Rating: 
Summary: Great book to make you think..
Review: Yeah, i've read many reviews on this book, #1. Some say it's written on a 5th grade level, and some say that the theology is all wrong. I say this isn't a book contest. The book was written that way to reach more people. Young people can read this and get something out of it - that's the real reason it was made anyone. I say it's great to see in a age like we live in when there are star wars movies, prequels, sequels and the commercialism that there are Bibically-based books spreading the themes of the Bible. Yeah, english majors can be picky, and there will always be those that would to slam a book, but the purpose of these books are to spread the word. Course it's like the old saying, everyone's a critic.
Rating:
Summary: Left Behind Series 1-8
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Left Behind series; books 1 through 8 so far. I was hooked after reading the first page of Left Behind! After that, I couldn't get enough!! Left Behind made me think in depth about my own relationship with God. And I don't want to be left behind without a clue. This is not to say that these books have any more punch than the Bible itself when it comes to making one think about the path they may be on. But the fact that this series is written during a time that I can better relate to is what tends to make a difference to me personally. It's more, in your face than anything I've read in the past. It was for me, a wake up call that I needed apparently. A jump start for my soul! While I read the series, I found correlating and corresponding references in the Bible that rang true. And to be able to refer to the Bible was a sign for me that perhaps this series is what I needed in order to spark my souls interest in what's to come during the END TIMES and afterwards. I send my heartfelt thanks to the authors, Mr. LaHaye and Mr. Jenkins, for taking the time to write this series. And to let them know that I will continue to study my Bible in a way to better stay on the path that God has set for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Leave it behind, Christian!
Review: I think that Tim LaHaye really wanted to spread the Gospel when he hired Jerry Jenkins to write a series of sci-fi thrillers based on the pre-trib Rapture theory. But he chose the wrong writer. Jenkins has previously written biographies and heart-warming, Anne Sidon-style books for the female audience. He's out of his element in the Action/Science Fiction genre, and boy, does it show. The plot, characters, dialogue, and settings are all pathetic. Jenkins apparently assumed that his readers have IQs below 100, because the writing is easily on the 4th-grade level. The characters have idiotic names like "Buck" and "Steele," and the villians have campy names like "Nicolae Carpathia." (Jenkins also has no qualms about having a 30-year-old character have sex with an 18-year-old girl - albeit within the confines of Christian marriage - and that really skeeved me out. Buck Williams is a pedophile! I suppose that Kirk Cameron was the perfect actor for that....) Jenkins gives so little description that it's very, very difficult to visualize the scenes he describes, and reading the book actually gave me a headache.It's too bad that so many Christians feel compelled to give these books 4 or 5 stars just because they're "Christian." PLEASE don't give this book to your unsaved friends - especially not college graduates or people who read real sci-fi. They'll just laugh at you and your faith.
Rating:
Summary: I don't want to be left behind either...
Review: I've read the first 4 books, working on the fifth one now...I can't wait to finish the series. These books have certainly made me examine my faith, and how serious I am with it. It also made me examined my concept of holiness, and the shallowness of some of the things in my life. I keep in mind these books were written by men, so don't expect alot of touchy-feely stuff, expect more action, thought patterns and sequential events. The dialogue of Eli and Moishe was awesome. Not being a theologian, I can't say whether their interpretation of Revelations is 100% accurate, but generally, it's true enough. I must congratulate them on even venturing to put Revelations into a fictional but closely accurate account - what a huge undertaking that must have been. Whether you are pre, mid or post trib, these books will get you thinking.
Rating:
Summary: Do you REALLY take all this seriously?
Review: I am utterly amazed. I have read the Bible. I have many friends who are biblical scholars, priests and theologians, as well as doubters, atheists, agnostics, pagans, etc. I really have to ask, can you take such poorly written books seriously? The writing style is, at best, on a fifth grade level, and I know many fifth graders who write better. The plotting is contrived and hokey. The history, biblical lore, knowledge of current world events, and even human nature are laughable. This is the Reader's Digest version of an apocalypse desired by people with limited imaginations. Jesus would weep to see the mean-spirited nature of these volumes. So do I.
