Santa Steps Out

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Summary: A LUCSIOUS & HORRIFIC TWIST OF OUR CHILDHOOD IDOLS
Review: This is an awesome book for anyone to read. Once you start it sinks it's teeth into your skin and won't let you go. You wonder in anticipation as to what Mrs. Clause is going to do...and the 300 pound Easter Bunny is lurking about watching everything. My favorite is the nymphomaniac Tooth fairy, so tempting and delightful yet a creature I would never want to end up in a room alone with on a dark and sinister night. If you crave the darker side of life and all of it's glory then this is your book. You'll enjoy every page!!!

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Summary: Knee-slapping, erotic and irreverant
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. Once the reader gets past the irreverance, picks his or her jaw up off the floor and takes a cold shower, delving back into the pages is an urge that cannot be denied. I couldn't wait to find out how it all ended, and I never wanted it to end. Deveraux, dirty-minded soul that he is, is a master storyteller who takes the reader along in stomach-dropping, spine-tingling loops and dips and swirls. To categorize this book as horror is inaccurate, yet there is no other genre to put it in. It is pure fantasy, both erotic and cerebral, and plops the reader down in the fairylands we dream about as children, but Deveraux's fantasies are oh so much more fun! Thank you for sharing your twisted sugarplum visions, Mr. Deveraux!

Rating:
Summary: One of the worst books ever
Review: Two things first:(1)Robert Devereaux RULES.(2)I have no problem with the eroticization of Santa Claus(about time SOMEONE did)but I do have a problem with the way he did it.Devereaux's other stuff is much better than this crap.

Rating:
Summary: Disturbing
Review: Very good, grotesque at some points witch include the Toothfairy. Santa has a very long on/again, off/again affair with the Toothfairy over many centuries. But the Toothfairy is very minipulative, and gets Santa to do things he doesn't want to. He has a split personality disorder because of the Toothfairy. EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT

Rating:
Summary: Great Premise - Bizarre Result
Review: What a great premise! All of our contemporary, semi-religious, mythical figures, such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy were originally gods and other characters from Greek mythology. God (with a capital "G") transformed them into their present manifestations and was able to erase from them all but trace memories of their former existence. That these trace memories remain creates a problem for God. He must be vigilant to make sure that certain of these figures do not cross paths, because a chance meeting could awaken their early pagen memories, as well a behaviors.
Then, God goes away on vacation and lets his guard down. While he isn't minding the store, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy run into each other, and all Hades breaks out. The possibilities seem endless. Unfortunately, Devereaux takes the story in only one general direction - sex. I understand that these guys from Greek mythology were a randy bunch, but I'm sure that most of them had other interests.
Still, the idea of Santa rutting around with the Tooth Fairy is irreverent and funny. The initial sex scenes are imaginative and erotic, commensurate with that idea. They are also, by the way, quite explicit. Then, the other characters get into the act - Mrs. Claus, the elves, the Easter Bunny, a mortal woman, you name it. By that point, the nature of the sexual encounters has changed. The sex scenes certainly remain outrageous, but become mechanical and pornographic. The eroticism is lost and the characters are left simply satisfying urges that are beyond their control. (There is, for example, this extended scene involving Mrs. Claus and the elves. I'm sure that you can imagine the general gist of it.) It's just one orgy after another, with precious little in between. I don't think that I'm a prude, but it was just too much for me. What's worse, so much more could have been done with the imaginative premise.
Another thing. This book is marketed as a horror book; At least, that's the section in the bookstore where you'll find it. I don't quite know what this book is, but it's not horror.

Rating:
Summary: Original premise, great writing, but....
Review: Where do I even begin with a review of this novel??? First of all, let me start with the praise. Devereaux has a wildly hysterical yet deviously intelligent way with words. The writing here is wonderful. He also presents some incredibly original ideas combining ancient mythology with more modern icons. I can guarantee that you'll never see a picture of jolly old Saint Nick in the same light again after reading this tale. And, oy! Don't get me started about the Tooth Fairy!

So, why doesn't this work for me? I like the premise and I adore the writing. The characters are unforgettable. I think Devereaux presents one of the most creative novels of any genre that I've read in a long time--I like it even more because of its horrific elements (creepy characters, surreal scenes, eye-squinching violence). Yet, the truth is that I got bored with this story quite early. I forced myself to finish it because I wanted to like it; I was determined to find something about it that would make me love it. Alas, I never got to that point. The sex scenes (which I can't bring myself to call "erotica") between all the beloved icons of childhood grew tiresome quite quickly. It still amazes me that I can like so many things about this novel--writing, creativity, characters--and still have a ho-hum attitude about the novel overall.

Yet, let me qualify all of this by saying that this novel didn't stop me from picking up Devereaux's CALIBAN AND OTHER TALES; if the quality of his writing is consistent, I'm sure this one will be worthwhile.

After all this time, you've probably read enough about SANTA to pique your curiosity. That's what happened to me. Go ahead; read it. I tend to find that people either love or hate this novel; there isn't a lot of middle ground. Devereaux himself might actually appreciate that; my guess is that he is having quite a chuckle at all the hoopla over this particular work. I have to admit, I get a wry grin now when I see those Easter baskets lined up in stores.