Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas and little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a Christmas miracle. Josh is sure he saw Santa take a shovel to the head and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please Santa, come back from the dead! But coming to Earth, seeking a small child whose wish needs granting, is none other than Archangel Raziel. Unfortunately, he's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch and before you can say 'Kris Kringle,' he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.
I didn’t find this to be as good as A Dirty Job was, but there is plenty of Moore’s trademark absurdity and satire here. Some of the characters are a bit boring, including the Archangel Raziel, but there are a few that save the day — in more ways than one. I quite enjoyed Molly, aka Kendra, the Warrior Babe of the Outland, who is more than a little not right. It’s a bit slow getting there, but the holiday party and the ensuing chaos is worth the wait.
