Rating: 
Summary: What bothers me
Review: about so many of these books is that so many people actually believe this stuff. That it WILL come true, because Tom LeHay or somebody else told them. Because it's in the Bible, a book written by MEN thousands of years ago for their own political purposes. It is NOT the word of GOD! The Rapture will NEVER happen. It's time for people to please wake up and realize that religions do nothing but DIVIDE people, cause WARS, enslave free minds, etc., etc. That many of the troubles we face as humans today are because of literal interpretations of a biblical phrase that should be rejected by our evolution of knowlege, including anti-semintism, slavery, brutality; these were primitive people describing their times . . . we as humanity need to read the bible and move BEYOND it and IMPROVE upon it with a greater understanding of humanity than they had back then. To actually believe this stuff as an adult is to be an adult believing in fairy tales. Do you still believe in Santa Claus? Or the tooth fairy? Please HUMANITY, wake up, understand that GOD is loving and caring and not into murdering anybody and maybe someday you won't want all those who don't agree with you to be murdered too.
Rating: 
Summary: End of State
Review: Book was well written. While waiting for the Glorious Appearance, it was refreshing to began a series that complimented the Left Behind Series and gave me insight from the government point of view. These Christian writers are as exciting as the other writers are, and I don't have to contend with with fowl language and over sexed novels. I am looking forward to book two. Thanks for an exciting venture.
Rating:
Summary: End of State
Review: Congratulations to Ms. Hart on her excellent work basing a new storyline on the Rapture and Tribulation period. While the "Left Behind" series has an international focus, "End of State" concentrates on the United States in the aftermath of the Rapture. Ms. Hart captures the terror, confusion, and general "mess" that will be left behind when a significant number of American Christians disappear. Mark Hitchcock, in his books on bible prophecy, often mentions that he believes the Rapture will be God's final judgment on America. This is one plausible explanation for why America does not seem to play a prominent and clear role in the 7-year tribulation. I think the Rapture of the church will leave America in far worse shape than even Ms. Hart envisions. The economy will tank, families will be broken apart, organizations will be left without key leaders, businesses will lose 10-30 percent of their customers, and most importantly, the christian salt and light will be removed from government and the rule of law. The one doctrinal problem I have with this book is that some of the characters are given second chances to believe in Jesus after the Rapture after rejecting Him prior to that time. Only God knows when a heart has hardened beyond the point of ever accepting grace. Still, 2 Thessalonians Ch. 2, verses 10-12 seem to indicate that the Antichrist will deceive people who had opportunties prior to the Tribulation to be saved but refused. Many people will get saved during the Tribulation, that much is clear from scripture. What is somewhat unclear is how many of them were really exposed to the gospel before the Rapture? Still, this current piece of fiction will one day largely come true. I see Amazon listing the second book of the series for release in July 2004 and I look forward to reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Liked Better Than The Original Series
Review: Congratulations to Ms. Hart on her excellent work basing a new storyline on the Rapture and Tribulation period. While the "Left Behind" series has an international focus, "End of State" concentrates on the United States in the aftermath of the Rapture. Ms. Hart captures the terror, confusion, and general "mess" that will be left behind when a significant number of American Christians disappear. Mark Hitchcock, in his books on bible prophecy, often mentions that he believes the Rapture will be God's final judgment on America. This is one plausible explanation for why America does not seem to play a prominent and clear role in the 7-year tribulation. I think the Rapture of the church will leave America in far worse shape than even Ms. Hart envisions. The economy will tank, families will be broken apart, organizations will be left without key leaders, businesses will lose 10-30 percent of their customers, and most importantly, the christian salt and light will be removed from government and the rule of law. The one doctrinal problem I have with this book is that some of the characters are given second chances to believe in Jesus after the Rapture after rejecting Him prior to that time. Only God knows when a heart has hardened beyond the point of ever accepting grace. Still, 2 Thessalonians Ch. 2, verses 10-12 seem to indicate that the Antichrist will deceive people who had opportunties prior to the Tribulation to be saved but refused. Many people will get saved during the Tribulation, that much is clear from scripture. What is somewhat unclear is how many of them were really exposed to the gospel before the Rapture? Still, this current piece of fiction will one day largely come true. I see Amazon listing the second book of the series for release in July 2004 and I look forward to reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Liked Better Than The Original Series
Review: Congratulations to Ms. Hart on her excellent work basing a new storyline on the Rapture and Tribulation period. While the "Left Behind" series has an international focus, "End of State" concentrates on the United States in the aftermath of the Rapture. Ms. Hart captures the terror, confusion, and general "mess" that will be left behind when a significant number of American Christians disappear. Mark Hitchcock, in his books on bible prophecy, often mentions that he believes the Rapture will be God's final judgment on America. This is one plausible explanation for why America does not seem to play a prominent and clear role in the 7-year tribulation. I think the Rapture of the church will leave America in far worse shape than even Ms. Hart envisions. The economy will tank, families will be broken apart, organizations will be left without key leaders, businesses will lose 10-30 percent of their customers, and most importantly, the christian salt and light will be removed from government and the rule of law. The one doctrinal problem I have with this book is that some of the characters are given second chances to believe in Jesus after the Rapture after rejecting Him prior to that time. Only God knows when a heart has hardened beyond the point of ever accepting grace. Still, 2 Thessalonians Ch. 2, verses 10-12 seem to indicate that the Antichrist will deceive people who had opportunties prior to the Tribulation to be saved but refused. Many people will get saved during the Tribulation, that much is clear from scripture. What is somewhat unclear is how many of them were really exposed to the gospel before the Rapture? Still, this current piece of fiction will one day largely come true. I see Amazon listing the second book of the series for release in July 2004 and I look forward to reading it.
Rating:
Summary: A Great New Spin on the Rapture Story
Review: If Left-Behind takes the entire worldview of the events that occur after the Rapture, then End of State zooms in on America. Political operative turned romance writer, Neesa Hart takes the apocalyptic series in a whole new direction with a solid page-turner. End of State offers a new spin on the Left-Behind theme, while still keeping some of the main characters, such as the evil Nicolae Carpathia and the genius Chaim Rosenzwieg in the background. Hart introduces three central figures, each of whom holds enormous political clout and forsook a chance to accept Christ before the Rapture. White House chief of staff Brad Benford is a token evangelical in an administration of liberals. He experiences the loss of his entire family in the disappearings, causing him to realize his real purpose during the Tribulation period. Marcus is a preacher/activist who said all the right things, but failed to accept Christ for himself. It's hard to believe someone could not only have been exposed to the truth but also advocated it and yet missed the Rapture. And lastly Mariette Arnold is an assistant director of FEMA, the federal disaster agency charged with cleaning up disasters. Nothing Arnold has experienced can even match the devastation of the Rapture. Hart does a good job of describing the Washington power struggle, where truth is buried well beneath politics and posturing. Having experienced it herself, she brings to light what we could have only imagined: how Washington will react when 1/3 of the world is missing. Her writing is tight, her characters extremely cerebral, the dialogue honest and human. She doesn't delve into apocalyptic what-ifs, but presents a very realistic portrayal of what honestly could happen. The only drawback is the slight confusion around the Gospel-what exactly is it that makes a person a Christian. Is it God's grace or the living of the life? Nevertheless, Hart has produced a first-rate thriller sure to keep you on the edge of your seat and sure to get your mind running with scenarios of how America will react when this great event, the Rapture, occurs.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid domestic version of Left Behind--aimed at Christians
Review: Like the Left Behind series, End of State is an easy read, that clearly spells out likely events of the last days of a world where Christians have disappeared, and the Devil and his legions are given free reign. Focusing on the United States, Ness examines how people here might interpret the disappearances and the rise of an evil Antichrist figure. As the plot progresses, a small band of characters come together. They realize that the premillenial rapture and coming Great Tribulation are upon them, and that they must do what they can in their positions of political influence to spread the Christian story to as many as possible. I am a Christian with an interest in current affairs and politics, so I had high hopes for this off-shoot of Left Behind. The book has a decent plot and interesting characters. However, people seemed to spend a lot of time talking about what was happening. The pacing was generally sluggish, with short bursts of action, followed by lengthy analayses. The audience for this book appears different from Left Behind. Ness spends much time exploring the inner struggles of church people who tagged along with believers, but never converted until after the Rapture. Non-Christians, who have been drawn to Left Behind for its action-oriented and simple explications of the end times, may find it much harder to relate to End of State. Bottom-line: This is a solid, well-written end times novel, best suited for Christians who have always wondered, "Just how will people react to the Rapture--especially church people who never became true believers?" Those wishing to introduce non-Christians to End Times ideas would do better to stick with Left Behind, or perhaps Apocalypse Dawn.
Rating: 
Summary: Great start to a promising new series!
Review: Neesa Hart couldn't have started out her book any better! "End of State" begins at a Lakers game. Thousands of people crammed into the arena, watching their beloved Lakers play ball. Two seconds left on the clock, the score is tied, and the ball in in the air...headed for the goal. Then, in the blink of an eye, two players disappear from the court! Absolute pandemonium reigns and you're off to the start of a thriller, fill with well-rounded characters, new and old, from the Left Behind series. A great book, great story, and all around exciting read.
Rating:
Summary: Slow pace, but a cohesive story and good book.
Review: Probably only because I was in the mood for a book with faster action, this book seemed to develop pretty slowly. Maybe I'm just getting too used to high-paced action movies and books, etc. Probably so.
Reading is my entertainment (no TV) so I tend to gravitate toward books that clip along a little quicker. For the first couple of nights it was difficult to want to stick with this book, but the author has won me over.
If you're looking for rapid-fire action, this is probably not the book you want to read. But if you're looking for great character and story development, I recommend it. It won me over, despite my initial sulking over its slower pace.
I'm impressed with this author's knack for detail in a story. It's well-written and the editor obviously paid close attention. Over the years, I've noticed poorer quality editing in many books, but this one was clean and crisp. I didn't find even one mistake. I was delighted to see the word "enormity" finally used correctly. If there's a word improperly used more often in all media formats today than "enormity," I can't think of it. That's a testament to the editor and author. Go ahead and look it up. It won't make you a nerd if you do. Compare the definition of "enormity" to that of "enormousness."
By the time I approached the 100-page mark of the book, I found myself looking forward to reading it each night. I've already bought the second of the series and expect to finish it much quicker than this one.
A bit slower in development, but a solid and worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: Great start to a great idea
Review: This book blew away all my expectations. I was one of the those who thought it was a bad idea but with her easy style, straight forward writing that even rivals Jerry Jenkins, Neesa Hart made a believer out of me, I've already reserved the next book. From what I've read in the first book, this series will hit close to home, not for the faint-hearted.
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