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Hail Santa!
With a failing economy and dwindling population, the once-flourishing mining community of St. Nicholas in northern Canada was on the road to ruin.
That was until the arrival of the Bingzhen Group, a Chinese-American conglomerate with ambitious plans to buy the town and transform it into the most popular ski resort and holiday destination in North America.
With the deal done and Christmas approaching, the community is buzzing with excitement about the future and the influx of new residents, like Binzhen envoy Ling Wong, Scottish schoolteacher Shona Fleming, new school custodian Curtis Tate and a small army of contractors. What none of them realize is that St. Nicholas was never the people's to give away.
There is something else here which has long laid claim to the land. Something which has held the town in its thrall and does not intend to give it up without a fight. Something strange and inhuman. Something cruel and powerful and very, very, hungry.
The children call him Santa Claus.
That was until the arrival of the Bingzhen Group, a Chinese-American conglomerate with ambitious plans to buy the town and transform it into the most popular ski resort and holiday destination in North America.
With the deal done and Christmas approaching, the community is buzzing with excitement about the future and the influx of new residents, like Binzhen envoy Ling Wong, Scottish schoolteacher Shona Fleming, new school custodian Curtis Tate and a small army of contractors. What none of them realize is that St. Nicholas was never the people's to give away.
There is something else here which has long laid claim to the land. Something which has held the town in its thrall and does not intend to give it up without a fight. Something strange and inhuman. Something cruel and powerful and very, very, hungry.
The children call him Santa Claus.
Paperback
Published November 24, 2023
14 people are currently reading
323 people want to read
About the author
John McNee
32 books95 followersJohn McNee is the writer of numerous strange and disturbing horror stories, published in a variety of strange and disturbing anthologies, as well as the novel 'Prince of Nightmares'.
He is also the creator of Grudgehaven and the author of 'Grudge Punk', a collection of short stories detailing the lives and deaths of its gruesome inhabitants, as well as its sequel, 'Petroleum Precinct'.
He lives in Scotland, where he is employed as a journalist.
He is also the creator of Grudgehaven and the author of 'Grudge Punk', a collection of short stories detailing the lives and deaths of its gruesome inhabitants, as well as its sequel, 'Petroleum Precinct'.
He lives in Scotland, where he is employed as a journalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
December 15, 2024
It was everything I hoped for and more: a supernatural Santa slasher with evil kids in a Hallmark movie setting, with interesting characters and solid writing.
I loved every page.
It's gory, funny, and full of action.
If it's your style of story, you will have a great time.
I loved every page.
It's gory, funny, and full of action.
If it's your style of story, you will have a great time.
December 2, 2023
A dying town…. A lurking horror…. Evil children…. Be prepared to get scared this Christmas season in the remote town of St. Nicholas.
“Santa” was truly horrifying and some parts had me feeling actually sick.
There was great character development, dialogue, and interactions. I was rooting for certain people to survive, but things got pretty dicey at times.
I LOVED the ending! It was a perfect mix of closure, and implications, but still left some things to the reader’s imagination.
Thank you so much to the author & Blood Bound Books for a copy!
“Santa” was truly horrifying and some parts had me feeling actually sick.
There was great character development, dialogue, and interactions. I was rooting for certain people to survive, but things got pretty dicey at times.
I LOVED the ending! It was a perfect mix of closure, and implications, but still left some things to the reader’s imagination.
Thank you so much to the author & Blood Bound Books for a copy!
December 29, 2023
An outstanding work of folk horror, with blood and guts galore, a truly wicked sense of humour, and the very best in Santa carnage!
January 8, 2024
Well this was a fun, festive read, action packed, high energy and drenched in blood! A true sleigh-ride from Hell. Cosmic Christmas horror done right! Completely addictive and immersive, this almost 300 page book feels like a short read filled to the brim with gory goodness. So, grab yourself a first aid kit and jump on in!
Father McHattie is telling the local school children the true story of how the town of St. Nicholas, the town they all live in, really got its name. He is hoping to strike fear into them, but it is he who ends up feeling the fear, and it has a rather nasty effect on him. The children that witness his downfall aren't traumatised by the events like you would expect though, they actually seem to be enthused by the situation and what they know will soon follow….
Curtis is the new caretaker of the school, attempting to clear the chaos left behind by the previous holder of that title. He's new to the town also, and ends up playing a pretty big role in its future.
The town itself is undergoing some changes, with old and new residents learning to live together. The Bingzhen corporation wants to turn the town into a fancy ski resort, to give it a new lease of life. But right now the town is under several feet of snow after a blizzard hits, cutting out all communication and blocking all the roads. But, keeping the town's morale up is the annual gathering known as Wintertainment, where the choir is made up of all the long term residents’ creepy children. Children who have a newfound belief in Santa, who worship him and will do anything to be a part of his magic and one of his little helpers. But, you wont be wanting any of the gifts this Santa will be dishing out….
This Santa hypnotises you with his magic, so you see what he wants you to see, hear what he wants you to hear and believe what he wants you to believe. Until the truth gets in and the fear increases, and nothing is very jolly anymore. In fact, it's downright horrifying! The children, of course, become completely mesmerised by him and will do whatever he requires of them, after all, it's better to be on the nice list, and they are only kids. Anyway, it's Christmas, what's the worst that could happen??
This story is a new favourite festive read for me, the narrative flowed extremely well, the character building and scene setting were top notch, I was completely drawn in from start to finish, I couldn't, nor did I want to, put it down!
It was chilling, creepy and magical, in the most sinister way. It was captivating, completely gripping, humorous and horrific. There was a trippy, hallucinatory, dreamlike quality to some parts that made it even more immersive and disturbing. The festive aspects, for example, Christmas carols, lights, moving decorations and trees, make this all the more frightening and atmospheric. A true Christmas nightmare.
It turns out it's probably best NOT to believe in Santa!! I highly, highly recommend. 🤘🧑🎄🤘
Father McHattie is telling the local school children the true story of how the town of St. Nicholas, the town they all live in, really got its name. He is hoping to strike fear into them, but it is he who ends up feeling the fear, and it has a rather nasty effect on him. The children that witness his downfall aren't traumatised by the events like you would expect though, they actually seem to be enthused by the situation and what they know will soon follow….
Curtis is the new caretaker of the school, attempting to clear the chaos left behind by the previous holder of that title. He's new to the town also, and ends up playing a pretty big role in its future.
The town itself is undergoing some changes, with old and new residents learning to live together. The Bingzhen corporation wants to turn the town into a fancy ski resort, to give it a new lease of life. But right now the town is under several feet of snow after a blizzard hits, cutting out all communication and blocking all the roads. But, keeping the town's morale up is the annual gathering known as Wintertainment, where the choir is made up of all the long term residents’ creepy children. Children who have a newfound belief in Santa, who worship him and will do anything to be a part of his magic and one of his little helpers. But, you wont be wanting any of the gifts this Santa will be dishing out….
