This was an interesting read. Sort of literary in writing and execution, but mysterious and horror-leaning in plot. The writing was jarring and took a moment to sink into; it’s intentionally choppy and sharp and doesn’t necessarily make for smooth reading. The story builds suspense quickly, which kept me reading. There is a fever-dream tinge to the horror which can be really hit or miss for me but definitely worked here.

A Christmas story that quickly spirals into insanity. "Cruels" instead of carols; jingle bastards instead of jingle bells; and instead of reminiscing over warm holiday memories, Angie ANF her son succumb to the darkness of the season.

This was dark and atmospheric but also funny in a strange, dark humor way. This story has so many good elements and is so promising but it loses its way in execution. It needs so much more fleshing out. The characters require more development.

This was spooky and funny, my favorite combo. Eerie atmosphere with a bizarre mystery (that if I’m being honest I don’t really understand, and expected more from), reminiscent of old Victorian Christmas ghost stories, spiraling into insanity. This was really strong for me until the end, it went a bit off the rails and didn’t give me the closure I’d hoped for.

From the publisher: “From the acclaimed author of Anno Dracula, the perfect gift for those who love the dark fantastic imaginations of Neil Gaiman and T. Kingfisher, this is a nightmarish tale of a haunted Christmas set deep in the British countryside not too long ago. Cosy traditions are made twisted and terrifying as a mother and son grapple with their painful past.

December 1st. Angie and her teenage son Russell (Rust) prepare for Christmas, stringing fairy lights around their isolated home on the Somerset levels and decorating a tree with traditional ornaments. The first door of the advent calendar is opened, but the chocolate inside tastes off. Rust receives his first Christmas card; it’s unsigned, and the message is ‘pinch, punch… first of the month’. The robin chirruping on a bough in a snowy woodland picture looks like a nasty piece of work.

The cards keep coming, one each day and each more sinister than the last, and a frightened Angie recalls ‘The Cards’ – a seasonal TV show from her childhood that featured similar happenings, and while she remembers it vividly, there is no evidence that it was ever broadcast…

Christmas cheer is gradually poisoned, with ‘cruels’ instead of carols, the turkey rotting in the fridge, unwelcome visits from the Merciless Gentlemen and the Jingle Basterds, and Rust becoming increasingly unwell. Angie begins to wonder if her childhood Christmases were in fact as joy filled as she remembers…

A frightening tale of seasonal dread from the acclaimed author of Anno Dracula. Cosy traditions are made twisted and terrifying as a mother and son grapple with their painful past.“

In these days of lengthy series and books running to hundreds of pages, it is occasionally worth remembering that there’s much to be said for a short yet sharp shock of a story. And at 162 pages, Kim Newman’s latest is that.

This is one that builds, from something as gentle and as evocative as a snowy Christmas postcard scene, into something quite.. unusual. Newman knows how to build suspense, going from what seems to be a fairly mundane and peaceful beginning to a rather nerve-shredding conclusion.

What this book, even of this size, gives is a taste of Kim’s enthusiasm and energy. It is so tightly written, it could be a script from the Gilmour Girls. Each line, sentence, phrase has meaning, skilfully crafted. If you blink, you’ll miss a wry comment, a witticism, a detail. Being a Newman book, it is also filled with his trademark cultural details on television (the BBC’s Ghost Stories for Christmas, for example), films and books (Dickens, M. R. James etc). Kim also manages to make some wry comments on self-publishing!

It is also thoroughly contemporary, combining podcasts and social media with references to Christmas events and traditions of the past. I can see people reading this on the countdown to Christmas – a horrible advent calendar!

Alternatively, if you want to give someone a fright after their Christmas turkey? With the lights down low and a roaring fire nearby, this might do the trick. It really gave me the creeps! Recommended.

Book Review: A Christmas Ghost Story by Kim Newman
Rating: 2.5/5

Kim Newman’s A Christmas Ghost Story attempts to blend festive charm with eerie supernatural elements, but it struggles to find its footing. While the premise holds promise—ghostly intrigue set against a holiday backdrop—the execution feels uneven.

The atmosphere is suitably spooky at times, with Newman’s trademark wit and historical flourishes adding moments of intrigue. However, the pacing is sluggish, and the characters lack the depth needed to anchor the story. The scares, though occasional, don’t deliver the emotional weight or tension expected from a tale of this genre.

For fans of Newman’s work, there are glimpses of his signature style, but A Christmas Ghost Story ultimately falls short of being truly memorable. It’s a decent read for die-hard enthusiasts of holiday ghost stories but doesn’t quite live up to its chilling potential.

