Rating: 
Summary: Time to Finish
Review: The Left Behind series started out with such promise. I rated the first book a 5 and I am afraid the last book will be a 1. The drawn out story lines and repetition from previous books, which is not necessary due to the loyalty of the readers, has taken the excitement out of the story. Lahaye and Jenkins have apparently succumed to the power of the Anti-Christ and decided making as much money as possible on this series is more important than tell the story.The Anti-Christ appears to have gotten dumber and less powerfull in every book. Why can he control the thoughts of people, but not read them? Reasonability has left the story line and the reader is left laughing instead of being amazed or inspired. I am looking forward to a break in the series. Maybe I will forget how bad it has gotten.
Rating: 
Summary: Situational Ethics
Review: In this book, the gloves come off and the Antichrist goes from mean to really mean, parodying every move made on Jesus's own trip to Jerusalem. To my taste, it's far too relentless. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent was subtle. Here, he's surrounded himself with incompetent minions who he keeps assassinating for their incompetence. This book does itself a disservice by portraying the Enemy as stupid. I'm also getting tired of the Tribulation Force smart-mouthing everyone they meet. Apparently, a lot of people find that funny, but if you're on a life-or-death undercover mission, why taunt EVERYONE you encounter? And my Bible says something about loving your enemies, not treating them with contempt. But the main problem with this book is that as the Antichrist turns up the pressure, the Tribulation Force gears up to fight back. Logically, it doesn't all make sense: we have scenes in this book where angels materialize to smite the Force's enemies for them, so why bother with those 50-caliber explosive rifles, especially when the other side has tanks? Instead of shooting, I'd be waiting for the angels. Worse yet are the book's ethics. To me, putting faith into practice involves prayerfully trying to figure out your basic principles, then doing your best (with God's help) to put them into practice. But this book teaches something quite different. Two issues that keep coming up are whether Tribulation Force members should lie to the enemy's minions, and whether they can shoot them. A case can be made for either answer. But part of any sensible person's preparation for an ordeal such as these people face is figuring out their answers. These people don't, and to the extent they have views, they change with the situation. Consider this exchange from p. 274: "Arms?" Buck said. "... Count me out."
"You might change your mind if the GC opens fire."
I just might, Buck thought. That comes prominently at the end of a chapter, so it's not simply an slip on the part of authors trying to write 12 books in a hurry. It's how they think one of their central characters would react in that situation. And it sounds a lot more like the "if it feels right, do it" attitude that characterizes the New Age, rather than Christianity. If you want a book that better addresses human behavior in the face of apocalyptic events, try Connie Willis's Doomsday Book, a time-travel story centered on the Black Death. The people of that era really did believe the world was coming to an end, and reacted accordingly. It's a secular book (albeit by a Christian author), but I find far more of Christ in it than in this one. And you can get it for well under $10.
Rating:
Summary: Great Idea, Bad writing
Review: Like many others I became totally fascinated and hooked into the series because it simplifies the prophecies of the end times in a storyteller fashion. However, about half way through the series I began to get annoyed with the sloppy writing, but continued on until I started reading Desecration. There is no excuse for educated people to write a book as poorly as this. I could not keep up with the pages and pages of unnecessary dialogue and finally just put it down. Well I know the outcome of the story anyway! The series is a great idea. I just wish the authors could have told the story in fewer books and with some sense of literary merit.
Rating: 
Summary: Help! I'm stuck in a soap opera!
Review: I started reading this series because I was attracted to apocalyptic visions based on The Bible. I found the first few books very entertaining. Desecration barely entertains, and was only finished because I'd like to finish the story, eventually. It gets a middle-of-the-road rating because it seemed far less preachy than books #7 and 8 (come on Jenkins/LaHaye -- you are preaching to the choir this far into the series, ease up on the editorializing and work on the plot!). The big weaknesses in this installment are the lack of character development/depth, evidenced mostly by Carpathia's extremely transparent single dimension, and a lack of depth in exploring "mistakes" made by Trib Force members and their reactions to these blunders. These are Christians in the end times: they are going to care about whether they are choosing rightly or wrongly. Either they aren't very worried about messing things up, prayer to God provides clearer answers during the tribulation than it does today, or we aren't allowed to share in their inner-turmoil and how they deal with it. If an entire book is to cover 3 days in the middle of the tribulation, I expect some deeper character development (oh, and maybe smaller margins). There are several surprising twists for two characters in this volume, which raises it far above the previous volume or two -- which were entirely predictable. No volume yet has been able to touch the story development and twists of the first two books of the Left Behind series, and I don't expect that any subsequent volumes churned out will be. If you can, pick up "End Times Fiction" by Demar; you'll also start to wonder why these FICTION writers ignore their characters. Based on literal reading of the Word, the series *is* pure fiction and should be judged for its style and story development.
Rating: 
Summary: My favorite (so far) in the LB series
Review: Those who say that this series is starting to drag out are somewhat correct. Even I tend to skim a little bit. But I really liked this book, unlike the others I feel that it had more action to it and was almost like the "climax" book in the series. The anti-Christ really starts to crack down in this one, and I think that is what held my interest. In his desperate attempts to curb criticism and build his following, Nicolae only succeeds in making even his devout followers doubt him. And this only provides the background for multiple suspense and action scenes that involve the Trib Force as they work against him. When I was done I said "Wow. That was a good book." And it's hard to say that with all the trash out there.