This Santa hypnotises you with his magic, so you see what he wants you to see, hear what he wants you to hear and believe what he wants you to believe. Until the truth gets in and the fear increases, and nothing is very jolly anymore. In fact, it's downright horrifying! The children, of course, become completely mesmerised by him and will do whatever he requires of them, after all, it's better to be on the nice list, and they are only kids. Anyway, it's Christmas, what's the worst that could happen??
This story is a new favourite festive read for me, the narrative flowed extremely well, the character building and scene setting were top notch, I was completely drawn in from start to finish, I couldn't, nor did I want to, put it down!
It was chilling, creepy and magical, in the most sinister way. It was captivating, completely gripping, humorous and horrific. There was a trippy, hallucinatory, dreamlike quality to some parts that made it even more immersive and disturbing. The festive aspects, for example, Christmas carols, lights, moving decorations and trees, make this all the more frightening and atmospheric. A true Christmas nightmare.
It turns out it's probably best NOT to believe in Santa!! I highly, highly recommend. 🤘🧑🎄🤘
December 24, 2023
Decided to make this my Christmas Eve book and I was not disappointed. Super fun holiday horror book. I literally was yelling at the characters to run from this psycho Santa and his “elves”.
A strong 4.5/5 for me rounded up to a 5 in the spirit of the holiday!
A strong 4.5/5 for me rounded up to a 5 in the spirit of the holiday!
December 9, 2023
I was so beyond excited to see an ARC of this in my Books of Horror winter box. I’m a sucker for good horror comedy but, despite initial assumptions, there isn’t much funny about this book. The concept is beyond unique and such a fun experience. The imagery was exquisite and the plot kept my attention throughout, with enough scenes to make me gag. Although I wish the why (not trying to spoil) was explained just a bit more, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait for it to be more widely available. I fully intend to recommend it to all of my weirdo friends.
May 25, 2024
Yeah, this is my new favorite Christmas book. Read it. Full review to come in Scream Horror Mag
January 19, 2025
4.5 stars
Hail Santa! was an absolute bloodfest of a ride! I was hooked right from the start and couldn't take my eyes off the pages.
While I did think parts of it were a little slow, the book definitely picked up and I flew through the last half of it. The cast of characters is so dynamic and diverse, I have a lot of mixed emotions about all of them that will have me trying to sort myself out for some time.
I think I feel the worst for Devon. While it can be argued that this whole thing is his fault, he's just a kid that was facing massive changes to his town that he didn't understand or want. He just wanted things to stay the same and, unfortunately for him, he set in motion events that would irrevocably change his town completely.
I'm also highly conflicted by Ling. I didn't like her at first, too much corporate blah blah, but she really redeemed herself throughout the story. She grew the most for me as a character, and I liked that a lot. But she does something later in the book that has me extremely uncertain about how I feel about her overall. This really speaks to John's ability to write complex characters though, as I've never felt more conflicted about a single character in all of the books that I read.
Far more bloody than I was anticipating, Hail Santa! has me questioning everything I know about Christmas spirit. I'll be giving every Santa Claus object I see the fish eye from now on, and maybe avoiding any and all eggnog (despite it being my favourite holiday drink) for the foreseeable future!
Hail Santa! was an absolute bloodfest of a ride! I was hooked right from the start and couldn't take my eyes off the pages.
While I did think parts of it were a little slow, the book definitely picked up and I flew through the last half of it. The cast of characters is so dynamic and diverse, I have a lot of mixed emotions about all of them that will have me trying to sort myself out for some time.
I think I feel the worst for Devon. While it can be argued that this whole thing is his fault, he's just a kid that was facing massive changes to his town that he didn't understand or want. He just wanted things to stay the same and, unfortunately for him, he set in motion events that would irrevocably change his town completely.
I'm also highly conflicted by Ling. I didn't like her at first, too much corporate blah blah, but she really redeemed herself throughout the story. She grew the most for me as a character, and I liked that a lot. But she does something later in the book that has me extremely uncertain about how I feel about her overall. This really speaks to John's ability to write complex characters though, as I've never felt more conflicted about a single character in all of the books that I read.
Far more bloody than I was anticipating, Hail Santa! has me questioning everything I know about Christmas spirit. I'll be giving every Santa Claus object I see the fish eye from now on, and maybe avoiding any and all eggnog (despite it being my favourite holiday drink) for the foreseeable future!
November 28, 2023
This was my first Christmas season horror, and I loved it! The concept was great, characters developed just enough, and even though there were quite a few, following everyone's story was easy. This will definitely be a seasonal read each year.
November 24, 2023
Reject god and Hail santa!!! I won an arc of this book on tiktok from bloodblound Books. I absolutely loved this book. The story was very well written, and the characters were fully developed and believable. Once i picked it up, i could put it down. I was transported to 6 Nicolas, future coldwell slopes. The seen with the eggnog was gross but great. This is now my new Christmas read every year
January 15, 2024
This had an interesting premise and I was excited for it, but it fell short for me. This had a lot of descriptive language and switched between the POV of a lot of characters which would be a selling point for some but made the pacing feel too slow for me. Also, the characters really fell flat for me, especially the women. While I love horror and love Christmas books, I don't think I was the target audience for this.
I was glad the women didn't all get killed off and that Ling got to do something big at the end, but for most of the book the female characters had no depth and almost all of them seemed to exist just to be something that the male characters wanted for Christmas. I can tolerate a lot of things that make you well aware that a book was written by a man, but there were parts of this that felt unnecessary and uncomfortable in a different way than horror typically is.
I did not enjoy reading a child's POV of Santa sexually assaulting his mom and besides that being unnecessary (especially when it was actually that that was what he was seeing while really Santa was some demon thing killing and eating her), I found it extra unnecessary to explicitly write that scene out and from that POV. I also really could have done without the whole recurring storyline about how Kendra's stepbrother didn't think of her as a person and had just always wanted to sleep with her and had asked for her for Christmas and all of the gross almost incestuous rapey vibes that were repetitively there and Kendra's whole storyline as an object Devon wanted. While I'm glad that eventually a couple of women got to do a bit of stuff near the end, it was not enough for me after all of the sexual assault/sexual harassment and women just existing to give the male characters depth in positive or negative ways for the most part thing and I definitely advise people take trigger warnings into account before reading if they're going to.
