Gift Guide: Mister Sam Shearon’s Creepy Christmas

Mr. Sam Shearton's Creep ChristmasIf your taste leans toward the macabre and you’d like to spend some relaxing time coloring, this adult coloring book might be right up your alley.

Stats
Title: Mister Sam Shearon’s Creepy Christmas (A Merry Macabre Coloring Book)
Author/Illustrator: Mister Sam Shearon
Paperback: 166 pages
Publisher: Vesuvian Books (October 18, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1944109226
ISBN-13: 978-1944109226

Summary

As you probably know, all happy seasons have a dark side, and in typical human fashion, Christmas is not immune to this adage. Jolly Saint Nick has his shadow Krampus. In fact, the lore of the Yuletide can even get darker than Halloween! Enter Mister Sam Shearon and his dark imagination. Mister Sam Shearon’s Creepy Christmas features 40 original hand-drawn and inked illustrations from a variety of traditional beliefs and legends from around the world, including British, North American, Nordic, Icelandic, Austrian and Germanic folklore. In addition, each illustration is accompanied with a poem, serving as a guide to the creepy creatures you can have a festive time bringing to colorful life.

What Worked for Me

Page from Creepy Christmas - PerchtaFirst, this book is durable. My postal carrier rolled it up and stuffed it into my tiny mail box rather than walking a few feet to the leasing office and dropping it off. And yet, within hours of unrolling it, the book was good as new!

Second, it is clear to me that Mister Sam Shearon is a talented artist. The illustrations are well done and detailed. And, because this is a coloring book, there is plenty of white space for you to be creative with color.

Third, I enjoyed the poems that went with each illustration. You don’t usually see that in adult coloring books. It sets this one apart and makes it useful and entertaining beyond just coloring in the pictures.

What Didn’t Work for Me

Page from Creepy Christmas - Snow GlobeCreepy Christmas really isn’t my thing. In fact, I almost didn’t agree to review the book. However, given my audience of science fiction, fantasy and horror fans, I felt I’d be remiss in not bringing your attention to this well-put-together coloring book.

Conclusion

This is an excellent coloring book for people who love to revel in the darker side of life. If you’re into Wendigos, the Abominable Snowman and a variety of of scary critters, you’ll appreciate the macabre illustrations found in this coloring book. Warning … this is not for little ones who get nightmares easily!

Score: 4 Palm Trees Out of 5 Possible

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NOTE: Although I received this book free to review, that did not affect my opinion of the book. Read past reviews of books I’ve received for free and you’ll know I don’t hold my punches.

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About the author

As The Genre Traveler, Carma Spence loves to view the world through Genre-Coloured glasses. In other words, she sees the world through a lens of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, where trash cans can be Daleks in disguise and neighborhood forests can harbor faeries and sprites. Magic realism is real! Or at least you can choose to see the world that way to add to the fun and awe of life.