Book Reviews of Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt

A great read. This book covers a fictional account, but historically accurate, of what a year in the life of Jesus, as a child, may have been like. This covers thethe exit of Jesus and his family from Egypt and their entire journey back to Nazareth and then some. Jerusalem is in turmoil, King Herod is dead and there is distrust and disdainin the air for the heir to the throne. Jesus is but a child of seven who has exhibited some extroidinary abilities but doesn't know who he truly is. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Written from the first-person perspective of Jesus, this is a decent effort to retell the Messiah's childhood from a little different way of thinking. As long as you remember it is a work of fiction, you should enjoy it.

I you like religious fiction and Anne Rice, then this the book for you. It tells the story of 7-year old Jesus in a fantastic tale. I truly enjoyed this book. It is only the second Anne Rice book that I have read (the first being "Interview" 12-years ago.

I definitely recommend this book!!!

This was a very well done story of Christ as a child. It wasn't offensive in any way. The afterward by Anne Rice is a testimony to the power of Jesus Christ today.

This book was very interesting. It tells of Jesus at seven years old when his family decide to make the trip back to Israel from Egypt. He is also starting to have question about his birth. There are a couple of points I don't necessarily agree with but as long as the reader realizes that it is fiction, it's a good read.

this is great book if you are a fan of anne rice .... book tells the story of jesus traveling from egypt back home, and is told from the perspective of Jesus - writing it that way, I think the story can bring you in more to want to read it and not put it down.

Excellent! I don't know what else can be said. I've read almost everything Anne Rice has written and the explanation in the Author's Note of how everything else led to this wrk is almost as good as the book itself.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel; Christ the Lord : The Road to Cana, which will be published March 4, 2008.

This book surprised me. mainly because it came from Anne Rice. It is the story (fictional) of the year of age 7 , in the life of Christ. It contains facts of biblical times & factual scriptures. Anne Rice knows her stuff. Vampires she does well, Christ she does well. What's next Anne? Looking forward.

I'm not an Anne Rice fan; the couple of her vampire novels I've read just didn't work for me. Neither did this book, a fictional account of Jesus. I didn't care for the writing style, too childish, almost careless, even if was supposed to be from a small child's perspective. Also, for me the story was less historical fiction and more religious tract. Too bad, because it was a great idea.

I am a devoted Christian and when I saw this book I was intriged however it fell flat and i was totally unimpressed it was okay but not worth the purchase or trade. dont get me wrong its anne rice so i wasnt expecting a 100% historically correct novel but i did expect it to be readable.

"An intensely literal, historical, reverent treatment of a year in the life of Jesus, son of God." -Time

I love Anne Rice. I was a little upset that she stopped writing vampire books but was surprised with the Christ the Lord books. They were well written with the amazing storytelling you expect from Anne Rice

Rice made headlines four years ago when she announced that she was writing a novel about the childhood of Jesus. As she was known for vampire novels laced with sensuality, I recall a fair amount of skepticism and even dread at the thought of how she might write about a person whose life is central to the faith of billions worldwide. I know my own confidence wasn't boosted particularly high when he heard that she was drawing on the childhood stories told of Jesus in some of the apocryphal gospels.

Lo and behold, this book isn't bad. It is excellent. I had trouble putting it down, even to eat. I should have picked it up years ago.

What Rice has done in "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" is to create a compelling story set in the childhood of Jesus, covering the year of his family's return from Egypt, where the gospel of Matthew says they had fled to escape King Herod the Great. The story unfolds against the backdrop of Herod's death: the riots in Jerusalem that preceded his son Archilaus' assumption of the throne, the widespread lawlessness as one band of brigands after another tried to take power, and ultimately Caesar's decision to divide the kingdom among Archilaus and two of his brothers, with Herod Antipas becoming tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, and Philip becoming tetrarch of territories east of the Jordan.

The characters are amazing: Joseph, quiet, thoughtful and faithful to a fault; Mary, quiet and innocent; James, angry and jealous, but maturing; and Cleopas, a man with a tremendous sense of irony, a love of forthrightness and a deep heart. And Jesus himself.

I don't care for the christology at work, to be honest, but the Jesus whom Rice presents is a fascinating one: a boy who is seven years old and growing older, deeply sensitive to how others feel, and yet possessing a power he doesn't understand. He's also a Jesus who has been kept in the dark by his family for his entire life so far: He doesn't know the circumstances surrounding his birth, about the shepherds who came to the manger, nor about the astrologers with their odd gifts, nor even what happened when Herod found out that the messiah had been born.

The book, then, is a story about self-discovery, as Jesus learns about his birth; begins to understand the power that enables him to bring clay birds to life, to heal his uncle of illness, and to give sight to a blind rabbi begging outside the Temple; and ultimately comprehends the nature of his unique relationship with God. It is fascinating to see the boy coming to terms with life, and seeing hints of the man he is to become, and also to see how it might work for God to walk among us, disguised even to himself.

An excellent book.

Excellent, exciting, and well researched.

I loved this book!! I know it is a work of fiction, but it made Christ come alive to me. We tend to forget that Christ was once a child who had to learn that he was the Son of God and deal with his destiny. I will note though, that I was the only one in my church group who liked it, and I was the only one in the group who hated "the Shack", so my views may be different than the norm.

Wonderfuly written.

beautiful depiction. wonderful read.

Great book and soooooooooo interesting.

A year in the life of Jesus as a child. Slow paced and simple. Thought-provoking.

worth reading.

It is an interesting concept. I felt it was slow and hard to follow in the beginning. In the end I thought it was worth reading.

A very, interesting book.

This book is an easy read and is wonderful with detail, if not a bit much in that respect. You definitely get a feel on what it would have been like to live in the time of Jesus.

Very interesting

I thought this might be interesting, but when it opened up with Jesus doing something completely out of character, I couldn't go on. I am not interested in reading her thoughts on Jesus if this is her idea of his character.

Spellbinding and reverent. A total departure from what we have come to expect frm Anne Rice. If she has decided to completely change her literary specialty, the horror's loss is religious fiction's gain! Highly recommended~

Probably one of the very best books I have read. The fictionalized life of Christ as a young boy with all historical facts accurate. A great talent and creative thinking went into this book. It is difficult to remember that this is fiction. Extremely well written and easily read.

Interesting story, Jesus as a young child and his attempt to find out about himself.

<< Back to Book Details of " Christ the Lord Out of Egypt"