Review: Only half of stories are good
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 29, 2013
Ever read anything in the science fiction Christmas genre? Me neither. Until today, when I read six short stories in Christmas Beyond the Box by Josh Langston. I was impressed with his courage to combine science fiction and fantasy with the Christmas season, but left disappointed with the outcome.My love for short stories began after taking a summer class in writing short stories. To improve my writing skills, I read hundreds of short stories, by both wonderful and horrendous authors. My favorite short stories are approximately ten pages long, have dynamic characters, and an unsuspecting plot twist at the end. My favorite stories in Christmas Beyond the Box were The List, Behavior Modifications, and No Marbles This Year. In The List, a small boy uses a machine invented by his father to travel to the North Pole. In Behavior Modifications, a student combats a teacher who is turning other students into classroom pets. In No Marbles This Year, a teenager deals with the ramifications of the death of his family’s eccentric patriarch. All of these stories satisfied my criteria for the makings of a memorable short story, but exceeded due to the unusual topic of the stories.I was not enamored with A Time for Giving, Love Story at Gate 6B, and Vanishing Skills. These stories left me unsatisfied, either because they were too short, the characters too flat, or the plot unremarkable. Unfortunately, that meant half of Christmas Beyond the Box’s stories were not worth reading, so I am hesitant to recommend this short story collection to readers. If you are in need of short stories around the Christmas season for educational use, I recommend this collection to all students. But if you are seeking short stories in general, for either entertainment or educational, I suggest looking elsewhere.