Krampus

The Yule Lord

By: Brom

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Santa Claus, my dear old friend, you are a thief, a traitor, a slanderer, a murderer, a liar, but worst of all you are a mockery of everything for which I stood. You have sung your last ho, ho, ho, for I am coming for your head.... I am coming to take back what is mine, to take back Yuletide....
—from Krampus

The author and artist of The Child Thief returns with a modern fabulist tale of Krampus, the Lord of Yule and the dark enemy of Santa Claus.

One Christmas Eve in a small hollow in Boone County, West Virginia, struggling songwriter Jesse Walker witnesses a strange spectacle: seven devilish figures chasing a man in a red suit toward a sleigh and eight reindeer. When the reindeer leap skyward, taking the sleigh, devil men, and Santa into the clouds, screams follow. Moments later, a large sack plummets back to earth, a magical sack that thrusts the down-on-his-luck singer into the clutches of the terrifying Yule Lord, Krampus. But the lines between good and evil become blurred as Jesse's new master reveals many dark secrets about the cherry-cheeked Santa Claus, including how half a millennium ago the jolly old saint imprisoned Krampus and usurped his magic.

Now Santa's time is running short, for the Yule Lord is determined to have his retribution and reclaim Yuletide. If Jesse can survive this ancient feud, he might have the chance to redeem himself in his family's eyes, to save his own broken dreams... and to help bring the magic of Yule to the impoverished folk of Boone County.

©2012 Gerald Brom (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

Did not want it to end!

I will listen to this every year for Christmas,oops I mean Yule.Great twist on our holiday.loved it.

Absolutely loved this!

The genius it took to weave a tale combining various legends, blew my mind. With the creative twist that were added really brought more depth to the characters. I really enjoyed it. Also... the story itself touched me. Made me think about a lot of things differently and hopefully for the better.

The narrator, Kirby Heyborne, nailed it! Holy Cow, I was super impressed with his range voices. Most impressive was the life he gave to Krampus' character. The anguish, the joy, the hatred, the kindness, the smile in his voice ... all of it. He will definitely be a narrator I will seek out every chance I get.

As I mentioned above ... this has a lot of interesting intertwining storylines woven very effectively together that will make this an unforgettable book and you'll have a hard time putting it down. Then when you do, you'll have a hard time getting it out of your head... at least I did!

This book is spectacular in every way

If you could sum up Krampus in three words, what would they be?

Damn Fine Storytelling

What did you like best about this story?

The blending of a good mythos and a modern culture

Have you listened to any of Kirby Heyborne’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but he did a damn fine job.

If you could take any character from Krampus out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Krampus. He is the Yule Lord, how much fun would it be to sit down with The Yule lord an chat about things.

Any additional comments?

Great book, give it a go. It is perfect for any time of year.

Krampus is Coming!!!!

This is a great, original fantastic novel that is on par with some of the best horror fantasy novels of Clive Barker and Peter Straub. The true primaries of the story, Krampus and Santa Claus, are exceptionally complex in their respective personas and morality. Though it takes a while for the story to find its stride, but the setup given in the early chapters pays off big when Yule Tide arrives. Krampus, the Yule Lord, is great and terrible, demonic and cheerful, wild and fearsome, villainous and heroic, and one of the most well-rounded characters I've encountered. His exploits make for scenes both humorous and horrific, and though he is not the main character, he is the heart of the book. This is a must have for anyone who prefers fantasy, magic, and humor as seasoning on their horror.

Wonderful story...A true page turner!

This was by far the best book I've purchased... I truly enjoyed the story and the narrator.

I wish Brom would write more books!

Brom you need to write more books! "The Child Thief " is my favorite of his, a must read if you enjoyed this one.

Far better than I expected

I bought this title during a 2-for-1 sale thinking it would be a trashy throw-away action/horror story like some of the similarly themed bad horror movies about Krampus. I was pleasantly surprised, though, by a very well written story with some carefully fleshed out believable characters. Even old Krampus himself is relatable, and you'll be amused by him, surprised by him, scared by him, and even feel sorry for him. The Native American characters weren't given much depth, but otherwise the other characters felt very real also.

On top of that the narration was first rate excellent. The voices were stirring, and frankly it's hard for me to say whether a good part of Krampus' character came through in the reading and intonations. It really made for enjoyable listening.

to krampus or not to krampus

This story interesting premise no I must say it lags a little it was extremely stereotypical off of West Virginia. however nonetheless and had great humor twist of turn of events and I see Santa Claus in a whole new light that bastard

Santa Vs. Krampus

Great book. I thought that it was like the movie. NOPE! BETTER.
I honesty could choose who I wanted to win. I like Krampus.

Brilliant!

If you want to hear a good story settle in and enjoy Jesse's adventure.