Unholy Night

By: Seth Grahame-Smith

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of the New York Times best-selling Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter comes Unholy Night, the next evolution in dark historical revisionism.

They're an iconic part of history's most celebrated birth. But what do we really know about the Three Kings of the Nativity, besides the fact that they followed a star to Bethlehem bearing strange gifts? The Bible has little to say about this enigmatic trio. But leave it to Seth Grahame-Smith, the brilliant and twisted mind behind Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to take a little mystery, bend a little history, and weave an epic tale.

In Grahame-Smith's telling, the so-called "Three Wise Men" are infamous thieves, led by the dark, murderous Balthazar. After a daring escape from Herod's prison, they stumble upon the famous manger and its newborn king. The last thing Balthazar needs is to be slowed down by young Joseph, Mary, and their infant. But when Herod's men begin to slaughter the first born in Judea, he has no choice but to help them escape to Egypt.

It's the beginning of an adventure that will see them fight the last magical creatures of the Old Testament; cross paths with biblical figures like Pontius Pilate and John the Baptist; and finally deliver them to Egypt. It may just be the greatest story never told.

©2012 Seth Grahame-Smith (P)2012 Hachette Audio

It was just ok

I LOVED Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter so much!! I guess I expected more supernatural or zombies or something crazy in the book. I was bummed it wasn't more like Seth's other books. But I did appreciate how he was able to weave all through the story of Jesus and his family's flight to Egypt and there wasn't a trace of ireverenace! That took some skill and was masterfully done.

i want to give it 5 stars but when you compare it to Zombies and Vampire Hunter, I just can't do it.

Far from blasphemous!

A fun take on the Gospel story of the birth of Jesus and the three Magi, wisemen. Well written with good characters, The author is somewhat loose with historical facts, but delivers a fun adventure story. Though the subject matter,Jesus and zombies, may seem controversial, The authors treatment of the holy family is very respectful and low-key. The supernatural elements were played down so much that I was almost disappointed, only one zombie attack from an evil wizard and one sworn of killer bugs from God!

Very good book!!!

I appreciate the author’s research in both the historical and biblical elements that went into this story. I really enjoyed how he threaded everything together and the very deliberate structuring of the narrative which - while this isn’t truly biblical canonically speaking - fits in well given the biblical authors’ deliberate structure of their entries into the Old and New Testaments.

I highly recommend this book because there is a faith element. Definitely worth reading. Thank you Mr. Graeme-Smith!!!

excellant

a interesting tale of the birth and fleeing of the christ child to Egypt the three wise men can be dark at time but it is bluntly honest to it's time.

Holy Delightful

Another win for Seth Grahame-Smith. His unique weaving of history and story bring The Three Wise Men alive in a daring new way. This tale pairs well with present wrapping and Yule log burning.

Holy night, Batman!

This is one of the best retellings of the nativity that I've read. Grahame-Smith is careful not to denigrate the biblical story (except where the magi are concerned), bringing the story to life in a way the Bible does not. I didn't read it expecting it to reaffirm Christianity (I read it hoping for zombies), so I'm surprised how carefully he manages to keep the original story there and add his own elements to liven and provide emotion to the narrative.

Great!!

I liked it from beginning to end! The narrator was amazing and story did not disappoint. Definitely worth listening to!

Good Story if You Have Time to Kill

What did you like best about Unholy Night? What did you like least?

It's a decent story and even though it goes kind of slow there are some surprises. It's kind of dark and that overshadowed the amusing characters for me. It's the kind of audiobook I listen to while I'm doing laundry or something.

Would you recommend Unholy Night to your friends? Why or why not?

No, if there's a series or author you really love then save your credits. If you're looking for something new and/or random (which is why I bought it) then I think you can do better.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Peter Berkrot?

Maybe. His voice is nice to listen to and he annunciates clearly, but he doesn't really do voices.

Gory, but not altogether sac-religious

I have to say, it took me about 1/3rd if the way through the book to really get into the story. It IS gory and - especially in the later parts of the book - definitely had some stomach turning.

Altogether, a satisfying ending and I really enjoyed the authors attention to detail (well....maybe a little less in some parts would have been nice but I don’t expect that from the author of “pride, prejudice, and zombies).

Another take on the Birth of Jesus

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Along the lines of Abe the vampire slayer, this tells a story of Balthazar on of the three Kings. Good story with a little violence in to spice things up