"Holy Night" is a blending of an old mystery with a new one, a science fiction drama which quickly widens into a cosmic power struggle.
"Holy Night" is a blending of an old mystery with a new one, a science fiction drama which quickly widens into a cosmic power struggle.
Christian (general), Visionary & metaphysical
Holy Night is a blending of an old mystery with a new one, the ancient tale of Gods nativity on Earth but within modern cosmology's discovery that our planet is just one tiny dot in a colossal universe that emerged billions of years before the Bethlehem event. The result is a science fiction drama which quickly widens into a cosmic power struggle. It begins in the "Star" which hovers over Bethlehem and soon develops into a confrontation between a God and a Satan who look disconcertingly like each other. But the drama isn't always intense. The scene in which God manages to make Satan laugh for the first time in his existence, and then can't help joining in until they're both helpless, is one instance of a strand that threads its way all through the book, from cosmic to comic and back again. Another major theme is God's childlike thirst for learning. Satan becomes his tutor on the facts of evolution; Joseph on the facts of human nature; and Labass (chief scientist in Satan's underground Creation Room) on the faulty chemistry of creation itself. The criticisms of all three are sharp, accurate, deep - and welcome . God knows he must learn what he got wrong if he has to have any chance of putting it right.
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This is one of the two most extraordinary books I have read. You know the entire plot before it starts - But this telling is different. Unless you are really allergic to spaceships or angels, you will be astonished and delighted. ~ Chris Clarke, Professor of Applied Mathematics, author of Living in Connection
...a bold and challenging adventure into a dearly held tale, written in an original and riveting fashion. The huge issues about Good and Evil, God and Satan, and about where evil comes from were tackled in a way that managed to burrow deep into my preconceived ideas and unpack them, and on occasion turn them round ... a real gem. ~ Marcus Ronchetti, Anglican Priest.
Holy Night is unlike anything else I have ever read! It will entertain you, amuse you and intrigue you, and it will also make you think. Although in one sense it reads like a ripping yarn and its sci-fi elements are worthy of Star Wars, it also stretches the intellect in rather the same way as Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance did. It may leave you, as it left me, with a sense of speechless delight in the privilege of being a bumbling, struggling yet awesomly creative ordinary human being, reinventing the world in every moment ~ Marian Van Eyk McCain, author of Elderwoman and The Lilypad List
Holy Night is a narrative in which theology, cosmology, quantum physics, poetry and meditation fuse into a dazzling high-wire drama. What shines out above all is the author's zeal, his exhilaration and delight in the art of telling this extraordinary story. (His) enchantment with his theme and his uncomplicated joy in communicating his profound insights sing above all and echo long after the final page is turned. Sheer class. ~ Annie Eagleton, English teacher
It's a long time since I've found myself unable to put a book down ... a wondrous mix of deep magic and an almost fairy-like mirth ... I may hand a copy to each of my clients as a spiritually uplifting gift. ~ David Harper, Counseller
As one who is heartily sick of the insipid farce that Christmas has become, I had thought that the Nativity would never reach me again as it once had. Holy Night changed that. All the major issues of life and death,light and darkness, sin and guilt, meaning and despair, are dealt with in a vibrant,witty and most compelling manner ... It has a message of deep spiritual importance for our times. ~ Don Hills, Education Psychologist
A really fresh and innovative story,studded with some glorious gems, combining science fiction, science and mythology. It's a story for our time, inspiring us to take responsibility for the unfolding of life on Earth. ~ Ian Mowll, Worker in grass roots Social Enterprise and Charity Organisations.
Vincent Tilsley has managed to contruct a quite spellbinding and thought-provoking story, a magical exposition of the mystical and metaphysical. Forget 'The Da Vinci Code' - this is wondrously mind-blowing stuff and deserves a place in everybody's library. When you've read it you'll want to read it again and again. A true voyage of faith and self-discovery, and beyond. You'll never look in the night sky again without wondering! ~ Ian McHenry, NHS Special Health Authority
