A book so absolutely and undeniably wrong that it’s perfectly right. That’s the best way to describe Robert Devereaux’s hilarious, pornographic, powerful, riotous and pitch-perfect “Santa Steps Out.” The novel, recently re-released by Deadite Press, is a brave deconstruction of all of our most cherished cultural mythologies for the noble purpose of entertaining smart readers while creating a new fairytale universe filled to the brim with sex, frustration, revenge and love.
The magic of “Santa Steps Out” resides in the fact that Devereaux could easily switch his characters for real people and give us a heartbreaking, tension-filled literary novel. Instead, what the author has done is go in and tear to shreds everything that we hold untouchable, creating a wonderful maelstrom of subdued violence, dripping body fluids, a dash of child corruption, constant tension and some coins from the Tooth Fairy’s anus.
In “Santa Steps Out” Santa engages in a twenty-year relationship with the Tooth Fairy after a wild sexual encounter that he confesses. When Mrs. Claus finds out about it, the seemingly unshakable bliss of eternal life in the Pole is violently shattered. Faced with an unquenchable thirst for the flesh of the Tooth Fairy, Santa is thrown against the proverbial rock and a hard place. The Tooth Fairy, a exuberant, fiery, tooth-eating and coin-shitting beauty with no desire to stop enjoying the carnal festival that is his relationship with the jolly Santa, is hell-bent on continuing the relationship.
As the tension in the story builds, in comes the Easter Bunny, a depressed being with a ton of frustration, a thing for Mrs. Claus and a secret agenda. The Bunny, who spends most of his time being invisible and looking in through windows at folks having sex, concocts a way to make sure Santa gets what he deserves. Meanwhile, Santa fights to stay away from the Tooth Fairy and finds a new love in the figure of a mortal woman who he decides to bring home for a little experiment in marital boundaries. What follows is a marvelous romp of a tale that could only come from the gifted mind of Robert Devereaux.
“Santa Steps Out” packs as much action, lust and tension to rival any work of fiction out there. However, Devereaux’s unique take on our childhood figures, the humanizing of ethereal beings, the nonstop carnal festivities, the special treatment he gives love, his nonchalant use of scatological elements, his underlying sense of humor and obvious knowledge of human nature put this outrageous, engaging book on a level all by itself.
While the run-of-the-mill reader will probably be offended enough to ask for the authors beheading, the truth is that obscenity loses its meaning in the plethora of deeper, painstakingly layered touches of philosophy, mythology and psychology that Devereaux brings to the table. In other words, nothing is too nasty in Devereaux’s dexterous hands.
“Santa Steps Out” is the perfect tome to give your mind a few pokes in all the right places. It unlike anything else you’ve ever read and reinvents everything you already thought you knew. Desecration is a beautiful thing when done brilliantly and Devereaux delivers just that in this book. Get a copy right now.
– Gabino Iglesias
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
