Kathryn’s Reviews > Christmas and Other Horrors: A Winter Solstice Anthology > Status Update
Kathryn
is on page 337 of 440
The Visitation by Jeffrey Ford - 3/5 ⭐️
I keep saying this about this collection but great premise, weak execution. Truly fascinated by the underpinning tradition but the story itself was lacking a lot.
— 10 hours, 52 min ago
I keep saying this about this collection but great premise, weak execution. Truly fascinated by the underpinning tradition but the story itself was lacking a lot.
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Kathryn’s Previous Updates
Kathryn
is on page 429 of 440
After Words by John Langan - 5/5 ⭐️
Great story to finish on! I loved the way this story twisted through itself leaving the reader unsure when to be fearful, what to trust etc. I’d be curious to read more from this author!
— 5 hours, 1 min ago
Great story to finish on! I loved the way this story twisted through itself leaving the reader unsure when to be fearful, what to trust etc. I’d be curious to read more from this author!
Kathryn
is on page 389 of 440
No Light, No Light by Gemma Files - DNF
This is another DNF. The writing was trying so hard to be unique but it was janky and confusing. Not a fan.
— 10 hours, 18 min ago
This is another DNF. The writing was trying so hard to be unique but it was janky and confusing. Not a fan.
Kathryn
is on page 367 of 440
The Lord of Misrule by M. Rickert - DNF
Yeah I DNF’d this one after like 3 pages. The sentence “In spite of my affinity for cottagecore[…]” did me in.
— 10 hours, 25 min ago
Yeah I DNF’d this one after like 3 pages. The sentence “In spite of my affinity for cottagecore[…]” did me in.
Kathryn
is on page 323 of 440
Gravé of Small Birds by Kaaron Warren - 4/5 ⭐️
I liked this story but at this point I’m really feeling that so few of these stories have really been creepy. This was a classic fable-type tale about not being a shit person “or else” and it was well written. But it wasn’t creepy. Alas.
— Oct 30, 2026 10:22PM
I liked this story but at this point I’m really feeling that so few of these stories have really been creepy. This was a classic fable-type tale about not being a shit person “or else” and it was well written. But it wasn’t creepy. Alas.
Kathryn
is on page 283 of 440
Cold by Cassandra Khaw - 3/5 ⭐️
I wanted to like this more but it was so damn short!! Such a cool concept and imagery but I just felt like it was too fleeting for me to really sink my teeth into.
— Oct 23, 2026 03:22PM
I wanted to like this more but it was so damn short!! Such a cool concept and imagery but I just felt like it was too fleeting for me to really sink my teeth into.
Kathryn
is on page 271 of 440
Löyly Sow-na by Josh Malerman - 4/5 ⭐️
I really liked this one! A subtle sense of creeping dread permeated the story and the tension built wonderfully. I’m always a sucker for a horror monster but also what’s more monstrous than being confronted by our own humanity?
— Oct 19, 2026 01:07AM
I really liked this one! A subtle sense of creeping dread permeated the story and the tension built wonderfully. I’m always a sucker for a horror monster but also what’s more monstrous than being confronted by our own humanity?
Kathryn
is on page 243 of 440
All The Pretty People by Nadia Bulkin - 1/5 ⭐️
Shitty, unlikeable people have a dumb “I’m so hipster I’m so ironic” edge-lord holiday party and find out they’re all, in fact, shitty. No thanks. What a waste of paper.
— Oct 18, 2026 12:38AM
Shitty, unlikeable people have a dumb “I’m so hipster I’m so ironic” edge-lord holiday party and find out they’re all, in fact, shitty. No thanks. What a waste of paper.
Kathryn
is on page 225 of 440
Our Recent Unpleasantness by Stephen Graham Jones - 3.75/4 ⭐️
In true SGJ fashion, this was weird and unsettling and idk entirely what I think about it. I love the way he is able to instantly create this atmosphere of pervasive wrongness, a tension that never quite lets up. But also I often find his stuff gets crazy hard to follow and this was no exception.
— Oct 16, 2026 07:12PM
In true SGJ fashion, this was weird and unsettling and idk entirely what I think about it. I love the way he is able to instantly create this atmosphere of pervasive wrongness, a tension that never quite lets up. But also I often find his stuff gets crazy hard to follow and this was no exception.
Kathryn
is on page 189 of 440
The Ghost of Christmases Past by Richard Kadrey - 3/5 ⭐️
Cool concept, weak execution. I know short stories are, by their very nature, short, but this just felt too rushed considering how much emotional history it tries to wedge in.
— Oct 15, 2026 07:53PM
Cool concept, weak execution. I know short stories are, by their very nature, short, but this just felt too rushed considering how much emotional history it tries to wedge in.
Kathryn
is on page 169 of 440
Finally back to this after a 9 month hiatus…
Return to Bear Creek Lodge by Tananarive Due - 5/5 ⭐️
This was fantastic. Haunting and spooky and family trauma and a nasty (maybe also sympathetic) little creature? It’s like a wishlist of my favourite horror genre words/concepts (which was, naturally, brilliantly executed by Due). Her hint of this becoming a full length novel in her authors note pleases me!
— Oct 14, 2026 04:32AM
Return to Bear Creek Lodge by Tananarive Due - 5/5 ⭐️
This was fantastic. Haunting and spooky and family trauma and a nasty (maybe also sympathetic) little creature? It’s like a wishlist of my favourite horror genre words/concepts (which was, naturally, brilliantly executed by Due). Her hint of this becoming a full length novel in her authors note pleases me!