Babylon Rising

Rating:
Summary: Good book... Good story...
Review: I also cannot understand the negitive reviews that this book is recieving. I agree that this book is not "Left Behind", but I am pretty certain that it was not ment to be. The idea of having an "Indiana Jones" type character whos main passion in life is to seak out real artifacts to suport the writings in the Bible is outstanding. The pace of the story is quite quick and it allowed me to sit for hours reading and not realize time flying by. The book also kept you on the edge of my seat woundering how Murphy is going to handle the next life threating situation, only gaurded by his extream faith in God. It's a great book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series...

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Christian Fiction
Review: This is the first novel of a new series written by the co-author of "Left Behind." The time is the present (before the events of Left Behind) and the characters are different. The main character, Michael Murphy, is a biblical archaeologist whose main goal in life is to find historical evidence supporting the biblical record. His latest goal is to locate the brazen serpent that Moses crafted in the wilderness in order to heal the people from their snake bites. The antagonists want that same serpent for more nefarious purposes. This results in, among other things, the murder of Murphy's wife.

This book needs about another 100 pages to flush it out. The pace of the action is breathtaking but a lot is left behind as a result. My suspension of disbelief meter was off the chart and because of that I would rate the book poorly in accomplishing its goal. Obviously LaHaye believes in the Bible and believes that it recounts true events but in writing such a poorly construed novel he undermines its credibility. Do Christians need to dream up such fanciful events to support their faith? Overall LaHaye fails in his goal which he states in a note to the reader: "fiction is a powerful way for me to share with readers some of what I find so completely fascinating about end times prophecies." He could learn something from Marshal McLuhan who said "the medium is the message."

Rating:
Summary: Didn't hate it, didn't love it.
Review: I can tell you that I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either. I did however learn a few things. I would read something in the book and think "Really?" then verify it or not verify it with outside sources. Made me think. Anyway it wasn't really plausible . . . an archeologist wouldn't do quite so much damage in quite so many irreplaceable dig sites at least I wouldn't and I'm not even an archeologist and you can't grab the barrell of an AK-47 when it's firing without burning yourself, but you can't really flip through the air and kick 4 people standing in a circle and still land on your feet like they do on TV either. It's a great idea. I just wish it had been executed a little better.

Rating:
Summary: Not well written or researched
Review: There are several things about this book which lead me to recommend that you don't waste your time or money. I agree with many of the previous reviewers in that the characters lack any sort of development with the possible exception of Dr. McDonald. The dialog is flat and stilted. The plot is unbelievable in too many places. I counted up at least 10 places where the authors used implausible "cartoon science" more appropriate of Roadrunner cartoons than of the real world (e.g. tumbling irregular object "floating" in a blast of air in an open space requires some rather implausible fluid dynamics beyond the limitations of the passive ventilation systems documented for the pyramids of Egypt; incorrect destruction dynamics and damage from the explosion; the net as described would have collasped when Murphy fell into it from the roof; Laura's physiological survival and decline do not match up with the nature of her injury; the second falcon's dive at PFF takes less time than the 5 seconds it should have taken; bronze is cast and braised, not forged nor welded, and the bronze serpent would not break by merely being struck with a hammer, etc.). Some of the situations described in the book are equally as implausible (e.g., Murphy essentially trashes two archaeological sites with his early 19th century "dig and destroy" archaeological techniques - something no real archaeologist would do; sonar is for use in water, seismic and GPR are for use on land; any archer who has flown with their bow can tell you that no airline permits bow cases as carry-ons - bows must be checked; the serpent's head can't be lost for all time at the bottom of an "abyss" when it's clear that it will land in the bottom of the chamber; etc.). While the Left Behind series certainly suffered from cartoon science and implausible happenings, none of those books are anywhere near as sloppy as Babyon Rising in this regard. If you want a good Christian-oriented read, skip this book and pick up the Christ Clone trilogy.

