The Lairdbalor

by Kathleen Kaufman Narrated by Kirby Heyborne

Overview

“I am the stuff of your nightmares ... You have been writing my name on the walls of your fear your entire life.”

When seven-year-old Jamie falls down a very long hill, he finds himself trapped in a world of strange creatures, harsh landscapes, and near-perpetual darkness. Lost and confused, Jamie is desperate to get home. The nightmares, fears, and all manner of what-ifs that inhabit this shadow world are unfamiliar to him-all except one: the Lairdbalor, Jamie's personal nightmare, once relegated to his dreams. In this fantastical land, however, the Lairdbalor and all the fears and nightmares of children are very real.

But Jamie's nightmare is different. It is the sum total of the anger and anxiety that imprisoned him in his former life, and it threatens to consume and rule the nightmare realm, a place where time passes differently. With each slumber, Jamie finds himself inexorably changed. The farther he travels through this terrifying world, the better he understands the one he left behind.

Crossing genres of folklore, horror, fantasy, and magical realism, The Lairdbalor is a story for anyone who lives with anxiety and fear and has ever wondered, “what if?” It is the story of a child not meant for children and a darkly imaginative meditation on life, death, fear, and the nature of reality.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Named one of the top three spooky novels to read this Halloween by Brit + Co: "THE LAIRDBALOR might just have you checking in your closet and under your bed for some things that go bump in the night."—Ilana Lucas

"The Babadook meets The Hobbit in this nightmare-riddled fantasy. Kaufman’s subtle horror will pull readers along with a creeping sense of unease, though the Lairdbalor’s scenes are genuinely chilling."—Booklist

Mythic, haunting, and imaginative, THE LAIRDBALOR is a beautifully-written nightmare where the tumultuous anxieties and emotions of childhood are given life and then skinned raw."—Jake Marley, Winner of the 2017 Golden Pen Award

“Sweeping, lyrical, and darkly philosophical, THE LAIRDBALOR succeeds in mapping not only a new world, but also a new voice ready to confront and explore our deepest, darkest fears.”—Bram Stoker Award-winning author John Palisano

"Imagine a harrowing coming-of-age quest in a world that is literally your worst nightmare. Kathleen Kaufman has already imagined it for you. THE LAIRDBALOR is wondrous, strange and horrifying. You won’t want to sleep again after reading it."—Bill Bridges, author of The Song of Unmaking

“A powerful story of myth, legend, and lore this lyrical nightmare come true is chilling and unsettling, but not without hope and heart.”—Richard Thomas, author of the Thriller Award-nominated Breaker

"With THE LAIRDBALOR, Kathleen Kaufman has written a novel that re-imagines the traditions of Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century. In its pages, Kaufman takes us on a journey with Jamie, her young hero, cast from our world into another, fantastic one. There, he must traverse strange landscapes and treat with weird creatures, all in the shadow of the figure he fears the most, the Lairdbalor. Kathleen Kaufman has produced a fine debut, one whose roots in the literature of the fantastic rise into bizarre, memorable fruit."—John Langan, author of The Fisherman

"Kathleen Kaufman's debut is a dark, twisted fairytale of the best kind. THE LAIRDBALOR is haunting, evocative, page-turning. Couldn't read it fast enough! The ending will stay with you long after you've put it down."—Jennifer Brody, award-winning author of The 13th Continuum

“Kaufman conjures terrifying scenarios, from the creepily unsettling to the graphically horrific, with crisp, elegant prose.”—Kirkus Reviews

"A unique, deftly crafted, impressively engaging read from cover to cover, THE LAIRDBALOR showcases author Kathleen Kauman's extraordinary flair for imaginative and entertaining storytelling. Unreservedly recommended."—Midwest Book Review

Kirkus Reviews

2017-07-17
Seven-year-old Jamie falls down a "very long hill" into a dimension of nightmares.That's meant quite literally: the Oidhche (one of many untranslated Gaelic words and phrases peppering the text) is populated entirely with monsters from children's nightmares; the very worst, the eponymous Lairdbalor, springs from Jamie's own fears. The white California boy soldiers on through hellish, surreal landscapes, supported by his stuffed rat, Bilbo, turned magically alive, and a series of not-quite-trustworthy guides. Yet with every sleep, Jamie grows years, even decades, older; even if he escapes this world, will there still be a home for him? Debut author Kaufman conjures terrifying scenarios, from the creepily unsettling to the graphically horrific, with crisp, elegant prose. The narrative remains tightly interior, bound within Jamie's thoughts and feelings, but the effort to maintain his childlike mindset as his body ages and his reflections grow more sophisticated requires increasingly artificial gimmickry. Readers will slowly realize that the Lairdbalor represents nothing less than a concrete projection of the nihilistic existentialist crisis of a morbidly anxious child. As with most postmodern philosophy, Jamie responds by stoically embracing the abyss within—a solution not without heroism. Alas for storytelling, it also leads to a curiously deflated conclusion in which the apparent reward for hundreds of pages of unrelenting misery and horror is only fatalistic quietism. Best suited for those readers who turn to Nietzsche and Hesse for pleasure. (Horror. 14-adult)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169609004
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	10/10/2017
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos