Claus Boxed: A Science Fiction Holiday Adventure

Please be aware this is one oversized large volume. The title "boxed" threw me off and I thought it was a boxed set of three novels. hovever that said, this set is RECOMMENDED! I just finished this large volume of all 3 works: Claus, Jack, and Flury. You need to read them all, all though you could skip the middle one (but why?). The first one, Claus, is the necessary key to the others. Rated G for all audiences. Teens may enjoy it as well. Perfect for reading on cold snowy nights and for those who live in the south, here you will find a taste of the north.

Great idea but poorly executed. Whoever edited these books needs to find another line of work. I don't think I have ever read published books with as many spelling and grammatical errors as these and it was really distracting. I felt like I should be reading with a blue pen in hand. Of the three, Claus was the best story line and could have been expanded. It was definitely the most plausible of the three. Flurry stopped too soon and didn't focus enough on the main character. It really needed to spend some time on the actual return. Jack was the weakest of the three. Could have done without that one entirely.

Great idea but poorly executed. Whoever edited these books needs to find another line of work. I don't think I have ever read published books with as many spelling and grammatical errors as these and it was really distracting. I felt like I should be reading with a blue pen in hand. Of the three, Claus was the best story line and could have been expanded. It was definitely the most plausible of the three. Flurry stopped too soon and didn't focus enough on the main character. It really needed to spend some time on the actual return. Jack was the weakest of the three. Could have done without that one entirely.

I purchased all these book separately as they were coming out. And i believe i gave Claus 5 stars, Jack 4 stars, and Flury 5 stars.

The thing I love about this series is that each one is really a stand-alone. They are all set in the same world that is only slightly different than ours, but that difference is big enough to lead down some very intriguing corridors.
Claus, Jack, and Flury take the common mythos of Santa, Jack Frost, and the Snowman and make them so much more. All the normal human characters are so richly created that you forget you are reading a science fiction/fantasy tale.
This author seems to have a trademark "twist" to the story and after having read several of his works I still can't figure out what it's going to be as I'm reading it!. This is the hallmark of fine writing in my opinion.
I highly recommend this set. You will not be disappointed.

I have read these books when each of them was released and I absolutely loved them all. I noticed this box set of these incredible books and I was blown away at the generous offer by the author and the store. What a deal! These books are so much fun and are written so well it is unbelievable that one can get them for so cheap!

Tony Bertauski is really a great writer and I hope he knows how much his work means to a lot of people. Thank you, sir, for the wonderful stories you have blessed the rest of us with and for the "beyond" reasonable prices. Please, keep up the great work!

As for the rest of you; please do yourself a favor and buy this set. You will, forever, be glad you did.

I got this trilogy through the BookBub email. It was relatively inexpensive (a must for me) and sounded interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 books and even binge-read "Flurry" in order to finish the set. The story is well developed, the characters interact nicely, and I loved the twists and turns throughout all 3 books. These books would interest a wide range of readers. I am 57 and found them incredibly engaging. My 13-year-old grandson also enjoyed them, and now his mother (35) is reading them. We have really enjoyed talking about the stories during evening time together.

This boxed set is a trilogy - Santa Claus, Jack Frost, and Flurry. I read Claus as the result of a free bookpub offer and enjoyed it so much I purchased the set in kindle format.

A combination of a little history, a little science fiction, and a little fantasy all set on the earth as we know it (or think we know it). I enjoyed the characters, the story, and the offer of a bit different of an idea on how Santa Claus came to be. Jack Frost and Flurry followed suit, though not quite to the level as the first book. Frost was a little bit slow and I would give it a 4; Flurry picked up the pace again and comes in at 4.5 stars for me.

I was so intrigued by the books, by placing our Christmas and winter mythology into the sci-fi/fantasy genre that I bought the hard copy as a Christmas gift for my daughter and her family. We all love Christmas but you don't have to love Christmas to love this series.

Each of the books is lengthy. Some people may not like longer books. I didn't think it dragged or contained filler and I liked the depth the longer books provided.

NOTE: I haven't read the third one in this series yet so this review is for the first two.

Claus: Legend of the Fat Man

Ok, I'm a sucker for Christmas. Every year I read A Christmas Carol by Dickens, I have almost every Christmas movie on DVD / Blu-ray, and enough Christmas music to play non-stop from Halloween until the Epiphany without having it repeat.

So, when I saw Clause and read the information blurb, I was intrigued.

I enjoyed the book very much. It mixed a lot of the canon we know about Santa Claus and mixed it with a back story that made it believable. I mean, Here Comes Santa Claus (the cartoon) did an OK job for kids, but this story makes it believable for adults.

