| As noted here, I’m commenting daily on the WMG Holiday Spectacular—which is a great project that releases a story every day. These might be reviews. Or not. They might be interesting. Or … um … not. They will be fun, though. For me, at least. Here’s the next story. |
“New Beginnings”
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The end of the Holiday Spectacular comes in the form of the appropriately titled “New Beginnings.” It isn’t what I was expecting, but that’s like saying a trip to Marrakesh wouldn’t be what I expected because I really had no idea what was coming—only that it wasn’t this, and that this is all for the better. As I’ve noted before, a great part of the whole Spectacular concept is that the appearance of a certain story, or a certain mood can come out of the blue and strike you just about right.
I think that’s true here. “New Beginnings” is a real pulse pounder—something to get the new year with an actual bang from the first sentence on. Sure, it gives you a few moments to catch your breath, but basically it grabs you by the collar and runs along until it’s quite satisfying end.
So, yeah, there’s a reason Kristine Kathryn Rusch is one of my favorite writers.
Definitely worth the read.
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Now that we’re done with the full suite of stories, I want to circle back on that bit about the eclectic nature of the project. As I’ve noted elsewhere this is really the first time that I’ve experienced the full effect of the Holiday Spectacular because in other years I was around for most of the front end of the process, so I’d read many of the stories before. It turns out that really took the edge off the spectrum of stories that you find here.
Reading them fresh added real anticipation. By the end I found myself looking at the clock and waiting for 12:59 (because that’s the time they dropped here in dusty old Arizona).
If you are the kind of reader who is interested in being exposed to work of several types, and especially if you’re open to the idea and you just haven’t really taken the plunge on certain genres, then this project really is for you. It’s a desert tray, you know? A dim sum. A real box of chocolates.
Can’t wait for next year.