Rating: Summary: Yeah, right. Review: I tried to read this crap, I really did. Unfortunately Jenkins fighteningly simplistic understanding of war, as well as poor writing, just turned me off.
No Religion = No War? Since when? Wars are fought for land or water or gold or oil or cattle. Anything that one person or group has and another person or group wants will spark a war.
Throwing religion in as a motivation is nice icing on the cake, but it's not what the fighting's all about.
Rating: Summary: skip it Review: I was not impressed with this Jerry Jenkins novel. It passes the time, but that's about it. (although I will probably read the next in the series because I have to see what happens next.) So, don't get sucked in. Babylon Rising by Tim Lahaye is a better read. Both of them write better together as a team.
Rating: Summary: Great Food For Thought! Review: I'm wondering if this series should have preceeded his contributions in the Left Behind Series....but AWESOME reading. An adventure writer extraordinaire, "Soon" grips from the first word to the last, and left me impatient for the next book to be released. A "Must Read" for those who gain insight from and who enjoy reading Prophetic Fiction. I found this really solid reading.
Rating: Summary: Not as good as Left Behind series Review: If you are considering buying this book because you enjoyed the Left Behind series, save your money and borrow this from the library or a friend. I found this book too predictable and was very disappointed at the extremely abrupt ending. It didn't leave me pining for the next book, just disappointed in the lack of resolution of so many different issues. What bothered me the most about this book was the extremely graphic description of torture. Yes, it is vital to the storyline that Christians are persecuted, but there is a way to do it that doesn't leave readers feeling they need to shower to get rid of the gruesomeness to which they have been exposed. I thought the Left Behind series handled situations such as these in a much better manner. The details of the forced "suicide" at the end left me wanting to pitch the book in the garbage. Many people reading this review may find me oversensitive, but I recommend that if you do not want to be exposed to such crud, choose one of the many other end-times novels available. I am interested in how Tim LaHaye is faring in his latest release.
Rating: Summary: more of the same Review: If you are ready for the Left Behind series to be over, don't pick up this book!! I did not know it was another series until I got to the last page. I was hacked! I didn't particularly enjoy the book at first, but I have to finish once I start. It starts out quick, a bit violent, then slows way down. It's got a lot of cliches and too obvious parallels to Revelations. The main character is Paul, he persecutes Christians, he goes blind and has a conversion experience. Hmm, sounds like Saul becoming Paul almost verbatim. There are a ton of those uncreative similarites! Jenkins has written just about every scenario for a lost soul converting to Christ in his other series so there's not much new here in that arena. They already did Left Behind, why write more about the same thing with a different host of characters? The futuristic devices are not all that creative. I wish he'd spend his time finishing the series he already has going instead of starting another one. It's about the money not the message at this point, in my opinion. IF you've read all the Left Behind books you can skip this trilogy. If you have NOT read the LB books and feel there are too many to even bother, you might like this new series. I enjoyed some of Jenkins' other novels, but this set is just too much like what he's already written.
Rating: Summary: The launch of a great series. Review: If you can disengage yourself from the Left Behind series and allow Jenkins to begin a different storyline, you'll probably like the book. I just finished "Silenced" (second of the series) and I'm hooked. It took me a bit to break my mind away from the LB series, but once I did, Jenkins sucked me into the lives of his characters. Jenkins and LaHaye's ability to introduce so many characters without losing the reader impresses me to no end. I think Jenkins (in this series) does a fantastic job of capturing the world thought that is already beginning to take shape. I would buy this book again without a single regret.
Rating: Summary: Want another like it? Review: If you've read this book, you've got to read the newest "big-deal" fiction called HERO. The first book in the Trilogy, "City of Dreams" is bound to have the same kind of impact as the Left Behind series. Not only that, but it's even better! This was good, but wait until you read City of Dreams by Stephen Lawhead. I recommend it highly.
Rating: Summary: "Chilling look into the future" Review: In the aftermath of World War III, the shattered United States has joined the rest of the war-ravaged nations in submitting to the control of an international government. Religion has been outlawed and blamed for the massive destruction wrought by the global conflict. "Soon" by powerful writer Jerry Jenkins offers the reader a chilling glimpse at what our world might be like before 'The End' draws near. (Highly Recommended Novel!)
Rating: Summary: Boring and Poorly Written; Wooden Characters; No Resolution Review: Is this the first in some sort of series? The ending was terrible; it left all sorts of things hanging. I thought his writing style was just too "pat" -- I couldn't relate to any of these characters; they felt like characters in a soap opera, not real. The conversion experience of the hero was not even moving, at least not to me. I was bored to tears by the time the book ended and then just plain mad that it left you hanging. If it is the first in a series, it should have said that on the cover, and I wouldn't have wasted my time until I had all the books available.
Rating: Summary: A Sobering "What-If" by Jenkins Review: It is nearly 30 years into the future and Jerry Jenkins brings readers into the scary world of Big Brother's crackdown on religion. If you're thinking this is more Left-Behind redux, think again, becasue Jenkins ventures into another realm. What if the government took seriously the vocal outcry against religion? What if "peace" was pursued at all costs, the most significant being the freedom of expression and worship? It isn't a far-fetched theory, because more than one pundit has labeled religion as the enemy, even though it was Muslim extremists who have used terrorism as a political tool. Paul Stepola is a very complicated character, a man that the reader first loathes, then hates. It is not so easy for him to deny everything he has learned to embrace a God who he feels compelled to trust. As the story progresses, you'll begin to understand the creepy character of his father-in-law, whose only goal is power, at the expense of innocent believers and his own family. Jenkins portrays a world in the future, a world without religion, without rights of expression, a world without a concience. Prostitution is legalized, entertainment has all but become pornagraphy. Interactive movies, simulating immoral acts. Every good work of fiction serves not merely as an entertainment vehicle, but should cause the reader to think. Soon accomplishes this, as Jenkins delivers a sober warning about what could happen if the subtle, but steady campaign against Christianity is not met with courageous resistance.
|