I was glad the women didn't all get killed off and that Ling got to do something big at the end, but for most of the book the female characters had no depth and almost all of them seemed to exist just to be something that the male characters wanted for Christmas. I can tolerate a lot of things that make you well aware that a book was written by a man, but there were parts of this that felt unnecessary and uncomfortable in a different way than horror typically is.
I did not enjoy reading a child's POV of Santa sexually assaulting his mom and besides that being unnecessary (especially when it was actually that that was what he was seeing while really Santa was some demon thing killing and eating her), I found it extra unnecessary to explicitly write that scene out and from that POV. I also really could have done without the whole recurring storyline about how Kendra's stepbrother didn't think of her as a person and had just always wanted to sleep with her and had asked for her for Christmas and all of the gross almost incestuous rapey vibes that were repetitively there and Kendra's whole storyline as an object Devon wanted. While I'm glad that eventually a couple of women got to do a bit of stuff near the end, it was not enough for me after all of the sexual assault/sexual harassment and women just existing to give the male characters depth in positive or negative ways for the most part thing and I definitely advise people take trigger warnings into account before reading if they're going to.
December 12, 2023
Wow, this book absolutely blew me away! I loved it.
Being a Christmas themed book, I was expecting some fun and corny B-grade movie type fun.
But there is NOTHING B-grade about this book.
The exceptional quality of the writing, depth of characters and story reminds me of Krampus by Brom (which Is a favourite of mine)
There is some laughs and also so gory and gross parts (Egg Nog, if you know, you know, lol)
Part of me is itching to go into more detail about this book, but I don’t want to spoil it, so I will just say do yourself a favour this Christmas and get this book.
Being a Christmas themed book, I was expecting some fun and corny B-grade movie type fun.
But there is NOTHING B-grade about this book.
The exceptional quality of the writing, depth of characters and story reminds me of Krampus by Brom (which Is a favourite of mine)
There is some laughs and also so gory and gross parts (Egg Nog, if you know, you know, lol)
Part of me is itching to go into more detail about this book, but I don’t want to spoil it, so I will just say do yourself a favour this Christmas and get this book.
March 2, 2024
4 1/2 stars
Listen, I don't know what exactly I was expecting out of this one, but it definitely wasn't this masterpiece of a creature feature. This book came at me out of left field and hit me like a truck, I'm still reeling in the aftermath. It was fast paced, full of body horror and gore, and had delightfully wicked humor that kept me cracking up the whole way through. When I say I want a good holiday read, this is exactly what I'm talking about.
Listen, I don't know what exactly I was expecting out of this one, but it definitely wasn't this masterpiece of a creature feature. This book came at me out of left field and hit me like a truck, I'm still reeling in the aftermath. It was fast paced, full of body horror and gore, and had delightfully wicked humor that kept me cracking up the whole way through. When I say I want a good holiday read, this is exactly what I'm talking about.
December 24, 2024
Children of the Corn meets 30 Days of Night meets anything Christmas. Lots of fun!
December 26, 2025
In this story we follow a couple people in the town in St. Nicholas. The town is getting a revamp with the new owner Ling taking charge. Hiring a bunch of outsiders to do the jobs around town. When the kids start acting strange and people keep ending up dead, things start to go south.
This was such a fun story, I loved all of the characters including Curtis and Shonna they were my favorite. I thought the whole setting of this book was so cozy and terrifying I loved it so much!
This was such a fun story, I loved all of the characters including Curtis and Shonna they were my favorite. I thought the whole setting of this book was so cozy and terrifying I loved it so much!
January 3, 2025
A fantastic read, darkly funny and genuinely chilling. The characters were likeable and believable, and there's plenty of festive-themed gore and unpleasantness. The ending was excellent too!
December 2, 2023
This is an excellent holiday horror novel, just perfect for the Ha-Ha-Happiest time of the Year!
I don't want to give much away as going into a new book blind is always the best for me, but I can guarantee you there is much holiday joy...and horrific holiday horror. Great writing, a plot that moves along nicely and at a perfect speed, without feeling either dragged or rushed. Plenty of characters but not so many you have no idea what the heck is going on. A few surprises, some gruesome, vividly descriptive deaths..what more could you ask for? The only thing I wished for was a big glass of milk and some holiday cookies while reading this. John McNee really knocks it out of the park with this one. Do yourself a favour and put this one under the tree for yourself this Christmas.
I don't want to give much away as going into a new book blind is always the best for me, but I can guarantee you there is much holiday joy...and horrific holiday horror. Great writing, a plot that moves along nicely and at a perfect speed, without feeling either dragged or rushed. Plenty of characters but not so many you have no idea what the heck is going on. A few surprises, some gruesome, vividly descriptive deaths..what more could you ask for? The only thing I wished for was a big glass of milk and some holiday cookies while reading this. John McNee really knocks it out of the park with this one. Do yourself a favour and put this one under the tree for yourself this Christmas.
December 26, 2023
I received a signed ARC copy of this book (#103 out of 310 copies) and read this over Christmas Eve and Christmas, great timing!
This was definitely a "slasher" novel where Santa is pissed off that developer Ling Wong is planning to turn the small, half-deserted town of St. Nicholas into Coldwell Slopes, a ski resort and the ultimate Christmas tourist destination.
Saint Nicholas turns the children of St. Nicholas into evil, bloodthirsty killers that set out to tear limb from limb those who try to lay claim to his home.
This was a fun read, and the gory bits were really good!
This was definitely a "slasher" novel where Santa is pissed off that developer Ling Wong is planning to turn the small, half-deserted town of St. Nicholas into Coldwell Slopes, a ski resort and the ultimate Christmas tourist destination.
Saint Nicholas turns the children of St. Nicholas into evil, bloodthirsty killers that set out to tear limb from limb those who try to lay claim to his home.
This was a fun read, and the gory bits were really good!
January 27, 2025
This story had a lot of potential, and who doesn’t love holiday horror? What better time of year to have your life upended in terror than Christmas?! This suffered from an incredible amount of viewpoints, and some slightly repetitive situations. The included sexual interest in a step-sibling was a lot much, and added very little to the story. Honestly, that’s one of the character viewpoints that could have been nixed, and I feel like it wouldn’t have hurt the story at all. Three stars, excellent editing, and kudos for not killing off all the women involved.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 3, 2025
Praise me. Praise Santa Claus.
4 ½ jingle balls! John McNee's "Hail Santa!" was not only a well-formulated and nigh perfectly executed horror story, but it really put together what I'd call all the best elements of a HALLOWEEN story and turned it into something perfect for the Yule season, which, in my opinion, is how we should be prioritizing things anyway! I mean, come on: we're in the cold climes of northern Canada (check your maps, it's only about 3½ THOUSAND miles away from Toronto) in the town of St. Nicholas (translation: with a name like that, you know everyone is doomed!). And well, this small dot on the map has "been on the verge of death for years" owing to the closing of their mine many seasons ago. Places have since been abandoned and boarded up, folks have scurried to better climes, and not a hell of a lot remains for anyone. HOWEVER, for the few die-hard folks that did stay, well, their lives are about to change in many ways. Some of the changes might be financially rewarding, others, well, might involve dismemberment and general mayhem. Guess which points are listed on the promotional flyers?
