Review: Joy to the World
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 6, 2014
Normally, in reviewing a story like Ian Thomas Healy's "Upon a Midnight Clear," I would not even mention that the story line has something to do with Christmas but would, instead, try to engage in every bit of verbal gymnastics possible in discussing the plot to disguise that fact. However, since Healy himself pretty much gives it away in the story's title and descriptive blurb, I don't feel bad in referring to that detail, one which has a good deal to do with the ultimate enjoyment value of the story.Midnight Clear is set in the asteroid belt of our solar system, where a group of freelance miners spend their time going from one asteroid to another in search of whatever minerals they can find. The main character, Rob Stabler, ekes out a living scrounging for various metals. Finally, on Christmas day, he stumbles across an amazing find, an object that appears to be a derelict alien spaceship. Stabler knows that such a find will be worth a fortune in salvage rights if he can get the vessel back with him. However, what he discovers when he tries to board the object is that he has not merely discovered an alien vessel but an actual alien.Midnight Clear succeeds on two distinct levels as a science fiction story. First, in about twenty pages, Healy sets up the framework of a future economy similar to the Western gold rush days, in which a few hardy individuals wander about trying to recover enough to make a living. Healy manages to make this world seem realistic and familiar (and the miners likable prospectors), even if, of necessity, he only skims the surface of describing how this particular economic framework functions.More important, however, Healy has told a Christmas story, as what Stabler discovers, and how the story plays out, occurs fittingly on Christmas Day. True, there's not a whole lot of character development in the story... Stabler is pretty much an ordinary everyman, but the lack of a great deal of character distinctiveness makes this far more of a universal story.As a result of Amazon's sometimes strange classification system, this story shows up under searches for both science fiction and Christian fiction. The latter may encourage some people to read it while, at the same time, discouraging others. Although Midnight Clear turns out to be a Christmas story in the religious sense, it is not a heavy handed proselytizing story. It is a Christmas story, but not an overtly Christian story... anyone who is at least passingly familiar with Christmas symbolism will enjoy this, regardless of their actual faith. The story is more of a feel good story than a faith affirming story.The odds are that most people will not find this story at Christmas time, but instead, as I did, at some other time of the year. In that case, you'll be happy to know that author Healy has given readers a gift that can be enjoyed year round (the story is supposed to be free), a tale that can be enjoyed on the other 364 days of the year just as much as on Christmas itself.