Rating:
Summary: Continuing to be a great series
Review: I'm a little behind in reading this series so I can't wait to get caught up. Desecration was another great addition to the books and the excitement going on in the lives of the Tribulation members. I personally like this series because Revelations (the book in the Bible that this series is based off of) is too complex for me to understand. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins do a great job at simplifying the story and telling it in modern day form! Recommended to anyone!!!!
Rating:
Summary: We're off to see the Wizard...
Review: The Left Behind series is really, really weird. Jerry Springer weird. Angelina and Billy Bob weird. Freak Show weird. It is amazing to me that a bunch of clean living Christians, who would eschew any secular freakishness, read these books and don't see anything strange about the world these books create. In short, this neverending series of books detail -- in slow, repetitive detail-- a literalized version of the End Times. The stories are based on writings in the book of Revelation, that purport that the end of the world will occur when Jesus comes to snatch up the true believers, and a period of seven years of tribulation will afflict the non-believers (those "Left Behind")before He comes again to establish New Jerusalem on earth, which is the the end of life as we know it. Awful things happen to non-believers in these books. Bloody, violent things that rival the kind of gory movie scenes that Christians don't let their kids see. The final judgment is all based on the contents of people's heads -- if you believe in Jesus, you're spared, if you don't, you suffer. Yikes -- never has "thought police-ing" been more vividly depicted. Now, in reality, the Book of Revelation was written 100 years after the death of Jesus, and was written by persecuted Christians. It is not hard to understand why early Christians, who were seeing their comrades slaughtered, would imagine this kind of revenge fantasy, where Jesus comes back to avenge all they've been put through. However, one of the problems with the End Times scenario is that the philosophy of Jesus does "a 180" between the Gospels and the Book of Revelation. The man who, in the Gospels, was called "the prince of peace", who scolded those who were vengence minded ("Cast the first stone") and who taught of message of love is suddenly transformed into a blood thirsty meglomaniac. Why would this be? It seems obvious to me that the Left Behind series is nothing but the reflection of a meglomaniacal mind, found in the body Tim LaHaye. This man, who is a multimillionaire as a result of peddling this fear-based nonsense, has envisioned a world where anyone who opposes his literal interpretation of the Scriptures is going to suffer horrible, horrible things. They won't just lose their lives in violent circumstances, but they will lose their souls as well. And he doesn't limit his violent imaginings just to non-believers. In fact, any Christian denomination that he doesn't like, esp Catholics, are suffering in these pages as well. LaHaye may think he believes in God, but it seems more likely that he thinks he is God. This is scary stuff. If these books didn't hide behind the veil of being "religious" they probably wouldn't be published. They envision of world that resembles the worst of Nazi Germany. Instead of reading this trash, I wish people would read "The Wizard of Oz" and learn something about putting faith in "the man behind the curtain." Tim LaHaye is that man, and he is selling dangerous nonsense.
Rating: 
Summary: The Worst Is Yet to Come
Review: 'Desecration,' book #9 of the 'Left Behind series' the AntiChrist takes the Throne. Nicolae Carpathia now raised from the dead to be the new AntiChrist. Nicolae commits his most heinous, diabolical act: the desecration of the Holy Temple. He claims the Throne as Lord of the Earth. As predicted in the book of Daniel ch. 9. The Tribulation Force (Rayford, Buck, Bruce and Chloe) and the world face the worse and prepare to do battle against the evil AntiChrist.
Rating:
Summary: The continuing story of those Left Behind...
Review: After reading "Conquest of Paradise" by Britt Gillette, I was instantly turned on to biblical end times literature, and I quickly began reading the Left Behind series. From book one, I was totally hooked, and I've read up through book ten in less than a couple of weeks. In "Desecration", LaHaye and Jenkins move the story of the Great Tribulation forward as the resurrected Nicolae Carpathia begins an unhindered campaign of murder in his kingdom of evil. The first two bowls of wrath from the Book of Revelation are poured out upon the earth, water turns into blood, and sores break out on people across the earth. At the height of his godless rebellion, Carpathia desecrates the Temple in Jerusalem by proclaiming himself to be god. As the world fights to overcome his rule, the Tribulation Force must deal with the greater problems of the world as well as their own personal problems. This is a great continuation of the overall series. Fans will not be let down... I can't wait to find out what happens next. I look forward to reading books ten through twelve, and I encourage other Left Behind fans to pick up "Conquest of Paradise: An End-Times Nano-Thriller" as additional reading. That book got me interested in this series, and what a great book! What "Left Behind" lacks in realism, "Conquest of Paradise" adds in abundance. The prose is much more advanced and the international politics are identical to the current world scene and the war on terror. Peppered with biblical verses, "Conquest of Paradise" will turn even the most hardened skeptics into believers, or at least it will make them think twice. It's one lovers of end-times fiction shouldn't miss. Book ten, "The Remnant" continues the adventures of the Tribulation Force, and thousands of God's witnesses rise up against Carpathia in the days before Armageddon and the Glorious Appearing. Can't wait to read the rest!
Rating:
Summary: If you enjoyed Left Behind . . .
Review: If you enjoy Left Behind, I would strongly second what so many other reveiwers have already said and suggest The
Christ Clone novels and We All Fall Down by Brian Caldwell. Both are similar to Left Behind but vastly different in aproach. I read them while waiting for the eleventh Left Behind and, while I love that series, found them to be just as good, and possibly better.
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