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 Okay

It was Okay, I am a religious person and enjoyed this story. But there just seemed to be something missing. I can't put my finger on it but I know that just a little more polishing and I would have liked it a little more. I'm not sure I could recommend it, but if someone asks about it I might tell them to just read it.

That plot twist!

It stays faithful and reverent to the main characters and happenings of the story. Awe inspiring with the detailed narrative which takes you to the Old World in which the original tale takes place. Only part I disliked was a scene which describes Herods pleasure time with a young girl. Being a woman myself, it shook me and I found it unnecessary.

Wow! So entertaining!

Where does Unholy Night rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best two audiobooks I've listened to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Unholy Night?

I liked how the plot continually returned to an ibex's point of view. The author refers to ibexes as clueless animals, but the Nubian ibex has some rather extraordinary traits -- admittedly off-topic for the book.
I also liked how the author introduced each chapter with a relevant quote from the Bible. I originally thought the book would be sacrilegious, but the opposite was true. "The Hebrew God" provided miracle after miracle -- supernatural, personal -- that even the characters' hardest hearts softened and came to believe, not necessarily fully understanding why, that the newborn Jesus was more than a usual infant.

Which scene was your favorite?

I suppose the scene in Bethlehem when "the three wise men" first entered the stable with far-from-reverent dispositions and, the next day, returned to protect Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, permitting all six of them to escape the town despite Herod the Great's intent desire to have them captured and/or killed.
The Bible actually says very little about the Three Wise Men (or kings or magi or, in some modern versions of the Bible, astrologers). Only one book of the Bible, the Gospel of Matthew, mentions them, with scant details. Most of our collective knowledge of the magi comes from culturally specific story-telling, carols, myths, denominational beliefs, traditions, Christmas decorations such as crèches, and supposed relics. The Bible doesn't specify when the Wise Men arrived to find Mary and Jesus, what caused the bright light in the sky to direct their path, how many traveled together to find Jesus, etc. Even their names, races, and countries of origin are mysteries, despite the consistency of most Americans' traditions that don't waver from the "facts," suggesting they are facts indeed. The author was smart to recognize the many unknowns in the biblical account and recognize a story was there. He could liberally use creative license for his characters and plot without drifting from the Bible and long-held traditions. I won't introduce a spoiler, but even in the last chapter, which tells the decades-later fate of Melchior and Gaspar, two of the Wise Men, the text might seem too convenient or rushed (as some reviewers have written), but this scene, too, is consistent with some Christians' traditions.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The Bible passages and dialogue that focused on (1) Mary's burden of bearing a child that wasn't her husband's (or boyfriend's, at the time) and (2) the foreboding of John the Baptist's and Jesus' suffering and death.
The author, again, stayed true to the Bible and tradition and described Mary's pregnancy and birth as an immaculate conception and not, for example, that Mary secretly cheated on Joseph, got pregnant by an unnamed stranger, and concocted a story about her miraculous pregnancy to save her relationship (and her life). And the author never mocked visits by angels, prophetic announcements (e.g., Simeon, although the prophetess Anna didn't make her way into the book), etc. Other characters in the book might have scoffed at what Mary and Joseph knew to be true, but the author presented these inter-character conflicts as "the blind could not see."

Any additional comments?

For those who thought the book had lots of shortcomings, if you're so inclined, read the Gospels of Matthew and Luke in the Bible and brush up on your magi-tradition knowledge. I think you'll see the author did a great job of crafting a very original story that stayed true to what is known or believed about the Wise Men, Mary's pregnancy, Jesus' infancy, Herod's reign of terror and death, Roman conquests, and even the Great Fire of Rome in A.D. 64, when active persecution of Christians (and, hence, deep-seated faithfulness to the church and to other believers) escalated.

Holy$$$$$!!

Loved it. What a page turner. A must read!! Smith is a master of story telling. Highly recommended. Can't wait for his next creation.

Wow, I really needed this.

There is always room for a great story and an alternate view point. This book had both and more. The narrator opens with a very visual introduction and it just carries you along. The three wise men are criminals, or are they? The first story of baby Jesus is carried in a direction that was un expected and yet you could still feel the Holy Sprit's presence. A what-if story that can / could carry on the greatest story told. I really needed this.

Great listen!

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed a completely different idea of creating a back ground story for the three wise men.

Which character – as performed by Peter Berkrot – was your favorite?

This is a hard question to answer. Peter Berkrot does an amazing job with all the different characters voices: men, women, children, and even different accents.

Any additional comments?

I've listened to this audio book 2 times....once before going to Israel and once just after coming back from a vacation in Israel. It is amazing how much Seth Grahame-Smith captures the terrain of Israel.

Weird but I liked it.

Imagine one of the three wise men as a petty crook who from his point of view just happened to crash the nativity by accident. A rollercoaster ride book about a shady little guy trying to kerp ahead of the game. All he can see is surviving the day, no time for the big picture, but the big picture is coming for him, like it or not. I found this a really enjoyable adventure about redemption, faith and the hero in us all.

More!

It is an art to weave a new quilt of quality from fine old threads. I never thought Seth Grahame-Smith could outdo himself with his work on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies but it seems he ain't a one-hit wonder. He has a knack for retelling stories in a whole different light. Although I grew up knowing the story of the new testament, I often found myself googling to double check some facts. There is something about the way he crafts the twist to an old story. I certainly look forward to more of his work.

A stinkfest that's trite and self-important

Yeah, it's really not a gripping story. It's a tried and tested formula of the loner guy looking for vengeance and in the way, ends up finding the true meaning of life. It's trite.

great twists

it was a great retelling of the story of the Magi with plot twists that you would never expect and the character seemed very real and it held my attention which is rare