All I Want for Christmas Is Revenge: A Dark Christmas Comedy Novelette

By Rachel Rees and Edwin McRae

When veteran game developers, Sarah and Greg, are unexpectedly laid off right before the holidays, their Christmas cheer suffers a serious debuff. Reeling from the loss, they stumble upon the mysterious Billy Gruffs bar, unaware of the dark forces at play behind its facade.  

 

Whilst deep in their cups, they learn the callous venture capitalist responsible for closing their game studio is vacationing in Norway's winter wonderland, and revenge starts sounding awfully sweet.  

 

Goaded into action by the mysterious barman, Sarah and Greg take inspiration from their video game heroine, Karina Fae. Armed with her ruthless tactics, the duo sets out on a clandestine Nordic quest to deliver some old school justice.  

 

But can this worldbuilding duo manufacture a real-world takedown? Or will their imperfect scheming snowball into an epic failure? 

 

Find out in this dark Christmas tale about losing it all and bravely charging on. 

 

All I Want for Christmas Is Revenge is a cheeky, fresh twist on a holiday story as old as time. Wrap yourself up in this fast-paced adventure set amidst the cosy lights of a Scandinavian Christmas. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fiction Engine
• Release date: Dec 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223508823

Book preview

ONE

Saf Narcisco, the notoriously peppy host of Mental About Games, bursts into the studio. Her hair and makeup assistant rushes in behind her, applying the finishing touches to her technicolor hair. Today’s attire? A t-shirt emblazoned with a pixelated dragon, leather pants, and high-heeled boots that a Diablo cosplayer would kill for.

In the lit guest corner, flanking a plastic neon Christmas tree, Sarah and Greg fidget nervously in their seats. The couple look like they’ve just teleported from a gaming convention. Sarah’s t-shirt declares her fluency in Drowic, while Greg’s red on white tie is a tribute to Silent Hill.

Welcome to the digital dojo of gaming chatter! Saf announces with an enthusiasm that could power a small city.

Today, we have the dynamic duo of gaming, Sarah Hutton and Greg Henare, from Hazardous Taste Studios. They’re here to spill the pixels on their long-awaited dark fantasy action-adventure game, Karina Fae: Tome of Fate, which will hit game stores and streaming platforms this Christmas!

Sarah leans forward, her eyes sparkling with feigned enthusiasm. Thank you Saf, it’s a genuine pleasure to be here.

Saf, almost bouncing in her seat, asks, So, you two... What can fans expect from Tome of Fate?

Well, you play as the formidable Karina Fae. In Tome of Fate, players will travel to the most beshadowed corners of ancient history. Uncover dark secrets, battle nefarious conspiracies, and get stupidly rich off the plunder of the past.

I love it already!

This is Greg’s cue, his voice a touch brittle with nervous energy. Imagine a world where parkour platforming collides with martial arts. It’s kinda like if Kassandra and Sub Zero had a baby who went to school with Lara Croft!

Feeling it, Saf nods, impressed.

And then there’s the setting, Greg adds. We’ve gone all out with the level design. From Iron Curtain cities to Lovecraftian temples, it’s an explorer’s wet dream.

Sarah shoots a warning look at Greg who goes a ripe tomato shade of red.

Sorry, I just meant dream. A totally normal, but really cool dream.

Saf doesn’t blink at the faux pas, so fixed are her predatory eyes on the hypnotic spin of hype cycles. And the music? The soundscape?

Think epic orchestral meets electric guitar. Like Beethoven had a jam session with Ozzie Ozbourne.

Saf claps her hands with delight and swoops into the tender territory of details and spoilers, most of which Sarah and Greg have to evade or obfuscate, NDAs looming large in their anxious minds.

As the interview finally wraps up, Saf asks if her guest developers have anyone they’d like to give a shout out to. Sarah puts on her best smile and gushes, We have an awesome development team just smashing it, so a big shout out to everyone who puts in the hard yards with us in the trenches. And a massive thank you to Magic Missile Ventures for backing us all the way.

And to your audience? asks Saf. What would you like to say to them?

Greg, always prepared, and determined to make up for his wet dream slip, rolls out a tried-and-true classic. He looks into the camera with bloodshot eyes, calls on every ounce of sincerity he can muster, blocks out the cloying memories of crunch and the crits, his OOS-strained back and tingling carpals, and says We just hope that you all have as much fun playing this game as we had making it.

The camera closes in on Saf as she shoots out her closing words, burst-fired and tipped with exuberance. Gamers, get ready to have your minds blown! Hazardous Taste is redefining gaming with this one. Thanks to our guests today, remember to like and subscribe, and don’t forget... in the world of games, always play like no one’s watching!

The camera fades to black. Sarah and Greg exchange a look of abject relief. They have survived the Youtubing tempest that is Saf Narcisco and now they just have to survive until launch day before signing off for a Christmas of rest, reading and recuperation on the beaches of Fiji.

Still recovering from yesterday’s promotional ordeal, Sarah and Greg shake out their umbrellas and shuffle into their well-appointed Parnell office. With coffee cups