I really disliked the writing style in this book. It made it very hard to get immersed in the story, so unfortunately, I ended up quitting on it.

3.5/5

Christmas has long been a time for spooky ghost stories – hauntings, dark tales, even time-travelling, life-changing beings. But, I’d never previously read anything where someone was being haunted by a ghost *story*, yet that’s what we get here.

I’ll admit, this one took a little while for it get its hooks into me. While I loved the Britishness of the opening third, I was getting ever so slightly bored with it before the first card arrived and things changed for the better.

So, the cards…our main character Russell – sorry, Rust – is starting his family’s traditional Christmas celebrations on 1 December with his mum when he receives a weird and somewhat sinister card in the mail. He gets another on the second, and third, and so on. It turns out that these cards are mimicking the story of a spooky tale Rust’s mum swears she saw on TV when she was a kid. And yet…that show never existed. As the story progresses, Rust and his mum are further possessed by this odd and increasingly spooky ghost story takes over their house and their lives.

Once this got moving, I really enjoyed it. The quirkiness stayed throughout and, while I’ve read plenty of things that were outright scarier, I really appreciated the building of dread and sense of Something Not Right that was building throughout. I’m also fascinated and creeped out by the milk float delivering the cards with its festive horn…how did it manage?

This is a fun read as we get closer to the big day and something a little different too. It also made me think a lot about the traditions we each build in our own families and why we do it. Oh, and it *also* made me want some mince pies stuffed with too much mince.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy – out now!

DNFed at 40%

First off, this ebook was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

And while I am going to be very honest in regard to my review I really wish the synopsis was honest when it said it was “the perfect gift for those who love the dark fantastic imaginations of Neil Gaiman and T. Kingfisher.”

I thought “Perfect! Finally a seasonal holiday read I am guaranteed to enjoy!”

I can go in expecting an atmospheric, Christmas ghost story that has beautiful prose and depth similar to authors that I love.

But nope, this is nothing like Gaiman or Kingfisher. In fact the writing style was so tiresome that I dreaded picking it up. I got to the point where I legit said “why am I doing this to myself.”

The story itself maybe interesting but the writing was choppy, lacked development on all fronts and was difficult to follow.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this one but if you want to know more you can swipe for the synopsis.

Thank you so much for a copy! Unfortunately I had such a hard time getting into it and staying interested. :(

A Christmas Ghost Story by Kim Newman  is a ghost story???

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Titan Books, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

 
My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Angie Wickings  (an author), and her son Russell (who prefers to be called Rust), are decorating for Christmas.  Their home (Six Elms House), is on the outskirts of  "the most haunted village in England", and is somewhat isolated. They have their traditions as to when to put up the decorations, sharing the advent calendar, opening and placing their Christmas cards, and many others.

This year will be different.  The first chocolate in the advent calendar is horrendous.  The first Christmas card (addressed to Rust), is unsigned, and a little strange.  Now Angie is freaking out a little.  Every day a new card comes,  and Angie freaks out a little more.  Then a lot.  Rust starts to worry about his mom.

Finally, Angie divulges why she fears these cards, and she wants to do so in one of Rust's Paraphenomena Podcasts.  Apparently, she recalls a seasonal tv show episode entitled The Cards, where a warlock sucked all the happiness out of Christmas, and he became stronger.  But the Spirit of Christmas was determined to get revenge, and did so by turning into the Holly Child and sending the warlock a different horrible Christmas card each day.  It didn't end well.

Unfortunately, no one believed Angie saw this episode....and there is no record of it ever bein broadcast.  She was only eleven.  Everyone told her that it was all in her imagination.  If that's the case, why are these cards arriving?  And why is Christmas being poisoned for them?


My Opinions:
I guess I wasn't the right audience for this one, although I'm not sure who would be.  I struggled with the writing.  Yes, there was a story within a story, and that worked fine.  However, there were no real chapters, and a couple of times I wondered if it was Angie speaking or if it was Rust.   As well, some of the phrasing was just poor.

The story seemed to drag as we learned about Angie's childhood, and friends (which as far as I could tell had no real bearing on the story).  I may have missed a few things, because I started skimming, and hoping it would end soon.  I kept telling myself this is a rather short story, you can do this!  That's not a good thing to have to tell yourself..

The whole thing felt disjointed, and seemed to go off in all directions.  Yes, there's a paranormal element to it, and other dimensions, and a bit of grossness and horror.  But there was mainly confusion.  As well, I couldn't connect to the characters, so I didn't really care if they were "got good" or not.

Now, the actual ending was quite good.  It was just a really bumpy and confusing road to the end.  That being said, it could just be that it wasn't for me.  Maybe you'll have a totally different reaction to the book.  I hope so!

A Christmas Ghost Story by Kim Newman is a delightful blend of festive charm and eerie suspense, perfectly capturing the spirit of the season. Newman's atmospheric writing immerses readers in a haunting tale that intertwines holiday traditions with supernatural elements, creating a captivating narrative. The characters are vividly portrayed, and the plot offers both intrigue and nostalgia, evoking the classic ghost stories of yesteryear. This enchanting novella is a must-read for those looking to add a touch of the supernatural to their holiday reading list.

Very disappointed by this book. It was not what I expected. If you want a Christmas ghost story maybe pick up something else?

In keeping with the British tradition of ghost stories set around and told at Christmastime, Newman's new novella brings in the ghosts with some help from M. R. James, Dickens, Doctor Who, and others. A young man and his eccentric mother have all sorts of Christmas traditions to drive away the bleak midwinter, but this year, they're not working, as a series of mysterious and violent holiday cards arrive and morph during the days leading to December 25. Newman is a bit ham-handed with the characterizations and character development, and brings in perhaps a few too many memes and threads--perhaps trying to prove some kind of technological competence?--that are too ephemeral to be recognizable for very long, but at the moment--2024--it's a fine read.

I have never got around to reading Anno Dracula although it is on my to be read pile. But I will say the blurb for this one really caught me and more so that I really like mixing horror with Christmas time. I did enjoy A Christmas Ghost Story. The plot and pacing were a bit disjointed but I think that was the point. I did enjoy the characters and the setting overall. The writing style itself did seem to be a bit choppy at times but I think, maybe I’m totally off the mark, that was the intension? I’m not sure if it’s to highlight the unreal-ness of it all. Or for us to question if it is really a ghost story or something else like a hallucination. It was still enjoyable to read since I do like my books to be a bit odd sometimes.
As always thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for my copy. My review is always honest, truthful and freely given.

I was intrigued by the idea and love the cover, but I struggled to get into the flow of the story from page one. As it continued, I felt more confused and frustrated than curious. This one was a miss for me.

Teenage son and mother alone in an isolated rural house, following family traditions, a darker humourous edition of the festive season. Intercut is a separate narrative which it becomes clear is an older story initially of unknown origin, a folk horror of sorts which is seeping into the son's life. No giving things away, so what worked was the depiction of an unusual home and life, people with their own traditions and relationship with each other and the world around them.

There seems an inbalance, the gradual build-up to a relatively short ending. I can imagine the descriptive element being more effective on screen in some form. Generally a good story, unusual and worth reading.

I need someone to tell me what I just read. A Christmas horror story? The hallucinations from someone who had a bit of undigested food (thank you for that one, Mr. Scrooge….) A story about a mom (Angie? Lynda? The book uses Angie, the description says Lynda) and her son Rust, both of whom enjoy ghost stories/horror. She writes, he does a podcast. And their lives take an odd twist down that path. Interesting plot but the author uses a lot of repetition ('too much mince meat in the mince meat pie' - over and over, for example). And the story was, at times, difficult to follow, it felt 'cluttered' with too much going on. This book uses a type of humor that I don’t quite know the name of - not slapstick, not exactly deadpan, and personally it doesn’t work. For me, anyway. But it very likely works for others so to people who enjoy repetitive, often ridiculous humor, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It’s a short book/quick read, so give it a whirl.

My copy of this ARC was provided by the publisher and NetGalley; the opinions expressed herein are strictly my own.

This is going to be a great read for Holiday season. I am so grateful to have gotten this from Netgalley. I loved this a lot. I can't wait to suggest this to people for christmas.

Rust and his mother, Angie, have many Christmas traditions. When they start receiving mysterious Christmas cards reminiscent of an old tv program, it forces them to confront Angie's past.
To put it plainly, I did not enjoy this novella at all. The pacing is a snail's pace and dragged especially with the inclusion of script parts. The "humor" did not do it for me, and I found it to be rather grating. There's moments that make me wonder if the author put it in just to be edgy, such as when Angie constantly calling her son Russell instead of Rust and referring to it as "deadnaming". That seems to just be a nickname he likes so it's not that. Even the "plot" if you can call it that is just, lackluster.
I cannot in good faith recommend this to anyone and will not read anything else by the author.

I wanted to love this book but unfortunately this story didn't hit the mark with me. The writing style didn't connect with me and the story was a little confusing. I do see other great reviews for it so please give it a try if you enjoy short spooky reads.