussão.
Delicioso!
March 7, 2014
I was so excited when I found this book! A collection of sci-fi themed Christmas stories, just the thing to break up the Christmas monotony, right?
Now I know why I kept finding copies of it for a dollar.
It’s not all bad, there are some stories I liked, but most of the authors are phoning it in here. It’s like everyone had one mediocre holiday story in them, and instead of reading it in a collection of other good stories on other topics or other good stories by the same author, it’s bundled with every other author’s one mediocre story.
But let’s be more specific, shall we?
“To Hell with the Stars” Jack McDevitt, 1987
To hell with your pessimistic cliche attitude, Mr. McDevitt, warp drive might still be possible - 1 Star
“A Midwinter's Tale” Michael Swanwick, 1988
A nicely creepy Solstice tale, well done - 4 Stars
“Christmas on Ganymede” Isaac Asimov, 1968
Cute humor story, fine for what it is - 3 Stars
“The Falcon and the Falconeer” Barry N. Malzberg, 1969
Okay example of mysticism, not my thing - 2 Stars
“Christmas Roses” John Christopher, 1943
Decent little character study, holiday somewhat incidental - 3 Stars
“Happy Birthday Dear Jesus” Frederik Pohl, 1956
Starts really strong, but the cutesiness of the setting takes over and the ending chickens out big time - 2 Stars
“The War Beneath the Tree” Gene Wolfe, 1979
One of the best stories in the book, dark and horrific, well in tone for December - 4 Stars
“The Santa Claus Planet” Frank M. Robinson, 1951
Cute premise, I guess, but overstays its welcome - 3 Stars
“The Pony” Connie Willis, 1985
Niiiiiiiiiiice - 4 Stars
“O Little Town of Bethlehem II” Robert F. Young, 1985
Really intriguing premise, somewhat lackluster execution - 3 Stars
“The Christmas Present” Gordon R. Dickson, 1957
Really? This was pointless - 1 Star
“The Season of Forgiveness” Poul Anderson, 1973
Decent, but at this point in the book, decent wasn’t impressing me - 2 Stars
“Christmas without Rodney” Isaac Asimov, 1988
Cute, but read like a story that was cut from I, Robot for not having an ending - 2 Stars
“Christmas Treason” James White, 1961
It’s almost good? The idea is neat, but the plot “twists” are so incredibly dated today that I just had to sigh - 3 Stars
Hits and misses aren’t that surprising for an anthology, but still I was disappointed. Nothing really blew me away, although most of the stories were at least okay.
In the end, it averages about 2.6, which sounds right. Not terrible, by any measure.
Lets call it 3 Stars - A Good Book, because I’m feeling generous.
Because all credit to these authors, but it’s not their fault that Mainlining Christmas’ collection of Christmas stories has amazing sci-fi that leaves theirs in the dust.
Now I know why I kept finding copies of it for a dollar.
It’s not all bad, there are some stories I liked, but most of the authors are phoning it in here. It’s like everyone had one mediocre holiday story in them, and instead of reading it in a collection of other good stories on other topics or other good stories by the same author, it’s bundled with every other author’s one mediocre story.
But let’s be more specific, shall we?
“To Hell with the Stars” Jack McDevitt, 1987
To hell with your pessimistic cliche attitude, Mr. McDevitt, warp drive might still be possible - 1 Star
“A Midwinter's Tale” Michael Swanwick, 1988
A nicely creepy Solstice tale, well done - 4 Stars
“Christmas on Ganymede” Isaac Asimov, 1968
Cute humor story, fine for what it is - 3 Stars
“The Falcon and the Falconeer” Barry N. Malzberg, 1969
Okay example of mysticism, not my thing - 2 Stars
“Christmas Roses” John Christopher, 1943
Decent little character study, holiday somewhat incidental - 3 Stars
“Happy Birthday Dear Jesus” Frederik Pohl, 1956
Starts really strong, but the cutesiness of the setting takes over and the ending chickens out big time - 2 Stars
“The War Beneath the Tree” Gene Wolfe, 1979
One of the best stories in the book, dark and horrific, well in tone for December - 4 Stars
“The Santa Claus Planet” Frank M. Robinson, 1951
Cute premise, I guess, but overstays its welcome - 3 Stars
“The Pony” Connie Willis, 1985
Niiiiiiiiiiice - 4 Stars
“O Little Town of Bethlehem II” Robert F. Young, 1985
Really intriguing premise, somewhat lackluster execution - 3 Stars
“The Christmas Present” Gordon R. Dickson, 1957
Really? This was pointless - 1 Star
“The Season of Forgiveness” Poul Anderson, 1973
Decent, but at this point in the book, decent wasn’t impressing me - 2 Stars
“Christmas without Rodney” Isaac Asimov, 1988
Cute, but read like a story that was cut from I, Robot for not having an ending - 2 Stars
“Christmas Treason” James White, 1961
It’s almost good? The idea is neat, but the plot “twists” are so incredibly dated today that I just had to sigh - 3 Stars
Hits and misses aren’t that surprising for an anthology, but still I was disappointed. Nothing really blew me away, although most of the stories were at least okay.
In the end, it averages about 2.6, which sounds right. Not terrible, by any measure.
Lets call it 3 Stars - A Good Book, because I’m feeling generous.
Because all credit to these authors, but it’s not their fault that Mainlining Christmas’ collection of Christmas stories has amazing sci-fi that leaves theirs in the dust.
February 14, 2023
There are a couple gems in this collection - Michael Swanwick's stunning A Midwinter's Tale, John Christopher's tragic Christmas Roses - and a few fun twists - Connie Willis' The Pony, Isaac Asimov's Christmas Without Rodney (though right at the end). Most of the rest were less interesting to me as stories, though it's an interesting collection of ways science fiction was thinking about religion and secular trappings of Christmas and their role in colonization.
December 9, 2021
A wonderful collection of science fiction stories, all dealing, in some way, with Christmas. They range from whimsical (the title story by Isaac Asimov about the natives of Ganymede, who work for Earthlings, going on strike until Santa Claus comes to their moon) to deadly serious ("Christmas Treason" by James White, about children with special powers). Highly recommended.
December 14, 2025
3.5 This is a pretty cynical set of Christmas stories, definitely products of their time, and most are too misogynistic for my taste. But they do what good futuristic stories do: comment on the present.
June 5, 2024
Not your typical Asimov, didn’t know the old robot had it in ‘em. He should have said as emendation “A Jupiter year!”.
January 2, 2025
This rating/review pertains only to Asimov's short story "Christmas on Ganymede". It's short and kind of fun in spirt but not particularly amazing or interesting.
Read
August 22, 2008Christmas on Ganymede and Other Stories (1990)
November 22, 2012
Fun read of a wide variety of styles and authors. Nostalgic, both as any holiday book tends but in its authors--when's the last time you read an Asimov Yuletide story?
December 31, 2023
Ratings:
‘Christmas on Ganymede’ by Isaac Asimov - 2 stars.
‘The Pony’ by Connie Willis - 2 stars.
‘Christmas on Ganymede’ by Isaac Asimov - 2 stars.
‘The Pony’ by Connie Willis - 2 stars.
September 27, 2009
Anthology based around Christmas. Some good, some OK.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews