Pulphouse #15, December/January 2021/2022
“Dreaming of a Carboniferous Christmas” by Robert Jeschonek (reprint, not reviewed)
“An Ideal Husband” by Jerry and Kathy Oltion
“Severed Ties” by R.W. Wallace
“Virtching Merry” by Kent Patterson
“Dead Drop” by Louisa Swann
“Cover Nuns” by Barbara G. Tarn (reprint, not reviewed)
“Last Job” by Rebecca M. Senese (nongenre, not reviewed)
“Blood of Heroes” by Ezekiel James Boston (reprint, not reviewed)
“The Magnolia Murders” by O’Neil De Noux (reprint, nongenre, not reviewed)
“The Not-So-Scientific Research of Dragons” by Katharina Gerlach
“Granny Law” by Jason A. Adams
“Lucy and the Underworld” by Rob Vagle
“The Ballad of Bob Dumpty” by Annie Reed
“No Pity Party” by David H. Hendrickson (nongenre, not reviewed)
“Emily Loves Christmas, Emily Loves Murder” by Robert J. McCarter
“A Blood-Soaked Christmas Wish” by David Stier (nongenre, not reviewed)
“Naughty Children” by Mary McKenna
“Father Christmas” by J. Steven York (reprint, nongenre, not reviewed)
“Spells for the Holiday” by Ray Vukcevich
“Nutball Season” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (reprint, not reviewed)
Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf
Appropriate to the holiday season, many of the old and new stories in this issue involve Christmas, or at least wintery climates. Most of the original fiction is science fiction or fantasy, although there is some crime fiction as well as a mixture of sports story and love story.
The characters in “An Ideal Husband” by Jerry and Kathy Oltion have died, but continue to exist in virtual reality, thanks to advanced computer technology. A man loses parts of his memory, and begins acting oddly in other ways. His wife investigates the reason for these changes in her husband, leading to a confrontation with another woman.
Although the notion of consciousness continuing after death in a simulated environment is hardly a new one in science fiction, the authors create a convincing portrait of what this might be like. The background, in fact, is of more interest than the plot.
“Severed Ties” by R.W. Wallace is one of a series of stories in which a pair of ghosts, who cannot leave the cemetery where they are buried, and who have only minimal contact with the living, help other ghosts complete unfinished business. The latest arrival is a man who admits that he deliberately left everything he started incomplete while he was living. The arrival of two very different people at his burial leads to a moving resolution.
The quality of the tales in this series is high, and the latest example is no exception. Both the ghosts and the living are fully developed characters. The story has a powerful effect on the reader’s emotions, without sentimentality.
“Virtching Merry” by Kent Patterson is the most recent posthumously published work by an author who passed away in 1995. In this brief story, family members who always have the same conflicts when gathered together for Christmas dinner are able to avoid hurting each other by entering separate virtual realities. In these VR worlds, they reenact the same fights, but without others aware of them. The idea is a unique and clever one, but there is not much else to this tiny tale.
The protagonist of “Dead Drop” by Louisa Swann is a peach, in love with another fruit. It wishes to be preserved with him, rather than wind up in a hated fruitcake. With the help of a human woman, she is able to overcome the plans of a wicked cook. This is a very silly story, full of fruit puns.
In “The Not-So-Scientific Research of Dragons” by Katharina Gerlach, a woman searches for dragons in the Himalayas. They find her instead, and prove to be friendly, eloquent creatures. She finds out why people don’t believe in them, and what she can do to help them.
The heroine is appealing, and the story has a touch of steampunk flavor that is enjoyable without being overwhelming. This gentle tale is best described as cute, and may be most appropriate for younger readers.
“Granny Law” by Jason A. Adams features a very old woman who is something of a superhero. When called to action, she dons protective clothing and carries special devices, in the manner of Batman. In this adventure, she disciplines a gang of teenage vandals.
With things like cookies that send numbing electrical impulses to the brains of evil-doers, this story will amuse those looking for very light comedy. The narrative makes heavy use of dialect, which can become annoying.
In “Lucy and the Underworld” by Rob Vagle, a dog lives in a world where people no longer exist. After many years, it digs up human bones that turn into living women.
This brief synopsis sums up the entire plot of the story. Much is left unexplained, with no reason given for the wholesale death of humanity nor for the supernatural resurrection. The dog is a character with whom one can empathize, but the way in which events occur without apparent cause leaves the reader cold.
The narrator of “The Ballad of Bob Dumpty” by Annie Reed is a piano player in Las Vegas. He meets the cousin of the late Humpty Dumpty, and helps the humanoid egg investigate what really happened to his relative.
This surreal combination of nursery rhyme and crime story is certainly original, if rather goofy. At least the author treats the plot as if it were a serious one, although there are some egg puns to groan over.
In “Emily Loves Christmas, Emily Loves Murder” by Robert J. McCarter, the ghosts of an adult man and a little girl investigate the killing of a woman whose body was left under a Christmas tree. The young ghost is an interesting character, but the solution to the mystery is painfully obvious.
The protagonist of “Naughty Children” by Mary McKenna deals with beings from folklore. In this tale, she encounters a surprisingly small and naïve version of Krampus, the demon who punishes bad children on Christmas. She soon finds out why the creature isn’t as large and powerful as expected.
This is a simple story, with a very unthreatening demon. Although it may expose some readers to a mythical figure with which they are not familiar, there is not much excitement to the plot.
“Spells for the Holidays” by Ray Vukcevich is an extremely short story about a woman using magic to return an ex-lover for a trivial purpose. It includes a joke that many readers will have heard before. The ending can be seen as black comedy, but otherwise this little bagatelle is very lighthearted.
Victoria Silverwolf wrote this review on Christmas Day.