After straying away from his typical “Christian guys confused by relationships” pattern with A Pagan’s Nightmare Ray Blackston returns to that fertile ground with his latest novel. Centering on Chris Hackett, the owner and golf pro at Hack’s Driving Range, the novel gets back to what Blackston does best–put guys in situations where they have no clues.

In this case, it’s Chris’ blindly enlisting for a seminar on communication between men and women and meeting Molly, a political reporter who throws him for a proverbial loop. Following Molly’s advice, Chris opens up nights for political parties to come out and take out thier frustration on their political opposites at his driving range. They prove wildly successful and soon gain Chris local and national prominence.

Unlike most contemporary Christian novels, the strength of Blackston’s stories is that he has authentic characters who he puts on authentic journeys. Nothing feels forced or contrived about Chris’ story and even when Chris gets on the peaks and valleys that come with any journey through life, his reaction to it still feels authentic. And while Chris does learn from both extremes, the writing never feels forced or preachy, unlike a great many other writers in the contemporary Christian genre.

The novel is also peppered with the usual eccentrics that Blackston relishes.

This is a fun, charming and entertaining novel that firmly puts Blackston in the upper echelions of contemporary Christian writers. Par for the Course is Blackston’s best book since his initial offering Flabbergasted.

And if you’re a fan of his novels, you’ll see a few cameos of characters from other books sprinkled in here, adding to the enjoyment and delight of long-time readers.

As the owner of a golfing center, Chris Hack specializes in treating his customers right. This includes personalize training time and also Happy Hour where one can release frustration by whacking a golf cart driven by Chris’s assistant who hurls insults at you. One day a girl name Molly stops by and sees potential in Chris’s golfing range in the political world involving elections. Soon business is booming as the publicity from the politicians make Chris’s place a household name. However someone isn’t too happy with all the holes in one Chris is getting. Will Chris be able to save his business and get the girl?

I am going to admit this. I am NOT a golf fan. I don’t know anything about golf other than the goal is to get a ball into a hole. Is it a real sport? I mean, it’s not in the Olympics. I suck at miniature golf too. I never can get it through the windmill course. Therefore I learned quite a bit more about what Tiger Woods does for a living while reading this book. This is by far one of the most hilarious books I have read this year. I could stop laughing while reading this book. Plus at the same time I kept thinking, wow this author is pushing the “Christian fiction” envelope with discussions of politics AND religion! Seriously it’s really quite edgy the way the book allows for the attacks of both Democrats and Republicans. The feminist meeting which Chris attends was wonderfully written along with the battle of the sexes golf match. I do love the idea of whacking the golf cart with Cack hacking insults at the customers. I’d pay money to hit him as well! I also enjoyed how this book actually uses real political figures and not make up fake presidents or other top government officials. It’s more fun to use the actual characters and jokingly make them larger than life. A lot of the issues dealt with this book really makes you think though about politicians, their tactics and elections. There’s also a touch of mystery within the story as well. Chris and Molly are great characters who bring a hoot throughout the book. The study guide “questions” at the end will bring more laughs to the table. This is a great book to take on the lighter side of the election year this year. Another winner for Blackston!