Krampus and the Thief of Christmas: A Christmas Novel

Publisher's Summary

Dark fairy tales. Waking legends. A magical battle for the heart of Christmas....

Krampus Night is coming and even though Gabrielle Greene has only been staying in her Uncle's strange alpine city a few weeks, she's already earned the reputation of the worst girl who ever lived. She doesn't know it yet, but she's also leapt to the top of Krampus's list.

Krampus, the sinister Winter King, the anti-Father Christmas who comes calling once a year seeking wicked children to haul back to his realm.

When Gabrielle's younger brother goes missing, she sets out in search of him but soon finds herself hurtling into a shadowy otherworld. A place of terrible trolls, murky forests, coal-black mountains, Christmas charms and fearsome beasts.

Can Gabrielle save her brother from the fiendish Krampus? Will she become The Thief of Christmas?

The clock is ticking as Gabrielle discovers her decisions have created terrible consequences, consequences that must be faced if Christmas is to survive.

Krampus and the Thief of Christmas is a magical adventure of yuletide thrills, dark comedy and festive delights.

©2016 Derrick Sutton (P)2019 Derrick Sutton

Great story with an excellent reading

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and the narration was really well done, with evocative characterizations and a professional polish.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

You're a Mean One, Mr Krampus

This is labeled as a children’s book, but as an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and think it works well for kids from one to ninety-two. This was a really nice simple story that will help adults to relive the magic of being a kid on Christmas. For kids, this tells a great story about the yin and yang or two sides of the same coin of Santa and Krampus. How one can’t exist without the other and to make sure you are on the correct one’s list.

The plot for this story is simple, although I feel most Christmas stories are. What I really enjoyed were the two main characters. For a brother and sister, they had a great relationship and it was heart warming to see what each would do for the other. On the darker side, not too dark, Krampus was a formidable antagonist and was right up there with The Grinch.

Short of a few anachronisms, this completely felt like it was in the same world as A Christmas Carol. I know that it isn’t actually set in the 1800’s, but it definitely had the feel. Intentional or not, it absolutely worked and really made for a nice setting. The imagination that went into this story and coupled with the great descriptions of everything really made this a fun listen. Definitely will be added to my list of books to listen to again, probably sometime in December.

As he always does, Hannibal Hills does an impeccable job of narrating the story. His accent lends to the overall feel of the story and his character voices are perfect.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Humorous, Heartfelt Horrific Holiday Heist

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

This was such a dark and delightful journey. In an echo of Labyrinth, the young protagonist must journey into a magical world to retrieve her brother - only to be told that the price to free him is to go to the North Pole and steal the Key of Christmas.

6 short hours packed lots of thrills, chills, humor and a heartfelt appreciation of the need for family and both the good and dark sides of Christmas. The carrot and the stick. It even brought the commercialization of Christmas into a positive light.

Gabrielle, Santa Claus and Krampus were especially wonderfully written.

The narrator does a wonderful job bringing the characters and world to life.

This is going in my holiday Must Read List alongside Hogfather

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

great listen

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Admittedly, this was a little odd to listen to in the spring, but I definitely enjoyed it. It is funny, heartfelt and very entertaining. The narrator does a great job of bringing this book to life. Definitely worth checking out if you are a Tim Burton fan, or just like odd tales like this.

Fun Christmas Story for the Whole a Family!

This reminded me of two different holiday movies in story style: Santa Claus 2 and Rise of the Guardians. It's a darker Christmas story involving Krampus wanting to take over what he feels is rightfully his... Christmas. Krampus is a lesser known character for a lot of people which for me made this a lot of fun. This really brought Krampus's story to life for me... not all kids do well with bribing for good behavior but the fear of being taken and punished by a demon like Krampus might do it. The narrator does an incredible job with all the characters, voices and overall acting. He was a lot of fun to listen to and I am looking forward to listening to this book again with my kids.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Trolls, and a Christmas rescue. Cute tale

This is the first book I’ve read/listened to by this author and I was entertained. This is a great kids story with a nice twist/moral.
Garbrielle goes on quite an adventure to save her brother from Krampus. Just as she thinks she’s attained her goal, everything changes. Can the results of her decisions be reversed?

This is the second book I’ve listened to by this narrator ( Hannibal Hills). He did as well narrating this book as he did the previous. I enjoy his style. He gives each character a distinct voice.

There are no explicit sex scenes, excessive violence or swearing. This is definitely appropriate for kids 11 and up and I think even kids 8 and up would enjoy it.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and voluntarily left this unbiased review.
Please feel free to comment on whether you found my review helpful.

so cool

a very cool and original tail I enjoyed it very much it was very well written and the narrator did a very good job with the book it was very enjoyable

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

Krampus and Santa Claus 2 sides of the same coin

Two old friends make a deal, one can’t return that which was borrowed, the other cheats the game to settle the debt. Both are in the wrong and the world shall suffer the consequences. Centuries pass and one young girl rumored to be the worst girl in the city avoids Krampus and his trolls. They tempt and take her brother instead forcing her to steal the key to Christmas to save him. Saint Nick himself will half to do battle with krampus to save her. A really cool Christmas story. Can’t wait till December to listen to with my kids. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

Krampusmas!

3.5 stars

I had read another book about Krampus several years ago by this author; this has been on my TBR ever since. I was pleased to find it on Audible and ecstatic when I was gifted a code.

Not sure how Gabrielle is wanted by Krampus because she’s ‘rumoured’ to be bad. It never indicated if trolls are eyes and ears in our world.

Otherwise, the world building is good, but it didn’t blow me away.

I liked the characters and the way the story panned out. Just because she saves her brother, she later learns she still needs to save Christmas. The plot was good, diverse, and deeper than you’d expect from a short six hour audio!

Narrator made this an easy listen.

Krampus and the thief of Christmas

Wow!What a book!This was a fun ride through Christmasland where Father Christmas has built a machine that takes the place of his employees.A human girl may be the only one to fix things,but she is working for Krampus because he has her brother in a cage.Oh you just can't keep up!lol Hannibal Hills was an awesome narrator.I want to hear more from this writer. I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.