Holidays are Hell

Holidays Are Hell (2007) — Anthology

Part of the Hell Anthology series

Genre and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy / Sci-UF (one story)

Theme []

Supernatural Holidays gone wrong

Editor and Authors[]

Editor: Kim Harrison

Contributors: Kim Harrison (UF), Lynsay Sands (PNR), Marjorie M. Liu (PNR-UF), Vicki Pettersson (UF)

Description[]

Cover blurb: This holiday, spend quality time with family and loved ones—living and dead . . .

There's no place like home for the horrordays—unless you'd prefer a romantic midnight walk through a ghost-infested graveyard . . . or a haunted house candlelight dinner with the sexy vampire of your dreams. The (black) magical season is here—and whether it's a solstice séance gone demonically wrong with the incomparable Kim Harrison, a grossly misshapen Christmas with the remarkable Lynsay Sands, a blood-chilling-and-spilling New Year's with the wonderful Marjorie M. Liu, or a super-powered Thanksgiving with the phenomenal Vicki Pettersson, one thing is for certain: in the able hands of these exceptional dark side explorers, the holidays are going to be deliciously hellish!

Spernatural elements[]

Witch, spirit, weird science, necromancer, vampires, shape-changer (whatever shape visualize), Chinese folklore, Buddhist spiritual aspects, agent of Light, Buddhist spiritual aspects

List of Stories[]

Story Title	Series and Order Number	Author	Supes	Lead(s)
"Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel"	The Hollows #5.5	Kim Harrison	Witch, spirit,	Rachel, Robbie, Pierce
"Run, Run Rudolph"	stand alone	Lynsay Sands	shape-changer, weird science	Jill
"Six"	stand alone	Marjorie M. Liu	necromancer, vampires,	Six and Joseph
"The Harvest"	Signs of the Zodiac series #1.5	Vicki Pettersson	agent of Light, Buddhist spiritual aspects	Zoe

Synopsis by Story[]

"Two Ghosts for Sister Rachel" by Kim Harrison

This story looks into Rachel's past, when she was eighteen, fresh out of community college, and determined to recover from her childhood of severe illness and to get a job working for Inderlander Security. Her brother Robbie is in town for Solstice Night, and wants her to go back to west coast with him and go to a four year college to continue her Earth Witch studies. Rachel isn't interested. Her life is in Cincinatti. They make a deal that if Rachel can raise her father's ghost and he will agree to her going into the IS, and sign her permission slip, then Robbie will support her decision. In the process, Rachel raises the spirit of Pierce, a male witch who was working for the older version of IS, tracking a vampire who preys on young girls. ❖ —— Two things have defined Rachel’s life so far. The first is her debilitating illness that, though in remission, still leaves her weak. The second is her burning desire to follow her dad’s footsteps into the IS, the paranormal policing organization. But the first directly affects the latter, and no one in her family believes she’s strong enough. To prove them wrong, she performs a very advanced spell, trying to raise the ghost of her father, the one person she knows would support her in this endeavor. The results are a surprise for everyone. ❖

"Run, Run Rudolph" by Lynsay Sands

Readers were introduced to Lynsay Sands in the Bite anthology, which features the prequel to this story, featuring a machine that can transform people’s molecular structure, allowing them to assume the shape of anything they want. Jill, sister to Kyle, our previous hero, is babysitting her new niece when she is accidentally zapped, forcing her into the same predicament as her brother. But she’s not going to let it stop her from playing Mrs. Claus to Nick’s Santa. Not when she’s fantasized about this guy next door for months. Not when she pulled strings and favors to get this part in the annual Santa Claus parade just to spend more time with him. Unfortunately, it turns out the accident isn’t really accident, and someone is very interested in Jill’s new abilities. ❖

"Six" by Marjorie M. Liu

The heroine, Six, is a police officer who was trained from a young age to be an invincible fighter. She has no life outside of her work, and suppresses her longing for anything more beneath cold, hard determination. Her whole body is a weapon, and she knows how to use it. The hero is a necromancer, and they are fighting vampires that are straight out of Chinese folklore. ❖ Six is part of China’s first all female elite terrorism fighting squad. Trained as a weapon since childhood, she knows nothing but her own strength and honor. She’s not afraid, not of anything. Until Joseph shows up and introduces her to things she’d never even imagined, both evil and good, and shakes up her well-ordered life. Though she’s never trusted anyone outside of her squad before, Six finds herself drawn to Joseph. Against the backdrop of Chinese New Year celebrations, the two fight for their lives, and each other. ❖

"The Harvest" by Vicki Pettersson

Zoe has sacrificed everything for her children and grandchildren. She gave up immortality, her supernatural abilities, and her role in life to protect them and keep them alive to fulfill their own destinies. So she’s not going to give up now, even if it means going to her most beloved enemy Warren to ask for help. Of course, given their history, and Zoe’s perceived betrayal, Warren might not be so inclined to help Zoe recover her kidnapped granddaughter from the Shadows. And now that she’s mortal, he’s going to be even less inclined to let her help with the rescue. ❖

~ Sources:

Cover Artist[]

Artist: none listed

Publishing Information[]

Publisher: Harper
Book data: Paperback, 374 pages, Pub: Oct 30-2007, ISBN-0061239097

Cover Blurb[]

There's no place like home for the horrordays—unless you'd prefer a romantic midnight walk through a ghost-infested graveyard . . . or a haunted house candlelight dinner with the sexy vampire of your dreams. The (black) magical season is here—and whether it's a solstice séance gone demonically wrong with the incomparable Kim Harrison, a grossly misshapen Christmas with the remarkable Lynsay Sands, a blood-chilling-and-spilling New Year's with the wonderful Marjorie M. Liu, or a super-powered Thanksgiving with the phenomenal Vicki Pettersson, one thing is for certain: in the able hands of these exceptional dark side explorers, the holidays are going to be deliciously hellish. ~ Goodreads | Holidays Are Hell ~ Goodreads

External Links[]

Book:

Holidays Are Hell (The Hollows, #5.5) by Kim Harrison ~ Goodreads
Short Stories from Hell series by Kim Harrison ~ Goodreads
Bibliography: Holidays Are Hell ~ Publication Listing ~ ISFdb
Holidays Are Hell by Kim Harrison, Marjorie M Liu, Vicki Pettersson and Lynsay Sands ~ FF

Author sites for book—excerpts:

Author Pages for Book:

Kim Harrison's web site

Series pages:

Author Websites:

Author Goodreads pages:

Misc:

Reviews: