Rating: 
Summary: Great book! The series keeps getting better.
Review: This was a great book. LaHaye and Jenkins did a great job of keeping this a very entertaining, and griping series. It also helps you to understand the book of Revilations more. It took me less than a month to finish the first 7 of the series and this one I couldn't put down either.
Rating: 
Summary: Would You Take the Mark?
Review: As a Christian, have you ever doubted your ability to stand up for your faith in Jesus in the face of overwhelming danger or ridicule? During the reading of this book, you will be able to determine for yourself which line you would go into: the Right or the Left.I found myself identifying strongly with the Christian prisoners in Greece who were forced to make a choice: the Right line or the Left line. This book allowed me to determine without a doubt which line I would fall into if forced. For this I am grateful to the authors and they achieved their purpose as far as I am concerned. As for as the "Reader's Digest" format, the light writing style, and the oversized font and spacing, try to ignore these annoyances and simply concentrate on an enjoyable little thriller.
Rating: 
Summary: What are these books saying about Revelation?
Review: I've read the Left Behind novels and also read We All Fall Down, and I was surprised to read a review here that said they were offended at We All Fall Down. If anything, Left Behind is what I find somewhat offensive. Left Behind makes the end of the world seem like it would be an adventure. The characters are all one dimensional good guys or bad, and they never really suffer very much. Once they decide to become Christians, they are automaticaly pure and perfect. There is violence, but it is vaugely described and unaffecting. We All Fall Down goes the other way. Caldwell's book is raw in its depection of a violent world. The world is comming to an end in his book and you can FEEL it. When people die, it is not abstract, but horrible. People swear in his novel and speak the way real people do, especially people under unimaginable stress. But my feeling is, this is the way it should be. Remember, after the Rapture, all of the good people are gone. ALL of them! What Caldwell shows is a world without the inffluence of Christianity. He could candy coat it, like they do in Left Behind, but what message would that send? That the tribulation wouldn't really be all that bad? That it might even be kind of cool? The Book Of Revelation is a horrible, frightning description of life on earth. Left Behind leaves out the horror and the pain and the suffering. What's more, it leaves out any insight as to why these characters were left behind. Yes, technically they weren't Christians, but why weren't they? In reading about them, what do they tell us about ourselves? Nothing. What does Left Behind tell us about the end of the world? That it would be about as bad as an episode of the A-Team? In failing to get across the horror and the evil and the pain of the tribulation, the authors do the Bible a true disservice. We All Fall Down faces that horror straight on. I could understand that some people wouldn't want to read about that horror, but I think that it's important not to sugar-coat humanity at its lowest. the tribulation would be a thousand times worse than Auchwitz. We All Fall Down captures that horror better than any other novel about Revelation by far. Left Behind is the Hogan's Heroes of Revelation. We all Fall Down is Schindler's List.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but why bother when there's better?
Review: Left Behind certainly isn't a bad book. In its own way, the series is kind of exciting and it's pretty fun reading an interpretation of the Endtime. The writing isn't really good, but it's bassically unobtrusive. You never stop and get shocked at how badly it's written, although you also don't stop and marvel at how beautiful a particular sentence is constructed. Nothing in it to offend, although nothing in it to really provoke thought or reflection. All in all, it's pretty much an interesting light snack. My feeling though, is, why bother with that when there's so much more out there. Christ Clone Trilogy by Beausinger is a fresh take on the idea that's every bit as well written as Dune or any other science fiction series. Caldwell's We All Fall Down is another great novel, the best of the three in my opinion. It's certainly not a middle of the road novel. The language can be harsh, although it seemed entierly appropriate to the characters situation- when being strapped down and tortured, I would guess harsh language would escape the tongue-, the plot is sometimes brutal, although it should be considering that it's hell on earth, and the characters don't always make the right decisions, even when they're Christians. But I found all of that to be to its credit. Even when I disagreed with what was happening or being said, I was always engaged in the novel. I was never just watching the words pass as in Left Behind, but was always fully engaged with the characters and the plot. These are characters who are faced with horrible circumstances and have to make decisions. Sometimes they are wrong, sometimes not, and often it's hard to judge. But in reading that, you're forced to think, to reflect. No one really seemed to make any inner choices in Left Behind, so there wasn't much engagement. Certainly it didn't spur me into thinking or questioning my own relationship with God the way Caldwell's novel did. Left Behind isn't bad. But Christ Clone Trilogy and We All Fall Down are brilliant. Why settle for not bad when brilliant is out there?
Rating:
Summary: Three and a Half Years to Go . . .
Review: We're halfway through the Tribulation and at 44 years-old, I am wondering if I will live long enough to see this series end. If the remainder of the books drag like this one did, there are probably 20 or 30 more to come. At one every nine or so months . . . well, you do the math. I honesty have never read worse. But, yes. I read all the others. Elementary school-level writing, cardboard characters and oh-so-painfully-bad dialog didn't deter me. Somehow, the story kept things moving along and I became addicted. The Mark, however, has no story. Just 300+ pages of filler (mostly dialog) that left me irritated and feeling ripped-off at the end. Skip this one and find something better to do with a rainy afternoon. I promise you won't be missing a thing because truly, nothing happens. Another bomb like The Mark and all future Left Behind installments will be left behind from my reading list. One star for marketing.
