In The Late December

by Greg Van Eekhout

At the end of the universe, Santa Claus fights to keep Christmas and existence itself alive.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy

12 pages, ebook

First published December 22, 2003

About the author

Greg van Eekhout writes books. Some are for kids, some are for adults. He lives in San Diego.

Reviews

[mark monday · Rating 4 out of 5]

an inventive little lark set at the end of time, featuring the consciousness cluster known as Santa Claus battling the all-devouring Big Empty. fun!

and smart. in its 2,861 words, it touches on the nature of existence and the idea that being recognized and known, being conceptualized, being seen equals being, equals being alive. plus a handful of dazzling science fictional concepts that detail future life forms and societies, tossed into the story like small, brightly wrapped stocking stuffers.

read this short story for free! right here:

http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/in...



who is this Greg Van Eekhout? I love his writing. must investigate further!

[Trice]

This is a group read for the Christmas scifi short stories series on the Sci-Fi Aficionados Group.
had to look around a bit for it. found it here:
http://strangehorizons.com/fiction/in...
plus if wanting to listen to it, the Escape Pod podcast has it as episode #138 (though I couldn't get this episode to come up in the Podcast app) and the Far Fetched Fables podcast has it as their episode #185 (which I did find on the Podcast app, though I haven't yet listened)

[Esther · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but a bit depressing

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale from the end of time, about entropy and what it takes to fight against it. The style is good, the length is perfect, and the concept original. I liked it well enough, but like many a post-apocalyptic story (and this one is post-post-post apocalyptic), the elements that lead to this only depress me, rather than enlighten or inform me. Even a horror story usually has a light somewhere in it. I suppose that’s the purpose of the ending, but for some reason it just didn’t coalesce for me.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Often incoherent - too many details, not enough narrative.

[Annika Lauwerys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Empty is coming for us

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Late December is a short story by Greg Van Eekhout. In it, you learn just how important Santa's job really is.

[Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom reads this story to us at Christmas time.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant story about Santa Claus at the end of everything.