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I am having an absolutely wonderful Yuletide, and I hope you are too. At last, there is a 2020 landmark I will remember with fondness and delight.
Here are a few stories I've enjoyed so far:
Don't need to know canon:
The Repair Shop (UK TV) & The Chronicles of Narnia & The Portrait of Dorian Gray & Harry Potter. This week on the Repair Shop: a Time Turner, a Victorian Portrait, and an antique wardrobe.
Lucia turns her talents to a lost Victorian masterpiece. Will’s abilities will be tested by a special wardrobe, and Steve has an extremely unusual timepiece.
If you have even a vague familiarity with the crossover canons, all you need to know to enjoy this delightful story is that The Repair Shop is a show about repairing people's battered but prized possessions.
The Christmas Cottage, by Thomas Kinkade. The Only Place That's Real.
Every so often someone would come through the village, looking for the cottage. This time it was a man in a fine silk suit and a faraway look in his eyes.
This story is based on a pair of paintings which are linked at the beginning, and that's all you need to know. It's a chilling piece of old-school horror: no gore or violence, just finely crafted eeriness.
Should know canon:
And Then There Were None - 2015 TV adaptation of Agatha Christie novel. Never Be Drowned.
Vera Claythorne is trapped in a time loop.
The adaptation was extremely faithful so if you've only read the book, this story will still work perfectly. It's a chilling, chilly, beautifully written portrait of Vera Claythorne, Philip Lombard, and Judge Wargrave.
Crossroad (a Star Trek novel), by Barbara Hambly. Name and Nest.
It is no small thing to no longer be alone.
One of my two gifts, and it's ambitious and amazing, with a beautifully executed alien POV and packing a whole lot of plot and worldbuilding into a short length. The year's most heartwarming story about eldritch space horrors.
Dragaera, by Steven Brust & Gashlycrumb Tinies, by Edward Gorey. Gashleycrumb Dragaerans.
A is for Aliera, soul mislaid by mistake
B is for Baritt who crossed the wrong snake
Yuletide was made for this.
Terminator: Dark Fate. Respite.
After a couple of months, Grace wakes up.
One of my two gifts, this is the fix-it fic we all need, a sweet, funny, cozy, and comforting story of three tough women getting a bit of much-needed rest and hope and comfort.
The Tillerman Cycle, by Cynthia Voigt. Cherry Stone.
Four people Maybeth Tillerman learned from (and one she taught).
I always wished Voigt had written a book about Maybeth, who was one of my favorite characters. This story is beautifully written and heartfelt, with so many perfectly characterized and illuminating cameos by the rest of the cast that it really feels like that missing book, even though it's only 4500 words.
Here are a few stories I've enjoyed so far:
Don't need to know canon:
The Repair Shop (UK TV) & The Chronicles of Narnia & The Portrait of Dorian Gray & Harry Potter. This week on the Repair Shop: a Time Turner, a Victorian Portrait, and an antique wardrobe.
Lucia turns her talents to a lost Victorian masterpiece. Will’s abilities will be tested by a special wardrobe, and Steve has an extremely unusual timepiece.
If you have even a vague familiarity with the crossover canons, all you need to know to enjoy this delightful story is that The Repair Shop is a show about repairing people's battered but prized possessions.
The Christmas Cottage, by Thomas Kinkade. The Only Place That's Real.
Every so often someone would come through the village, looking for the cottage. This time it was a man in a fine silk suit and a faraway look in his eyes.
This story is based on a pair of paintings which are linked at the beginning, and that's all you need to know. It's a chilling piece of old-school horror: no gore or violence, just finely crafted eeriness.
Should know canon:
And Then There Were None - 2015 TV adaptation of Agatha Christie novel. Never Be Drowned.
Vera Claythorne is trapped in a time loop.
The adaptation was extremely faithful so if you've only read the book, this story will still work perfectly. It's a chilling, chilly, beautifully written portrait of Vera Claythorne, Philip Lombard, and Judge Wargrave.
Crossroad (a Star Trek novel), by Barbara Hambly. Name and Nest.
It is no small thing to no longer be alone.
One of my two gifts, and it's ambitious and amazing, with a beautifully executed alien POV and packing a whole lot of plot and worldbuilding into a short length. The year's most heartwarming story about eldritch space horrors.
Dragaera, by Steven Brust & Gashlycrumb Tinies, by Edward Gorey. Gashleycrumb Dragaerans.
A is for Aliera, soul mislaid by mistake
B is for Baritt who crossed the wrong snake
Yuletide was made for this.
Terminator: Dark Fate. Respite.
After a couple of months, Grace wakes up.
One of my two gifts, this is the fix-it fic we all need, a sweet, funny, cozy, and comforting story of three tough women getting a bit of much-needed rest and hope and comfort.
The Tillerman Cycle, by Cynthia Voigt. Cherry Stone.
Four people Maybeth Tillerman learned from (and one she taught).
I always wished Voigt had written a book about Maybeth, who was one of my favorite characters. This story is beautifully written and heartfelt, with so many perfectly characterized and illuminating cameos by the rest of the cast that it really feels like that missing book, even though it's only 4500 words.
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