Mysterion, December 2022

“Christmas in Apocalypse” by Karl El-Koura

Reviewed by Kevin P Hallett

There is one first-publication story in the December issue of Mysterion.

“Christmas in Apocalypse” by Karl El-Koura

Jimmy lost his family when the asteroids hit. He would have died too, except he was away from his home in Toronto. Now, in the depth of a winter night, he sets out from the refugee camp to find a Christmas tree. It was a family tradition and his turn to cut the tree this year.

The asteroids meant the winters were bad, and Jimmy had ten kilometers to go. As he tired, his big sister’s ghost joined him, extolling him to go back, but he was always stubborn. So she encouraged him to go on. He lost all track of time as he cut the pine tree with a rusty old saw no one would miss. But it didn’t matter because he would soon run out of energy, then he could join his sister.

Past stories have explored this plot extensively, but the author’s enjoyable prose created a character-driven story that should be read beside a warm fire on a cold night.

You can follow Kevin P Hallett’s writing on www.kevinphallett.com. There are links there to join his mailing list for a weekly newsletter on the recent release of his second novel, The Fifth Kingdom.