I had a few issues with it. The story starts and ends great, but at times during the middle, I found it somewhat uninteresting - not enough to put it down and move to something else, mind you, but just enough to want to skip ahead. My second, and somewhat bigger issue (and if my wife reads this review I can already see her eyes rolling), is that the name of the seventh reindeer in not Donner! It is Donder! In Clement C. Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas", the name is Donder. When Johnny Marks wrote the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in 1939, he inadvertently introduced the reindeer as Donner. Gene Autry made the song popular and the name stuck. Now, I know what you're thinking - "John, they aren't real. What difference does it make?" My response is this - it shouldn't make a difference if he's real or not, a name is a name. What if I started calling Santa Claus something like Santa Clara? He's not real, but people wouldn't like that. Sorry, the name is Donder and I will continue to let people know that!

Give this one a chance - it's an enjoyable ride.

Jack: The Tale of Frost

Jack: The Tale of Frost is the sequel to Bertauski's Claus: Legend of a Fat Man.

If you have followed my reviews, you know that I thoroughly enjoyed Claus and couldn't wait to read this one. Sadly, and I know I sound like a broken record, I despise e-books - so it took a while to get to. Lately I've been receiving free books in exchange for honest reviews so obviously they that precedence. But, I finally got around to reading it.

You actually need to read Claus to truly appreciate and understand the motivation behind Jack. Jack hates "warm bloods" and wants to destroy them. At the end of Claus, he vanishes into the deep ocean with his mother - presumed dead.

But Jack had a contingency plan. His only "friend" Pawn takes on the mantle of Mr. Frost - designing a factory that promotes Christmas as we now know it. They create all the gifts that children around the globe want. But these gifts, since time began, have a hidden agenda - to wipe out all humans.

Jack implanted a chip in Pawn to allow him to carry out his diabolical scheme, while also creating a way to come back form the "dead".

I have to say, I enjoyed Claus a little more than Frost. The story in Claus was a little more grounded, and less fantastical. For example - in Frost, a man appears (Jack) in a homeless shelter. He has green hair all over his body, and abnormally large feet. Yet nobody finds this odd enough to have him brought to a hospital? They just continue to feed him, provide shelter, and get him a job? In the real world, he'd not only be ostracized, he'd be immediately picked up by the police and brought to a doctor.

But that being said, Frost wrapped up the whole story nicely. You actually feel something for the characters and get immersed in their lives - hoping for a happy ending.

I enjoy Tony's writing - even if it is listed as YA reading. He is descriptive, has amazing character development, and it isn't a chore to read his work. Hopefully it won't take me a whole year to get to Flury: Journey of a Snowman.

As I was searching for a Christmas story for my book club to read for the month of December I stumbled upon this one. Right away I was intrigued because everyone knows Santa Claus but I had never read any stories about his evolution.

What a unique, fun, imaginative, absolutely awesome, and perfect Christmas time story! It was full of magic, wonder, and the most original lovable, (some not so lovable), legendary characters I have ever come across. What a blast meeting all of them. The elves, reindeer, warm-bloods, Frosty, Claus, and more. The “star” of the story for me was Janack aka Jack Frost who was very mean and nasty but also hilarious!

The strong bonds of love between some of the characters was heartwarming. The science fiction elements wowed me along with the wondrous fantasy world at the North Pole. The ending was heartbreaking in some parts and had me cheering in others.

Now I know the legend of Santa Claus and it was so good I will be sticking with this version to tell my grandchildren :)

I was hooked from the start! I met so many interesting folks and disliked some of them, but like everyone, sometimes our feeling change. I visited some awesome and amazing places and sometimes didn't want to leave. There was enough science mixed with the fiction, it was sometimes hard to tell the difference. All in all, Tony is a masterful storyteller and has a way with words that transport you through time & space. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Young people would enjoy it and even people who don't think they like science fiction/fantasy would find it a fun & fascinating book.

Have you ever wondered how Santa became Santa, or where the elves came from? What about Jack Frost and Frosty the Snowman? If you want a spellbinding tale of how they may have come to be this is a don't miss series. I wasn't sure If I would like this series but was I pleasantly surprised. I loved it! The characters were extremely well developed and the story lines were fantastic. I think this is my favourite Tony Bertauski series yet. If you like this author this is a definite must read series. If you haven't read Tony Bertauski before, this would be a great series to start with. You won't be disappointed. I can not wait for the new one about Scrooge to come out called Humbug which is due out for advanced readers in October.

I'm very happy to see this boxed set for sale. My Christmas list will be a lot easier to fulfill now that Bertauski has released my all-time favorites for holiday reading. You don't have to like sic-fi or fantasy to enjoy these books. With any good book you have to "suspend your disbelief" to enjoy it. Anybody who likes a creative story with characters that you learn to love will like all 3 books. Mr. Bertauski is an expert in making a Christmas character delightful and lovable. I can't pick one as my favorite. They all are. People from 10-100 years will be glad to have this set. They really are unique at re-telling Christmas legends!

I wanted to like this book. I had enjoyed Humbug, by the same author, and I was interested by the concept of the Arctic as a scientific wonderland run by the elven. However, while it got better it didn't really grab me. I think it was that the story gave me no reason to care about the characters in the story.

Note: This is just a review of Claus. I may read the other two later, but am not sure I ever will...

As with all the Bertauski novels I've read, this one is excellent. Just an amazingly imaginative take on the idea of Claus, Jack Frost, and elves. If you want to escape to a reasonably believable but totally fantastic world, this book will serve. Fun, fast, dark but with a good message; you can't go wrong for a romp in the snow. Totally enjoyable by adults as well as other ages. But don't mistake it for anything like a traditional holiday tale: it's way better than that. Sci-fi and fantasy readers, as well as any readers with some imagination looking for fast-paced escapism, will enjoy this book.

If you like the unpredictable and love Christmas, and if hints of the familiar delight you in the midst of mystery, then this intriguingly modern take on Santa, Jack Frost and the snowmen will be the perfect Christmas gift. I read the stories individually when they came out earlier, and I loved them. Odd, slightly dark, but satisfyingly complete, each story takes you on a journey out of the old myth and into the new, leaving food for thought and thoughtfulness it its wake. Enjoy at any time of year.

I received a free copy from the author and must say this is a very enjoyable reading, with well flowing story lines. You will never think of Santa Claus, Jack Frost or Frosty in the same way again. DON'T wait for Christmas to read it for yourself though, although you may certainly want to read it again to round out your Christmas cheer!

Like all Bertauski books, this set kept me entertained for the whole ride! The story of Santa Clause was my favorite. It was such a vivid tale with wonderful characters that were true to the Santa myth we've all learned but SO much more. I loved what ultimately made Santa Santa. It was PERFECT. The idea of good vs evil...and the very nature of "evil" was VERY well done. (I don't want to say more, but Tony will know what I mean!) What a wonderful series! I'll be reading it every Christmas!

Tony weave worlds that become real for me. I became part of these books and was sad to see them go.
Just read that another book about these worlds will be coming out. And I anxiously await it.
You cannot go wrong with any of Tony's books if you like strong character driven novels with believable sci-fi story lines.
Since at the age of 65 I still believe in Santa Claus this was one of my favorites.

Gotta admit I love Christmas and all the stories, including Krampus. After reading these three, I love Tony Bertauski. Perfect blend of legends, myths and the best of all the magic we want to believe. Thank you for adding another layer of frosting on the yummy!

Tony Bertauski has written three exciting science fiction books for the holidays. He has created a whole elven world complete with a history and customs. Mr. Bertauski blends the elven and human skillfully. He has created wonderful, fully fledged characters.

These books really have quit the twist to them, when i saw the title i thought 'hmm ok santa gone bad..' but it is so much more than that! The story completely inundates you into a different world and soon you find yourself unable to put the book down. When i read the first page of any novel i read, if it has me absorbed in the first few lines, i know it's a winner and it certainly was the case with this series! I would place this among my list of classics, books that i like to read over time and again!

This boxed set is a trilogy consisting of the stories- Santa Claus, Jack Frost, and Flurry.
These stories are a mix of fantasy, science fiction and history and tell a different story on the origin of Santa Claus, Jack Frost and Flurry than what we commonly hear. I found these to be interesting books, well worth the time to read.

This trilogy is a collection of reality; fantasy; and sci-fi.....stories of three different characters akin to Santa; Jack Frost and the Snowman....brilliantly written; Tony Bertauski captivates and beguiles us in a world all too similar to our own....I think; lol....his characters are full of wonder and love but they can scare you at the same time....not sure if the author is high when he writes but his tales are a trip in themselves....definitely not doorstops; lol....do yourself a favour and take the time to read...I doubt you will be disappointed

Such a great way to find out about Claus! Magic and Sci-Fi abound in this book. The cover does the story justice. I am excited to read this new author. I am awaiting my latest book by this author. You will be sitting on the edge of your sleigh and keeping a close what on those reindeers while reading this book!

