Rating: Summary: Very Different Things to Many Different People Review: First, I won't use my review to editorialize, as many others have done. Second, it's difficult to relay to an anonymous person how they will enjoy this book. If you are a fundamentalist Christian who believes in a literal Rapture, you'll either love it for it's religious content or hate it because you find something wrong with the authors' interpretation. If your something else, you'll probably find the violence and self-righteousness of the book sickening. A far as style goes, the books are not in any way great literature. Many times the plot is simple minded and the prose is inferior to most popular fiction novels. For such a controversial book and series, this is the best information I know to give.
Rating: Summary: Finally Over! Review: First of all, thank goodness its finally over! I loved it, but was growing tiresome. By the time the Glorious Appearing came out, I just wanted to get it over with. I was afraid to get my hopes up on an 'awesome book', and i'm glad that I didnt. I mean, how could anyone possibly describe what its going to be like when jesus/god comes back? I knew it was going to be difficult to fictionalize. The storyline suffered quite a bit, which left an EXTREME amount of preaching (well, thats what i called it). I felt like it was being shoved down my throat at times. I was somewhat disappointed in the book, yet at the same time I wasnt, because I knew well...how would YOU describe the end of days? I wasnt too keen on the idea of everyone being chummy @the end (the raptured w/those left behind) but hey, its done,over, and all in all a pleasant series. I'm just not going to get caught up in another "left behind" series. I think one left behind series is enough for me!
Rating: Summary: Disappointing... at best. Review: I was looking forward to the release of this book for almost a year. I was at the bookstore on the day it came out. Unfortunately, Glorious Appearing left much to be desired. It is full of filler, quotes from The Bible, and nothingness. I wanted so badly to enjoy reading it, as I have read the previous books and loved them. But this is not impressive. The wars are fought. Of course, we win, since nothing can harm the children of God. The Lord returns. And that is it! THE END! I am a born-again Christian who believes that the order of events in the books are correct. I know much about the Bible, and have done my homework when it comes to The Gospel. I am thankful that the series has led people to Christ, but I am sorry to say that this book has failed to entertain me.
Rating: Summary: A long way from the first book... too bad Review: I have read the entire Left Behind series. I am certain that this series of books has pointed many people to Jesus and for that I can only rejoice. Unfortunately, I can not in good conscience recommend this book. In my opinion the first three books in the series were pretty good, lots of action, new characters, more than enough things going on to make you want to keep reading. By the fourth book the margins and spacing were so large that there was no way I, or anyone else I know for that matter, would not feel robbed and cheated after buying one of the books. However, the books were worth the trip to the library, so all was well until this book which was by far the worst in the series. It was clear fairly early on that the authors and publishers were going to milk the Left Behind gold mine for what it was worth. So with each installment I found less plot, more filler, larger margins and lots of space between each line. So much for the series in general, back to the Glorious Appearing. I think I could summarize everything that happens in this book in less than a paragraph. The characters really don't do much in this book and some of the things they do don't seem to have a purpose. For example, Mac risks life and limb to find out what has happened to Buck. Ok, I can see that, but while he's looking around he decides, per Chang's advice, to go to a GC meeting being held underground somewhere near Solomon's stables. What's he doing there? He hears what's going on but so what? No one does anything with the knowledge he gains, I don't think he even tells anyone about it. Then there's the stuff that goes on with Enoch's group of believers in Chicago. Again, so what? Nothing happens in Chicago, what the point of going there? This book is full of events that don't really add anything to what is already a very weak story. This is supposed to be fiction, if you are already familiar with the events that happen at the Lord's return you will find this book not very interesting at all and grateful that the end finally comes.
Rating: Summary: A disappointing finish to a promising beginning Review: I was captivated by the Left Behind series from book #1. It was easy to read very well written. I practically counted the days until each book came out. Unfortunately, the books started to disappoint me around #8 - the writing seemed to get sloppy and some of the books covered very short spans of time in the Tribulation. The margins got bigger and the story lines thinner. Although I was no longer anxiously awaiting the next book, I kept reading and hoped that The Glorious Appearing would redeem the series - no such luck. The margins were the biggest ever and the type huge - like a middle schooler trying to make a quickly done book report look longer. If you take out the bible passages the book would be 12 pages long. Way too much preaching and not enough exploration into how the coming of Jesus affected the characters I had come to love. Also, many of the characters I had come to know and understand were killed off during the last couple of books. It would have been nicer to keep them around so the Glorious Appearing could have delved into each of their reactions to this wonderous event. Exploring human nature and personal interactions is what made the first couple of books so great and is missing from the last couple. Not sorry I kept reading, but disappointed in the ultimate end of the series.
Rating: Summary: Drawn to this one like a magnet! Review: I just read a review of this book by Carl E. Olson on National Review. I think I will buy this one and give to my daughter as a birthday present in september. I also read a review on Amazon that said " If you understand Alien Rapture you will get Left Behind." Alien Rapture of course is a book on UFO technology and black programs. I have not read that one either but I think my daughter might enjoy that one also. Her great grandfather would have loved it.
Rating: Summary: Heretical nonesense Review: This book is heretical nonesense and it is tragic that so many good Christians are being taken in by a nineteenth century invented heresy, called premillennial dispensationalism. Read Iain Murray's THE PURITAN HOPE and discover the genuine, biblically based truth about the end times. If you are a bible believing Christian, and, thank God I am included, then you want to base your theology on the Word of God and not what some nineteenth century guy (Darby) and two twenty-first century authors thought up. Jenkins can write (La Haye can't) but this is no reason to buy into non-Scriptural, unbiblical theology.
Rating: Summary: Fails a difficult task Review: Writing about the Glorious Appearing of Christ and the cataclysmic events which lead up to it is truly a daunting task. Words could not begin to describe the devastation of the earth during the warfare of the End Times, nor could they do justice to the Glory of Christ. Among the authors' goals seems to be to translate the Revelation story into words that modern-day readers can understand and to encourage people to read their Bibles. In these two things they seem to have succeeded, judging by the number of books in the series that have been sold. As for this particular book, it is not one of their best. The authors try to include as much Biblical information as possible and somehow lose the human element. Some of the events seem too simplistic and the characters do a lot of joking around about the single most important event in history. The book seems shallow and anti-climactic after a build-up of the 11 previous books. However, I applaud the efforts of the authors and hope that this series will encourage future works of fiction based on Scripture.
Rating: Summary: Read them all Review: I have read all of the left behind series, I really enjoyed the early books. The last few have seemed to be getting monotonous, and this is a book full of filler.
Rating: Summary: A letdown Review: I did not care for this book at all. I am an evangelical Christian, and I do believe in The Rapture, Tribulation, Throne of Judgment, etc. I can read these books and recognize that a good portion of them is just the authors' views on how the end times will play out. There is quite a bit of debate, even among orthodox Christians, about this subject. It is something Christians can debate without dividing over. However, the reason that I did not care for this book is that it is just plain dull and poorly written. The first few books of the series were very good, and they went downhill, to the point that the characters were like cartoons, and the action/adventure like a comic book. I felt that a fascinating premise was taken and STRETCHED out as far as it would go, in order to make money. This has turned into a monster franchise, with book series for children, and even a board game! I am always leary of "trends" and "fads" among Christians (such as the Prayer of Jabez craze a few years ago). This series could have been much shorter, with fewer characters (surely I'm not the only one who couldn't keep track!)and less repetition.
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