Rating:
Summary: Not impressed
Review: Someone I work with recommened this book, praising the fight of good v. evil and the incredible depth of the characters. I disagree. The premise: The Rapture. Our heroes, both white, both male, are among those left on earth when an unnumbered percentage of the population suddenly vanishes. Hattie and Chloe, the women we are permitted to get to know, are both young and beautiful. Hattie looks to be the series Eva Braun and the epitome of shallowness. Chloe, like Eve, questions authority and thinks for herself, to the consternation of her loving father. The inevitable conclusion is they were taken to Heaven. There isn't a child left on the planet. LaHaye and Jenkins take a moment to push their belief of life beginning at conception by having fetuses vanish from their expectant mother's wombs. The innocent and the Saved are the only ones who have gone, we learn. If the book were written on a reading level higher than junior high school, it might encourage me to read more of the series. The simplistic language seems to necessitate keeping the story and the characters shallow. Both main characters, Rayford Steele, commerical airline pilot, and Cameron "Buck" Williams ave a lot of potential, but it isn't seriously explored. The story teases of a journey of self-discovery, but instead lets the characters cop out and be forgiven by Jesus because they are Saved. While they could take this new love and beauty and make their lives around them richer by deeds, that isn't what happens. Ray spends his time proseletizing. Buck gets involved in a transparent plot of the new AntiChrist (though he isn't named such in the first book) as he rises to the top of the political arena. Their lives continue along the same selfish paths that denied them heaven in the first place. Ray's conversion is almost instant, as his wife--who goes from annoying nag to sainted martyr quickly enough to give one whiplash--had been Prepared. In fact, she'd been driving him nuts with her enthusiasm about her new church. Buck's takes a bit longer, as the poorly veiled foreshadowing unfolds. A budding romance with Chloe, Ray's collegiate intellectual daughter, seems like either an afterthought or a last-minute addition to keep the younger reader interested. Several valid points are made about those who call themselves Christians, but do not act on the tenets of their faith (Roman Catholics will appreciate a nod to their pope). Ray's history with the church has been that of using it as a social outlet to glorify his own ego. Buck had turned away because he didn't see the principles he'd been taught in church in practice within his family. Just going to church on Sundays doens't make you a Christian. In this ficton, Israel has become a paradise, thanks to a fertilizer compound that has made lush of the barren desert. In an Old Testament nod to the Jewish belief in being God's chosen, when attacked by the Russians (how typical, evil Russians)they do not defend themselves, but fire blows their attackers out of the sky. The story of that country's new peace and prosperity has much potential and it's wasted as the background of Buck's turn towards belief in God. The use of Revelations as backup is not overdone, though the overall tone of the book is one of preaching to the choir. If I were to recommend a book for those who enjoy a good fight of good
v. evil, this wouldn't be it.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting - addictive - but accurate?
Review: My son got the first seven books for free so I read them all in three days then bought the next two used. On the positive side - they are are reminder to be spiritually awake and that the Bible says God has the last word but that evil will reach its peak before that. On the negative - it appears from Scripture that although many who never knew the Gospel will have the opportunity to repent after the Rapture, people who did know and neglect or reject the offer will not. I believe this series gives false hope to those people. Also, it seems unlikely that the Antichrist will be praying to Lucifer, but rather exalting himself perhaps unaware of Satan's control of himself. It also seems unlikely that he will actually use Jesus's words but rather his own words and secular philosophy. Interesting reading, but don't swallow it whole. Compare it with the Bible.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Story!
Review: Left Behind, written by Tim Le Haye and Jerry B. Jenkins, is a great fictional novel based on the rapture of God. Even if the reader has no knowledge of Christian beliefs, this novel will inspire anyone to explore the mysteries of God. Le Haye and Jenkins are so biblically accurate, it's like reading straight from the bible. Left Behind keeps the reader on the edge throughout the story. It talks the reader through the times of the rapture, or the time when it is said that God takes his children straight to heaven from Earth, until the time of the tribulation. This novel, though the experiences of two men, shares with the reader what is to come. Captain Rayford Steele is faced with the loss of his wife and son along with millions of other human beings around the world. He searches to find answer and somehow reunite with his family. Cameron "Buck" Williams is a senior writer for the Global Weekly in New York. He is introduced to a man of such high power and fame that Buck is astonished by his response to the public. Buck tries to find the truth of things when this man is said to be the anti-Christ. This novel quickly draws the reader in. It's such an amazing story that once it starts, the reader is hooked until it is finished. It also shares with the reader the knowledge from this novel to apply it to his own life. I strongly recommend this novel to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Converted Sceptic
Review: For many months family members have been trying to get me to read these books. I have always been a christian and at first I wasn't sure how close to the bible these books would stay. Finally, I gave in and have started reading the series. I have plowed through the first four books in less than two weeks and I consider myself a slow reader. I can't put them down. The storyline is action packed and entrancing. These books have also made me think how committed I am to my faith, or how committed I should be. I recomend these books to everyone, they are very uplifting and thought provoking with plenty of suspense and intrigue.
Rating:
Summary: Something more important
Review: I urge anyone who has read the Left Behind series, or is considering reading the Left Behind series, to also read Glenn Kleier's spiritual anthem, The Last Day. Anyone who has a whit of concern about what the current state of affairs (9/11) means, will do well to ponder the questions (and answers) posed in The Last Day. It offers revelations of great clarity, logic and understanding in these troubled times, and has been a continuing source of hope and inspiration for me. I encourage you to get ahold of a copy and read it. I guarantee you will not be able to put it down and that it will give a positive direction to your life.
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