I absolutely adored this series. Bertauski created a fascinating world and entrancing characters who rival the lame childhood fairy tales of yore. There are few books I will read a second time, but I can already tell, re-reading this series will be my new "Christmas" tradition, while I keep a wary eye on my electronic devices.

These books are not your ordinary fairy tale type of story, but they are interesting to read. They sure keep your interest throughout, and they are like adult versions of the children's stories we know so well. I enjoyed them, and I would recommend them to all avid readers.

I enjoyed every book in this boxed set. There is good science stuff in it and it really makes you believe in what could be hidden up at the north pole. It's a.fun and enjoyable read and I read them all straight through so it did take me a long time.I'm glad I read them and would recommend to others.

I've only read the first story Claus but I loved it. It is such a fun twist on the typical tales of Santa Claus and Jack Frost. I can't wait to read the other two stories in this series. I'm sure I won't be disappointed!

I loved reworked mythology and tales, so this is a no-brainer. Take the Santa mythos, add the rest of the winter wonder tales, sprinkled liberally with sci fi...and you come up with an enjoyable series that everyone will enjoy

I read this set. It was definitely different kind of Christmas story. But very mystical and mysterious. It keep you on your toes, there is lots of action and adventure to be had read this box set. I was given this story has a gift.

This series was a delightful surprise. As a fantasy fan, I really enjoyed all three books. They are well written and had characters who were relatable and engaging. This series really adds an interesting twist to an old story. I would definitively recommend all three of these books.

"Claus" is the only book I have read in this series so far but I loved it! The best part about this book is that the characters all have flaws, just like everyone else. Well rounded characters, fleshed out from the author's imagination, always makes a great read for me!

Only read the preview but it was enough to know I'm really going to enjoy this series!
Interesting take
Can't wait to get to it!!!! Maybe I should get the audio (need to see if available in that format). :O}

I know that YA gets a bad wrap but I love the universes that Tony Bertauski creates! If you want a fun holiday read, pick up the boxed set and get a nice new view on some of the characters from your childhood. :D

I really enjoyed this clever fantasy novel about the origin of Santa Claus in a way I don't think has ever been imagined before. Now when I think about the North Pole, elves, reindeer, Santa, Jack Frost, I have a completely different visual in my head and a story I think I'll tell my children when they get old enough to learn about Santa.

I always like box sets, esp. when I discover books I enjoy and it's nearing gift giving time. I can't wait to hear my sister's reactions to these books. She'll think we're all crazy! (but she'll read them anyway)

Tony writes some of the most interesting (and strange) stories around. If you think you might like a slightly twisted, sci-fi version of a familiar story, you have to read this. Entertaining to the Max!

Tony Bertauski is a new author for me, and he has already captivated me with Foreverland. Now see whst the hype is sbout for his next boxed set, Claus. I base my opinion on writing quality of past works as well as his reputation for excellence in the genre of science fiction. A great way to meet him is by reading his work! You will find it awesomazing!

This series is one of my FAVORITES! It takes me back to childhood but at the same time makes these memories into fun adult ones. These books are just plain good. I suck at reviews so the gist of it is, read the dang books and you won't be disappointed.

I really liked the Claus books - read them all and now have also read Flurry and Rise of the Miser and in the process of reading Humbug. Very different slant on the old tales. Take a chance - think you will enjoy them!

I got hooked on this series when I was given the first book as a kindle freebie. The story is original and inventive. He writing is excellent and I have loved everything Bertauski has published. Every genre is exciting and fresh.

I found myself looking forward to each new twist on the Santa Claus characters I grew up with. Especially Jack Frost who in my head sounded just like the evil genius Syndrome in The Incredible movie.

I read these books, because I love Christmas, and they seemed like an interesting take on the childhood stories I grew up on. I was not disappointed. There's just enough drama, fantasy, and "twistedness" to keep you guessing about the plot. Jack was my favorite!

I love this series. They are a whole new take on the Christmas stories. It's not the typical sappy holiday stories that tend to come out each year. I look forward to the Christmas season anticipating a new story.

Tony Bertauski is one of my FAVORITE authors of all time. This series is an amazing series even if you don't read them in order as each one is like a stand alone book. This is a series that I will read over and over again

So far I've only read the first book and wow! I was reading every day too and from work! In bed and at breakfast! Havnt read that much or quickly in years! :D thank you tony for getting me back into this

Well written and entertaining - and not something stop reading halfway through because it does not fullfill your expectations - although not exactly my favoured genre. I like Bertauski's other stuff better.