The Claus Effect

It's the 1990s. The Cold War is over, the Soviet Union is down for the count—and the Free World is getting ready for its first nuclear-free Christmas in decades. Only one thing in the world can ruin it.

Santa Claus.

Who can forget the horrifying events of "The Toy Mill" (Nickle & Schroeder's 1993 Aurora-Award-winning story), in which a malevolent, post-industrial-revolution Santa Claus granted Emily, a little girl, a Christmas wish—and her desire to be a Christmas Elf nearly destroyed the world? It's eight years later, and Christmas should be a joyful time—shouldn't it? Not with Santa on the loose! Events propel the now-teenaged Emily and West Point Cadet Neil Nyman on a breakneck journey through suburban shopping malls, Ontario cottage country, and the frigid northern wastes of the former Soviet Union—battling displaced Cossacks, blue-blooded cottagers and homicidal, downsized elves along the way. Finally, they must face...