Christmas Stars: Fantastic Tales of Yuletide Wonder

by David G. Hartwell (Editor)

Twenty-five classic science fiction and fantasy tales of Yuletide wonder, including stories by Ben Bova, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, John M. Ford, William Gibson, Anne McCaffrey, Frederik Pohl, Spider Robinson, Gene Wolfe, and the hard-to-find Philip Van Doren Stern fantasy that inspired the film It's A Wonderful Life .

'Twas the night before tomorrow, and all through the galaxy, nothing burns as bright as... Christmas Stars.

Christmas is a time for miracles, scientific and otherwise, and for surprises that can only occur at this time of the year. But what marvels will the holidays bring to the far future--or to alien worlds light-years from the North Pole?

In this celebratory collection, many of today's finest writers of fantasy and science fiction unwrap startling visions of the future of Christmas. An unusual Christmas spirit brings confusion--and romance--to a modern young woman. A father's gift opens up the universe for all humanity. And a devout researcher uncovers the shattering secret of the original Star of Bethlehem. These and other stories shine like sparkling, unearthly ornaments on a fresh green tree of holiday traditions.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Christmas, Anthologies, Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

David Geddes Hartwell was an American editor of science fiction and fantasy. He worked for Signet (1971-1973), Berkley Putnam (1973-1978), Pocket (where he founded the Timescape imprint, 1978-1983, and created the Pocket Books Star Trek publishing line), and Tor (where he spearheaded Tor's Canadian publishing initiative, and was also influential in bringing many Australian writers to the US market, 1984-date), and has published numerous anthologies. He chaired the board of directors of the World Fantasy Convention and, with Gordon Van Gelder, was the administrator of the Philip K. Dick Award. He held a Ph.D. in comparative medieval literature.

He lived in Pleasantville, New York with his wife Kathryn Cramer and their two children.

Reviews

[Benji's Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing collection of Christmas tales, featuring quite possibly Ray Bradbury's only Christmas story, a good one by Arthur C. Clarke, and a whole lot of meh to drag it down. I found myself skimming through pages (a rare thing for me to do), just so that I could finish this faster. That's never a good sign.

I was pulled in by those two names, as well as the likes of William Gibson, Ben Bova, and Anne McCaffrey, but was ultimately disappointed. You usually read an anthology, and there's just enough stories to enjoy to recommend the book to someone, but this book didn't have that. I would not recommend for you to check this out due to two tales I enjoyed. Instead, I urge you to find them elsewhere.

Those two tales are "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke and "The Gift" by Ray Bradbury. And even then, I have read much better tales by Bradbury than what was offered here.

[Jessica Halleck · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little more miss than hit, with a notable few stories in particular on either end of the spectrum.

Excellent:
- Arthur C. Clarke, "The Star"
- Jack McDevitt, "Promises to Keep"

Very Good:
- Anne McCaffrey, "A Proper Santa Claus"
- Joel L. Hensley & Alexei Panshin, "Dark Conception"
- John M. Ford's Camelot contributions

Certified WTF:
- the surreal nonsense of David R. Bunch's "A Little Girl's Xmas in Moderan" (I sort of get what he was after; cynical gonzo chaos is just not my bag at all)
- the half-assed, pointless story by Gene Wolfe, "La Befana"

A quick compilation to read, for all the time it took me. I'd recommend independently tracking down the gems and forgo spending time on the forgettable pieces.

[Jodie Powers · Rating 3 out of 5]

More misses than hits in this one but I really enjoyed

Miracle by Connie Willis
When Jesus Comes Down the Chimney by Ian Watson
The Plot Against Santa Claus by James Powell

[Alazzar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only read a select few stories around the holiday season, and at this point I've waited so long to write the review that I can't recall a single one of them. To be fair, though, this probably has more to do with my lack of reading enthusiasm lately than the quality of the stories.

Actually, wait--I do recall specifically grabbing this book from the library so I could read what may be Ray Bradbury's only Christmas story. I was actually pretty disappointed by it. (On the plus side, Bradbury is still great for getting my Halloween fix.)

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a sucker for science fiction/fantasy anthologies with a Christmas theme, and this one did not disappoint. This one includes Connie Willis's "Miracle," about a young woman encountering the most annoying Christmas Spirit ever, "Christmas Trombone" by Raymond E. Banks, a moving story about real vs. manufactured music, "The Star" by Arthur C. Clark (can't say much about this without ruining the surprise ending), and many others.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating interpretation of various Christmas stories seen through the lens of science fiction. Written by some of the best authors in the business, each story will make you laugh, cry, groan or simply allow you reflect on this crazy season at Yuletide.

[Paula Lyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of science fictiony Christmas stories. This is always hit and miss, but I really liked several of these. Fun to read this time of year.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical of fantasy and SF anthologies, a couple of good stories, a lot of "meh," and some garbage probably written by friends of the editor.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

To get you in the Christmas spirit, a bunch of science fiction and fantasy Christmas stories. I'd say old and new, but no, it's more like old, older, and oldest.

"The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke inevitably makes an appearance. And "Miracle" by Connie Willis, which is the title story in a Christmas collection of hers, is also included.

The Anne McCaffrey story "A Proper Santa Claus" isn't even too bad.

"La Befana" by Gene Wolfe was entirely incomprehensible the first time through. The second time, reading more carefully, I felt I finally understood what was going on. But I still didn't 'get' it.

I felt the anthology didn't end strongly.

Annoyingly, there's a story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. I started reading it, thinking it was a take on It's a Wonderful Life. But then I realized it _was_ It's a Wonderful Life. There's no information given about the story or the author. There's not even a copyright notice like there are for the other stories, so I can't even tell when it was first published or where. Am I motivated enough to Google it? I dunno. Connie Willis's story does put me off the It's a Wonderful Life thing. :)

[MB (What she read) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting amalgamation of science fiction short stories with a Christmas theme. As in most compilations, some stories were blah, some were okay and some were quite striking.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much a fan of old sci-fi from the 50s and 60s. And I hate short stories, so I don't know why I picked this. Curious about how they celebrate Christmas on Mars, I guess.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a pity so many of the stories are depressing in their outlook

[Sally906 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ho hum - one or two were ok - but mostly was not engrossing