So, this book was everything I hoped it would be and more. It is witty and intelligent and weaves a magical story out of historical facts. The story begins in 1098 in the Italian town of Bari. A plague is running through the town and its inhabitants are sick and dying. Just outside of town, the local monks are sequestered away safely trying to avoid the virus’ wrath. One night Brother Nicephorus has a dream featuring St. Nicholas in which he believes the saint is telling him to go out and administer aide to the people. He arrives in town as a foreign vessel arrives carrying a charismatic criminal and a cynocephalus. He is curious about these strangers but does not yet know that their lives will become entwined. The Charismatic criminal is Tyun, he is a treasure hunter known for liberating religious relics and helping them find a new home, for a reward. Tyun has come to offer to steel the bones of St. Nicholas for the town of Bari so that the healing oil that is said to ooze from the bones can be used to save the townsfolk. Nicephorous, Tyun and a boat load of military protection take to the seas to find and steal the bones of the saint. What happens next is both real and not-so-real. There is pirate like sea fights, elaborate heists, an angry mob, a sex crazed nunnery, Turkish sheep herders and a whole lot of scheming. You will also learn a little bit about the real life of Saint Nicholas. This is a beautiful and fun take on history that offers friendship, love and adventure where you least expect it. It is definitely worth the read.

I have loved everything M.T. Anderson has written, but this book was harder than others. The setting and situation were interesting. The style of writing was very detailed and sometimes overwhelming. There were so many names and places to keep track of. The mystery and search to return to the body was compelling especially with the interlude narrations about St. Nicholas. The dual characters of Niceporus and Tyun are fun to read in their banter and through the development of their relationship. They work in opposite ends the morality spectrum and see the world very differently yet find ways to connect, Relic hunting amidst political and religious chaos in the world sets for a fully complex story about right and wrong, choice and fate, morality and immorality.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc of this book!

Happy pub day to this little gem of a historical heist! This book was such a lovely surprise, I devoured it in less than two days. All at once funny, exciting, and poignant, this historical fiction novel recounts the true story of the theft of Saint Nicholas’s bones in the year 1087. This was a quick and compelling read, I highly recommend to anyone curious about the genre or seasoned vets of historical fiction. Especially loved the queer love story at the center!

I can't say I've read a historical fiction book like this before but I might have to seek out other examples in the future! This is a fun quest style book set in a period of history I never really read about.

Get ready for an 11th century queer romantic adventure featuring a kind hearted monk and a cynical relic hunter on a quest for the bones of St. Nicholas, which are said to ooze a healing ichor. I cannot emphasize how much I loved this story! Best part? It is based on true events. I love any excuse to fall down the medieval research rabbit hole and I took full advantage while reading this book.

My son recently told me how much he loves the word whimsical and honestly that is the perfect word to describe this book. It is also surprisingly poignant and thoroughly warmed my cold, cold heart. An absolute must read!

Nicked by M. T. Anderson is a unique historical heist story.
I had a lot of fun reading this one. I found it to be adventurous, fun and highly entertaining.

Thank You NetGalley and Pantheon for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Nicked by M.T. Anderson follows the inane heist of St. Nick’s body, which is (somehow) a true event that took place a thousand years ago. It’s delightfully irreverent and full of minute details that history buffs and Catholics will appreciate, but could cause others to lose interest.

The storytelling overall way quite “cinematic” in that I was able to easily visualize what was going on. Not that it needs to become a movie, but its adaptation could be a fun movie.

DNFed 07/21/2024 || Nicked by M. T. Anderson || #Nicked #NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor | Pantheon for making this e-ARC available!
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author and myself.
All of my thoughts are my own~

DNF - Unsure Rating 3 stars to be fair

For full transparency I picked this up excited for a medieval queer book and quickly realized at around 10-15% in I was not understanding the subtext or humor found here, and was unfortunately out of my depth knowledge wise.

I mean this in the most polite way possible but this book has a very, very specific target audience of those either with a hyper fixation on Catholic history and religion or those unfortunately cursed with Catholic religious trauma. I am neither of these things (I have Christian religious trauma and a small interests in the history and lore of religions) so I literally did not understand the gravity of the plot, or dry humor being used, to fully get or enjoy this book.

However, I do have plans to update my knowledge and understanding and come back to this book!!!
The writing style and writer's voice was amazing and what little I did comprehend (subtext wise) I did enjoy and find hilarious.

I have begrudgingly DNFed and left with such intense FOMO and despair - again, I wanted to enjoy this but I just sadly don't have the required understanding to do so at this time.

Please see more comprehensive reviews left by those who finished it and understood the subtext!!

Reading MT Anderson is always an exhilarating experience, kind of like taking the Polar Bear Plunge with fellow swimmers who are all Jeopardy champions. He packs in an abundance of absorbing arcane historical detail which somehow never impedes the acceleration of the plot. And in Nicked, the bones of the plot are also the centuries old bones of Saint Nicolas, which are purported to have magical abilities and release healing oil, which is mixed into holy water; they’re a magnet for medieval supplicants, and a great economic draw for the church and place that houses them. It’s the early 11th century in the Italian city of Bari, which is suffering the plague and Brother Nicephorus, a lowly monk dreams of St. Nicholas, which he takes as a message to tend to the sick. But the village and church leaders see his vision a little differently, and send him on a journey with Tyun, a handsome and unscrupulous treasure hunter, to seize the bones, secretly housed in Myra (modern day Turkey) and relocate them to Bari. Accompanying them are a few of Tyun’s strange and extraordinary crew and a humorless Norman overlord. But other players seek the same glory (and bones) including a fatuous young Venetian princeling. And thus the adventures begin.
One of Anderson’s talents is to reshape our perception of the distant past, which is too often a telescoped timeline transmuted into a kind of archival goo, however; seeing it from the eyes of Brother Nicephorus, we view the ruins of BCE ancient cities and ancient tales with some of the wonder. The writing is beautiful and arresting, and yet the heist plot snakes and swirls in exciting, wholly satisfying, yet surprising directions. There are kidnappings, unexpected deaths, betrayals, and many conflicts of faith, swords, and hearts. And the bones themselves seem to have their own agenda. What’s especially remarkable is that this account is unbelievably based on a true story, reanimated and rescued by a unique and virtuoso voice.

Did you know there was once a heist involving the Saint Nicholas? I did not, but this story is a retelling of that event. It was really interesting to switch between the perspectives of a monk and a thief, and this is one of the most cinematic books I think I've ever read- you'll be able to imagine every moment in your mind.

This was a little outside the realm of my typical genre, but I do think it was a very compelling read! Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for an ARC!

Nicephorus, the only level-headed, normal guy of the bunch is gaslight by his bosses who put too much stock in one dream that this tender-hearted monk has, and sent off on a wild adventure. His companions, basically a bunch of pirates including: a dog-headed man (yes, really. He has a tail.) and a cynical relic thief. Their goal? To steal the body of Saint Nicholas to bring back his “ooze” ✨full body grimace✨ to heal the pox infecting the Italian city of Bari.

It’s only the reluctant monk, enemies to lovers romance, medieval heist novel I’ve been DREAMING of (hah, get it?).

Funny, cynical, relatable, and just wonderfully well-written. History and mythology at its absolute finest. This was a blast to read!

Going into this I knew nothing beyond the cover reminding me of If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio. It’s one of my favorite books so I had a good feeling about this one. Nicked quickly cemented itself as one of my favorite books of the year, and probably in my all time top five.

Thank you NetGalley, Pantheon, and M.T. Anderson for the ARC!

Nicked based on an actual heist in 1086 for the body of Saint Nicholas as a plague swept through the town of Bari. Nicephorous is a monk who dreams of Saint Nicholas, and quite reluctantly agrees to go steal Saint Nicholas' bones with Tyun, a famed thief, and his companion, the dog-faced man, Reprobus. What follows is a high stakes and high seas heist for the ages.

This book was a fun read and was very cinematic - I could see how this could all play out in a movie. The depth of the main characters and their backstory was fun, as well as the lush descriptions of everything from ships to crypts. As a side note, never have I been more grateful for the dictionary feature on my kindle as there were several very specific words that I'd never seen before! I also very much enjoyed the Saint Nicholas moralism stories that are peppered in throughout the book and then seeing how it connects with the main story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for the advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon Books for an e-arc of Nicked by MT Anderson!
*Spoiler free
Overall thoughts
This was the first time that I have read a book from the dual perspectives of a 10th century monk who cannot seem to lie and a thief who cannot help but to lie. It took be a solid 40% of the book to really sink into this unexplored (in fiction) setting, and to try and decipher what was grounded in history and what elements Anderson took in a more fantastical direction. I at first found the somewhat dry wit of our main and supporting characters, as well as Anderson's own voice, to be almost distracting and, at times, I felt as if I was being purposefully left out of the loop, asking myself "What just happened?" However, once Nicephorus (our monk) and Tyun (our liar) began to revolve in each other's gravity and could not help but be intrigued by one-another, my own intrigue and in this saint-heist also elevated, and I could not help but speed through the other 60%.

While reading Nicked, I felt as if I was reading a script for a HBO mini series, as the dialogue between characters was fast passed and had me turning my head as if I was watching a tennis match. Once Nicked gets passed the first few sections of exposition and character building, much like our sea faring crew, it moves quickly, and certainly does not lack action or suspense.

Highlights
The main highlight of this book is not so much the Saint at the center of this tale, but rather Nicephorus and Tyun. Anderson paints these two men as total opposites, and yet their banter and overall relationship is what grounds this at times silly and serious tale. If you are looking for a romance book, there are certainly sprinklings, however that is not a driving force behind Nicked's overall plot.

Sharp and to the point, Nicked is a book just waiting to be adapted, and I am certainly glad that I will be able to say "Did you know it was a book first?" before it one day graces our screens (fingers crossed!)

I admire everything this book was trying to accomplish! The storytelling is so fun and apparently based in much factual evidence. I love that this author has brought something to my knowledge that I had never heard of.

A group of very interesting, diverse and eccentric characters team up to get our young monk to save/steal/recover (whatever you choose to call it) the bones of Saint Nicholas, patron Saint of children, prostitutes, merchants, sailors, among other things…

I am not personally sure what is fact and what is fiction, but I am aware the author based a lot in strict fact-based evidence. But there is still so much animation and whimsy among these characters.

I highly recommend this funny, adventurous, sweetly queer tale so deeply rooted in history.

Tone and pacing were odd, and I couldn't fall into the story like I wanted.

The setting is Italy in 1087 AD, but world-building is light on details.
The pacing is fast when I wanted it slow and slow when I wanted it fast.
The humor (because I think this is meant to be a comedy?) is dry and modern, yet disharmonious at times with the scenes.

I don't know what to think. There's definitely an audience for this book, and Anderson is an excellent writer and storyteller. I don't think I'm the right person for this specific book. Or maybe I'm not in the right mood or headspace to enjoy this book properly at this time.

There are people I would recommend this book to, but they'd have to be particular people looking for something that's precisely this book. If that's you, then you're going to love it!

Story: 3 stars
Character Development: 3 stars
Writing: 3 stars

The description and cover of this book was what held my interest so when I was approved for this review I was elated. I’m not going to lie, at first I was nervous about the content, because I don’t know how to explain that this a book like no other Ive read before. It was funny, but in a way that made me think. As someone who doesn’t fully follow religion too closely, it was a little hard to stay engaged with that aspect being so present, but the action within these pages made it worth it.

I read this book in two days, and was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it.

3.5 rounded to 4. High adventure in the Middle Ages with a healthy dose of dry wit. If you’re not a history buff, prepare to either gloss over some details or do a bit of research. Will definitely be recommending to the history nerd in my life!

3.5 stars, rounded down
I’ve been a big fan of Graham Brack’s Master Mercurius series, so I thought this one might also work for me. Nicked involves an Italian monk in 1087. The citizens of his town of Bari are falling victims to the pox. When he has a dream about St. Nicholas, he interprets it to mean the monks should be helping the sick. But others have loftier ideas and think it is a call to “rescue” the 700 year old full body relic of St. Nicholas from the town of Myra in what is now Turkey. But they aren’t the only ones with a plan to take the relic from its current abode. A Venetian prince has the same idea.
The monk, Nicephorus, is tasked with joining the relic hunter Tyun and his crew so that he can verify the remains. This is based closely on the true story of the removal of Nicholas. It provides a close up perspective on the religious beliefs of the day - the willingness to believe in miracles and other fantastical stories.
It’s an uneven story. At times humorous, other times slow and dry. And at other times, it comes across as an epic tale filled with mythical creatures. The ending is heartwarming. I did get a kick out of the blurbs about Nicholas’s life and miracles and the morals of those stories.
My thanks to Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for an advance copy of this book.

Weird, gay, and surprisingly accurate historical fiction. The concept of relics & people stealing, displaying, and trading the bodies of saints is generally a fascinating one. It’s inherently gruesome, a fact definitely alluded to in this book. But Nicked takes such a lighthearted approach, telling the story of a heist of a saint’s body through non-stop bumbling action and misfortune, with elements of whimsy right alongside murder. The somewhat naive monk who cannot tell a lie is a perfect foil to the hardened pirate.

I did find it a little hard to feel too emotionally invested at times; the story is written with a sense of detachment which doesn’t lend itself to feeling like you are experiencing the events in the moment. Instead, it feels more like someone telling you a story of something that happened years ago. It’s hard to know who to even recommend this to—people who know a lot about Christian history and have a very irreverent sense of humor? Fans of gay pirate historicals? It’s sort of Our Flag Meets Death x 10th century cozy monks; there is lots of violence but generally it’s not a heavy tone.

Review posted to Goodreads and StoryGraph on 7/13/24. Review will be posted to Amazon on release day.
When a sickness is spreading through town in the 1000s, Nicephorous and the other monks in his order pray to Saint Nicholas for days on end. Nicephorous has a dream about the saint which leads the town to decide they need to go and steal the saint’s body from where it currently rests. With the help of Tyun, the saint hunger, and his crew the journey begins to bring the body back home for all the blessings it can provide.

I had a lot of fun with this book. We’re out on a pirate like adventure to steal a saint’s body with a crew full of big characters. I enjoyed watching the journey of arriving where the body was and the hijinks that ensued. I laughed quite a few times during this book and found myself sad when it was over.