I never did read the author's previous bestseller, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. It came out around the time of the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies craze and I judged it as just another one of those fun-yet-silly reads (I did read Zombies, it was good, but...).

So when I picked up Unholy Night (having never heard of it thanks to living in rural AL without a bookstore!), it was a very intriguing concept. I had heard of A. Lincoln, so I wondered what kind of twist the author would put to the story of the Magi and the birth of the Messiah.

There is nothing silly about this book. It is wonderfully written and actually makes you think, "What if?" I was also somewhat leery about the book because I'm a devout Christian and I could easily foresee narrow-minded zealots who don't think God has a funny bone blasting this book (without ever having read it, of course...just like usually happens when people spew hatred for a book!)

I will also say that there are insightful scenes in this book that really make me think as a Christian. I was chilled by the scene in which a young Pontius Pilate approaches Augusts Caesar; he brings him the news of the birth of a new King, fully expecting that his involvement will be simply another promotion in an already shining career. He doesn't even realize he will be forever changed by this King, as well.

The writing is so good that you a) forget you already know how the story turns out and b) are on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. (SPOILER ALERT: when the Roman army is chasing the infant Jesus across the desert, they don't kill him. I read that somewhere else! :~) )