Author:
Kathleen Kaufman
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Learn moreThe Lairdbalor
Narrator
Kirby Heyborne
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Length
11 hours 44 minutes
Language
English
“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.
Kathleen Kaufman is the author of The Lairdbalor and Hag, as well as other horror novels. A University of Southern California alum, she teaches high-school English and undergraduate writing and composition. She is also an avid amateur photographer and has had work featured in publications such as The Huffington Post. A native Coloradan, she is a long-time resident of Los Angeles.
Kirby Heyborne is an accomplished actor, musician, and comedian. He has received critical acclaim for his starring roles in the award-winning World War II drama Saints and Soldiers, the lighthearted family comedy The R.M., the award-winning boy-band mockumentary The Sons of Provo, and the award-winning quixotic comedy Pirates of the Great Salt Lake. He has had starring roles in thirteen features and many short films. Kirby has also appeared on the WB's Everwood and many national commercials. Recently, Kirby was seen as a recurring character on the hit FOX sitcom Free Ride. Kirby has received a number of AudioFile Earphones Awards for excellence in audiobook narration. He has narrated such titles as Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, Breathers by S. G. Browne, and The Genius by Jesse Kellerman. Kirby is a cofounder and director of the celebrated Los Angeles-based improv comedy group The Society. Also a successful musician, Kirby has released four solo albums and has had his music featured in many films. Kirby has delighted audiences across the country with his ability to blend heart-warming stories, beautiful music, and comedic wit.
Audiobook details
Narrator:
Kirby Heyborne
ISBN:
9781538405772
Length:
11 hours 44 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:
October 10, 2017
Edition:
Unabridged
Reviews
“Kathleen Kaufman’s debut is a dark, twisted fairy tale of the best kind. The Lairdbalor is haunting, evocative, page-turning. Couldn’t read it fast enough!”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“A powerful story of myth, legend, and lore this lyrical nightmare come true is chilling and unsettling, but not without hope and heart.”
“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.”
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