Nobody believes me. You’re all going to die.
Alas before all the lights are turned off in St.Nick (ooo, that slip up will come back to bite me!), a Chinese financial firm has decided that despite the industry's history of poor management, climate change, and financial difficulties shutting down ski resorts all over the world - for example, over 180 resorts in France alone have shut since the 1970s and we're just waiting for the neighbors out back to do the same after over a decade of pathetic amounts of snow - that they will become a leading luxury hotelier and ski resort operator in North America. I mean, why not? The land is cheap, the local folks are willing to part with their properties without any fuss, shops and more are selling out for mere pennies on the dollar … so what could possibly go wrong? Hm, guess they didn't listen to the stories about how the place was established in the first place, huh? A tale about something snatching up young, plump children and carting them away a sack, never to be seen again?
The greater the myth of Santa Claus gets, the more powerful he becomes.
So along the way we meet a few hardened souls that have stuck around as well as the new school teacher (a cute wee red-headed lass from Scotland, of course, acknowledging our Glaswegian author) and the school custodian (a tough fellah from Mobile, Alabama, with troubles of his own). They're joined as Christmas approaches by a slew of contract workers who have signed on to try and get the town up and functioning again. But surprise of all surprises, a blizzard has shut everything down and everyone's snowed in without any phone or other communication equipment to be found, making the answer YES to such questions as "So, we’re stuck here; is that what you’re saying? No way out?" (you can add some bwhahaha's to that if you wish). And don't dare ask for the roads to be plowed because, again, nobody is going to want to do that so close to Christmas. Maybe because of the joy of the season, maybe because of the abundance of vast quantities of alcohol that is thankfully available to help "numb the agony of existence" (which I'm going to use now as an excuse, too). Who knows, right? I've asked it before so I'll ask again: what could possibly go wrong… in a village apparently formed and named in honor of an actual demon was it? Hmm…
It looks and sounds like Santa Claus, but it’s not. It’s big and ugly and evil.
In fact, what begins to occur reminded me a lot of Kristopher Rufty's "Prank Night", a Halloween story focused on the 'shenanigans' (read: disembowelments, decapitations, and worse) committed when the town's under-18 population starts killing anyone and everyone with abandon ("…as darkness fell, children gathered, unseen by adult eyes."). OK, granted "Hail Santa!" pretty much let's us know who and how the whole controlling the small but blood-thirsty population of young'uns very early on, but the spillage of all kinds of bodily parts and liquids is no less bountiful than it was in PN. The fact that the townsfolk - and this is especially true for the longer-term residents - also are somewhat hypnotized by all that is happening ("In the midst of a town-wide massacre, they were throwing a party."), but they don't just start themselves killing everyone for the Schlitz and giggles of it all. No, they instead go and die in truly nasty ways with gay, happy smiles on their faces.
All this Christmas shit! It’s trying to kill us!
But before you can sit up and say "wait, weren't there only a few dozen people left in town anyway?", this story goes into a stretch with an awesome, high tension ending. I really enjoyed how McNeen split the different crews up ("ok, there are 8 of us alive… um, 7… oops, 6 so let's go off into 3 groups of 2!") and it only added to the overall horror of the final few pages seeing who would stay focused and do their best to survive and who would succumb to the mind-numbing powers of Santa Claus… DON'T CALL ME THAT GODDAMMIT!!! It really does invite in some absolutely deliciously disgusting visuals in terms of monster-tude-ness and leaves us all cheering for our heroes (that lived) at the end. Sure, we wind up missing some more people as time goes on but that's normal for the whole ski scene, right? I dunno, I stay where it's warm reading my books about other people getting 'et in the Canadian outback.
P.S. And just because I'm feeling festive, I'll share these sweet holiday thoughts from Shona:
"Do me a favor? Don’t die. That would really spoil the holidays."
4 ½ jingle balls! John McNee's "Hail Santa!" was not only a well-formulated and nigh perfectly executed horror story, but it really put together what I'd call all the best elements of a HALLOWEEN story and turned it into something perfect for the Yule season, which, in my opinion, is how we should be prioritizing things anyway! I mean, come on: we're in the cold climes of northern Canada (check your maps, it's only about 3½ THOUSAND miles away from Toronto) in the town of St. Nicholas (translation: with a name like that, you know everyone is doomed!). And well, this small dot on the map has "been on the verge of death for years" owing to the closing of their mine many seasons ago. Places have since been abandoned and boarded up, folks have scurried to better climes, and not a hell of a lot remains for anyone. HOWEVER, for the few die-hard folks that did stay, well, their lives are about to change in many ways. Some of the changes might be financially rewarding, others, well, might involve dismemberment and general mayhem. Guess which points are listed on the promotional flyers?
Nobody believes me. You’re all going to die.
Alas before all the lights are turned off in St.Nick (ooo, that slip up will come back to bite me!), a Chinese financial firm has decided that despite the industry's history of poor management, climate change, and financial difficulties shutting down ski resorts all over the world - for example, over 180 resorts in France alone have shut since the 1970s and we're just waiting for the neighbors out back to do the same after over a decade of pathetic amounts of snow - that they will become a leading luxury hotelier and ski resort operator in North America. I mean, why not? The land is cheap, the local folks are willing to part with their properties without any fuss, shops and more are selling out for mere pennies on the dollar … so what could possibly go wrong? Hm, guess they didn't listen to the stories about how the place was established in the first place, huh? A tale about something snatching up young, plump children and carting them away a sack, never to be seen again?
The greater the myth of Santa Claus gets, the more powerful he becomes.
So along the way we meet a few hardened souls that have stuck around as well as the new school teacher (a cute wee red-headed lass from Scotland, of course, acknowledging our Glaswegian author) and the school custodian (a tough fellah from Mobile, Alabama, with troubles of his own). They're joined as Christmas approaches by a slew of contract workers who have signed on to try and get the town up and functioning again. But surprise of all surprises, a blizzard has shut everything down and everyone's snowed in without any phone or other communication equipment to be found, making the answer YES to such questions as "So, we’re stuck here; is that what you’re saying? No way out?" (you can add some bwhahaha's to that if you wish). And don't dare ask for the roads to be plowed because, again, nobody is going to want to do that so close to Christmas. Maybe because of the joy of the season, maybe because of the abundance of vast quantities of alcohol that is thankfully available to help "numb the agony of existence" (which I'm going to use now as an excuse, too). Who knows, right? I've asked it before so I'll ask again: what could possibly go wrong… in a village apparently formed and named in honor of an actual demon was it? Hmm…
It looks and sounds like Santa Claus, but it’s not. It’s big and ugly and evil.
