This is my second novel by Brom, and it didn’t disappoint! His stories have a way of going exactly where I think they’re going to go, yet still surprising me and leaving me turning pages. 

My favorite thing about his work is the complexity of every character, even the villains. Krampus is good and terrible, but so is Santa in his own way. Even a character as loathsome as Dillard isn’t completely one-dimensional.

I loved the incorporation of Norse mythology into the narrative, especially

Santa Claus being the god Baldr. Him being able to be killed with mistletoe felt appropriate, and it put a nice twist on the Santa mythos. It’s a wonderful thing that I went from vaguely thinking that Santa was right about Krampus, to feeling heartbroken when Santa does slay him in the end. Although, we get to see his Yule spirit live on, which felt bitter-sweetly satisfying.

That said, I do have some nitpicks. There were times when I felt like certain characters didn’t react realistically to Krampus: There were too many instances of people having calm and rational conversations with a 7+ foot tall devil man. Although, I guess we could argue that Krampus’s magic is at play. 

Additionally, I also didn’t care for

Santa coming back from the dead via a literal deus ex machina. I didn’t want him to stay dead, but his resurrection felt too easy. I also felt that a couple of loose ends had too-convenient solutions, like Dillard just-so-happening to have a Cold War shelter in his basement.

In all though, this was a solid read and made for a good change of pace from my usual holiday rom-coms. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves Brom’s dark and rich reading style, especially if you want a festive twist on his usual work. Also, be aware that it does get gory at times. You know what you can handle. 

If you want to find a beautiful/chilling story different from most Christmas tales. That is heart-wretchint but satisfying and surprising heartfelt at times. Look no further! Happy YuleTide everyone 💜, sometimes it's good to be terrible 😈

Merry Krampus!!!!

This was so not what I was expecting….. also the stark contrast of loving Slewfoot to reading this next………. I’ll give it to Brom his writing has definitely really grown since this lol.

Positives:
- I genuinely really loved the Krampus Folklore and Norse Mythology in this. It was interwoven in really interesting ways & I ended up learning a lot about Krampus that I didn’t know or expect & that was really fun.
- how genre-bending this is??? Sure, one could call this fantasy horror technically to categorize it, but to it’s core this is an action movie vibe not unlike John Wick??? Lmao???
- I was invested in the story & all my incoming hatred aside, I did actually have fun reading this

Negatives
- first and foremost, the racist characterizations of Indigenous people in here. It made me question Slewfoot as well, as Slewfoot also had some dodgy moments that at the time I attributed to “white man pitifully attempting technical historical accuracy but instead being unnecessarily kinda racist,” but this had like very explicit racism in that was pretty wild. I do still think it was coming from a place of ignorance and stupidity, and not violent intentional hatred per say, but that still doesn’t excuse it. The Indigenous characters in this are absolutely characterized as “savage” & “creature like,” are only really called “Indians” the whole time, & at one point are even referred too as “injuns” which feels crazy for 2012. His writing has definitely grown a lot since this, but I scoured the Internet and could not find him acknowledging his racism at all & I’m left feeling very 🤨🤨🤨. 
- secondly, the misogyny & “written by a man vibes.” How disappointing this was after how brilliantly he wrote his female characters in Slewfoot…. I had so much blind faith and trust in this man after reading that book I just bought the majority of his backlist because I needed more from him. The male protagonist in this is actually so insufferable; his whole personality is just “ :( I’m a bad husband, and a shitty dad…. Poor me.” & we’re just supposed to sympathize with him??? And the other man in this book is even worse (though he is actually characterized as a villain at least.) The women in this are written as extensions of, and accessories for the men & have not a whole lot of depth (one of them is kind of interesting, but even she felt very written by a man.) I’m not going to lie, in the end this really just gave white trailer trash soap opera & I can’t even say it “has Ethel Cain vibes” cause it’s just men being horrible, for no reason, written by a man. Even Santa and Krampus kinda sucked and were shitty men lmaaaao.

“Who came first? Santa Claus or Krampus? It could be argued that they both sprouted from the same origins, but variations of Krampus far preceded any of the more humanized, charitable versions of Santa Claus.
From the beginning, Krampus represented the change of seasons, a nature and fertility god who chased away wicked spirits and assured a bountiful growing season in return for tribute.
Once Christianity came along, Krampus was cast, along with many other horned nature spirits, into the role of a demon or devil. Despite several attempts over the centuries by the church and some European governments to stamp out Krampus celebrations, Krampus and Yuletide have endured and, as with most pagan traditions, have been adopted (or as Krampus would argue, stolen) by and into their Christian counterparts, such as the bringing of evergreen trees and wreaths inside the home, and the leaving of gifts in socks or boots.”

Krampus is the second book I’ve read by BROM and it astounds me how much this author can get me to care about certain characters, especially those who have been related to the devil in some forms. With his stunning illustrations throughout, BROM gives off this sense of dread and angst for his characters through his storytelling. That’s the truest form of talent, in my opinion.
I really enjoyed this book. The only point where it lacked for me, was that some sequences went on a little too long just for storytelling (or filling the reader in on a plot point). I believe that some scenes could have been shortened, as they took me out of the story. A more show than tell approach would have sufficed more appropriately.
All in all, it was a solid book and I look forward to reading more from this peculiar and intriguing author.

I sure as hell will make sure to leave my shoes out with a tribute next Yule, tho hahah