Liam Hogan writes:
I have to say, when asked to name a favourite festive short story, my mind is filled first and foremost with those from Liars' League's December shows. But then like a glittering fragment, it half-remembers a quirky little tale by the first and most prolific short story author I know - Isaac Asimov, and a quick internet trawl later, rediscovers Christmas On Ganymede.
As an uncle, I know the dangers of spinning a tale to a young mind, and in this story Asimov has an alien race captivated by descriptions of Santa Claus, and then a desperate attempt to make those tales come true. Asimov, as Wikipedia helpfully reminds me, liked his puns, and many of his humorous tales hinge on a throwaway ending ("A niche in time saves Stein" for example... ) but this tale keeps the humour all the way through, and then delivers an lovely sucker-punch at the end.
You can read Christmas On Ganymede at this link: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=366635090088758&story_fbid=402087156543551
Liam Hogan runs a sanctuary for homeless stories. If there is anyone else out there who can give a good home to one of his stories, please get in touch. Most of them are house-broken.
Stories written: "How to Build a Mass Murderer" (read by Clive Greenwood), "Commuters' Tails" (read by Silas Hawkins), "He Does Not Know" (read by Ben Crystal), "Bob, Justbob"(read by Silas Hawkins), "Stalemate" (read by Freddie Machin), "The King's Computer" (read by Ben Crystal), "Rat" (read by Silas Hawkins), "The Tasting Menu" (read by Lucie Howard), "Remembrance Day" (read by Will Goodhand), "Sunset" (read by Saul Reichlin), "Last Blood, First Ink" (read by David Rees at Liars' League Leeds), "How the Elephant Fell" (read by Rachel Spicer), "Temp" (read by David Zezulka at Liars' League Leeds),"Feathers" (read by Lin Sagovsky), "Extract from the Time Travellers' Guide - Ch. 7: Tourism" (read by Carrie Cohen), "Crossroads" (read by Terence Anderson)
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