Kringle is an American children's fantasy novel written by Tony Abbott (not to be confused with the former Prime Minister of Australia). The story chronicles the origins of Kris Kringle, also known as Santa Claus. The book was released in 2005.
Deep in the land of ghosts and frost, back in the days of long ago, when elves and goblins still roamed the earth, there was a boy named Kringle. He lived a quiet, solitary existence...until his twelfth winter, when goblins attacked his home and cast the boy out into the wilderness.
Now Kringle finds himself adrift in a strange and frightening world. But fate soon intervenes. Through encounters with elves, pirates, the ancient magic of the time, and the dark threat of goblins massing for an epic battle, Kringle begins to realize that he has a destiny to fill — and that even a lone boy can wield the power to change the world forever.
This book includes examples of:
- Adorably Precocious Child: Kringle is only 12 years old, but is smart enough to formulate a plan to stop the goblins from taking over the world.
- Bald of Evil: The goblins are hairless save for a few sprouts of white, greasy hair.
- Beneath the Earth: The goblins' palace is located underground. They're also condemned to remain underground at the end for all time, only allowed free on Long Night.
- The Caligula: Morgo, the King of the Goblins, who essentially acts like a spoiled brat, demanding his underlings give him all of their stolen goods.
- Child Hater: The goblins, especially Morgo, due to the prophecy that a child would rid the world of goblins.
- Christmas Elves: The elves Kringle encounters on his journey who eventually become his helpers.
- Downer Beginning: The story opens with goblins destroying Kringle's home and separating him from his guardian Merwen.
- The Dragon: Snegg is this to King Morgo. He's the primary leader of the goblin raiding parties and carries out the brunt of his king's work.
- Emotion Eater: The goblins feed off of fear.
- Evil Overlord: Morgo, who rules over an empire of goblins that numbers in the tens of thousands.
- Friend to All Children: Kringle, who resolves to protect them from the goblins at the end of the book.
- The Hermit: Alban was this prior to being captured by the goblins.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Kringle's father, Halig, died protecting two elves from Morgo.
- Holy Burns Evil: Kringle's holy bell, which burned Morgo's hand when he attempted to steal it from Kringle's dying father.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Between Kringle and Brother Alban.
- It's Personal: Kringle's vendetta against the goblins, Morgo in particular, due to them killing his parents.
- Large and in Charge: Morgo is the largest of the goblins, and is their king. Kringle even muses that his large size is the reason why he is their ruler.
- Magic Wand: Ithgar, the Iron Wand, which the goblins use to create storms.
- Magnetic Hero: Kringle. By the end, he's gathered enough allies to challenge the goblin army.
- The Marvelous Deer: The spirit of Kringle's father takes the form of a reindeer.
- Monster Lord: Morgo the Goblin King.
- Mook Lieutenant: Snegg leads the goblin raiding parties while Morgo remains in his underground palace.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Herod: Morgo has his goblin underlings abduct as many children as they can due to overhearing a prophecy that a child would rid the world of goblins. The goblins attempting to kidnap Kringle ends up setting off the series of events that leads to Kringle opposing the goblins.
- Our Elves Are Different: They harbor the children who've escaped the goblins and help them find new homes.
- Our Goblins Are Different: They live underground, have an insatiable desire to steal, and feed off of fear. They also come in various sizes and colors, ranging from green, to red, to black.
- Parental Abandonment: Kringle's parents were killed by goblins when he was an infant, leaving him to be raised by Merwen.
- Parental Substitute: Merwen to Kringle after his parents were killed.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: The goblins use the children they've captured to power Morgo's War Dragon.
- Protagonist Title: Kringle is the titular main character.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Morgo. He's prone to throwing fits when he doesn't get his way and has a tendency to behave like a spoiled child.
- Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: The goblins' evil is showcased through their mass enslavement of the children they capture.
- Take Over the World: Morgo seeks to unleash the ancient beast Grunding in order to allow goblin-kind to dominate the earth.
- Would Hurt a Child: The goblins kidnap children and turn them into their slaves.
- You Killed My Father: Kringle's parents were killed by goblins. His father was killed by the Goblin King, Morgo, himself.