In fact, what begins to occur reminded me a lot of Kristopher Rufty's "Prank Night", a Halloween story focused on the 'shenanigans' (read: disembowelments, decapitations, and worse) committed when the town's under-18 population starts killing anyone and everyone with abandon ("…as darkness fell, children gathered, unseen by adult eyes."). OK, granted "Hail Santa!" pretty much let's us know who and how the whole controlling the small but blood-thirsty population of young'uns very early on, but the spillage of all kinds of bodily parts and liquids is no less bountiful than it was in PN. The fact that the townsfolk - and this is especially true for the longer-term residents - also are somewhat hypnotized by all that is happening ("In the midst of a town-wide massacre, they were throwing a party."), but they don't just start themselves killing everyone for the Schlitz and giggles of it all. No, they instead go and die in truly nasty ways with gay, happy smiles on their faces.
All this Christmas shit! It’s trying to kill us!
But before you can sit up and say "wait, weren't there only a few dozen people left in town anyway?", this story goes into a stretch with an awesome, high tension ending. I really enjoyed how McNeen split the different crews up ("ok, there are 8 of us alive… um, 7… oops, 6 so let's go off into 3 groups of 2!") and it only added to the overall horror of the final few pages seeing who would stay focused and do their best to survive and who would succumb to the mind-numbing powers of Santa Claus… DON'T CALL ME THAT GODDAMMIT!!! It really does invite in some absolutely deliciously disgusting visuals in terms of monster-tude-ness and leaves us all cheering for our heroes (that lived) at the end. Sure, we wind up missing some more people as time goes on but that's normal for the whole ski scene, right? I dunno, I stay where it's warm reading my books about other people getting 'et in the Canadian outback.
P.S. And just because I'm feeling festive, I'll share these sweet holiday thoughts from Shona:
"Do me a favor? Don’t die. That would really spoil the holidays."
July 30, 2024
Full review at Happy Goat Horror:
https://happygoathorror.com/2023/12/1...
This is the best Christmas horror I've read... ever.
An absolute blast!
https://happygoathorror.com/2023/12/1...
This is the best Christmas horror I've read... ever.
An absolute blast!
January 22, 2024
Setting the Scene: 🇨🇦 Welcome to the fictional town of St. Nicholas in winter during Christmas (reminiscent of the northern regions of Ontario or Quebec, Canada).
POV: The story flits between various characters and their perspectives – from an elderly priest to a child filled with the Christmas spirit, to a corporate CEO.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
-Winter isolation survival thriller
-Christmas creature feature and creepy kids
-Descriptive folk horror paired with body horror and gore
-Light-hearted but deep exploration of themes of consumerism, community, reinvention, not-all-as-it-seems, misplaced loyalty, survival, denial, fear, and hope.
----
🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕
🗣️ Tale-Telling: The writing was cinematic, punchy, and snappy. I don’t like comparing work to other authors, but I have to here - this felt like what could happen if John Marrs and Nick Cutter wrote a story together. The scenes transitioned smoothly, each packed with just the right amount of thematic detail. It was a slow-paced fast read for me that felt like watching a horror movie.
👥 Characters: This was a large cast, but each character, no matter how briefly featured, was vividly drawn and fleshed out with consistent motivations and quirks. I felt like a fly on the wall, observing their personalities and actions.
🗺️ Ambiance: I loved the cinematic worldbuilding. I was immediately immersed in each setting, thanks to the succinct, atmospheric descriptions. It was a world that felt real and palpable (it also captured to 'feel' of Canada lol). Even the motivations and dynamics of the town’s past, and mixed feelings about the future felt believable. There seemed to be a lot of thought put into the worldbuilding detail and sensory descriptions, which I love.
🔥 Fuel: The suspense comes from knowing just a bit more than the characters at times, and less at others. The story kept me guessing with twists and unexpected developments, and some well placed ‘wtf’ moments. There were a lot of action, escape, fight-for-your-life, cat-and-mouse scenes which I normally struggle to stay engaged with but had no issues here. They were written in a way that we keep the immersive fast-paced momentum so it’s easy to follow the…violence? The fast-paced scenes are interspersed with slower moments for reflection and regrouping.
🎬 Scenes: The action scenes were vivid and impactful, devoid of unnecessary heroics or gore (there is gore though, prepare for lots of gore, I just mean it didn’t feel gratuitous). The horrors are startling and swift, then it’s back to building suspense and wondering who will survive. The looming dread is worked in to every scene and I loved the portrayal of Christmas traditions mixed with dark origins to add the eerie layer.
🤓 Random Thoughts: I thought this was a ‘fun’ read, but on reflection it was also kinda deep. It played with the idea of Christmas cheer masking darkness and being used for evil purposes. And it touched on themes I’ve rarely seen in horror, like the ‘freeze’ response many have in crisis situations, challenging the traditional notions of heroism and masculinity.
----
Content Heads-Up: Medical (heart). Murder. Gore. Body horror. Brainwashing. Sexual assault and harassment (unable to consent; insinuated; on page). Step-incest (fantasizing; lusting).
Rep: White, Black, and Chinese Americans and Canadians.
👀 Format: Digital Review Copy from Blood Bound Books and NetGalley
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”
POV: The story flits between various characters and their perspectives – from an elderly priest to a child filled with the Christmas spirit, to a corporate CEO.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
-Winter isolation survival thriller
-Christmas creature feature and creepy kids
-Descriptive folk horror paired with body horror and gore
-Light-hearted but deep exploration of themes of consumerism, community, reinvention, not-all-as-it-seems, misplaced loyalty, survival, denial, fear, and hope.
----
🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕
🗣️ Tale-Telling: The writing was cinematic, punchy, and snappy. I don’t like comparing work to other authors, but I have to here - this felt like what could happen if John Marrs and Nick Cutter wrote a story together. The scenes transitioned smoothly, each packed with just the right amount of thematic detail. It was a slow-paced fast read for me that felt like watching a horror movie.
👥 Characters: This was a large cast, but each character, no matter how briefly featured, was vividly drawn and fleshed out with consistent motivations and quirks. I felt like a fly on the wall, observing their personalities and actions.
🗺️ Ambiance: I loved the cinematic worldbuilding. I was immediately immersed in each setting, thanks to the succinct, atmospheric descriptions. It was a world that felt real and palpable (it also captured to 'feel' of Canada lol). Even the motivations and dynamics of the town’s past, and mixed feelings about the future felt believable. There seemed to be a lot of thought put into the worldbuilding detail and sensory descriptions, which I love.
