Unholy Night - Couverture souple

From the author of the New York Times bestselling 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.

It is one of history's most iconic moments: three men on camels arrive at a stable, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. An impossibly bright star is suspended in the vast desert sky above.

It's a moment of serenity and of grace. A holy night.

But what do we really know about these wise men from the East. The Bible tells us little about this enigmatic trio. Not even their names. The historical record is vague. How do we know they were kings? What if they were petty, murderous thieves who, on the run and fleeing through Judaea under cover of night, stumbled upon the celebrated manger with its newborn child? The last thing they'd want would be to be slowed down by Joseph, Mary and their infant, but when King Herod's men began their slaughter of the firstborn, they were left with no choice but to help the young family on their flight to Egypt.

Here, the maverick imagination behind Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has taken a little mystery and played with history to tell a fantastical tale.