I'll admit that the book isn't the best example of prose that I've ever read BUT, it is written in a style that suits the story. I read it, and enjoyed it, even though I couldn't invest any emotion in to it i.e. I don't have any time for Christianity or any "alternative" version of Jesus' life. However, the writer, as far as I'm concerned, does create a pausible world in which he sets his story. Some posters have said that the characters act in incomprehensible ways. Well of course they - the characters - would wouldn't they, considering the fact that the central character, for example, gets thrown in to a series of frightening episodes that he struggles desperately to understand. That's a major part of the story's dramatic impact i.e. the hero's attempt to make sense of the unfolding events.