Apocalypse

Rating:
Summary: Judged against competition
Review: I give this book 5 stars because it's competition is Left Behind. I read a few pages of Lalondes' book, and they actually make some effort to provide *QUALITY* in some form to the readers - the sentences actually use metaphors from time to time, the authors actually go inside the character's head from time to time, etc. While I won't say this is a great novel (it is, after all, the novelization of a screen play), I have to judge it against Left Behind - the worst piece of crud to ever be pawned off as "Christian fiction." At least this book doesn't make you feel stupid.

Rating:
Summary: Judged against competition
Review: Readers who have devoured the Left Behind series will want this novel of the Last Days but may find it less satisfying than the ongoing LaHaye-Jenkins series. The novel starts strongly as the Big One hits California, terrorists unleash plague in Chicago and a second Korean War looms. Star TV reporters Bronson Pearl and Helen Hannah are on top of the story of the millenium when Helen's beloved grandmother and thousands of others vanish in the Rapture. Those left behind face certain doom as the great powers declare war. Salvation comes at the last moment when Franco Macalusso, president of the European Union, makes all weapons of mass destruction vanish at his command. Macalusso is proclaimed the true Messiah and creates a world government, persecuting those who keep faith in Jesus, now condemned as a false prophet. This Antichrist preaches a New Age doctrine, telling his followers that they have the power to be gods within themselves. A rift develops between Bronson and Helen, who are in love, when she become a new Christian and he is torn by doubts. The novel has some strong points. The Antichrist is a micromanaging media titan, who uses the power of television. The Lalondes, who are involved in audio-visual production, make some strong comments about the shallowness of TV news and its uncritical acceptance by mass audiences. Overall, however, the novel seems rushed. Interesting minor characters appear, do their bit and leave the stage. Some of the dialog is fast and snappy, then the story bogs down with lengthy passages of exposition. Helen and Bronson are good characters, with Bronson cast as a Doubting Thomas whose faith is based on hard facts. Macalusso, however, would be no match for Nicolae Carpathia, the supervillain of the Left Behind series. A weak adversary makes for weak conflict. The book's main problem is its ending, which depends on a sudden transformation by one character. This kind of conclusion is contrived and almost impossible to bring off well. As a result, the reader's reaction on finishing the last page may be "Huh?" instead of "Wow!"

Rating:
Summary: Humanity faces the time of Rapture and Tribulation.
Review: Readers who have devoured the Left Behind series will want this novel of the Last Days but may find it less satisfying than the ongoing LaHaye-Jenkins series. The novel starts strongly as the Big One hits California, terrorists unleash plague in Chicago and a second Korean War looms. Star TV reporters Bronson Pearl and Helen Hannah are on top of the story of the millenium when Helen's beloved grandmother and thousands of others vanish in the Rapture. Those left behind face certain doom as the great powers declare war. Salvation comes at the last moment when Franco Macalusso, president of the European Union, makes all weapons of mass destruction vanish at his command. Macalusso is proclaimed the true Messiah and creates a world government, persecuting those who keep faith in Jesus, now condemned as a false prophet. This Antichrist preaches a New Age doctrine, telling his followers that they have the power to be gods within themselves. A rift develops between Bronson and Helen, who are in love, when she become a new Christian and he is torn by doubts. The novel has some strong points. The Antichrist is a micromanaging media titan, who uses the power of television. The Lalondes, who are involved in audio-visual production, make some strong comments about the shallowness of TV news and its uncritical acceptance by mass audiences. Overall, however, the novel seems rushed. Interesting minor characters appear, do their bit and leave the stage. Some of the dialog is fast and snappy, then the story bogs down with lengthy passages of exposition. Helen and Bronson are good characters, with Bronson cast as a Doubting Thomas whose faith is based on hard facts. Macalusso, however, would be no match for Nicolae Carpathia, the supervillain of the Left Behind series. A weak adversary makes for weak conflict. The book's main problem is its ending, which depends on a sudden transformation by one character. This kind of conclusion is contrived and almost impossible to bring off well. As a result, the reader's reaction on finishing the last page may be "Huh?" instead of "Wow!"

Rating:
Summary: In serious need of a good editor
Review: This book starts so nicely! Earthquake in LA, terrorists, nuclear war .....

But then the problems begin. Point of view that shifts between characters with no transition. Pages of exposition that cover crises and changes and riots and chaos - and then the author goes back to the main characters and you find out that all this chaos happened in one day. Unfortunately, the events chronicled in this book aren't believable as the events of just a week (ex: within 48 hours of the Rapture, the homes of every missing person in the world has been bugged).

As another reviewer has said, the events are rushed and the timeline much too compressed for believability (I have the same gripe with the Left Behind series).

With a good editor to fix the technical writing problems, the series would have much more potential. As it is, the writing is mediocre at best. I won't read the rest of the series.

Rating:
Summary: In serious need of a good editor
Review: This book starts so nicely! Earthquake in LA, terrorists, nuclear war .....

But then the problems begin. Point of view that shifts between characters with no transition. Pages of exposition that cover crises and changes and riots and chaos - and then the author goes back to the main characters and you find out that all this chaos happened in one day. Unfortunately, the events chronicled in this book aren't believable as the events of just a week (ex: within 48 hours of the Rapture, the homes of every missing person in the world has been bugged).

As another reviewer has said, the events are rushed and the timeline much too compressed for believability (I have the same gripe with the Left Behind series).

With a good editor to fix the technical writing problems, the series would have much more potential. As it is, the writing is mediocre at best. I won't read the rest of the series.