Customer Reviews

Kringle

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Long ago, when goblins and elves roamed the earth, and ghosts and frost loomed all around, a young boy named Kringle came into existence. He was a quiet boy who lived a solitary existence. That is, until his twelfth winter. On his twelfth winter, goblins attacked young Kringle's home, casting him into the wilderness. Now, Kringle finds himself alone in the midst of a frightening world. But after a short time, fate intervenes. Kringle, after numerous encounters with pirates, elves, and the threat of goblins in search of an epic battle, Kringle realizes that he has a destiny to fulfill. One that will prove that even a lone boy, like himself, has the power to change the world forever as we know it.

It is impossible for me to pass up a book related to Christmas, so when I saw the display of Tony Abbott's KRINGLE at the bookstore a few weeks ago, I knew that I had to read it. KRINGLE is unlike any other story about Christmas on the market today. It is filled with danger, excitement, peril, and the joy of bringing happiness to others. The fact that Abbott has included a magic, fantasy-like touch to the story only makes it better. Overall, this is an enchanting new fantasy story that is perfect for any time of the year, be it Christmas, or the Fourth of July.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

At first, I worried that the beautiful book cover would turn out to be just so much eye candy, with nothing to back it up; I was wrong!
This story ties together much of the folklore of Christmas, and, most important to me, not only does not omit the Nativity, but accentuates its importance, without coming across as overly-pious or preachy. The eternal struggle between good and evil is well defined here. The crass commercialism of "Santa Claus" seems even more offensive after reading KRINGLE, and I consider that a Good Thing.
Another bonus about this book is, boys can enjoy it as well as girls. In my job as a children's librarian, one struggle is to find "boy books." With his Droon series, Mr. Abbott is practiced at bridging that gap, and he does it again with KRINGLE. I am delighted to see this hard-cover, beautifully illustrated book published in time for the holidays. I hope we see more like this from this author, though he does a pretty good job, at the end, in declaring it was something along the lines of "just one of those things." I hope there are more ideas like this lurking in his imagination!

When I saw the glittering Kringle book at the store, I knew I would love it. I'm an F.F. (fantasy fan) The flashy golden pages caught my eye, so I read the back and immediatly bought it.
An awsome thriller for children, Kringle was a magnificent story.


It's a story about a young boy traveling through many magical hardships to gain back a loved one (and save the world from goblins!)
I, personally, thought it breath-taking and even now it is on my "fave books" list.

Kringle is a 12 year old boy living in a world with fantasy creatures, good and evil. He has grown up with a woman named Merwen, because his parents died shortly after he was born. After being separated from Merwen after a goblin attack, he goes off to find her.

At the beginning of the book, Kringle is an ordinary boy with many fears. During the duration of the book, he learns to fend for himself, all the while looking for a place to call his own. Kringle falls upon a band of elves, and stays with them for most of the book. He learns about the evil in the land and decides to try and stop it.

Kringle is an extraordinary boy who grows up with every page you read. He takes on all sorts of evils, especially goblins. He takes it all in stride with extremely mature intentions. I would like to meet him to ask him how he felt when he fought all those goblins. I don't think I know any other boy who would be able to do that.

A hermit Kringle meets tells the story of Kringle's journey. The book is a thriller that will keep your nose in the book until you've finished it. It is a fantasy book about a special Christmas story that you will re-read many times before it goes on your shelf. I give it a 5 star rating, because I love fantasies. Tony Abbott is one of my favorite authors, and I love his style of writing. Kringle is a Christmas book that will have you hooked, whether it's in the middle of July, or on Christmas Eve.

This book is rich in detail, mood and has the feel of an old, timeless epic story. This is a good book for parents to expose their children to first before the great quest stories out there in fantasy fiction.

The author has taken complex story elements and made them accessible without writing down to kids. This is a chapter book parents will enjoy reading with their kids.

One day, I thought that Tony Abbott should stop writing books b-
elow my age and write a ten and up book, when I saw Kringle in
Barnes and Nobles, I instantly bought and was not disappointed.
This is what books in fantasy need to be!