🔥 Fuel: The suspense comes from knowing just a bit more than the characters at times, and less at others. The story kept me guessing with twists and unexpected developments, and some well placed ‘wtf’ moments. There were a lot of action, escape, fight-for-your-life, cat-and-mouse scenes which I normally struggle to stay engaged with but had no issues here. They were written in a way that we keep the immersive fast-paced momentum so it’s easy to follow the…violence? The fast-paced scenes are interspersed with slower moments for reflection and regrouping.
🎬 Scenes: The action scenes were vivid and impactful, devoid of unnecessary heroics or gore (there is gore though, prepare for lots of gore, I just mean it didn’t feel gratuitous). The horrors are startling and swift, then it’s back to building suspense and wondering who will survive. The looming dread is worked in to every scene and I loved the portrayal of Christmas traditions mixed with dark origins to add the eerie layer.
🤓 Random Thoughts: I thought this was a ‘fun’ read, but on reflection it was also kinda deep. It played with the idea of Christmas cheer masking darkness and being used for evil purposes. And it touched on themes I’ve rarely seen in horror, like the ‘freeze’ response many have in crisis situations, challenging the traditional notions of heroism and masculinity.
----
Content Heads-Up: Medical (heart). Murder. Gore. Body horror. Brainwashing. Sexual assault and harassment (unable to consent; insinuated; on page). Step-incest (fantasizing; lusting).
Rep: White, Black, and Chinese Americans and Canadians.
👀 Format: Digital Review Copy from Blood Bound Books and NetGalley
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”
March 6, 2024
If you want a good holiday-themed horror story that isn’t just an excuse to have a serial killer running around, aka the films Silent Night, Deadly Night, or Black Christmas, then Hail Santa! is for you. It’s bloody good fun (pun intended) that does a nice job combining some of the classic aspects of demon mythology with the story of Santa Claus, while managing to smash plenty of humans into pulp jelly throughout the story. Horror fans and gorehounds alike will love this one.
St. Nicholas is a small, dying town in the northern Canadian woods that is given a new lease on life when a Chinese conglomerate buys up the whole town, with the plan of turning it into an upscale ski resort for the seriously wealthy skiers of the world. However, the land was never really the town’s to sell, it’s the property of Saint Nicholas, due to a deal he (or it) made with the town’s founders centuries before. And, he isn’t happy with the idea of his town being turned into a playground for rich schuss-boomers. The throttle opens up quick on this story, as Saint Nicholas and his army of the town’s kids slash and bite anything in their way, while a small and very eclectic group of adults try to stop them and save the town.
Despite the above, this isn’t just a paint by numbers splat-fest, there’s more under the hood when it comes to the plot. It’s the using of demon myths that really helped make the plot intriguing, such as the fact that their names wield genuine power, and that worship of them is truly is important, it’s a matter of survival. Saint Nicholas isn’t doing all this just because he’s mad, he has legitimate reasons for wreaking havoc on the town. That all ties into what the survivors learn along the way in their attempts to stop him, and it’s done well. They get little clues along the way, but it takes some thinking for them to come up with an actual targeted plan to stop him, as opposed to just trying to kill Santa and his minions. It’s enough to keep the reader thinking along with the characters, you’ll have fun trying to imagine what would possibly work against the power Saint Nicholas wields.
The heroes in this are an extremely likable bunch, due to their disparities. There’s the Chinese lady who is responsible for the whole town project, a rookie teacher, a senior citizen janitor, and a couple of drunken contractors, among others. It’s a good mix, as they have varied strengths and weaknesses, due to their backgrounds. But, therein lies their power as it gives them a variety of perspectives, which they need to survive, and everybody plays a vital part. Readers will like and relate to at least some of them, and it does hurt when some of them get killed off, this isn’t a ‘all the good guys survive and prosper’ story. There’s also a great twist to the end of the story that takes it in a new direction, it’s much better than any standard stock ending would have been. This is the perfect antidote for holiday cheer.
St. Nicholas is a small, dying town in the northern Canadian woods that is given a new lease on life when a Chinese conglomerate buys up the whole town, with the plan of turning it into an upscale ski resort for the seriously wealthy skiers of the world. However, the land was never really the town’s to sell, it’s the property of Saint Nicholas, due to a deal he (or it) made with the town’s founders centuries before. And, he isn’t happy with the idea of his town being turned into a playground for rich schuss-boomers. The throttle opens up quick on this story, as Saint Nicholas and his army of the town’s kids slash and bite anything in their way, while a small and very eclectic group of adults try to stop them and save the town.
Despite the above, this isn’t just a paint by numbers splat-fest, there’s more under the hood when it comes to the plot. It’s the using of demon myths that really helped make the plot intriguing, such as the fact that their names wield genuine power, and that worship of them is truly is important, it’s a matter of survival. Saint Nicholas isn’t doing all this just because he’s mad, he has legitimate reasons for wreaking havoc on the town. That all ties into what the survivors learn along the way in their attempts to stop him, and it’s done well. They get little clues along the way, but it takes some thinking for them to come up with an actual targeted plan to stop him, as opposed to just trying to kill Santa and his minions. It’s enough to keep the reader thinking along with the characters, you’ll have fun trying to imagine what would possibly work against the power Saint Nicholas wields.
The heroes in this are an extremely likable bunch, due to their disparities. There’s the Chinese lady who is responsible for the whole town project, a rookie teacher, a senior citizen janitor, and a couple of drunken contractors, among others. It’s a good mix, as they have varied strengths and weaknesses, due to their backgrounds. But, therein lies their power as it gives them a variety of perspectives, which they need to survive, and everybody plays a vital part. Readers will like and relate to at least some of them, and it does hurt when some of them get killed off, this isn’t a ‘all the good guys survive and prosper’ story. There’s also a great twist to the end of the story that takes it in a new direction, it’s much better than any standard stock ending would have been. This is the perfect antidote for holiday cheer.
January 1, 2024
Hail Santa! has everything I want in a Christmas horror story: blood, violence, scares, and a little bit of magic. I loved McNee's unique take on holly jolly Santa. Forget the merry man filled with magic and cheer. Meet the REAL Santa, a monstrous creature that feeds on the flesh of his believers and recruits innocent children to do his violent bidding.
Synopsis:
Long ago, an ambitious homesteader purchased land, hoping to find his fortune. Instead, he is lost in the woods and nearly perishes. Then, a massive man with rosy cheeks, a flowing white beard, and dazzling velvet clothing saves him and returns him home. The homesteader repays his savior by naming the land and eventual town in his honor - St. Nicholas. The catch? As long as the city holds his name, the mysterious man can claim anything in St. Nicholas as his own. Now, St. Nicholas is a floundering town with little hope until a Chinese corporation purchases it to create a ski resort. But Saint Nicholas does not take kindly to losing his town and recruits the help of school children to make the community pay.
