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In The Late December
At the end of the universe, Santa Claus fights to keep Christmas and existence itself alive.
12 pages, ebook
First published December 22, 2003
38 people want to read
About the author
Greg Van Eekhout
60 books387 followersGreg van Eekhout writes books. Some are for kids, some are for adults. He lives in San Diego.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 11 reviews
December 28, 2017
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!
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!
December 12, 2018
Interesting but a bit depressing
October 22, 2019
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.
November 9, 2017
Often incoherent - too many details, not enough narrative.
May 1, 2023
From Escape Pod podcast. Others seem to rate this highly but I’m wondering what I missed.
January 3, 2026
Big Empty is coming for us
December 13, 2020
In the Late December is a short story by Greg Van Eekhout. In it, you learn just how important Santa's job really is.
December 4, 2010
My mom reads this story to us at Christmas time.
January 13, 2014
Poignant story about Santa Claus at the end of everything.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 11 reviews