On his twelfth winter, Merwen finished her dramatic story in "T-
he Sparrow, later in "GOBLINS!" he escapes their house in The B-
ottoms and their hut blow up and the goblins captured Merwen and
in "A Kingly Thing" he is sent to Castrum but he finds a dramat-
ic welcome at the city, it's destroyed but goblins, in "Winter
Gifts," he finds something queer in the perilous Dark Woods. T-
hen there's PART II, In "Elevenwald," he meets the elf populati-
on, in "The Gray Stones" he meets the elder Hrothr, in "Barrowf-
oot" then go outside Elvenwald and run into Snegg, Merwen's cap-
ture captain and pirates, Then to PART III, in "Stormfall" he m-
eets the viking, Octa. In "Among The Black Trees" he looks for
The Goblin King, In "The Palace of The Goblin King" he meets the
nefarious king, Morgo. In "In The Passages" he meets a prisoner
monk, Alban who is useful in Kringle's future. In "The Innocent-
s" Alban tell's Kringle some very daunting things and escape M-
orgo's palace. Then, PART IV,"The Frozen River" Kringle and Alban cross a treachorous river. In "Cragtop" They make it to
Cragtop and speak to a Hermit. In "Cave of Heaven" Alban talks
about Bethelem and the dastardly goblins. Then, PART V, In "At
Doomchasm" Kringle goes to Doomchasm. In "The Staff of Weary-All
" Kringle wields a powerful and exotic staff. In "Bonecrown" Kr-
ingle meet Oliphas. In "Tomb of Earth, Kringle learns about Mor-
go's plan and Yule, and loses a beloved friend. PART VI, In "A
Gathering of Souls" Kringle prepares a big army for a fight vs.
the goblins. In "Armies of The Night" Kringle catches up with
Morgo. In "Dragon's Nest" they incounter a monster beyond horro-
rs" In "The War Dragon" Kringle and Morgo prepare to fight each-
other. In "Yule, Wheel of Time" Kringle fights Morgo and (I'm n-
ot telling!) Part VII, Kringles become Santa Clau- and has a n-
ice reunion with Merwen, and a few chapters like that are in the
final part.

I enjoyed the book very much - it was a fairly quick read for me. I especially like how the author incorporated ancient British and Celtic history into the characters and storyline. Highly recommended.

Although Kringle sounds like a sweet peaceful Christmas tale, it is not that. It's main characters are Gussi, Morgo, the Grunding, Kringle, Snegg, Merwen,and Alben. It takes place all over Europe during Roman times after the birth of Christ. However, it is never specified exactly when or where it takes place. The problem is that goblins have taken over and they are after Kringle. The book begins with Kringle and Merwen's house being distoyed by goblins. Kringle escapes and picks up Merwen's staff from the rubble. He then goes to a city for safety and finds a bell he had since his mother and father died. Later, he finds that the city was destroyed by the goblins and sets up a camp. He then finds elves ad goes off to stay with elves. He meets his friend Gussi the elf there and much later leaves in search of Merwen after getting the elven runes, which are magical stones. He arrives and has a fight with goblins and their army leader Snegg got most of his rune stones. As soon as that is done with, he goes in the goblin's lair to rescue Merwen and the stones. There, he sees the king of the goblins, Morgo, and meets a priest named Alben who has been captured by the goblins because they thought he could build cities. They live in a cave together until Kringle goes and has another fight with the goblins. This time he loses and almost dies. After recovering for a long time, he finds a spirit reindeer that takes him to an elf sanctuary to have them fight the goblins. The book then has a giant battle that takes place in the goblin's lair. The battle picks up when kidnapped children release the Grunding. With the one rune stone Kringle has, he stops time to distort the Grunding. He then traps the goblins in a crater. The book ends when Kringle moves to the North Pole and starts eliminating fear from Winter, thus starting the legend of Santa Claus.

PROS:
-REALLY GOOD DESCRIBING WORDS
-GOOD STORYLINE
-AMAZING PROTAGONIST AND ANTAGONIST
CONS:
-ONLY LAST 30 PAGES ARE ABOUT CRISTMAS

Just a quick review from a Mom. I ran out of books to read for myself. I had checked this out from our library for my kids, so in desperation for something to read, I picked it up. And couldn't put it down!!!!!!! It is a compelling and lovely story. I thoroughly enjoyed how Abbott wove Christian and pagan elements together. I am going to buy it and read it with my children as a Christmas tradition!