Review:
Character Development - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The cast of characters in Hail Santa! is impressive and well-constructed. It's easy to root for the main characters and cheer them on while they fight for their lives. However, I wish I had more insight from Saint Nicholas' perspective.
Writing Style - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The descriptions are top-notch, but some areas got bogged down in the details. Overall, this was an engaging and entertaining read.
Plot - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - My only issue with the plot was the end. While conclusions were implied, it felt a bit unresolved.
Originality - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ One-of-a-kind, gory in the most beautiful way, and a stand-out choice for Christmas horror.
I can't wait to recommend this book! It is a must-read for all horror readers, especially those who need a morbid escape from all the holiday cheer. Thank you, NetGalley and Blood Bound Books, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Hail Santa!
Synopsis:
Long ago, an ambitious homesteader purchased land, hoping to find his fortune. Instead, he is lost in the woods and nearly perishes. Then, a massive man with rosy cheeks, a flowing white beard, and dazzling velvet clothing saves him and returns him home. The homesteader repays his savior by naming the land and eventual town in his honor - St. Nicholas. The catch? As long as the city holds his name, the mysterious man can claim anything in St. Nicholas as his own. Now, St. Nicholas is a floundering town with little hope until a Chinese corporation purchases it to create a ski resort. But Saint Nicholas does not take kindly to losing his town and recruits the help of school children to make the community pay.
Review:
Character Development - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The cast of characters in Hail Santa! is impressive and well-constructed. It's easy to root for the main characters and cheer them on while they fight for their lives. However, I wish I had more insight from Saint Nicholas' perspective.
Writing Style - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The descriptions are top-notch, but some areas got bogged down in the details. Overall, this was an engaging and entertaining read.
Plot - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - My only issue with the plot was the end. While conclusions were implied, it felt a bit unresolved.
Originality - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ One-of-a-kind, gory in the most beautiful way, and a stand-out choice for Christmas horror.
I can't wait to recommend this book! It is a must-read for all horror readers, especially those who need a morbid escape from all the holiday cheer. Thank you, NetGalley and Blood Bound Books, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Hail Santa!
December 25, 2023
Thank you, John McNee and NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!
Going into this book, I honestly will say I thought it was going to be about some demon going to a small town to torment and torture the individuals there getting what it wanted and then leave. I was way off. This thing, Demon, Monster, creature, god... whatever it is unknown and not many even know what it is. All anyone knows is the name it takes, and that is Santa clause.
This book is full of gore, death, language, and things you wouldn't expect in a holiday book. I absolutely loved every moment of it. The details and just the overall feeling you get from yhe writing leaves you wanting more and unable to tear your eyes from the pages, hoping your favorite characters live and escape from the terrors they are going through. Not only that, you just hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
With all that said, this book makes you think. Could there be such a being out there just hiding in wait? All it needs is a name and people to believe in it enough to give it some form of power and them that's it. The terror of it all comes crashing through, and if you can't see what's happening, it's the end of the line. So the real question is, do you believe in Santa? If so, there's only one thing for you to say: Hail Santa!
If you can see past everything, then run!
Going into this book, I honestly will say I thought it was going to be about some demon going to a small town to torment and torture the individuals there getting what it wanted and then leave. I was way off. This thing, Demon, Monster, creature, god... whatever it is unknown and not many even know what it is. All anyone knows is the name it takes, and that is Santa clause.
This book is full of gore, death, language, and things you wouldn't expect in a holiday book. I absolutely loved every moment of it. The details and just the overall feeling you get from yhe writing leaves you wanting more and unable to tear your eyes from the pages, hoping your favorite characters live and escape from the terrors they are going through. Not only that, you just hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
With all that said, this book makes you think. Could there be such a being out there just hiding in wait? All it needs is a name and people to believe in it enough to give it some form of power and them that's it. The terror of it all comes crashing through, and if you can't see what's happening, it's the end of the line. So the real question is, do you believe in Santa? If so, there's only one thing for you to say: Hail Santa!
If you can see past everything, then run!
February 14, 2024
Imagine a little mining community called St. Nicholas, in a Canada ski resort that would be so picturesque etc snow you get the picture. Over the years, it's been falling into ruin. Previously, it was doing well and was a popular place for tourists to go. But recently a company has recently bought the land which all is built and hopefully this will restore the town back to its thriving economy it used to have.
Unknown to all living there, there is something more sinister and not human that is lying in wait and does not want to let go of the town easily without a fight ....... one hell of a fight. The thing that is lying in wait is already planning to take his claim of the land with devastating consequences for all. As a horror reader, this book had all I wanted, blood, gore the lot, all done in a shocking manner. I absolutely loved it. The gore continued to the very end of the book. WOW!!!!!
As I said, a fantastic gore fest ....... an avalanche of terror ....... NO, torrent of blood in places totally cracking as she squeals, lol. Definitely not for the faint-hearted or weak stomach. If you like your horror a bit more extreme, I'd highly recommend this. You won't be disappointed.
Forgot to mention that I was really shocked by who was actually doing the violent act's, I won't say as not to spoil this for you. This is the first book I have read by this author, and it most definitely won't be the last. Personally, I would like a sequel!!!!
Unknown to all living there, there is something more sinister and not human that is lying in wait and does not want to let go of the town easily without a fight ....... one hell of a fight. The thing that is lying in wait is already planning to take his claim of the land with devastating consequences for all. As a horror reader, this book had all I wanted, blood, gore the lot, all done in a shocking manner. I absolutely loved it. The gore continued to the very end of the book. WOW!!!!!
As I said, a fantastic gore fest ....... an avalanche of terror ....... NO, torrent of blood in places totally cracking as she squeals, lol. Definitely not for the faint-hearted or weak stomach. If you like your horror a bit more extreme, I'd highly recommend this. You won't be disappointed.
Forgot to mention that I was really shocked by who was actually doing the violent act's, I won't say as not to spoil this for you. This is the first book I have read by this author, and it most definitely won't be the last. Personally, I would like a sequel!!!!
December 31, 2023
This novel is a rip roaring, full throttle slasher that takes the concept of Santa Claus to horrifying, terrible levels.
If you think Children Of The Corn meets a slasher while the children turned into hideous monstrositys are led by jolly ol' Santa, you'd get the vibe of this book somewhat.
A small town going through some changes is snowed in with no internet, phone service, cable, or any other means to communicate with the outside world. The children are excited because Santa is coming but this isn't the bubbly rosey cheeked being you remember. In fact, he appears as such for those who worship him but its true form is disgusting, twisted, and terrifying.
As he "recruits" the town's children to commit a horrific string of brutal murders, a handful of citizens are left knowing the truth but with no Idea how to fight it. It becomes life or death at every turn as they struggle to survive this hellish Christmas.
This is a fast paced and extremely enjoyable horror book. There's plenty of blood and gore and great characters that may or may not survive. It's one of those books where characters are never safe and not all of them are going to make it.
I had a lot of dreadful fun reading this and I highly recommend it.
If you think Children Of The Corn meets a slasher while the children turned into hideous monstrositys are led by jolly ol' Santa, you'd get the vibe of this book somewhat.
A small town going through some changes is snowed in with no internet, phone service, cable, or any other means to communicate with the outside world. The children are excited because Santa is coming but this isn't the bubbly rosey cheeked being you remember. In fact, he appears as such for those who worship him but its true form is disgusting, twisted, and terrifying.
As he "recruits" the town's children to commit a horrific string of brutal murders, a handful of citizens are left knowing the truth but with no Idea how to fight it. It becomes life or death at every turn as they struggle to survive this hellish Christmas.
This is a fast paced and extremely enjoyable horror book. There's plenty of blood and gore and great characters that may or may not survive. It's one of those books where characters are never safe and not all of them are going to make it.
I had a lot of dreadful fun reading this and I highly recommend it.
December 26, 2023
St. Nicholas is a mining town with Christmas spirit but a failing local economy. To revive the town, a Chinese-American company has purchased it and intends to turn it into a ski resort named Coldwell Slopes. However, an entity has already laid claim to the land from bargains made by townsfolk from years past.
“Reject God. Worship Santa!”
This book was such an exciting ride! The creativity that John McNee demonstrates by integrating holiday elements into the horror of this book is so fun and endearing. The body horror in this book was very well done. It’s giving the isolated winter hellscape vibes of The Thing mixed with a horrifying entity like Pennywise in It.
The cast was so relatable and interesting! I loved how diverse the cast was, with people from all over the world being represented in the community. I especially loved Ling, the badass businesswoman- she was giving Capricorn energy 😂
I know Christmas Day was yesterday, but this book is such an excellent winter read! Don’t wait a whole year to pick this one up, I had such a fun time with the silly Christmas puns and intense body horror. If that sounds like your kind of holiday book, then Hail Santa! is out now!
“Reject God. Worship Santa!”
This book was such an exciting ride! The creativity that John McNee demonstrates by integrating holiday elements into the horror of this book is so fun and endearing. The body horror in this book was very well done. It’s giving the isolated winter hellscape vibes of The Thing mixed with a horrifying entity like Pennywise in It.
The cast was so relatable and interesting! I loved how diverse the cast was, with people from all over the world being represented in the community. I especially loved Ling, the badass businesswoman- she was giving Capricorn energy 😂
I know Christmas Day was yesterday, but this book is such an excellent winter read! Don’t wait a whole year to pick this one up, I had such a fun time with the silly Christmas puns and intense body horror. If that sounds like your kind of holiday book, then Hail Santa! is out now!
December 22, 2023
Hail Santa! by John McNee.
With a failing economy and dwindling population, the once-flourishing mining community of St. Nicholas in northern Canada is on the road to ruin.
That was until the arrival of the Bingzhen Group, a Chinese-American conglomerate with ambitious plans to buy the town and transform it into the most popular ski resort and holiday destination in North America.
With the deal done and Christmas approaching, the community is buzzing with excitement about the future and the influx of new residents, like Binzhen envoy Ling Wong, Scottish schoolteacher Shona Fleming, new school custodian Curtis Tate and a small army of contractors. What none of them realize is that St. Nicholas was never theirs to sell.
There is something else here which has long laid claim to the land. Something which has long held the town in its thrall and does not intend to give it up without a fight. Something strange and inhuman. Something cruel and powerful and very, very, hungry.
The children call him Santa Claus.
I really enjoyed this book. Gory and dark. Loved it. 5*.
With a failing economy and dwindling population, the once-flourishing mining community of St. Nicholas in northern Canada is on the road to ruin.
That was until the arrival of the Bingzhen Group, a Chinese-American conglomerate with ambitious plans to buy the town and transform it into the most popular ski resort and holiday destination in North America.
With the deal done and Christmas approaching, the community is buzzing with excitement about the future and the influx of new residents, like Binzhen envoy Ling Wong, Scottish schoolteacher Shona Fleming, new school custodian Curtis Tate and a small army of contractors. What none of them realize is that St. Nicholas was never theirs to sell.
There is something else here which has long laid claim to the land. Something which has long held the town in its thrall and does not intend to give it up without a fight. Something strange and inhuman. Something cruel and powerful and very, very, hungry.
The children call him Santa Claus.
I really enjoyed this book. Gory and dark. Loved it. 5*.
December 22, 2023
Hail Santa! by John McNee.
With a failing economy and dwindling population, the once-flourishing mining community of St. Nicholas in northern Canada is on the road to ruin.
That was until the arrival of the Bingzhen Group, a Chinese-American conglomerate with ambitious plans to buy the town and transform it into the most popular ski resort and holiday destination in North America.
With the deal done and Christmas approaching, the community is buzzing with excitement about the future and the influx of new residents, like Binzhen envoy Ling Wong, Scottish schoolteacher Shona Fleming, new school custodian Curtis Tate and a small army of contractors. What none of them realize is that St. Nicholas was never theirs to sell.
There is something else here which has long laid claim to the land. Something which has long held the town in its thrall and does not intend to give it up without a fight. Something strange and inhuman. Something cruel and powerful and very, very, hungry.
The children call him Santa Claus.
I really enjoyed this book. Gory and dark. Loved it. 5*.
With a failing economy and dwindling population, the once-flourishing mining community of St. Nicholas in northern Canada is on the road to ruin.
That was until the arrival of the Bingzhen Group, a Chinese-American conglomerate with ambitious plans to buy the town and transform it into the most popular ski resort and holiday destination in North America.
With the deal done and Christmas approaching, the community is buzzing with excitement about the future and the influx of new residents, like Binzhen envoy Ling Wong, Scottish schoolteacher Shona Fleming, new school custodian Curtis Tate and a small army of contractors. What none of them realize is that St. Nicholas was never theirs to sell.
There is something else here which has long laid claim to the land. Something which has long held the town in its thrall and does not intend to give it up without a fight. Something strange and inhuman. Something cruel and powerful and very, very, hungry.
The children call him Santa Claus.
I really enjoyed this book. Gory and dark. Loved it. 5*.
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