Synopsis
Long ago a dark elf entered the underworld to hold audience with Hel, the goddess of the dead. He offered her a proposition to make him King, one that she refused. Angered by this, the elf gathered an army formed out of greed of those who wished to overthrow the goddess and take what was hers. After three days and three nights of war, the elf, in an act of desperation read aloud a spell to lock Hel within the gates of her realm for the rest of time. Now, two days before Jul, the spell has been broken and she is back for revenge on the elf’s descendants whose hearts are full of greed; she’s back to kill every man she can find.
Review
Grabbed this for one final Christmas horror. It delivers in an almost urban fantasy way.
When Ada, Tor’s ex wife, shows up at The Black Bookmark—a novelty and collectible bookshop—with something from an estate sale, Tor has no choice but to dive right in. He begins translating a book, and right away, he can tell that this one is different. It’s retelling the tale of Hel and her battle with the dark elf for the underworld. But it’s anything but just a book, and anything but your typical Jul holiday.
It’s hard to do much more than summarize this one without spoiling it, but this was a dark and enjoyable little read. I feel like since the inclusion of Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, things that include this mythology give me a real urban fantasy feel? Which isn’t a bad thing, this just came off as a mixture of UF and horror because of it.
The unleashing, and subsequent retribution, was a take on going after those deemed “guilty” in a way that felt akin to Silent Night, Deadly Night or Krampus. The idea that during the holidays those deemed greedy, those unworthy, have reached the end of your allowance. Have reaped what they’ve sown. And this was a unique and dark way to show that.
The split between husband and wife was a nice addition, for the addition tension in the beginning of the story, however it was a bit too short to really work itself out, although, maybe there’s more…?
I would suggest checking this one out! It works great as a winter read.
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