Christmas Bestiary with R. M. Greenberg

by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Jane Yolen, Lawrence Schimel, et al.

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0886775280
• ISBN13: 9780886775285
• Release Date: November 1992
• Publisher: Daw Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Original and unique Christmas sci-fi fantasy tales

Christmas Bestiary is a collection of 19 original Christmas stories, each featuring one or more mythical creatures. Some stories were a bit silly ("The Abominable Snowman", and "The Blue-Nosed Reindeer"), some stories were not enjoyable ("The Gift of the Magicians, With Apologies to You Know Who"), a couple didn't make much sense ("The Raven Teaches The Professor A Lesson", "Of Dust and Fire and the Night"), some were sad ("Birthnight", "The Last Sphinx"), but all were original and unique. Here's a brief synopsis of each: A Compromised Christmas by Jennifer Roberson - Honeymooners see an unusual sight. Karaoke Christmas by Elizabeth Scarborough - A mermaid is given a karaoke machine as a gift. The Raven Teaches The Professor A Lesson by Jacke C. Halderman, II - too much wine can make one see things they wouldn't otherwise and make them a better person. The Rocking Horse Christmas by Barb Jernigan - how a three legged rocking horse finally become a child's Christmas gift. The Abominable Snowman by Laura Resnick - Santa helps make the Abominable Snowman's wish come true. A Bird of a Different Color by Blake Cahoon - a very special bird of legend and myth saves a homeless shelter. Christmas Sealby by Jane Lindskold - very short story of a woman who's not what she appears to be, visiting her family for Christmas. In This Season by Harry Turtledove - a golem reveals the future to a group of Jewish families and helps them to escape it. A Web for Christmas by Karen Haber - a group of spiders call on the goddess of spiders, Arachne, to help a human woman whose husband has died. Babe and the Christmas Tree by Lawrence Schimel - tall tale about Paul Bunyan's great blue ox Babe getting a Christmas tree, very short in length. Of Dust and Fire and the Night by Barry N. Malzberg - an odd tale, I can't explain it, it involves the Magi, the night Christ is born, and a phoenix. I'll Be Home for Christmas by Tanya Huff - a woman inherits an old house that has pixies, a very strange looking chicken, and other unusual inhabitants. Birthnight by Michelle M. Sagara - a slightly melancholy story of how the last magical immortal beings left the world on the night Christ was born. Ox and Ass Before Him Bow by Mark Aronson - a donkey guides his owner, a man who has fallen on bad times, to fortune and love. Fate by Kristine Kathryn Rusch - if fate grants you good luck, always make certain to be grateful. The Last Sphinx by Barbara Delaplace - on the one night when animals can speak, a sphinx's actions speak louder than words. Not what you expect. Be warned it's a sad story. The Best Laid Schemes by Jack Nimersheim - an advertising campaign to cancel out the cute Tinkerbell image of pixies has unintended negative results. The Gift of the Magicians, with Apologies to You Know Who by Jane Yolen - A twisted take on the classic story Beauty and the Beast using a plot device from O'Henry's The Gift of the Magi. If you enjoy Disney stories, and don't like