The Stupidest Angel

A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

By: Christopher Moore

Narrated by: Tony Roberts

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.

But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the 7-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.

But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle" he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.

Only Christopher Moore, the man who brought you the outrageous lost gospel Lamb and the hysterical fish tale Fluke, could have devised a new holiday classic that tugs at the heartstrings and serves up a healthy slice of fruitcake to boot.

©2004 Christopher Moore (P)2004 HarperCollins Publishes, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This little slice of perverse Christmas cheer is enough to make even the most cynical Scrooge guffaw." (Publishers Weekly)

Read the title before buying

I know it might seem silly to even mention this, but if you purchase a book with "A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror" as part of the title (especially when all descriptions and reviews reinforce the adult nature of the content) and you expect it to be a story for the entire family, you have nobody to blame but yourself when it contains content you might find inappropriate for your kids and easily offended adults.

This was an excellent audiobook. The reading was animated and enjoyable. The content was entertaining and fun. Yes, it's written by an adult for adults. If that's what you're looking for, you'll find plenty to love with this offering.

Another Pine Cove winner

This book is not about Christmas or God so if that's what you want don't click the "add to cart" button. This book is about a nerd in a cool guys body, an evil developer, a sexy divorcee, a really stupid arch angle and a fruit bat. Throw in a little murder, a pinch of zombies and the holiday season and you get vintage Christopher Moore. What's not to like?

Did you even bother to check out the author first?

This is not a family book. Anyone who's familiar with Christopher Moore could tell you that. The book is hilarious though.

Not your usual holiday tale

If you like the warmth of the holiday season, the smells, the deep sense of contentment, the feeling of peace on earth and goodwill toward men, a heartwarming serious read, then listen to another book. You'll find none of those things here. No miracles, no baby jesus, no sacrificing martyrs.

What you will find is "off the wall" comedy, characters that are so quirky they are hysterical, a tale that seems written straight from the hip. A psychotic former movie star who hears voices, a sex-crazed man with a pet fruit bat, a cop who grows and smokes marijuana, a wrinkled up old bartender that wants to sleep with everyone, a 7 year old who speaks only in terms usually used to descibe wine, an inept angel - where does this writer come up with this stuff? There's sex, profanity and murder here. And those are the dull parts.

I love all things holiday oriented and probably wouldn't have picked this title if it weren't for the holiday theme. I usually don't read or listen to books of this type. This story has taken me by surprise. I have even laughed out loud. I'd never heard of this author and Audible only seems to have this one title written by him. I did find plenty of his other material on book sites.

This work is National Lampoons Christmas, a corny Columbo movie, Scary Movie and Night of the Living Dead all rolled in to one.

Don't listen to this one around the kids and if you listen on the PC at work, definately get headphones. People will think you're cracked if they hear only bits and pieces of this.

Hilarious at times, imaginative always. Four stars because it was funny and I liked it; not five because it isn't a piece of world class literature.

The Stupidest Book!!

Definately not for the family. Sexually graphic. Lots of profanity. Not really the Christmas book I was looking for.

LOVED IT, WHAT A STUPID ANGEL

I loved this book. It was so funny that I laughed out loud. Great Characters. Definitiely a wonderful listen

Hilarious Adult Christmas Story

This is definately a story for adults, and is one of the funniest books I have listened to yet. I could picture each character and the fixes they found themselves in. The narrator was well chosen and added alot to the enjoyment of this book. I hope Audible is able to publish more of Christopher Moore's works, I would love to hear them.

I Liked It!

The Stupidest Angel was really funny and as a horror movie fan I was pleasantly surprised by the plot twist. The voice work on the recording was well done and added to the humor. This was my first Christopher Moore novel and after listening I'm sure that I will pick up other recordings of his work.

Pine Cove rises again.

This is the third novel Moore has written about Pine Cove, the previous being Practical Demonkeeping and The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove. While Moore is an absolute master of off-kilter humor, his novels sometimes lack simple humanity. You just don't care about the characters; sort of a mild case of Douglas Adams disease. In the Pine Cove novels Moore has developed a cast of off-beat characters that you truly care about, while telling their story with his charcteristic humor.

Angel and the other Pine Cove novels don't have the sharp edge of Dirty Job, but they are somehow more enjoyable. I will reread this before I reread Dirty Job. Maybe its just a nicer place to be.

Hilarious

While not for everyone (and certainly not young listeners), Christopher Moore is an absolutely hilarious writer. Hopefully Audible will be able to stock more of his work. If you enjoy this you will love his other novels. The Stupidest Angel brings back some of my favorite Christopher Moore characters for a truly insane holiday season. If you are looking for a heart-warming Christmas story, you clearly didn't actually read the title of the book.