Rating: 
Summary: Makes "Celestine Prophecy" look like War & Peace
Review: I bought this book based on its potentially exciting plotline and put it down 50 pages in. I've since picked it up and finished it so that it wouldn't be a total waste of money. The characters are poorly developed, the choices they make are obvious and simple. The plot is so transparent that you can see through it. The book is amateurish and excessively preachy. I won't be spending any money on the other books in this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Thin plot, bad theology, not worth the bother
Review: I read this book several months ago and I have finally decided that enough is enough. I don't care if people like to read bad fiction, but when this book's authors attempt to pass this off a source for interpretting Revelation I must speak up. This books is the printed equivalent of a bad soap opera. It describes events that are not based in fact or upon good scholarship and attempts to draw in people who do not know better. The characters of Rayford, Cloe, Buck, and Heddi are all flat stock charaters one would find on any network daytime drama. They never stray from type, are true to form and so predictable that one need not read the book to know exactly what they will do. I presume to know enough about the Darbyist theology badly fleshed out here that I can tell you exactly how the series will end without the final book having even been written. Here it is, the Antichrist is vanquished, Rayford or Buck or someone has been instrumental in making sure that happens, the kingdom of God descends from the clouds, Rayford, Cloe, and Buck are the first people to whom Jesus reappears and, if true to genre, their names get changed to something Jesus wants to call them. They all live wonderful lives from then on in the "New Jerusalem" THE END. If you like fiction, read something else. If you want to know more about eschatology (the end of world) read the Bible, and not just Revelation because it is NOT about the end of the world even though Mr. LaHaye and Mr. Jenkins are making a lot of money by convincing you it is. If you enjoy Darbyist/Millerist fiction, there are much better books based on that theology that actually have something to do with the text upon which they purport to base their plotline. I don't recommend this book and suggest you save your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Eye opening story of the Rapture
Review: After reading "Left Behind" I was left in awe. It is a wonderful portrayal of the days after the Rapture of Jesus. I find that it was very realistic in that I think most people wouldn't realize that it was the Rapture. It is very inspirational in that it shows four people succeeding in Christ after losing out on the Rapture. It tells that people who were left behind do get a second chance at heaven.This book could easily open the eyes of anyone. It shows the consequences of not believing in Christ. I think this is a wonderful book for anyone who is unclear on their spiritual beliefs.
Rating:
Summary: John Grisham meets CS Lewis
Review: I read the first in this series, Left Behind, and I was skeptical about how good the book would be. Anything labeled Christian is going to be held to a higher standard. I would recommend that all the "one star" reviewers, and their are very few of them, should check their elitism at the door. This is a very good book, that is exciting to read, and encouraged me to open the Bible and look a little closer at God's word. Keep in mind that there are many "end times" interpretations of scripture, but this book will make you think about your future. I am looking forward to the next in this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Made-for-Television Apocalypse
Review: I tend to side with those reviewers who found the book rather light. With the exception of Rayford Steele, most of the characterizations lack depth and consistency. The authors occasionally drop off into mini-sermons that clash otherwise with the flow of the story. And as the events of Revelation unfold, the good and bad become too transparent, too black and white, and too obvious. As suggested by another reader, I read the first of the Christ Clone Trilogy and was much more impressed. In the end, Left Behind comes across as the basis for a television miniseries than a fully fleshed novel. I'm not as harsh as some critics, so I give it three stars for being readable, not too preachy, and interesting in its way.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly Melodramatic
Review: I was surprised that a book which has received so much praise could be so uninspired. Many have said it before and I will agree. The characters are cardboard representations of real people. The way they interact with one another is cliche. The additions to the main theme of the story are quite melodramatic. However, the story is entertaining even if terribly flawed in its factual interpretation of events described in Revelation. My greatest complaint is the poor use of grammar by the author. I hold authors to a higher standard than the general public and am appalled when significant mistakes are made by both the author and the editor who should have noticed them. Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun. They are not interchangeable. Regardless, I recommend the book if you want to read something that is not too heavy. It is written to be easily accessible. I did not find it religiously nor intellectually stimulating, though. If you want something that fulfills this criteria, read The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Telling of the Beginning of the Tribulation Era
