Apr 1, 2022

Book Review: Logistics - A Christmas Story by Chris Coppel

Official blurb

After being abandoned at the age of two and a half, Holly Hillman was raised without whimsy or fantasy. She was taught that there were no such things as Santa Claus, fairies, elves or any other accepted fantasies that help a child deal with the harder realities of life. Now in her forties, she is the CEO of a Fortune 400 company. She rose to the top through hard work, but also by living without distractions or social attachments. Despite her rigidly ingrained dedication, Holly was content with her life, having never lived by any other tenet. Everything was perfect until she was required to give her DNA as part of a health check leading up her company’s merger with an Asian conglomerate. The results of her test unlocked the secret of her unique ancestry, leading to her having to confront a fantastical truth that would forever change her views on life and reality itself.

My thoughts

Last year, I stretched my reading wings to take in more horror and science fiction. Now, I’m a big chicken with horror, so my picks may seem a little tame. SciFi picks have also included a good dose of fantasy. I don’t mind admitting I’m more into magic and fantastical creatures than I am into science.

I read and reviewed Logistics: a Christmas Story by Chris Coppel because it includes my secret ficlove – Christmas romance (nothing eases the seasonal stress like sweet romance (preferably in a locale where one can expect snow and a little love. I call it, “snowro” or “snowrom”).

Back to Coppel’s, Logistics. You might not realise it, but I don’t mind a bit of logistics and distribution. It suits my marketing strategy brain (the part that earns me a living). Before you think, “how bloody dry and boring does that sound?”, there’s not actually that much business in the story (is bizfic a thing?). There is a goodly piece of science fiction though. A tad too much for my taste, but, truly, that’s me. My wings are still stretching.

The story blends science fiction with Christmas story with fantasy well. Coppel’s “elves” appear, at first, to be like many other elvish types (the Chrissy kind, not the tall svelte beings from LotR). Take their pointy hats off and everything changes.

And then there’s the Korm. What?! Love their shape-shifting abilities as much as their affinity for a good time!

You can catch the gist of the story from the official blurb. Santa and Christmas magic stories are almost a dime a dozen, but please don’t discount this one. The science (yes, the bits that make my eyes glaze over) is believable. Inter-dimensional beings, sure thing! Rooms that are larger on the inside? I’m completely there for that. A vodka mix called Black Death?! Okay, maybe that’s a sip too far.

Our protagonist’s journey from straight and narrow businesswoman with a passion for business logistics and making money to a more rounded character able to open her heart to others is as one what might expect from a practical-minded woman. Holly does not deny truth (especially after a few rounds of Black Death). She’s flexible when she needs to be and not afraid of side-stepping and heading along a fresh path if a situation warrants it.

There’s also a touch of romance that nicely ties off all loose ends in the story (not that there were many) and keeps within the SciFi stride of the story.

About the Author

Chris believes that stories should be able to transport the reader to different places, where they can experience events and dimensions that have never been considered. Chris is able to write gentle fable-like adventures (Lucy) as well as opening the pages into dark and terrifying stories where dimensions co-exist with indescribable evil (Legacy).

Chris Coppel was born in California and has since split his time between the USA and Europe, living in California, Washington DC, Utah, Spain, France, Switzerland and England.

Following in his father’s footsteps (Alec Coppel wrote Vertigo among many other successful movies) Chris has written numerous screenplays as well as the novels Double Down (as C.J. Axelrod), Logistics, Liner, Lucy, Lakebed, Legacy, Lodge and Luck.