Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt

A Novel

By: Anne Rice

Narrated by: Josh Heine

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Having completed the two cycles of legend to which she has devoted her career so far, Anne Rice gives us now her most ambitious and courageous book, a novel about the early years of Christ the Lord, based on the Gospels and on the most respected New Testament scholarship.

The book's power derives from the passion its author brings to the writing and the way in which she summons up the voice, the presence, the words of Jesus who tells the story.

Listen to Anne Rice talk about Christ the Lord on Charlie Rose.

©2005 Anne O'Brien Rice (P)2005 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Rice's painstaking historical research is obvious throughout." (Publishers Weekly)

"Riveting....Rice's book is a triumph of tone (her prose lean, lyrical, vivid) and character. As he ponders his staggering responsibility, the boy is fully believable, and yet there's something in his supernatural empathy and blazing intelligence that conveys the wondrousness of a boy like no other." (Kirkus Reviews)

Refreshing New Christian Fiction Writer!

I tried her previous literature, The Vampire Chronicles, and found her writing style to be one that pulls you into the story because of the extensive research and attention to detail. However, The Vampire Chronicles became too "dark" for me as each book was released and I stopped reading them.

It is a joy to find the same research and detail given to Christ The Lord! What a blessing to the world to finally have a gifted writer see the Light.

Great Read: Didn't want it to end

The voice talent is excellent.

The story is engaging.

I only have two complaints:

1. It is too short. The story only covers 1 year of Jesus' life, from 7 to 8 years old. I don't mind this because the writing is top notch, I just want more ;-)

2. It would be nice to have downloadable footnotes and bibliography so that users can read some (or all) of the sources for the book.

ABSOLUTELY beautiful!

Anne Rice has always been a favorite of mine and I can't believe it took me so long to enjoy this loving perspective on the life of the young Christ ♥️

Interesting Fictional account ofthe youth of Jesus

Anne Rice did not dissapoint. The fictional young life of Jesus could have been just this way. After all He did have amazing powers. I am not sure God would have endangered Him in such a way as to have these powers just jump out of Him without knowledge of what was happening and how draining it was. But I really enjoyed her imaginary story and would listen to it again. The reader was realistic (meaning he sounded like a 12 year old boy) I have always liked Anne Rice's work and was not disappointed in this work either.
Sean Mooney

History lesson

Being a lukewarm Christian, the novel really elucidates what it is to be Jewish and the political situation of Judaism during the days of Roman conquest of Israel.

It also made me start to wonder why God is not more important in my life. It was a good experience.

fascinating picture of Jesus the boy

This is a great look at Jesus from an angle we hardly see -- Jesus the boy. What must it have been like to grow up in the Roman-ruled world? Anne Rice gives a version that is plausible and definately thought-provoking.

The perspective is a distinctively Roman Catholic one, but that shouldn't turn off Protestant readers. Take the legends and dogma with a grain of salt and move on. Move on because Rice sets up the historical context in which Jesus became a man and then a teacher. (Rice's theory on Mary the perpetual virgin is deft at explaining Jesus's "brothers and sisters" mentioned in the gospels.)

Rice also gives a portrait of Joseph that is touching. We know almost nothing about Joseph the carpenter, but Rice captures a man of God trying to make sense of his burden while trying to be a good father to this mysterious boy.

She works a little too hard working in players that I doubt Jesus encountered as a child (the future high priest Caiaphas), but the idea that Israel is that small and the family lines that intertwined is interesting.

I'd never before read an Anne Rice novel, but I'd heard about her devotion to researching historical background to add authenticity to her work. I was also intrigued by her jump from vampires to Jesus Christ.

She explains how she came to write "Christ the Lord" in a long author's note at the end. It may make a great prologue for fans wondering why the queen of vampires has written a doxology to Jesus Christ.

Interesting premise. Well executed.

I approached this as an interested and curious agnostic. I think she did a very good job of telling the story and weaving in the historical and biblical aspects. I think this whole time frame is interesting. I had always viewed Jesus as being born in a manger and then the next we hear, he is pretty much tacked up on a cross. This gives a little novel-like idea of some of those in-between years. I hope she makes a whole series of it, as I view the Bible as a pretty boring and unapproachable read. Overall, it was well read and there is a nice explanatory author's note at the end. As an aside, I have never read her work before (although I thought the Interview with a Vampire movie sucked).

To much Repeat

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Maybe...it repeated the same sentence over and over. Always about Jesus uncle laughing.

That got old, when listening...might not have been so bad if I was reading it.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Did a good job

A tad short of excellent

I'm giving this four stars based on the incredible amount of research Rice conducted in the making of this book, and the interesting author's note at the end where she details her return to the church and talks about the research. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to listen to the afterword first, as I believe it will provide better context for the actual story.

The story itself, isolated from these other factors, would receive three stars from me. There really weren't any passages that had me hanging on every word. This is not a page-turning thriller. However, the tale is interesting enough, and the narration was fine. It's nice to know that the descriptions of the buildings, clothing, lifestyles, and the goings-on in the temple are historically accurate. The story of the moneychangers in the temple, for instance, was very interesting and gave me a much better understanding of what Jesus faced later in his life. I love well-researched historical fiction, and am appreciative of the effort Rice put into this. It was well worth my time.

I was prepared to hate this book...

but I was captured by it immediately and couldn't stop listening until it was over. Ms Rice has managed to bring alive 7 year old Jesus and all of the various emotions he must have gone through trying to determine exactly what was different about him. She has also made historical events come alive through the eyes of a little boy. Brilliantly done!!