Rating: 
Summary: Babylon Risible
Review: This is possibly the worst book I've ever bought. How did La Haye's editor ever allow this mess? The characters and action are low-grade comic book. Behaviours range from sanctimonious to psycho-hysterical, with none of it remotely credible. Even the lion doesn't act believably. I found myself wondering whether it was a self parody, like "True Lies" -- but without any wit. Multiplying the florid, overblown and hackneyed events is La Haye's mind numbing repetitiveness, as if by belaboring his pseudo-facts he can somehow make them sound true. When he compounded these abuses by adding pompous proselytizing, I brought out the gong.
Rating: 
Summary: Watered-Down Indiana Jones
Review: Having read the first three books of the Left Behind series, I was thrilled when I saw Babylon Rising sitting on the shelf. I was hooked by the first chapter. The character of Michael Murphy had such promise in the beginning. But he became more stereotypical as the story progressed to the point where I almost lost interest in reading the rest of the book. For instance, I felt that he bounced back way too quickly from a devastating personal loss. Then there was Isis, who jumped from wimp to heroine in the space of a chapter. She didn't impress me at all. As for the plot, I'm curious to see where LaHaye takes it. So, I will wait for the sequel (due next Fall). You can check out the book's website at www.babylonrisingbook.com and to learn how LaHaye got his idea for the series and to post feedback.
Rating: 
Summary: A fun read
Review: I greatly enjoyed "Babylon Rising" and was surprised by the negative reviews posted here. I found BR to be a fun, well-written book (certainly better written than the "Left Behind" books) that kept me engrossed in the story until the very end. I highly recommend "Babylon Rising", and wish it wouldn't be a year until the next book comes out!
Rating: 
Summary: Not even close!
Review: This was so far below an adult reading level that it killed the book. I agree with the other reviewers. The characters were not very developed or particularly believable. It seemed a little like a far-fetched super-hero movie. The timing was always perfect, they always guessed exactly where to find each item. Like I said to my husband....Tim LaHaye needs to stick to what he's good at....the research. The Left Behind Series is so good.....and this just isn't.
Rating:
Summary: Babylon Falling
Review: Like many I picked this book up thinking that the quality would be on par with the left behind series. Boy are we all disappointed! It could have been a very good book had it not been so poorly written. I forced myself to finish but my husband couldn't even do that. Major flop.
Rating:
Summary: So sorry, Mr. LaHaye!
Review: I respect Mr. LaHaye -- both as a Biblical scholar and a human being. As a freelance writer and journalist myself, I recognize good quality writing, and I have been a fan of the Left Behind series. So I had high hopes when I eagerly pulled this book off the shelf. What a disappointment! The plot was not even close to believable, and the characters were so shallow, they weren't even two-dimensional. So little care was given to the outlandish scenarios in the book that I honestly felt my intelligence was insulted, just reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Babylon Ain't Rising Here
Review: What a disappointment. Now we know who did the research and who did the writing with Left Behind. Where are you Jerry!? Oh, yeah; writing "Soon". Come on Mr. Lahaye, if you're going to write a book for a Christian audience, you should treat us with the respect we deserve. The plot lines here are fantastic! The writing is atrocious. Example:
A woman with a crushed wind-pipe swallows a pill. Our hero shoots a falcon out of the air with a bow and arrow. A woman stops murderous cult members by screaming a twenty-five hundred year old language at them (what!?), and my favorite, Nebuchadnezzar calls Daniel "Daniel", not Belteshazzar. Helloooo?
Get some help, Tim. This has the potential to be a great series, but you need someone to take off the edge.
Rating:
Summary: Babylon Flop
Review: I bought this book because that author stressed in his introductory message what a great book he had written...
thrilling, gripping etc. Well, it isn't. Most of the action scenarios were ridiculous.The plot was predictable but the
situations beyond belief. Even in fiction, can anyone fly into a desert and in less than 24 hours find a biblical artifact that has been hidden and buried for millenia in an abandoned ancient sewer, under a modern day city. And later the hero is able to wiggle through an air shaft in a pyramid, that initially was barely able to admit a small remote control drone. And when he reaches the inner sanctum of the pyramid, the bad guy "Talon" is waiting inside with his trained killer falcons. Fortunately, the hero was able to kill one of the attacking falcons with his bow and arrow!
Bantam published this book but I bet they won't run the series.
Rating:
Summary: Ashamed...
Review: I too am a fan of Left Behind, and a great many other Christian novels, but this is just poor writing. I have had to roll my eyes, and frankly, I'm embarrassed by the characterizations of Christians in this novel, and of the non-Christians as well. There are no shades of gray of morality in this book, and the implausibility is difficult to ignore. - At one point, a character with a broken windpipe lays in the hospital bed and we're told that the "pill" she was given was a heavy sedative. Now I ask you, who can swallow a pill with a broken windpipe? - After a major archaeological find -- a priceless artifact that could very well bolster the historical accuracy of a book of the Bible, the main character allows an undergraduate assistant to help verify its authenticity and then promptly takes into his class. Does this seem plausible? - At another point a simple bit of biblical reference graffiti written at a prominent site is characterized by the media as an "attack by Christian fanatics", which is seemingly believed by the public. Is this really the way people think and behave? I would hate to be treated the way the Christians in this book are treated by the fictional media and society illustrated, but perhaps more deeply, I would hate to be a non-christian in this tale even more because of the evil characterizations given all non-believers. I started reading this after reading The Da Vinci Code (DVC), by Dan Brown. DVC was a great novel, but deeply upset me because of all of the blatant belittling of Christianity and horrible factual errors that a great deal of avid readers in the world will take as fact. Despite my grief over these errors, I found DVC to be riveting, and must admit enjoying it. Babylon Rising has many similarities (both main characters are college professors, both deal with ancient symbols and biblical history, both have pale and mysterious looking murderers, and both seemingly "preach" their doctrines to their reader audience. The truth presented in Babylon Rising is unquestionably more accurate than that of DVC, but nobody will care about that because Babylon Rising is a much more shallow study, whereas DVC is teeming with cockamamie conspiracy nonsense that is made to sound believable. As such, DVC will have a far more greater influence on the beliefs of non-Christians, and the church as a whole will suffer for it. There is far too little excellent relevant Christian entertainment outlets available today, and I believe Tim LaHaye and Greg Dinallo have done a great disservice with Babylon Rising in writing for an already segmented church body. They SHOULD be writing for non-believers, instead of characterizing them as evil-doers in what I can only see as a method of self-aggrandizing their Christian following. I'm ashamed to be characterized like any of these characters, but that's okay. Anybody can see that they aren't "real".
Rating: 
Summary: Far superior to the Left Behind Series and Soon
Review: Tim Lahaye chose a winner to co-author Babylon Rising. Greg Dinallo has added adrenalin, subtlety and clarity to Babylon Rising in ways that outshine both Left Behind, and Jerry Jenkins new SOON series. The main hero is Murphy, a loveable, sincere, driven, and action-prone biblical archeologist. His wife, Laura, is bright, supportive, and gifted in her own right. Additionally, Shari is his brightest student--a protege who brings youth, energy and commitment to the plot. Then there are the anti-heroes: A college dean who believes anything religious or biblical cannot be academic; Methuselah, a mystery man who keeps supplying Murphy with important artifacts, but who requires him to face deadly tests before each gifting; The Seven, a mystery cabal, who seek certain artifacts, so they can tap into their dark powers and, yes, rule the world. Finally, there is Talon, a hit man who loves his work, and brings much danger and heartache to Murphy. While the above cast may sound like they will come together in the same chaotic type plot we often found in Left Behind, the authors keep the storyline tight. I easily kept the characters in their places, and had a good grasp on what they were thinking at all times. Another plus, is that there are some wonderful subplots and tensions here. Murphy's relationship with a colleague named Isis is so subtle--I really want to know how they end up. Isis herself seems to change throughout the story--yet we are not completely sure what is happening. Bottom-line: This is the best of the Left-Behind spin-offs, and ranks near the top with other apocalyptic and supernatural thrillers such as the Fire of Heaven trilogy, the Christ Clone trilogy, and even Frank Peretti's novels. BUY, READ, SHARE AND DISCUSS!
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