Rating: 
Summary: The Beast takes possession.
Review: The seventh book in the seemingly endless End Times series Left Behind continues the tradition of my liking the odd numbered titles slightly more (or a lot more) than the even numbered ones. This entry in the serial picks up right at the assassination of Nicolae Carpathia, with the Tribulation Force running for cover in the resulting panic. Author Jerry B. Jenkins comes up with a unique timeline to keep the pace tight this time around, having the novel only cover the 72 or so hours between Carpathia's death and when he arises from the dead, fully indwelt with the spirit of Satan itself. The novel works best when we get to spy on the autopsy of the slain Potentate or watch a funny (well I laughed) run in between David Hassid and a self-important artiste named Guy Blod. Where it stumbles badly is when it has characters make great, global leaps in a incredibly short period of time. The earth is not THAT small. Jenkins writing remains strictly on the comic book level with the characters painted only in the broadest and most simplistic of strokes. While Rayford Steele threatened to develop a third dimension (character wise) in the previous novel (Assassins), the chance shrivels up and dies here, which is not surprising. This series remains the narrative equal to those old Irwin Allen disaster flicks of the seventies. Those who enjoy this kind of literary junk food will no doubt eat it up, but those that do not will only shake their head and wonder just what it is that keeps its readers so enthralled.
Rating: 
Summary: Woulda coulda shoulda...
Review: I know about eight hundred other people have said this, but there is no reason whatsoever that this book couldn't have been combined with Assassins. There were no more than four events that absolutely needed to be said---everything else was literally filler. The writing is at its most pedestrian; the beginning has an extremely ham-handed reference to abortion (and I'm as pro-life as they get). Such an interesting part of the Revelation prophecy; the book could've been so much better than it was.
Rating: 
Summary: Revelation
Review: All the "Left Behind" books are clumsy attempts to transpose the Book of Revelation of John into our times. Revelation was ridiculouss at the time it was written, and it is much more so today. The dragon, the first beast and the second beast, the 4 riders of the Apocalypse etc. were creatures invented by the author of Revelation to cow a superstitious and credulous audience into submission. The goal hasn't changed, only the audience. Common people today know much less about religion than they did in the 2nd C AD, and are therefore easier to manipulate.
Rating: 
Summary: End-times books
Review: The comparisons between end-times novels which have been made by other reviewers is probably useful, so here's my take on the matter.Last Day makes no attempt at all to adhere to scriptural prophecy. It is, in fact, less accurate scripturally than The Omen movies or End of Days. If you want a fun read and don't care whether the story has any connection to scripture, it's okay. Left Behind is an action adventure written primarily for Christians with a huge cross-over into the secular market. It sticks very closely to scripture and to prophecy of the time during the Tribulation. There is never any doubt of the authors' position and which characters are good and which are bad. Beyond that, there's been so much said about Left Behind by other readers that probably every possible opinion has been expressed. Some love it. Some hate it. Personally, I like the Left Behind series a lot. The Christ Clone Trilogy, my definite favorite among the list, is written for a secular audience with a big cross-over into the Christian market. Through most of the 3 books you don't know what the author's position is or which (if any) of the characters speak for him. Only in the last book do you find out he is a Christian and that he is using his story telling ability to reach the lost with the Gospel and the danger that faces them if they do not accept it. We All Fall Down is a story of a man forced to make decisions about himself and God when faced by undeniable evidence that the Bible is true. It's an interesting exploration in character but the author's development of the events of the Tribulation is muddled and very thin. The thing most Christians object to about We All Fall Down is the non-stop use of extreme profanity by the main character. It was hard for me to get past all the f-words, and I certainly would not say I enjoyed it, still it made me think.
Rating:
Summary: Okay...definately not their best effort
Review: I have recently picked up reading the Left Behind series and have completed all seven books in about two months. The Indwelling seemed to have more filler than substance. By stretching this "episode" which lasts about 3 days into a book that long is not the best way to approach this story. Also, the culminating story takes place in the end, a theme they continue throughout the series. I was disappointed by this one although I really enjoyed the others in the series. Besides the seeming "indestructible nature" of the main characters and their seemingly endless supply of resources to buy fuel, food and supplies the story is intriguing which continually left me thinking "yeah right" with some of the story lines. After all, how many times can one person survive a plane crash...let alone read about one? Each chase/encounter scene resembled the last and reminds me of the one in book 2...or was it 4...who really knows? Being new to this series, I was also disappointed to find that it will go for 12 books. Twelve books? This dances over the mundane to the ridiculous. I am not quite sure I can stand 5 more books of chases, near misses and quite frankly the "same old same old." I am concerned that this series will run the gauntlet like other series in a different genre. For example, with many TV shows, the writers tend to run out of ideas inevitably provoking the canceling of the show. Lahaye and Jenkins are running out of ideas at worst or stretching what they have for more books at best. I am a devout Christian, a true born again believer. I do enjoy reading fiction that does not offend my beliefs and sensibilities. For this reason, I did not rate The Indwelling lower. The Indwelling left me feeling as if I were in a tunnel searching for the proverbial light at its end. However, I must confess even if just to myself that I am helplessly hooked on the story. I will more than likely pick up the next book and the one after that...and the one after that...and the...well you get the picture.
