Unholy Night

I don't know how much of the historical background of the Roman Empire and the Roman characters Grahame-Smith took from actual facts, but I felt that this book really helped me get a perspective on how evil and corrupt the government of the time period was. If half of what he wrote about Herod is true he is one of the most evil men to ever live. As a Christian and a fan of Grahame-Smith I was excited to read this story. I was worried that it would either be a poor read or offensive to my beliefs. I am happy to say I was wrong on both counts. The book is not my favorite of the author's, but I did really enjoy it. As a follower of Christ I am happy to say that nothing that Smith wrote contradicted the character or divinity of Jesus. I don't know if Smith is a Christian or not, but he took a potentially explosive topic and handled it very well. The book gave me more of an appreciation of the hardships Joseph and Marry went through in this time period. For those who choose to read this book based on my recommendation I feel that I should give you two warnings. First, some nonessentials to the story have been changed (some of the facts about the life of Jesus are wrong.) However, these errors did not offend me or take away from the fact that He was the Son of God who came to save the world. Second, there is some bad language and a lot of graphic violence.

Yes, this book has Zombies!

History takes on a life of it's own as demonstrated by this story. Time changes things. Over the centuries minor insignificant characters become something much larger than life, ordinary men become heroes. The characters in this tale are well developed and ultimately human yet as we know, they have taken on a somewhat supernatural aura through the centuries. This could have happened very much like this story describes, we'll never know, but then again, maybe we will someday.

I very much enjoyed the idea that these characters taken out of context could have been much different than "history" remembers them. Tales that make you think "it could have happened" stay with me for weeks after the book is finished and this is one I will remember a long time. The author has taken a tale so well known and developed it, or perhaps unravelled it would be a better way to describe it, into a story that is both familiar and believable.

Well worth the credit.

No. Not because it was bad. I listen and move to the next audiobook.

THe Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I could not tell where they were leading. Too many books reveal the end before you are halfway through; these were fresh and insteresting.

No.

Balthazar's pragmatism through the book.

Worth the listen.

Yes. I enjoyed this book almost as much as ALVH. I would have said, as much, but right at the end it seemed that the author got in a hurry and rushed the ending. But, overall it was well worth the time and money.

I would have said that it was the Zombie attack, but the action seemed to be abbreviated. Almost as if, like the ending, the story was over edited or rushed to an ending.

No

Not your Mother's nativity story!

Overall a good yarn.

Yes .. I will listen to it again... Loved it!

Herod... Miserable little Cretan.

Just a wonderful story . A twist that doesn't diminish the integrity of the original story.
Thank you for this book!

While at times, it was a bit gorier than I'm used to, it was still a lot of fun! The characters are well-written and well-narrated, and the plot is a great twist on a very old story. Overall, I'm really glad that I listened to it, and it just might become a new holiday favorite of mine!

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.

This was not a book I expected to like. I bought it because I really liked Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter and was looking for something else by the same author. My choices were Pride and Prejudice and Zombies...and Unholy Night. I thought I was picking the lesser of two evils when I chose this one.

At first, I thought I probably would not listen past the first chapter or two; I wasn't enthusiastic about the subject matter or the narrator's voice - but before I realized it, I was captivated by the story and grateful for the choice of narrator. Both author and narrator have done a great job.

I found myself laughing aloud at some points, weeping at one point, gasping in surprise and/or horror, and frustrated that people kept interrupting me with piddly stuff like work....

There's nothing here to offend the especially religious or the especially unreligious. It's a very different story than Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter - but having now listened to both, it is Unholy Night that I will replay firrst.

I recommend this book.

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.

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.

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

I was excited to get a new work from Smith because I loved Lincoln when it first came out and I kept up with his interviews and blurbs to see when his next release would be available. Well, now that I have it, I don't think I can finish it. The items that made Lincoln so good seem to be missing here, i.e. historical facts that can be followed online as you read, a main character with depth, sci-fi, etc. And the environment also seems to have some constricting element do to being biblical history. I think the concept is neat and it did interest me, but I hate to say that I don't feel Smith pulled this one off.