Rating:
Summary: A cross between Left Behind and Indiana Jones!
Review: I do not understand the negative comments from some of the reviewers. One said it wasn't "Left Behind"...maybe that's because IT"S A DIFFERENT STORY!

This book is about a Biblical archeologist and his quest to prove the Bible is real by finding artifacts mentioned in the Bible. It also shows how some people will do anything to prove the Bible is not real.

Babylon Rising is a cross between Left Behind and Indiana Jones. I enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: Insulting
Review: The idea was interesting. That's the one star of this review. But as far as fiction goes, the rest is lacking in everything. Plot is ridiculous, characters are weak and unrealistic, dialogue is no stronger than a made-for-TV movie, and even more shocking.. there are countless grammatical mistakes littered throughout the novel.

If you are an intellegent person, your reading dollar belongs in better reading. Consider "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, as this series seems to be a retaliatory effort gone horribly bad targeted at that eye-opener. I strongly urge you to pursue a more objective (and less ludicrous!) piece of fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Don't read this book
Review: Okay...I started reading this book, because I'm a fan of the genre. Within the first 5 chapters, this book angered me so completely, I nearly threw it out the window.

Professor Michael Murphy is a wannabe-Indiana Jones, who doesn't quite pull it off.

A prominent archeologist, who obviously knows nothing about archeolgy - during his search for the Brazen Serpent, he completely destroyed the integrity of an archeological site. (The cave where he finds the Tail, for those who've had the misfortune of reading the book, or for those who intend to do so)

During the same scene, he supposedly grabs the barrel of an AK-47, while it's "spitting dozens of rounds per minute".

I'm a private in the U.S. Army. I've never fired an AK-47, but I HAVE fired an M-16. The barrel of both weapons is metal. While firing on automatic, the barrel of the M-16 gets hot enough to burn your hand through a leather glove. (I know that through personal stupidity.) There is NO WAY Micheal Murphy could have grabbed the barrel of a firing AK-47 with his bare hand. Sorry, it's just not plausible.

And, as I said - that's at the very beginning of the book.

I'm tempted to write a letter to Tim Lahaye, and suggest that he research his facts a little more thoroughly before attempting to write another book.

I'm a 22 year old private with a high school diploma, and I saw holes in his story big enough to drive an 18-wheeler through. Imagine the frustration someone with a little more education would feel.

Rating:
Summary: Babylon Rising
Review: Babylon Rising: ...
This book was alright. This wasn't fast paced or thrilling. It is a wannabe copy of the da vinci code, with lame codes. There were some good parts. But the major setback was the preaching of God in every line, which makes me so angry and bored. IF YOU WANNA GOOD BOOK ReAD THE DA VINCI CODE!!! But, if your looking for books like the Da Vinci Code, read it.

Rating:
Summary: Not a bad adventure novel
Review: I've read some of the negative reviews for this book, and I am at a lack for understanding their merit. I read this book much like would watch an Indiana Jones movie. Adventure novels are supposed to stretch credulity a little bit, that's what makes them fun to read. If I wanted reality, I'd read a NON-FICTION book.

I thought the book accomplished its main goals of a page-turning suspense adventure. It was hard for me to put the book down. The characters evoked the proper emotions (i.e., you liked the heros and disliked the villians). From a Biblical standpoint, the book was also to my liking. I subscribe to a pre-trib rapture and a pre-mill return of Christ, so this book's eschatology didn't bother me. I even liked the "flashback" scenes to Daniel and Nebuchadnezer.

The only drawback was that the characters were a little two-dimensional. Not enough character development. I am currently reading the second book in this series, and it seems that they are taking care of the character development issues.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful continuation of Left Behind
Review: Once I reached the conclusion of The Glorious Appearing, I thought that the story was over. I was glad to see that Dr. LaHaye continues to keep our libraries growing. I have had the pleasure of reading both this book and Secret on Ararat, I can't wait for the next volume.

Thanks again Dr. LaHaye!