A Cosmic Christmas 2 You

This creative and sprightly Christmas science fiction anthology spins in some surprising directions and mostly dodges the lure of treacly schlock. Particularly strong entries include Joe Haldeman’s “Angel of Light,” about a father trying to sell a scandalous ancient book of SF to buy Christmas presents, and Connie Willis’s “Christmas Card,” in which aliens compete to think up the best not-gifts. Allen Steele’s “Zwarte Piet’s Tale,” in which a traveling doctor and his pilot create a new holiday tradition on the Mars frontier, and Wen Spencer’s “Away in a Manger,” about a group of self-aware engineered animals encountering a human baby in an abandoned world, are particularly memorable. Even Frederik Pohl’s 1956 anticonsumerist “Happy Birthday, Dear Jesus” has aged surprisingly well. Only a few stories, like S.N. Dyer’s toweringly silly “Space Aliens Saved My Marriage,” lack much thematic connection to Christmas. A satisfying read for cold winter evenings, this anthology is a great stocking stuffer for SF fans. (Nov.)