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.
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"I really enjoyed this fiction book by Anne Rice on the early life of Jesus. She did a great job at painting the picture of Egypt and Judea, what life was like for people living in that time. I enjoyed her depiction of Joseph and Mary through the eyes of Jesus as a child."
— Kerry (4 out of 5 stars)
" Completely enjoyed Rice's take on Christ as a child. The imagery was vivid, the writing wonderful, and I felt I was part of the extended family. Joseph was very-well fleshed out. "
— Joni, 1/18/2014" SO awesome! She has done her research! You get the feeling that she was present for these events. She left no stone un-turned. MASTERFUL! "
— Eddie, 1/15/2014" Rice looks at the life of Jesus as a young child before the age of 12. She does not argue with the story in the Gospels. She does include some ancient stories of a miracle-working boy. Jesus' self-awareness is the crux of the novel. "
— Rps2, 1/12/2014" I feel like I should have liked this more, and I feel bad only giving it two stars, but to be honest I didn't even finish listening to it. It was ok, but there are other things I want to read and listen to more..... "
— Ginny, 1/7/2014" This is a wonderful book to read before going to sleep at night. It is a wonderful story about the life of Jesus as a little boy. It was well researched and brings the characters to life. Peaceful reading. "
— Lee, 1/3/2014" Mrs. Rice did her research, great book. "
— Chad, 1/2/2014" Anne Rice's Author's note in the back of this book was worth the price of the hardback. I personally think the sequel is a lot better than this first book though. The story isn't pushed forward by plot in the sense of action. Instead, it's driven by young Jesus's discovery of his identity. Unfortunately, by the time I realized this, there was only a chapter or two left and I had spent the entire novel waiting for something to happen. It might, perhaps, read better for me a second time through if I ever decide to do that. "
— Lora, 12/30/2013" Okay, the early chapters I really had to push myself through, this is definitely not a fast read book, but I appreciated the authors perception and point of view on Christ's younger years as a small boy. Definitely a good novel, but not something I'd read more than once. "
— Sarah, 12/27/2013" not alot of die hard anne rice fans could hang with her christ stuff, but i liked it. "
— Laura, 12/12/2013" Volume one in a new project to record the autobiography of Jesus in seven volumes. Passionate; moving; meticulously researched and beautifully put together. Rice's afterword, exploring and explaining her own spiritual journey, is astounding. "
— Gerard, 12/8/2013" I like the historical accuracy. "
— Bekah, 12/1/2013" Too bad Anne couldn't have made Christ as interesting as the Vampire Le'Stat- seems like she had more than enough "stuff" to work with- I mean, you know, Christ- a pretty amazing character- but alas-pretty blase' and disappointing. Christ is still a great one in my book all the same. "
— Sherry, 10/20/2013" Anne Rice, ironically, made me view Jesus in a different light. As just a man, when he was on earth that had a deadly but hopeful mission. This book is awesome, actually the whole series is awesome, if she would finish it. "
— Portia, 9/10/2013" This is the first Anne Rice book that I have read and I must say I was impressed with her writing but more impressed with the research she did to complete this book. I loved her personal note in the back of the book to her readers. Very fascinating book. "
— Petra, 7/30/2013" Nice insight into Jesus' time and the way he could have been as a child... "
— Verena, 6/3/2013" What I loved BEST about this book is Anne Rice's own autobioraphy of her return to the Catholic Church and the Faith at the end of the book. powerful stuff. "
— Randy, 4/28/2013" Anne Rice does an insightful job of portraying Jesus' life intermingled with rich historical and religious background. Readers can learn a lot despite this being a fictional work. "
— B-mama, 12/19/2012" I wanted to like it, but I thought it was boring "
— Terri, 6/28/2012" entertaining if not taken too seriously. "
— Lauren, 5/26/2012" I found this book really interesting and couldn't put it down. I can't really say what a highly religious person would say about it, but I found it fascinating. "
— Cindy, 4/23/2012" Anne Rice seems to have got her passion back. I think this is the best since The Vampire Lestat. The "history" is questionable, but the story is engaging. Any fan of Anne Rice or biblical history would like it. "
— Wendy, 9/6/2011" Although a novel, Rice thoroughly researched _Christ . . ._. It reads like a bio, in the voice of Christ. "
— Tom, 8/4/2011" I learned that Ann Rice became a Catholic Christian. Her style of writing about Christ, as historical fiction, in such accurate descriptive and historical detail, brought Christ to life for the reader. I am looking forward to reading the next sequel now. "
— Chrisanne, 7/15/2011" No es un mal libro. Pero a mí no me gustó, no es un tema que me atraiga. Además, me provoca sentimientos muy intensos por recuerdos relacionados con esta saga. "
— Flor, 6/22/2011" The first of a trilogy about the life of Christ, Rice imagines Jesus as a young boy coming to grips with who he is. The passage where he comes to this realization is really quite powerful and, I think, ranks as Ann Rice's finest work (let's face it..she ain't Shakespeare!) "
— Raimo, 6/8/2011" I feel like I should have liked this more, and I feel bad only giving it two stars, but to be honest I didn't even finish listening to it. It was ok, but there are other things I want to read and listen to more..... "
— Ginny, 6/7/2011" Rice is a skilled writer and she does a great job with these stories. I only hope that her roller coaster, on-again, off-again, faith journey will end with an on-again...and not just so that we can get the third and final volume. "
— Kevin, 6/2/2011" The idea was good, but could be executed better. <br/> <br/>I found the book too simplistic. "
— yamiyoghurt, 5/31/2011" Interesting perspective of the unrecorded childhood years of Jesus' life. "
— Laura, 5/15/2011" After reading alot of anne rice, and becoming a chrisian myself around the same time I was really psyched up for this book! it had it's moments, but overall i was bored :( "
— Beth, 5/9/2011" Although there are some misguided biblical truths (like Jesus did not know he was God), it is nice to read a Biblically based book told in the perspective of a young Jesus. "
— Cheryl, 4/24/2011" Fiction With excellent history or history with excellent fiction input. "
— Cheri, 4/19/2011" This was a pretty good book. I never really knew anything about the life of Christ when he was little, so historically, it was really interesting. Love that she wrote in the 1st person point of view. Now I'm compelled to read the next in the series. "
— Sandra, 3/21/2011" Anne Rice is a magnificent storyteller! She tells a powerful tale of Christ as a Child. Riveting to the very end. "
— Annie, 3/3/2011Anne Rice was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a Master of Arts degree in English and creative writing from San Francisco State University, as well as a bachelor’s degree in political science. She is the author of over thirty books, including tales of the Mayfair Witches. Her first novel, Interview with the Vampire, was published in 1976 and has gone on to become part of one of the bestselling series of all time. She continued her saga of the Vampire Lestat in a series of books, collectively known as the Vampire Chronicles, which have had both great mainstream and cult followings. She lives in Palm Desert, California.