Review: I felt that this was a very well written and executed novel. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins did an excellent job of creating deep, real characters in a believable world that is in the beginning stages of the tribulation period. The story, Left Behind, revolves mostly around three people: Rayford Steele (average man), Chloe Steele (Rayford's daughter), and Buck Williams (famous reporter). They live in a world, not much unlike ours, that has three currencies (dollars, marks, and yen) and is moving in a direction to have one. Rayford and his twenty-year-old daughter, Chloe, don't really believe in God unlike born-again mother Irene and preteen Ray Jr., but soon they wish they did as the Rapture takes place and millions disappear without a trace. Cameron "Buck" Williams is a deist, but doesn't really believe in any religion. The story follows the three as they learn more about God and the things to come in the Tribulation period as well as Buck's investigation of up incoming Romanian politician and businessman Nicolae Carpathia. This book was an excellent read and I believe that this is one of the most well written books that I have read in a long time. I would recommend this book to anybody that has an interest in Christ, the Tribulation Era, or is a Born-Again Christian. The novel also lends itself to many age groups. I, being 15, thoroughly enjoyed the book just as much as my mother did. The book has several action parts as well as tie-ins to the Bible to help you relate and understand the story. I would go as far as to say that a 7th grader could very well enjoy this book, however I do know that there is a Left Behind series for younger teens, but I do not know the quality of those books. I have almost no complaints about this book; I enjoyed it that much. The story has great continuity and makes you want to keep turning the page, which is one of the book's strong points. The only real complaint that I have (its only a minor one) is with the ending. It has a climax and then cliffhanger, and it makes the book feel somewhat unfinished to me (though it does make me want to pick up the book in the series). Other than that I really have no complaints. It was a wonderful book with an excellent story. It presented a realistic portrait of what will come in the Tribulation period and was impossible for me to put down. Overall a superb book.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular
Review: Left behind has been a most inspiring wonderful book. I am a bible scholar of sorts and feel that the Authors' Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye have done an excellent job proclaiming the thoughts of those who will be left behind, as they are my feelings as well. I have bought everyone I know, who truly will appreciate a blessing from our Lord Jesus, this book for Christmas. I plan to get all of the books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Non Believer
Review: As a non-believer I would never have brought this book. It was given to me as a joke. I started reading it one night and could not put it down until I was finished. It really opened my eyes to the spritual life that is possible. It was an amazing journey into fiction with christian belief at the heart. Great book for our times.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting read - but I have concerns and qualifications
Review: For those readers not familiar with my reviews, let me state categorically that I am a conservative, Christian clergyman. I'm reading the "Left Behind" series on the advice and at the request of a Christian friend who comes from a different theological tradition than myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, and am looking forward to reading the rest. This having been said, it is important that I make one other point clear. LaHaye and Jenkins have written a thriller based not on the Bible, but rather on an INTERPRETATION of the Bible -- a distinction which should be clearly noted. It must also be understood that their interpretation is at best a MINORITY interpretation -- even among conservatives and evangelicals. The word "Rapture" is never found in Scripture -- and the biblical basis for the doctrine comes from questionable exegesis of a very few verses taken out of context. The doctrine is not, and never has been, part of the "deposit of faith". The theology expressed in the book is completely unknown, not only to Catholic and Orthodox Christians -- but also not accepted by the great Reformers (Luther, Calvin, etc.), nor to the Protestant preachers of the Great Awakening (Whitfield, Wesley, etc.). The eschatology (theology of the End Times) expressed in this book represents a view known as pre-millenial dispensationalism, specifically a "Pre-tribulation Rapture" version of pre-millenial dispensationalism. (There are groups which, while holding many of the same beliefs, argue that the Rapure will take place either at the mid-point of the Tribulation, or at the end of the Tribulation). The doctrine originated among religious groups in the mid 19th century -- many of which could only be considered "Christian" in the very loosest sense of the word. The doctrine was only absorbed by more mainstream Christianity about 100 years ago. Because of the way the book is written, a non-believer, or an uninformed believer could easily make the assumption that the version of events related in "Left Behind" is THE authentic Christian interpretation of Revelation -- and that's just not the case. LaHaye and Jenkins should have made this clear in an author's forward. That they did not do so, in my opinion, speaks negatively to their integrity. Having said all this by way of disclaimer -- I thorougly enjoyed this book -- as light reading. I did not find it particularly believable in a theological sense; I thought that character development was, at times, sketchy; I thought that there were too many incredible plot contrivances (for example, the almost "instant conversion" of the four main characters, the complete absense of any reference to any church other than the "New Hope" church, the instant rise and patent obviousness of the antiChrist figure, etc.). However, I could not put the book down. I have always enjoyed religious fiction, and this was no exception. If any readers of this review are interested in "End Times" fiction which is deeper and more substantial, allow me to recommend Michael O'Brien's "Children of the Last Days" series, all of which I have read and reviewed for Amazon.com. Score 2 1/2 stars, and we'll round up.
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