Krampus cover art

Krampus

The Yule Lord

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Krampus

By: Brom
Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

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 Classics Fantasy Horror Magic Scary Winter Christmas Fiction Norse West Virginia Mythology Thief

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Child Thief cover art
Slewfoot cover art
Lost Gods cover art
The Dead Man Volume 1 cover art
Dark Rite cover art
The Exorcist's House cover art
Thistlefoot cover art
The Creeper cover art
The Watchers cover art
The Winter Spirits cover art
The Keep cover art
Jackals cover art
Hell House cover art
Killing It cover art
Ruritanian Rogues: Volumes 1-3 cover art
Barbed Wire Heart cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
didn't know where this was going but great book and story. just give it a go

great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Any additional comments?

Krampus: The Yule Lord Audio narration = 5+ Kirby Heyborne did such a phenomenal job narrating this story that I would say that it was probably what I enjoyed most about the book. He brought these characters to life in such a way that I thought there were several different narrators and was surprised to find that this was not the case. I wasn't surprised to find that Heyborne also narrated parts of Cloud Atlas which was also done brilliantly. I look forward to enjoying more audio books with this narrator. I am almost sad to say that I didn't enjoy Krampus as much as I thought I would. I loved Brom's retelling of Peter Pan in The Child Thief so much that I was anticipating the same kind of dark and disturbing storytelling in this story about a Christmas demon. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't by any means a fun, happy story, it just didn't have that element of creepiness that I expect from this author or that I anticipated with this particular subject matter. How can a story about a Christmas demon known for dragging naughty children off to Hell be anything less than terrifying? Unfortunately, there is a way. The images of Krampus seem pretty terrifying but for some reason this story presented him as far less than intimidating, and even a little ridiculous at times with all too human-like flaws. Since Krampus is said to carry naughty children off to hell, I thought he would be a bit more imposing with less obvious weaknesses of character. There were definitely some bloody & violent moments involving The Yule Lord but I didn't find him believable as a God or descendant of Loki. Also, the background of the conflict between him and Santa was a little confusing at times, especially near the end. The way this story was resolved was even more baffling. However, an afterword explains a lot of the mythology that the author used to inspire parts of the book and does actually answer some questions.While several aspects of this book left me marginally satisfied, many others I really enjoyed. For example, exploring the origins of the Santa Claus and Krampus mythology and their relationships to the Gods Odin and Loki. I am always fascinated by the way many pagan rituals have been absorbed into Christian celebrations and I enjoyed reading about how that applied to Santa and Krampus' legends. There was also some wicked humor interspersed throughout that I found genuinely entertaining. Those moments when Krampus was attempting to function in today's world was at times amusing and at other times just sad. I would have liked to have seen this explored a bit more. One of my favorite things about Krampus- The Yule Lord was the main character Jesse. I don't know how many of you watch the TV show "Breaking Bad" but there is also a character named Jesse in that show who consistently makes all the wrong decisions and isn't very likable but somehow has some endearing quality that makes you root for him all the same. Jesse in this novel was much the same and so, in my mind, this is who I saw playing this tale out. This and the incredible audio narration were, in my opinion, this books best qualities. But while I loved Jesse's character, sometimes I felt like what was going on with him overshadowed Krampus' story and I was left wanting more from both. Overall, Krampus is a story I would recommend, especially for the Christmas/Yule season. There is a lot going on in this story; violence, mayhem, mythology, gods, goats, magic, thugs, domestic violence, murder, and belsnickels. You definitely won't be bored. If you are thinking of reading this, I HIGHLY recommend the audio, it one of the best narrations I've ever listened to.

Pleasant Surprise

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
love every part of this story, the charators are great and the story just sucks you in

a brillent story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I recommend this book in many,many ways. The narration and voices put on for each of the characters was fantastic. The whole confrontation of krampus and santa claus and their stories. Great ending to.

Superb!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An amazing Yuletide story. When listening to the story it's like you are part of the Adventure with Krampus, Jessie, Isabell & all the other Bellsicules! x x

Brings Yule Back!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
'Krampus, the Yule Lord', by Brom is truly a perfect encapsulation of everything it is to modernize existing literature, folklore, and mythology and present it to a new generation of eager readers as a dark fantasy retelling. I was hooked throughout this novel from start to finish. Brom's prose is delightful and full of dark, yuletide cheer. This novel contained characteristics of horror, dark fantasy, magical realism, fairytale fantasy, and more. I read this in three days: December 23rd, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day. Or rather: Yule. I felt incredible immersion and was delighted by a story which depicted a character (beloved by myself since childhood and many others) in such wonderful fashion, It should be noted that Brom has combined a number of mythological accounts of the Yule Lord and his companions in this novel - choosing to interpret Krampus, Santa, and other Yule Companions as strictly Norse as opposed to European / Alpine. However, I did not find this aspect to detract from the story and its hold over me at all in the slightest. Brom is a powerhouse author of dark fantasy and retellings and has quickly skyrocketed up to the ranks of my all-time favourite authors. Every character, from human to christmas demon, felt relatable and real. I closed the final page of my paperback book after reading along longing to return to this story the following Yule. That is a promise that I intend to make good on. I would highly recommend this novel. It was a 10/10 read and 10/10 listen. Kirby Heyborne truly outdid himself with the emotion he put into each character's story. If you did not believe in the Yule Lord before this novel, you will after. For one last time: "Krampus is coming to town..."

Rise of the Yule Lord

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed this even more than I thought I would! Just a really beautiful, real story with strong characters and a fabulous message! Full marks!! xxx

Stunning story, characters and narrator!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was so easy to listen to! It was very dark at some points and I couldn't listen to it with my kids in the room. It wasn't predictable, I can't liken it to another book or story. It seems so original to me. You could read chapter 20 first for its making history if you struggle to put together the tradition.

A must read at winter

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book, well written and fantastic narrator. flipped sides constantly through the book and loved the characters.

fab

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I'll be leaving sweets in my boots this year
this book was slot of fun recommended to read around Christmas tkme

very fun

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews