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Babylon Rising

Babylon Rising

List Price: $44.95
Your Price: $28.32
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Bad, bad, bad
Review: This book is a Christianity-influenced attempt to recreate an Indiana Jones style adventure. The book is written in an infantile fashion. The protagonist succeeds at everything in a very cheezy manner. The book finished with a sort of "stay tuned" message that forces you to dish out more money to finish the story. Over all this book is very bad.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: LAUGHABLE - Was this meant to be a comedy??
Review: I have not read the 'Left Behind' series and was looking forward to listening to a gripping book with a Christian flavour. Instead I found an incredably predictable, shallow story which was nothing more than a poor patchwork of other more notable adventure books/films. The characters were very shallow and not credible in any way. I was continually wincing at the portrayal of 'Mr and Mrs SuperChristian' whos only emotions were gooey lovey dovey or holier than thou anger. GET REAL!!

The narration was ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS. I found the strong, nasal American accent grating to say the least and the attempts at foreign accents were pitiful. There were great Pakistani and Australian accents - shame there weren't any Pakistani or Australian characters in the book (I think he was going for Scottish and South African). Soooooo disappointed, won't be reading or listening to any more of his books.

How did this guy write a best seller??

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Agenda Driven- Poorly Written
Review: I am all for books that have a viewpoint they wish to forward. Ayn Rand wrote books supporting her pro-individual, anti-goverment philosophy. These books still hold up today and are chilling in their prophecy.
However, neither author is Ayn Rand.
These two "writers" seem so poorly equipped in their task that they don't even know how to use a thesaurus. (EXAMPLE: "It was a place where negativity had no place") It is just lazy to use the same word twice in one sentence, even if it has another meaning.
Now, the story. an intriguing idea. Nothing more. The characters are flat and two dimensional. The good guys are REALLY good and the bad guys are REALLY bad, and the cast of characters is so numerous you can hardly keep up with who is who. It is the lazy kind of bad writing. The authors just tell you things--(EXAMPLE: "Being a man of integrity")-- instead of showing his integrity. Also there is a need for the authors to REPEAT information, thinking that the reader is so stupid he couldn't remember the occurances of two chapters earlier.
I feel sorry if Evangelical Christianity and Biblical Archeaology are only represented by such amateurish drivel. My suggestion to both authors is to read some good writers-- LEARN YOUR CRAFT.
Avoid the book-- "The Red Tent" is a much better read and a more uplifting religious experience.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: horror and gore
Review: This book begins where the Left Behind Series ended....going downhill! A real disappointment.
Much like our modern day television this book accents violence and murder. I think the authors wrote from the "wrong side" of the meaning of Christianity. This book leaves me with a bad taste and I would not recommend it to anyone.
In the beginning the characters are so unrelated that it is a puzzle to even read and until your almost through the book, do you begin to connect them. Switching back and forth from one character to the other and into different eras is totaly distracting and disconnecting. Hopefully in the future the authors will use their knowledge to promote the Love of Christ and not focus on using evil as a tool to "make money and sell books"!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I Hated The Left Behind Series But I Loved This:
Review: I absolutely loved this book. It was a real page turner!!
I really hated the left behind series (boring) and I thought this was very intreaging. The books price is a little high though, but is well worth every panny.
I liked the new use of characters, combined with thier sence of reality concerning thier personal challenges. I am not going to discuss the book because It might ruin the read for you. So if you love mystery, suspense, and christian lititure please buy this. Its worth it.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Disappointment at it's Highest
Review: Having read the Left Behind series, and having huge respect for Tim Lehaye, this book was just awful. I am halfway finished and can't motivate to even read any more. First 10-12 Chapters are confusing, too many characters, places, events, all appearing unrelated, (maybe a 1,000 more pages will pull it together). I feel as if I should take notes so I can try to figure out, now who is he? why did they say that? etc... Worst book I have ever read and hardest to comprehend. I like to read at night. 1-2 Chapters daily. With this book, you can't keep anything straight. It just sucked.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Tim Lahaye has done it agian !
Review: Babylon Rising is packed full of adventure and suspence.
Once you start reading it's imposible to stop. As Michael
Murphy goes in search of the Golden Serpant made by Moses.
He is stalked by many who want to ruin his good name. It's
a battle of good vs evil in this Christian Indian Jones.
He is shot at in a cave in Samaria and even fights a lion.
If you love action and trills Babylon Rising is for you.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A mockery
Review: This is what happens when non-Christians try to cash in on a successful series (Left Behind) by teaming Lahaye, whom everyone knows never wrote a word of fiction (it was all Jerry Jenkins) with a writer who's never writen for the intended market -- namely Christians. They missed the sensibilites of the market by a mile. Not suprising -- it's like trying to write a novel in German without first learning how to speak German. Lahaye can't write and Dinallo can't write Christian.

