The Fat Man

A Tale of North Pole Noir

De: Ken Harmon

Narrado por: Johnny Heller

Fired from his longtime job as captain of the Coal Patrol, two-foot-three-inch, 1,300-year-old elf Gumdrop Coal is angry. He's one of Santa's original elves, inspired by the fat man's vision to bring joy to children on that one special day each year. But somewhere along the way, things went sour for Gumdrop. Maybe it was delivering one too many lumps of coal for the Naughty List. Maybe it's the conspiracy against Christmas that he's starting to sense down every chimney.

Either way, North Pole disillusionment is nothing new: Some elves brood with a bottle of nog, trying to forget their own wish list. Some get better. Some get bitter. Gumdrop Coal wants revenge. Justice is the only thing he knows, and so he decides to give a serious wakeup call to parents who can't keep their vile offspring from landing on the Naughty List. But when one parent winds up dead, his eye shot out with a Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model BB gun, Gumdrop Coal must learn who framed him and why. Along the way he'll escape the life-sucking plants of the Mistletoe Forest, battle the infamous Tannenbomb Giant, and survive a close encounter with 12 very angry drummers and their violent friends. The horrible truth lurking behind the gingerbread doors of Kringle Town could spell the end of Christmas - and of the fat man himself. Holly Jolly!

©2010 Ken Harmon (P)2010 Tantor

The Fatman is a Christmas treat!

A thoroughly delightful Christmas treat with just right ingredients! Do enjoy opening this creative gift!

Love this book!

I typically don't like stories about Christmas that have a darker tone being a Christmas fanatic. This book had so many moments of Christmas nostalgia and meaning in it, that I found myself smiling, laughing and being sentimental. I wholeheartedly give this book my Christmas endorsement! How Ho Ho!

Smart, Fun, Edgy and Saucy (mostly)

This was an extremely fun, laugh-out-loud, cracker of a story. Brilliantly conceived and brilliantly executed. The actor/narrator’s performance was so perfectly shaped and constructed; Mr. Heller, an award-winning voice actor, brought these saucy and magnificent characters to full realization through his perfectly-suited Noir style.

Almost every line has some quirky reference or wink/nod based on classic Christmas stories, movies and animated TV specials and spins them in a unique, razor-witted, and extremely intelligent way. For most of this book, I found myself moving from grin, to laugh, to shock, to chortle, to chuckle, and back again.

The structure of the book does seem to spin out of control near the end, only to wrap up in a somewhat unnecessary and overtly-religious way. This bothered me until I realized the source from which the author drew his conclusion was also one of those animated classics which, by today’s “standards,” comes across as also quite overtly “religious.” Once I realized who this character was, it lessened my aversion to the seemingly forced message or moral that it presented. I don’t usually have an aversion to books that have a strong Moral, if that Moral emerges or develops naturally from the characters, or plot, or style of writing. Given the tone of 9/10ths of this book, however, the conclusion seemed entirely out of character from the rest of the book. It felt forced and manipulated, and did slightly spoil the overall experience of the otherwise brilliant world and language the author created.

The bottom line is: I have in fact, recommended this book to several people for the incredibly sharp and smartly funny turns of phrase and stylistic brilliance in the writing. Despite the structural problems and awkward way it comes to its conclusion, I still think this is a wonderful holiday tale.

Loved all the references

Enjoyed the unique story of Santa and elves. Narrator was perfect choice for this book. Lots of cultural references and some not so subtle references to classic Christmas stories.

My New Favorite Christmas Tale

I bought this title yesterday evening; listened to it as soon as it finished the download. And it is now my favorite Christmas Listen ... to be enjoyed year after year. It has the best of the Noir style, with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, valiantly satirizing the genre and calling on many Christmas favorite tales along the way. Reminiscent of a quality B-movie, I listened to this book like I watch the B&W version of It's A Wonderful Life (and avoid the colorized version) -- enjoying it and anticipating the next line, sometimes even knowing what it would be but not caring that I already knew.

I can't tell you my favorite parts of the book as that would give away too much. However, if you like the noir style, then you will probably enjoy this book.

But, be aware, this is not really a family/children's story even if it is about elves and Santa and has characters with silly names like Charles Candy Cane or Tannenbomb.

The narrator does an excellent job, in my opinion.