I found this book by chance at the library. Having read and enjoyed Brom's other books - probably known more for his artwork in the books than the stories themselves - I immediately checked this one out.
On the surface, this novel seems to have enough clichéd characters to make you wince. There's Jesse, the divorced, down-on-his-luck small-town musician that still loves his ex-wife and daughter; the corrupt sheriff that has nothing but contempt for Jesse, and is planning to marry Jesse's ex-wife; and a man nicknamed the General, the backwoods drug kingpin who controls most of the small town and has the sheriff in his back pocket.
But suddenly we watch with Jesse as a group of superhuman, demonic-like beings chase a fleeing Santa Claus down the street, the ensuing melee as Santa's sled takes flight, and finally one of the creatures crashing back to earth from the sky and totaling someone's car.
Thus begins an intriguing tale of the freeing of Krampus, the Yule Lord, who according to him, was betrayed and imprisoned long ago by another god, Baldr, who now goes under the guise of Santa Claus. This isn't a jolly old fat man, either, but rather a large, well-muscled beast of a man with a large sword.
At its heart, this is a simple revenge tale. Krampus has been freed, and as he claims to Santa, "I am coming for your head." Jesse is drawn into this ancient feud, forced to help Krampus and his Belsnickels (the demon-like creatures) as they hunt for Santa, while simultaneously trying to get his ex-wife and daughter back from the corrupt sheriff, and also escape the General, who believes Jesse has double-crossed him.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and the idea of the Santa/Krampus blood-feud was wholly original to me. While there are a couple slow moments here and there, as a whole this is a fast-paced novel with tons of action and violence. And while I have no idea about the Kindle version, the hardcover is packed with tons of incredible artwork from Brom, both pencil sketches at the beginning of every chapter, and and insert of full-color paintings.
If you're looking for something a bit different, I'd definitely recommend this one.
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