Rating: 
Summary: Good writing?? Come on!
Review: After reading many of the reviews I don't understand how anyone could possibly think this series represents good writing! It is so poorly written that I almost gag on some of the dialog. The first half of the first book was the best, got me hooked on the story, but it went downhill after that. The only thing that has kept me going is that I do find the story fascinating....and I'm also the kind of person that will sit through a really bad movie just because I have to find out what happens at the end! It's so disappointing because this series, with good writing and better characters, could have been really good.
Rating: 
Summary: The Mark--What a great series.
Review: I have finished reading The Mark and find it to be just as thrilling and well written as the rest of the series. I'm sure there are people out there who are scared by the series and want it to stop. But these are well-written, easy to follow stories that describe the end times in heart pounding accounts. Even though they are Christians the characters struggle with dilemmas and bad choices as do the rest of us real-world people. This book is better than the last 7. I can't wait for number 9.
Rating:
Summary: The Final Comparison
Review: Okay--I had to give it two stars..because although it's written on a 5th grade level (and thats being generous), with 2 dimensional characters, unbelievably naiive plot line, totally ludicrous scenarios and 375 average pages of "filler"--guess what? we're still reading it...so I figure the marketing alone ought to be worth at least a star-- even if we read it for no other reason that to reassure ourselves that if they can do it...maybe we CAN give up our day jobs :-) I've read all three, The Left Behind series, The Christ Clone Trilogy, and We All Fall Down. The winner: The Christ Clone triology. We All Fall Down (Cauldwell) I actually found offensive. Can the guy write a page without using four letter words?? He does EXACTLY what Left Behind does---only on the other end of the scale. Very disappointing, and started with such a very promising premise. The Christ Clone Trilogy however, is really quite an enjoyable read. An Antichrist that you can see folks following--one that you even LIKE at points--scary thought right? :-) As for Tim and Jerry---you HAVE to know gentlemen...you can't tell me that you're proud of this work---you ARE capable of putting together nouns and verbs coherently--you should at least address your readers --you know the ones--the ones who are making you more wealthy by the minute--at least respect them enough to put out what you obviously went to college to learn..
Rating:
Summary: It's been said before, but I'll add my voice to the chorus.
Review: Left Behind is not a good book. It is in fact, a very bad book. I say this, not because I don't like the ideas behind the novel, because I think Revelation is facinating and important, I say it because it fails at every single level it should succeed at. The writing is horrendous. A sixth grader could put sentences together better than these authors. The characters are ridiculous. People don't act like this. They don't speak like this. They don't think like this. Even cartoon characters have more depth than Rayford Steele. By the way, can you guess by the name if he's supposed to be a good guy or a bad? They might has well have called him Good Y. Guy. Most importantly, there are no IDEAS in this novel. After eight books, what have we learned? The Antichrist is bad? All Christians are good? They don't smoke, don't swear, and have absoloutly no inner deamons or failings? I'm a Christian. I smoke. I struggle. Sometimes I swear. Sometimes I do the wrong thing. Rayford Steele doesn't. Don't waste your time with these books. Instead, get We All Fall Down, by Brian Caldwell. Caldwell's book will make you think. It will make you smile because the quality of writing is so good. You'll feel challanged and fufilled when you finish the last page instead of empty and duped like with Left Behind. Caldwell's book is a masterpiece. Left Behind is an insult.
Rating:
Summary: Impressive, but nothing like the earlier books
Review: In this eighth installment in the Left Behind Series, Rayford, Buck, and the rest of the Trib Force are in the safe house in Chicago. Rayford is once again the leader and doesn't do a whole lot in this book but finally save and bring Hattie to a knoweldge with Jesus Christ. Buck goes off to Greece to find some of the followers in prison and save them. David, Mac, and Abdullah with a couple of others make preparations for their departure. Carpathia, now known as a god to the unbelievers, begins to mark the people of the world. This book is more or less setting up the next few books which will be about the Great Tribulation. Rayford is the main character in this book. In the Mark, he comes from being upset and sort of lost and becomes a more devout Christian and leader. He changes a lot in this book. The main idea of this book is that if you are not saved and you don't have the mark of Jesus Christ, when you die you will not go to heaven, but you will be enternally condemmed to hell and suffering. The title fits the book well becuase it is about the mark that the antichrist is forcing everone to get, or else death. I gave it only four stars because it was much better than the Indwelling, however, it was nothing like the intriguing first five books. It lacked the action and the prophecy that the other books (other than the Indwelling) had. This book is not written as well as a Dumas book or a book of that level, so the characters are pretty flat. They do have their weaknesses like reckless haste, but really lack the true qualities of a human. This book's ending was little different from the other books. It leaves you hanging as usual, waiting for the next book to come out. Overall, this book hasn't influenced my thinking too much because I have read Revalations thoroughly and know it well enough that I have an idea of what will come. In addition to this, I am a Christian, so this whole thing about God and Christ in the Mark really didn't affect me.
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