Hel, the ruler of Helheim, master of Krampus and Death itself, is appalled to discover that certain people who should be on the Christmas “Naughty” list have somehow found their way onto the “Nice” list. Somebody is cooking the books and cheating her out of souls. In order to get to the bottom of things, Hel sends an undercover imp to the North Pole to try and crack the puzzle from inside Santa’s Village. But there is another evil force pressuring Santa to act. On Krampusnacht, Hel calls on all of her demons to reclaim her position as the undisputed Queen of the Underworld. Will it be enough? Or could this be the end of Christmas for ever?
Opening with a dramatic and chilling demonic assault on a gang of young thugs, in which the head of one is popped off “like a Champagne cork”, Ryan L Canning’s HEL TAKES A HOLIDAY is a fun, and frequently gory horror novella which makes good use of its twisted Christmas theme. Canning is a solid writer with the good sense to not take his material too seriously. He is not afraid to intersperse the violence with moments of levity and there are some great gags and wisecracks contained within the book. The demon sent to work undercover is an excellent comic character, a kind of impish stoner who fails to see any of his failings and the smug superiority of Santa Claus could have many readers rooting for the dark side. There are moments of smart horror, including some prize kills that would shine in a top notch slasher film. At one point an elf is stabbed in the eye by the candy cane he has been sucking. In fact, all of the action sequences are very well executed. And with the exception of a couple of sections where Hel visits her father Loki in Asgard that are a little wordy and drag just a touch, the pace is relentless.
Despite its demonic themes, Ryan L Canning’s HEL TAKES A HOLIDAY is a horror novella with no shortage of gags and festive humor blending Christmas traditions both modern and ancient into a festive frightener.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader