Rating: 
Summary: Armageddon
Review: "Armageddon" picks up the pace in the "Left Behind" series. The middle books tended to be slow, and this one is full of action. My reaction? To be honest, several parts of the book I had to just put down. As a loyal fan, it made me mad! How could they kill of people now, almost at the end? Then I realized that I was on the edge of my seat. Then, there was the cliffhanger ending. Now we have to wait until Glorious Appearing!
Rating: 
Summary: The Final Battle of the Ages Is About to Begin
Review: 'Armageddon,' book #11 of the 'Left Behind series' is coming to a close. It's coming to less than a year until the greatest final cosmic battle of the ages begins. Armageddon is the final stand between good versus evil. Led by AntiChrist Nicolae Carpathia the evil forces have mobilized an enormous army in the Middle East and the faithful of God seem to be outnumbered. The Tribulation Force (Rayford, Buck, Bruce and Chloe) struggle to stay alive until the Glorious Appearance (Second Coming) of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through their ordeal they push onto their mission to minister the gospel to as many souls as possible. Enduring this time is difficult when three friends are murdered [Revelation 17: 6]. A plague of Darkness falls on Carpathia's city of New Babylon, but nothing will stop him. Only now the Hope that is to come will keep the Tribulation Force through the trial of their lives. The same Hope that kept them alive throughout the Tribulation, their redemption is close at hand [Revelation 18: 5-24].
(PERSONAL NOTE: Even though I've enjoyed the 'Left Behind series' I feel that somehow it could have been shorter. Maybe it could have been told in just half the time in six (6) books instead of the soon to be twelve (12) books. But then I could be just bias.)
Rating: 
Summary: I have read eleven books; do I want to read the last one?
Review: .
If you have not read this book, please do not spoil your enjoyment by reading my review. My opinions may reveal details and events that await your own journey through this book.
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The slow start of this novel picked up about mid-way through. From there it was a page-turner filled with surprises that equal those of powerhouse writers: Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Clive Cussler, Stephen King, et al.
One of the aspects that I enjoyed was the build up for the war at Armageddon. I often wondered how so many people would gather on the planes for this battle, and who they would be. These novels provided insight for me that made a lot of sense.
As prophesied in the Book of Revelations, many will die during the End Times, and the ones they love will mourn them. However, in a novel, particularly a series, it is imprudent to destroy all of the protagonists before the series ends. Imagine Lord of the Rings without Frodo Baggins, or Star Wars (4-6) without Luke Skywalker and Han Solo? Where would the entire series be without Darth Vader? Removing the main characters, in my opinion, is very poor writing that can bring about the loss of readers.
Even though these are Christian novels about the end of the world, they character driven. Through eleven books, I have grown to know and care about these characters as people not simply protagonists, etc., on pages in books, what is the hook to keep me reading now?
Although from Book One (Left Behind) forward, we knew that the death of the Tribulation Forces could happen, I did not think the main characters would cease to exist before the series concluded. These deaths ended the chronicles for me. I thought I would wait in avid anticipation for book twelve, but that is not the case. This book should have been it.
Another problem is viewing the deaths of the four through a narrator's eyes. A basic principle of good writing is to show not tell. I would rather experience at least one of the main characters making it through to the Glorious Appearing and be able to show his emotions at each death, and the mighty coming of God's Armies. This would make me want to read the next book.
Many characters dominated the latter books of this series, but the strength of their continuity required their connections to the main characters. However, there were too many individuals to whom to build any emotional connections. Right now, I can tell you who died, but not who lived to see the end. I do not care.
Book Twelve must drift more into the author's own speculations than scriptures. John the Revelator and other Biblical prophets told us that the Armies of God descend from the clouds in heaven and save Jerusalem. Satan will be bound for 1000 years, and then given freedom for a short time among men. This is, I assume, the ultimate plot of book twelve.
Since I am a believer, this series does not stretch credibility for me. Many coincidences fill the books, but many philosophers do not believe in coincidence, and I agree with them, thus I can easily accept the connections between all of these individuals and events. Therefore, even though I found this book to be of a lesser quality than the previous books, it is still worth three stars to me.
Victoria Tarrani
Rating:
Summary: Better than people give it credit for
Review: A lot of the reviews I have read of these books tend to put it down by comparing it to other end of the world books. And while I will admit that these are not as smart or engaging as some of the the better books that cover the same topic like Fire of Heaven or We All Fall Down, I still really enjoyed them. A friend introduced me to the first book and I cut through all 12 books over the past two months. In a way, it's not really fair to compare them to some of the other books because they are trying to do different things. Left Behind seems to me to try to simply tell a great story about the end of the world. It's light, but what's wrong with that? I really felt like I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next when I finished a book and the very next day would order the next one. I call that a success. A book like We All Fall Down is obviously much more intense and thoughtful, the characters seem much more like real people, and it gives you more to think about, but why does that make Left Behind bad? Can't The Ten Commandments and The Passion both be good movies?
Rating:
Summary: Better than people give it credit for
Review: A lot of the reviews I have read of these books tend to put it down by comparing it to other end of the world books. And while I will admit that these are not as smart or engaging as some of the the better books that cover the same topic like Fire of Heaven or We All Fall Down, I still really enjoyed them. A friend introduced me to the first book and I cut through all 12 books over the past two months. In a way, it's not really fair to compare them to some of the other books because they are trying to do different things. Left Behind seems to me to try to simply tell a great story about the end of the world. It's light, but what's wrong with that? I really felt like I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next when I finished a book and the very next day would order the next one. I call that a success. A book like We All Fall Down is obviously much more intense and thoughtful, the characters seem much more like real people, and it gives you more to think about, but why does that make Left Behind bad? Can't The Ten Commandments and The Passion both be good movies?
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Summary: Review of Armageddon
Review: A Review of "Armageddon" by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
As a fan of the entire Left Behind series of books, I thought that "Armageddon," the eleventh book of the series was well written. The authors maintained the suspense level found in the other books of the series, which made it easy for the reader to stay interested. On the other hand, I must confess to a small degree of disappointment in the book. The authors seem to be a little uncertain where to take some of the characters as they prepare for the twelfth and final book of the series. It almost seems as if they have run out of ideas for individual characters, so they found that the easiest thing to do would be to kill them off.
For the characters, emotions are running very high as they anticipate the Battle of Armageddon, which will be the final event of human history before the return of Jesus to begin His reign on Earth. Many of the characters allow their emotions to get the best of them, which leads to quite a few intense situations during the course of the book. Chloe wanders away from the Tribulation Force's bunker, which becomes a cause for great concern, not only for her, but for the entire Tribulation Force. Albie finds himself dealing with an old acquaintance, hoping that his loyalties have not changed.
There was a very light moment towards the beginning of the book in which Rayford, taking advantage of the darkness, goes to New Babylon to retrieve Chang and, during a briefing being held by Potentate Nicolae Carpathia, is able to have a little bit of fun at the Potentate's expense. Nicolae did not enjoy it a bit, and it was fun to see the character portrayed as the Antichrist taken down a notch or two.
My favorite character is Rabbi Tsion Ben-Judah, who is the writers' tool to share the Biblical prophecies with their readers. Even though I have read these Scriptures many times myself, I find myself more excited as I picture the words being preached by Tsion. Not only have the writers made him an inspiration on a spiritual level. He is a man to be looked up to because he is not content to merely preach, but also wants to join in on the work, including taking up a weapon and participating in the final battle.
As the days for the battle draw near, the writers are able to hold the reader on the edge of his seat. There is very little imagery in this book. The writers instead choose to keep the action nonstop, using the descriptions of the action in the story to place the pictures in the reader's mind. They do this very well.
The writers inject humor at the right moments to help break some of the tension that is taking place in the action. At one point, with bullets flying all around, Tsion, passing the healing pool of Bethesda, says to Buck, "I was not hit, Cameron! No need for healing!" The only thing Buck can think at this point is "Millimeters from death and the rabbi jokes."
The book does a good job of clarifying the Biblical prophecies of the last days. Even if you think the language of the book of Revelation is figurative rather than literal, you will enjoy seeing these events unfold.
Rating:
Summary: Most action yet!! Some good surprises for long time fans.
Review: As both authors have taken us on a fictional/non-fictional journey for the past few years that has now spanned 11 books, there was sure to be some slow moments and some harrowing moments that would keep the reader turning pages.
Often I though a few of the books were a bit too long, and maybe a couple in the series could have been consolidated to make for a more flowing and cohesive arc. I happy to report that 'Armageddon' delivers very strong story content, much more action and pacing, and quite a few character surprises that leads to the final chapter: Glorious Appearing. It seems that the 7 year tribulation is almost over. With less than a year left to the prophesized return of Jesus, the world has pretty much chosen sides, albeit there are some dissidents that have that one last chance who have yet to take the mark of Carpathia (the antichrist), or accepts the messiah. Leading up to the battle of all battles, Carpathia's iron fist begins to be more prominent....accept his mark, or die. As the beheadings pick up pace, the Lord also quickens his judgments and the world is faced with a few more 'natural' dilemma's. Armageddon picks up pace, and soon the reader is moved ahead 3 months where some of the characters we have come to enjoy meet their fate, often with dire consequences. Some of the majors will not make it all the way to the end. In a chilling moment within the book, Carpathia summons his 10 regional leaders to discuss upcoming battle plans against the rebels. Carpathia finally reveals to them his true nature and his true intent in a very descriptive manner on how he wasn't the 'only' angel around when he became conscious and describes his interactions with the one who calls himself God and his son Jesus, and how they had met once before and have been locked in a struggle for millennia. Carpathia finishes his 'pep-talk' with some supernatural acts, and its surprising how his followers react and respond. The book closes as a cliffhanger as the reader once again is moved forward in time: Carpathia and his forces, an army unlike the world has ever seen before, are at the doors of the Holy City and that of the rebellion stronghold of Petra. Here the remaining undecided world dissidents must make their final choice, as it is only hours away from when Jesus is prophesized to return and deal with Carpathia in the ultimate battle.
Rating:
Summary: I don't know.
Review: At first, I thought this book was a little bit like blasphemy. For a while I thought that it was God's job to explain how armageddon will happen, and not LaHaye and Jenkin's job. But then I found out from Jenkin's School of Prophecy that it isn't false prophecy if your novels are based on the word of God and if you use Jesus' name a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Best book since the first one.
Review: I flew through the first 250 pages in I think about 3 days. LOVE the Left Behind series, this book has me excited about being a Christian again! This book was very hard for me to put down.
Non-Stop action like and good Clancy book, plenty of Biblical references for those that doubt God's love for them. Grateful I don't have to wait a year like other readers for the Glorious Appearing to come out, I picked up the series at the right time.
Do I sound like a Bible thumper yet, apologize if I do, but don't mind being called a Jesus Freak either...
Odd how this series grew on me, even from the beginning of the series I said to myself "Great I get to red Christian related stuff -like reading the bible without having to read the Bible." Enjoying the Word of God w/o having to REALLY read His Words... Now that I'm almost through with the series I almost look forward to reading the Bible...
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Book of the Series Thus Far...Only One More To Go
Review: The absolute worst of the series. The book starts with some good action and some slight character development - a big change from the disappointment that Book Ten was. However, halfway through the book, it changes from a decent book into nothing more than an extremely preachy bible tract. The character development goes right out the window, the plot development resembles something closer to a ride at Disneyland than a rolling, churning adventure at the End Times. Absolutely disappointing work from these two authors.
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