In honor of Christmas 2008, our past reviews of Christmas stories:
Gerald So reviews "Dreaming of a Spite Christmas" by BV Lawson
Steven Torres reviews "Hidden Gifts" by Steve Hockensmith
Gerald So reviews "Sanity Clause" by Steve Brewer
Gerald So reviews "As Dark as Christmas Gets" by Lawrence Block
Gerald So reviews "Silent Night" by Marcia Muller
Gerald So reviews "Here Comes Santa Claus" by Bill Pronzini
Thursday, December 25, 2008
"Dreaming of a Spite Christmas" by BV Lawson
From: Mouth Full of Bullets, Winter 2007.
This piece of flash fiction counts down to a shopping mall elf's attempt to poison Santa Claus. Each paragraph is a snapshot of the elf's growing nervousness as the plan moves along and then suddenly runs off the rails.
This piece of flash fiction counts down to a shopping mall elf's attempt to poison Santa Claus. Each paragraph is a snapshot of the elf's growing nervousness as the plan moves along and then suddenly runs off the rails.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
"Oil Slick" by Jay Brooks
From: Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, March 2009
Brooks's first published story follows a con man looking to bilk big money from ex-NFL player Andy Belton in an oil drilling scam. Little does he know Belton is running a con of his own. Tightly told and surprising.
Brooks's first published story follows a con man looking to bilk big money from ex-NFL player Andy Belton in an oil drilling scam. Little does he know Belton is running a con of his own. Tightly told and surprising.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
"Babs" by Scott Phillips
From: Las Vegas Noir ed. Jarret Keene & Todd James Pierce. Akashic Books, 2008.
From the author of The Ice Harvest comes the story of Tate, a good-natured pothead originally from Kansas who, as a favor to his friend Skip, agrees to pick up some crystal meth from Skip's friend Babs, and bring it back to L.A. Babs, described by Skip as "a stripper", is nothing like Tate expects. Falling a little in love with her, he agrees to back her up retrieving the meth from a dealer.
I'm not a fan of first-person present-tense narrative as a rule, but the style works here to set up Tate's sensibilities. I was as disarmed by Babs as he was, even as I realized Tate was getting in over his head.
From the author of The Ice Harvest comes the story of Tate, a good-natured pothead originally from Kansas who, as a favor to his friend Skip, agrees to pick up some crystal meth from Skip's friend Babs, and bring it back to L.A. Babs, described by Skip as "a stripper", is nothing like Tate expects. Falling a little in love with her, he agrees to back her up retrieving the meth from a dealer.
I'm not a fan of first-person present-tense narrative as a rule, but the style works here to set up Tate's sensibilities. I was as disarmed by Babs as he was, even as I realized Tate was getting in over his head.
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