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sophielillybeth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Infidelity, Body horror, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Domestic abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Sexism, and Cursing
story_time_with_angela's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Murder and Physical abuse
Minor: Animal death, Death, and Addiction
mary_stormageddon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Body horror, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Animal death, and Gore
kkalicky94's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Kidnapping, Drug use, Animal death, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship
grimdark_dad's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Animal death, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
ebb_and_flow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Abandonment, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Grief, and Gun violence
amandaquotidianbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy and Abortion
doomluz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Murder, Death, Racism, Death of parent, Colonisation, Torture, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Police brutality
Moderate: Drug abuse and Animal cruelty
Minor: Homophobia and Confinement
wylovat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Violence, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, and Police brutality
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
archaicrobin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
You follow middle aged loser Jesse as he fumbles through life failing at basically everything until one night he stumbles upon Santa being attacked by some Belsnickels. Santa drops his magic sack, and soon Jesse finds himself in possession of something that might help him change his life.
This was marketed as horror, and it does have some gruesome scenes but I would classify this more as fantasy humor. Krampus in this novel is a fun guy, he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He just wants to party, collect his tributes, leave some treats, and kill a few people. That’s it. And the story felt that way. There didn’t really seem to be any deeper meaning, just Krampus running around with Jesse who despite the magic sack still manages to just suck entirely. I don’t mind party guy Krampus, it’s just not what I went in expecting from a horror novel or from Brom after reading Slewfoot (much better in my opinion).
Which brings me to the other reason this book didn’t work for me: Jesse. I absolutely hated Jesse. He’s written as this downtrodden guy, just down on his luck, no self esteem, doesn’t understand why his wife left him, boo hoo poor Jesse even though everything that went “wrong” was a result of his own behaviors or choices. Jesse is boring, Jesse is a baby, Jesse sucks and I felt nothing for him as a character. When you don’t connect or care for the main character it is SO hard to get into the story and I really tried, but I couldn’t care about a character with no personality other than he’s a big dumb loser.
In Slewfoot, you had dislikable characters and you had characters that fit a certain stereotype but Brom also
managed to craft a strong female protagonist and other supporting characters that kept you engaged. This was not the case for me with Krampus. I would honestly say the only character that I was even mildly invested in was Krampus himself and everyone else just faded into the background.
For me this one lacked a strong story, it lacked engaging characters, it lacked horror elements, and it was a slog to get through. I’ve heard others that really loved this one and I think if you’re more into fantasy or like fake humor might enjoy this more, but if you’re here for the horror like I was, I would say pass this one by and read Slewfoot instead.
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, and Gore