Rating:
Summary: Revelation
Review: All the "Left Behind" books are clumsy attempts to transpose the Book of Revelation of John into our times. Revelation was ridiculouss at the time it was written, and it is much more so today. The dragon, the first beast and the second beast, the 4 riders of the Apocalypse etc. were creatures invented by the author of Revelation to cow a superstitious and credulous audience into submission. The goal hasn't changed, only the audience. Common people today know much less about religion than they did in the 2nd C AD, and are therefore easier to manipulate.
Rating:
Summary: Series as a whole has too much filler time
Review: I started with the movie and decided to see what all the hype was about. But I'm kind of insulted to see that these books have taken something spiritual and made it commercial. These books have an obvious formula. Keep you waiting for the next big climax by having Tsion predict it through out the book only to have it come at the end and kinda leave you hanging. Then recap during the next book and go through a bunch of stupid stuff till the next climax at the end of that book. The religious moments would be much better if these guys put more effort into character development. But since they don't I'm at the 8th book and I still don't feel connected to the characters or care too much about their salvation. A lot of stuff is implausible and since I don't want to ruin someone else's reading I won't explain. I have given the story 3 stars just because I am at the 8th book and I guess there's something that keeps me reading. Hopefully the ending will be worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Appalling Waste of Trees
Review: This series started strongly enough to get me hooked, but since then it's gotten worse and worse. Or maybe it's just that it keeps doing the same things over and over. This is the second half of what should have been a single volume. (The other half is Assassins). Each book spends hundreds of pages building up to an event that any reader of the series knows will occur-events that the book titles themselves telegraph. In Assassins, it's the assassination of the Antichrist. Here, it's his resurrection and overt possession by Satan. The authors attempt to build suspense by making us wait and wait for the prophesied events to occur. What they actually build is frustration. The Left Behind series is built around the premise that everything John of Patmos saw in the vision recorded in Revelation will come true exactly as he saw it. Therefore, all I have to do is remember a few verses of Revelation to know EXACTLY where these two books are headed. In the hands of a more skillful author, that might not matter. But Assassins and the first 100 pages of this book assume you've never read a mystery novel or watched an episode of, say, Murder She Wrote. A huge chunk of the plot of both books centers around who kills the Antichrist. Assassins gave us two obvious suspects and a face glimpsed in a crowd, who looked like another suspect who is actually miles away. Dorothy Sayers (a fine, Christian mystery writer) would never resort to such an unfair plot trick. Worse, anyone who's ever read a whodunit knows the answer 150 pages before the assassination occurs, and is ready to climb the walls by the time that obvious suspect is confirmed. Somewhere, someone decided that this was to be a 12-volume series. Presumably that was because 12 is a nice, Biblical number. But seven is also a Biblical number, and that would have eliminated the need for massive padding and false suspense. Three is also a Biblical number, and it would have been better yet. If by some miracle you're reading this review and not already hooked on this series, give it a pass. Your pocketbook (and the trees) will thank you. If, like me, you're hooked...well, at least it's good speed-reading practice. Sadly, there's not much to miss if you go too fast.
Rating:
Summary: Only Two Fall Short; And This Is One Of Them
Review: I wanted to love this book as much as the rest of the series. But the truth is, this one and Assassins really let me down. The series had relied on action, suspense, and great dialogue to carry it from its label as a simple-written novel; this book failed on all three. I still had to read this one - to stay updated on the series - but I didn't enjoy it much. I wish the authors could re-do this one, but I know that's not going to happen. All I can say is that with the exception of Assassins and The Indwelling the series is fantastic. As I stated earlier, some have called Jerry B. Jenkins writing style simple. Well sometimes "simple" can be fun. I don't want to have to search for the deeper meaning inside every author's head. If I want to do a crossword puzzle, I'll grab the newspaper. Fiction should be fun, and these books are fun and interesting. Plus they show God's love for us. Peace-out! www.therunninggirl.com
Rating: 
Summary: What a Great Book!
Review: I thought that this book was an excelent example of what is going to happen! It gives such vivid discriptions of everything. It's just incredible! I definitly give it a 5!
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