The story is about as unbelievable as they get. The charaters are paper thin and the plot doesn't challange us. There's nothing here for a Christian to sink thier teeth into, other than a sermon in a classroom by the hero. In fact, the plot undermines prophecy by reducing it to a series of pop, bang, smack, 'take-that' punches you'd expect in a comic book. Believe it or not, Christians what authenticity in thier fiction, not something that is reminiscent of the Scorpian King. Please.

Two Stars for hoping they can salvage something out of this mess.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Babylon Stumbling (out of the gate)?
Review: An OK read overall, but not up to par with Mr. LaHaye's other works. This series has potential, but it needs to fine tune some aspects of the writing. For example:

1) Michael Murphy, our hero, is a real Renaissance man. He's really, really, really smart; he relates well to the kids (in his Biblical archeology class); he's a wonderful husband; buff and tough enough to whup up on a big, nasty, slobbering lion; a dead-eye shot with a compound bow; and blessed with the talent of solving multiple inpenetrable mysteries buried in desert sands for 2,500 years in a single minute. Yes, this Action Hero does everything but sing like his musical namesake (we think).

Any weaknesses? Oh yeah, he's got a thing for risking his life, career and pride at the whim of the mysterious "Methuselah" to gather archeological treasures which could prove events in the Bible really happened. Fortunately, our hero's biggest challenge in the first half of the book is withstanding his Just As Smart And Independent wife's withering anti-machismo comments and first-aid treatment after besting Methuselah's challenges.

Oh yes, he doesn't shave for a few days after his wife's tragic death, and is a little ticked at God. But a quick confessional to his congregation, and he gets over it.
I like to engage my suspension of belief when I read fiction, but this was too much. Come on, the woman he intended to invest the next 50-60 years (and maybe planned a family with) is gone. It's not something you just get over -- you learn to live with it.

The elements are there -- just don't make him a superhero. Rayford Steele of the Left Behind books is a great example of a more balanced (and human) protagonist.

2) Methuselah. Mysterious dude (always in the shadows) gets his jollies by getting Murphy to fall into one of his elaborate traps. Soooo, what will he do for fun if Murphy bites the big one? Get a relative of Louis Leakey?

Well, Methuselah's Lion King bit (ha ha!) does establish Murphy as a Man Of Action, unlike that wimpy college dean. But please don't bring this character back.

3) Dean Fallworth, Unbelieving Head Weenie. I kept visualizing the college dean of the Nutty Professor movies when I read the book. Do college deans drop dimes on their professors like that on national TV?

4) Stacy, the Up And Coming News Reporter. Sells her soul (literally) to get her Big Break. Never read that cliche before...

5) Steve Barrington, the Soulless TV Mogul. Hey, just go ahead and name this guy Ted Turner already! OK, guess you can't since Jane Fonda isn't in the novel. Oh, wait, there is Stacy...

6) The lesson that teaches that Archeological Digs Really Don't Require Mountains Of Paperwork And Red Tape -- just call that pal from grad school, and you'll dig up that artifact and be on to the next pyramid in time for corn flakes! And don't forget the unlikely -- but stunning -- bookworm who speaks long-dead languages. Never know when you'll need her to rescue you from sinister zombie sacrificers.

OK, there are some very promising aspects to this book (and series).

Talon is a very scary adversary, unlike the straw man Global Community people in the Left Behind books. The falcons are an interesting touch (ouch!). A little more character development in the next book.

"Christian Terrorists" theme -- One reviewer didn't think it's plausible that the media would portray Christians in that manner. I don't believe all media would do that, but many would. I've lost count of people who claim religion -- and Christianity -- is the reason we have so much strife in the world. I could go on about how our media demonstrate how tolerant we should be of other religions but will interview anyone who tries to debunk Biblical "myths", such as the divinity of Jesus, the Flood, etc.

Archeological/historical aspects -- Very interesting and innovative premise. I remember reading about the Brazen Serpent and the Golden Head, but never thought of a possible connection between the two. Great lesson.

Other positive aspects included the pacing (a LaHaye and Dinallo trademark -- I also read Dinallo's "Final Answers"), unexpected twists and loose ends.

I look forward to the second book, but please give the central characters more dimension.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Riveting, couldn't put it down!
Review: As a fan of Biblical prophecy and of Indiana Jones, I found the plot to be intense and the characters engaging. I generally read Clancy or LaHaye/Jenkins for my fiction. This is a must-read. It's not about futuristic events, but about things that could actually happen today. What is truly amazing about this book (and other LaHaye fiction) is that LaHaye and DiNallo base their fiction on the fact that many of prophecies of the Old Testament have come to fruition, so then will the rest of them regarding the Last Days. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for some great action-packed fiction. It's a great tale of adventure and suspense!


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