Michael Hebler

Who doesn't know Dickens' classic tale about the three ghosts of Christmas? With this story, the author made an attempt at adding to the Christmas spirit with another story, this one focusing on the ghost of Christmas past. It's almost like the roles are reversed and now it is he who has to be rekindled with the right spirit by visiting his own past. Guided by his guardian angel, he revisits some long forgotten Christmas nights of his own to remind him why he became the ghost of Christmas past.

Intertwined with this plot-line is the story of Sara, a woman who has lost her purpose for life and is determined to end it. At first attempt, the ghost of Christmas past fails to change her mind, thus causing his own trouble, but as with each good Christmas story this one is also brought to a very merry Happy End.

I was really skeptical whether the author could follow in the gigantic footsteps of Dickens' masterpiece, but he managed quite well. Though I've never read the original story, but only a translated version, I guess the old-time language matches the original tone well enough (I did have some difficulties with the choice and order of words at times though, but I mostly attribute that to my personal language skills - or lack thereof - as a non-native English reader).

One thing that bothered me at the beginning was that part of the story happens in the present time, which was a stark contrast to the historical Victorian setting I had in mind from the classic tale (especially the movie versions). Therefore, it was much easier to relate to those scenes playing in the ghost's past and feel a strong sense of deja vú.

While I thought the story lost some of its steam during the middle chapters, towards the end it returned to its former self and led to a satisfactory closure.

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)

I've been a great fan of the Chupacabra series from the start, so of course I couldn't wait for this sequel, especially when I heard that it would reveal the origin of the Chupacabra. Sadly, I have to admit that my excitement vanished with each page I read further into the book.

Where was the Chupacabra? When would it make it's first appearance already? Instead, I was presented with the story of a man I despised from the start, which made it even harder to follow his actions. Once he was with the Cherokee tribe it got better, but only by a small degree. Then, at last, the Chupacabra was brought to life, but it's stage time was much too short and it remained a background character most of the time.

While I appreciated to finally get to know the how and why for the existence of the Chupacabra, those answers took only a short story portion of this whole novel, and I just couldn't relate to the main plot and characters that took up the rest.

I am devastated to admit that I did not like much about this novel, but that is my personal honest opinion. While part 1-3 will remain favorites on my shelf, this installment will definitely stay hidden behind in shame... However, the next book in the series has already been announced, so I'm looking on the bright side and forward to meeting the Chupacabra again.

(I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)