So I admit that I bought this anthology expressly for the Patricia Briggs short story, the first of the dates that unknown pranksters have set up for the ancient and tetchy werewolf, Asil Moreno. But it's the final story in the volume. This is an interesting assortment of holiday fiction. Some are ghost stories in good Victorian tradition. The darkest days of the year are appropriate for tales of the supernatural, so I was not too surprised to find zombies and other creatures in these pages. Some science fiction, some stories with a Western flavour, all with holiday details: caroling, gingerbread, lights, and Christmas trees.
Like most collections, there were some tales that I enjoyed more than others. I liked them all but preferred the sci fi offerings. The print on the pages was awfully close to the edges of each page, plus there were a few odd spelling mistakes (mind instead of mine, for example). A little bit of googling revealed that WordFire Press is partially owned by one of the editors of this book, Kevin J. Anderson. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it did make me wonder if a more traditional publisher would have looked twice at it. (I encountered Mr. Anderson at a conference here one summer and he is brimming with self-confidence. Rachel Caine was there too, and I was nearby as they discussed something. KJA strode off, pleased as punch with himself, and Ms. Caine met my gaze and rolled her eyes. It is one of my favourite book conference memories).
The Patricia Briggs short story was not as good as the subsequent offerings on this theme to my way of thinking, although I read it a second time and came to appreciate it more. But I have a weakness for Asil. He is a great character, capable of many outrageous things. Briggs obviously feels the same way. Maybe it's just that I read the first dating story after the second and third that coloured my opinion. If I'd read them in order, I might feel entirely differently
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