Ali’s Reviews > Christmas and Other Horrors: A Winter Solstice Anthology > Status Update

After Words by John Langan
When your couple supposedly in their mid-40s sound like they're way past 60, you should scrape the whole story and start over. Or even better--drop the project and save the time.
Oh, I didn't mention: we're watching this aged-before-their-time couple in bed. We can hear them having sex a couple of times. It's not much fun when you only get the noises. 1.5/5

No Light, No Light by Gemma Files
One to show a geologist in your life, for sure.
Villain protagonists, volcanoes on Iceland and ancient powers lurking beneath are exactly my idea of creepy fun. 5/5

The Lord of Misrule by M. Rickert
Another real-life horror moment: meeting your new partner's child for the first time. It's an experience that can stick with you.
I could perhaps ask for more bloody details, but otherwise 4.5/5

The Visitation by Jeffrey Ford
The author made a grave mistake of putting "Vikings" and "pre-historic" in the same sentence of the introduction. I can't tell you for sure if what came next really was the dryest depiction of a home invasion possible, or I was just that biased against whatever he had to say next. Either way, 2/5, and but for the twist ending is it so high.

Gravé of Small Birds by Kaaron Warren
Midsommar's wintry, British, more fun cousin.
I had a bloody great time reading. Wasn't too scary to me, though. Maybe the reaction depends on: at which age one watched The Birds. 4/5

Cold by Cassandra Khaw
After the Apocalypse, there are still saints to worship and holidays to celebrate.
I loved the writing, I loved how we were told just the bare minimum to feel the world and its atmosphere. However, it stretches the main theme of the collection to its extreme: Imbolc falls on 1st February, nowhere near winter solstice and on the very tail end of Christmas season 4.8/5

Löyly Sow-na by Josh Malerman
A Finnish father sets his future-son-in-law's head straight in sauna.
I kept waiting for the horror to happen, but it was pretty much a normal sauna experience. And from an author whose wife is actually Finnish, I expected something less surface level. He didn't even try to use any supernatural creatures existing in the folklore, just calling them "wood demons". 2.5/5

All the Pretty People by Nadia Bulkin
After ghosting all her friends the entire year, Sam comes to their Festivus party to explain herself.
I liked the idea of an annual party tradition between a group of friends, and the way all its customs would drive the story forward. 4/5

Our Recent Unpleasantness by Stephen Graham Jones
One Winter Solstice, Jenner comes back from walking his dog with a horrible secret to keep.
I liked some of the ideas. The problem is, Jenner was neither sympathetic enough for me to root for him, nor unpleasant enough to cheer for his getting his just desserts. I just followed along, shuddering at certain scenes but mostly unmoved 3/5

Return to Bear Creek Lodge by Tananarive Due
Johnny's grandmother used to be a movie star, then she was mainly a monster to her family, now she's dying which ruins bot Christmas and Kwanzaa that year.
Author's notes tell me it's a sequel to another short story, and might become a full novel. Which explains why I felt like something was missing. The writing's good but I kept waiting for something more 3.75/5