The epic origin of a beloved holiday icon unfolds, as nine-year-old Klaas Krengel flees plague-ravaged Germania on a swashbuckling adventure across Medieval Europe to the remote ends of the earth, where he finds himself pitted against a gruesome host of adversaries, all resurrected from old Austrian lore. A bit of a spoiled brat, Krengel's only friend is an insidious counterpart called the Krampusz, a blue-furred monster who suffers from a pronounced hoarding disorder. Vexed by his half-brother's lifelong privilege and pampering, the Krampusz enjoys nothing more than imperiling the boy...

They emerged from their ancient lairs beneath the pyramids, sacking civilizations, spewing fumes that reduced our world to ash. But when the smoke cleared, humanity faced an even more insidious threat than the gigantic Khepra. In a smoldering world pounded back to steam technology, spiritual medium Cecile Raquet is deployed on a strange mission to track down the world's most elusive terrorist-with a little help from the dead. Guided only by the restless ghosts inside her head, she and her Special Forces protector penetrate the blackened heart of a wasteland by balloon, steam boat, and rail,...