I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened my copy of The Greatest Story Ever Told, but highly recommend you give it a look. This fictionalized version of the life of Jesus is told extremely cleverly. But before I get into that, a disclaimer: when I say fictionalized, the author went to great lengths and has made it clear that when Jesus speaks in this book, the only words we read him saying are taking directly from scripture and not altered at all.

The book itself covers the life of Christ, but told from different first person perspectives. This way of writing is extremely hard to do well. But when it is done well, first person has great power to pull the reader into the experience of the character. That is the case here. At times you feel like you’re taking every step, breath and heartbeat with whomever the viewpoint belongs to.

This book comes highly recommended for those who are Christians, or are curious about the faith. It’s not a Bible, but it’s a very good look at the stunning beauty of Jesus.

I received my copy of The Greatest Story Ever Told from the publisher via NetGalley. The views are my own.

The Greatest Story Ever Told by Bear Grylls is one of the most engaging and approachable introductions to the life of Jesus I’ve read in a long time.

Bear has shared that this project is the most meaningful work of his career, and you can feel his heart on every page. What I appreciate most is how he retells the Gospels with such clarity and warmth. The writing is straightforward without losing any depth, making this a book that absolutely anyone can pick up—whether you’re brand new to the story or have heard it many times before.

I loved how he stays faithful to Scripture but also adds thoughtful context and gentle imagination to bring the people around Jesus to life. It never feels forced or heavy-handed—just human and real. You get a sense of what it might have been like to sit beside the disciples as they wrestled with doubt, awe, and hope.

This book does a wonderful job balancing Jesus’ divinity with his humanity. It’s easy to forget that these events unfolded among ordinary people facing real struggles and questions. Bear manages to make the story feel personal and relevant without taking away from the reverence it deserves.

Another thing that stood out to me is how clear it is who this book is for: people who might be curious about faith but feel intimidated by traditional religious writing. It’s accessible, heartfelt, and incredibly inviting. I imagine this would be a great read for someone who's curious about Jesus after seeing THE CHOSEN t.v series.

If you’re searching for something to share with a friend or family member who wants to explore what Christianity is about, this is a fantastic place to start. I’ll definitely be revisiting this one and recommending it often.

This book is basically the author re-telling the gospels from the viewpoints of various people in the Bible, beginning with Mary (MaryAm), the mother of Jesus. There are a few interesting cultural insights. The author generously uses artistic license, and the writing itself is very simplistic, to the point of using slang.

I found it strange that the author never had Mary speak of her other children, and that he has Mary travel with Jesus when he is baptized.

Hebrew names are used for people and places.

The author says he had his pastor check to make sure the book is theologically sound. I did have one concern in the first quarter of the book: Mary says she "obeyed what I felt in my heart."

I DNF this book as I would rather read the Bible.

I received an early ebook copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.

The Greatest Story Ever Told by Bear Grylls was a very interesting but hard to read, I have never read anything by this author and not really a fan of him on the television! so I thought I will give it a go!! when I saw this book the cover caught my eye and I am in two minds wether I enjoyed it or not!
Now, Bear Grylls stepped in the sandals of Jesus and wrote how he saw Jesus lived all those years ago, it was a new perspective of the life of Christ. Sadly I found it hard to get into this book after reading the bible which I'd rather read,

This book is like Marmite - you either love it or hate it.............I hated it.

Why write a book, about a great man called Jesus etc when so many have done this already,. . . . . all you need is the real book called The Bible.
This book is just to make money! and is just a fairy tale of something you have just already read from the Bible!!!

This would be a great story, if it were just a story. But it is so much more than that and Bear Grylls understands this. He has taken the Bible story of Jesus and without changing anything other than reading between the lines, has formed the gospels into a modern narrative. By adding a little context along with his take on biblical characters’ thoughts and understanding, Grylls has presented the story of Jesus almost as a pacy thriller – you want to keep reading and feel the need to get straight into the next chapter to see where the story is going. Importantly, and with genuine understanding, Grylls has given us a view of what it might have been like for those who knew Jesus and what they might have thought (based on what is in the gospel accounts) as they were seeing his story unfold.

I know that novels retelling the gospels have been done before but I have to say there is usually an agenda to the writing, be that political or artistic and rarely do they cover the entire Jesus story. But "The Greatest Story Ever Told" is without agenda, other than that of Grylls’ passion to tell a story that he feels everyone should know and to do it in a way that feels genuine and gripping. This is the book to give to people who know nothing of Jesus’ story or for those who know or half-remembers parts of the story, who through this, possibly for the first time will piece it all together and see it as a complete story. And it’s a cracking story!

Simply outstanding. The story of Jesus Christ as told by those who knew him best. A wonderful way to bring the gospels to life. Thank you Bear for all that you are doing to further the gospel of Christ.

This book is a simple way of telling the story of Jesus. The greatest man to ever live. I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

The story of Jesus well told as it might have happened in a Jewish setting. Gives new meaning to the story of Jesus, told in a credible way. A book for all the doubters of this world. And it is an amazing story. A story everyone should read to get a feel for the life of the founder of the Christian faith.

Thank you Bear Grylls for bring the life of Jesus to life. Thank you to John Murray Press, Hodder & Stoughton and Net Galley for the ARC.

I'll be honest and say for a long time I wasn't very impressed with this book. My big problem was that it read, to me, like a very early draft and needed much more work before it would be publishable. The idea is good but the writing seemed far too simplistic even for a book aimed, I'm assuming, at a younger market. However, after much time I started to get onto the book's own wavelength and found it improving to the extent I'd now recommend it where at first I would not have. One to stick with and give time to. While I'm giving it four stars that's after I thought about it more. That's the issue though, a slow start and writing that at first seems far too simplistic could be off putting for some. One to persevere with.

The story of the life of Jesus retold using simple language. Would perhaps be useful for young readers, or readers whose first language is not English.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a review copy.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. It was interesting to hear about Jesus’ life from different perspectives. It was interesting to see how some of the places and names of people were spelled.

I tried to enjoy this book, I really did, but it fell incredibly flat. With a name as enticing as “the greatest story ever told “I thought this would be a retelling of the Jesus story that would really draw me in to the emotions and realities surrounding his life, but it did anything but that. Maryam sounded like a 13-year-old making an autobiography with absolutely no emotion or description whatsoever.

I felt like someone took the scriptures and turned it into a narration rather than turning it into a story to pull the heart strings.

I’m sorry, but this one just isn’t it.

I could not find this book on Goodreads to leave a social review. And I do not post reviews under three stars on my Instagram.