Rating: 
Summary: Protesting too much?
Review: It is apt that this book begins on an airliner as this is just the kind of trashy novel you'd take with you on a long flight.The characters are thin and cliched and the plot is a bit predictable. But then again, if I wanted heavy Christian theology, I'd look elsewhere. I'd read one of CS Lewis's essays or something. The scriptural evidence for the rapture (although I believe the word 'rapture' is never actually used in the Bible) is strong. The evidence for Christ's existence and the truth of what is written about him in the New Testament is staggering to the point of undeniability (though billions deny it). In which case, its good that we have this series of books to present a mundane earthly account of what the rapture and the aftermath might look like.
My overwhelming thoughts on reading the book was that those Left Behind are extremely fortunate. Fortunate in that unlike any other generation of sinners, they get a second chance.
Anyhow, its trashy, not all that well written, but extremely well researched Biblically and, like many trashy books, utterly compelling!
Rating:
Summary: Goog Clean Fiction
Review: Some very poor reviews have been written on this book that read more like the reviewer was criticizing a college text than a book of fiction. So, I felt compelled to lend an opinion as well. I have read ten of the books in this series and look forward to reading the last two. "Left Behind" does start out a little slow and there is at times some long dialogues, but I found myself bonding with the character Rayford Steele, his family and their circumstance. The series is well written from a Christian perspective and is very exciting; full intrigue and
mystery. It should be remembered that this is a work of fiction and not a religious treatise. It is how LaHaye and others view the end times might occur. It is also sufficiently based in the truths of Christianity to instill someone to seek out more information.
As a serious reader with broad interest in literature and various subjects of fiction I find these works to rate along side Jack Higgins or Edgar Rice Burroughs, maybe not on Robert Jordan's level but still excellent. Oh and if one is wondering, I don't think Revelation will play out this way, I just liked the story.
Rating: 
Summary: this book is heretical! watch out!
Review: the doctors of the church have generally avoided heavy comment on the apocalypse of john. there is a good reason for this: prophecy is difficult to understand, shrouded in mystery, and may be accessible only to the most wise; all the saints agree in this. we cannot afford the risk of misleading people. novelizations of the possible ways that prophecy may play itself out only serve to distract us from our callings. preparing for the end of the world is much easier than this book makes it seem. we needn't fear for our lives, we needn't form paramilitary cartels; we need only do what Christ commanded. let us love one another, let us do only good and no evil. if we could just do that most difficult thing and be like Christ, all the planning and political theory and governmental knowledge in the would would be unneccessary; indeed, these things are as dust anyhow. the greatest thinker of the twentieth century, c. s. lewis, once observed the frantic discussions which we christians have over the exact time and place of Christ's coming, and noted how odd it is that, having heard Him say that He will "come like a thief in the night," we attempt to prove Him wrong by knowing the exact moment and place! our mission is clear: love one another. why do we allow political intrigue to distract us?
Rating:
Summary: Left Behind: The Vanishings
Review: I read the first book of the series, Left Behind. The full name is Left Behind: The Vanishings. The authors of the book are Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye.
The Vanishings is about four kids who disrespect their parents and all of life. Their names are Judd Thompson Jr., Vicki Byrne, Lionel Washington, and Ryan Daley. They all have done things that are not right, things like running away and lieing.
As a big result in their wrong doings, people around the worldstart vanishing, right out of their clothes. All four kids loose their families.
Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan find themselves alone and left behind to face an uncertain future. Before all of the disappearances started, all four knew eachother, but never really talked. Now they need eachothers help to get through it. When you read what the story's about, many questions come to mind. My biggest question was, "Has the world come to an end?" I would recommend people of all ages to read this book, and I plan to keep reading the whole series.
Rating:
Summary: Glad I waited
Review: Sure am glad I waited this long to read this book. Did Lehaye actually read the New Testament that they early Church fathers were inspired to give us?? These guys seem like the 2000's version of Hubbard...A real shame to see so many Christians fall further away from the Faith.
Rating:
Summary: Pseudo-Christian pornography
Review: This kind of writing suffers from a condition once described as "taking literally what was meant metaphorically, while taking metaphorically what was meant literally". This series is an example of both defects at once. If taken at all seriously, it is an intellectual and spiritual insult to Christians and non-Christians alike, and it reduces religion itself to an idiotic who's in, who's out fraternity initation rite with a pornographic obsession with imagining another's damnation. Read it as you might read Mein Kampf: just to experience how a dangerously wacky mind works. But it is so thoroughly trashy, that even at that level it is hard to stomach.
Rating:
Summary: religious fantasy for the feeble-minded
Review: A light & breezy fantasy of what 1 man thinks will happen. He presumes that mankind will end, end suddenly, & that you agree with that presumption. It is loosely based on the Revelation of John. Sort of in the manner that McDonald's is loosely based on the dining room of the Ritz Hotel in Paris. The author of Left Behind makes his own interpretations, presumably based on some English translation of the original works. His interpretations of John's metaphors will turn one way early in the story. He will change his interpretations later in the book to fit his storyline. This is not a book for a thinking person. It is for those who want others to do their thinking for them. Those others have their own agenda, usually involving vast sums of money. I read this because I promised a friend I would. But I won't read any more of this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Ultimately Disappointing
Review: This book has set the stage for one of the more interesting visions of Christian fiction to come along in a long time. The concept, as laid out by LaHaye and Jenkins, is such that it immediately grabs you and entices you along for the adventurous ride. Along the road to Armageddon, as the characters themselves struggle with their new found faith, the series seems to assert that we, too, should constantly struggle with our beliefs. Unfortunately, what could have been such a powerful and grand literary work falls far, far short of its goals, both spiritually and fictionally. Theirs is a poorly written series that, quite frankly, does incredible damage to the genre of Christian literature. The concepts and images of the fulfillment of the biblical prophecies are fairly accurate, if unimaginative. They are LaHaye's interpretation of future events, and I would be too arrogant to dispute his research. However, Jenkins' narrative shows such obvious lack of any attention to detail that it strains the mind to the point of pain. Any good storyteller can keep the reader fascinated and involved in the story itself - however, this book (and the series overall) is so wrought with poorly researched background that the reader has no choice but to read it from a distance, and never connect with the story itself. There are a number of incongruities here (from a 757 airplane that the writers apparently don't realize has existed for more than two decades to the use of security systems that are "unbreakable" to all but our heroes and their teenage offspring to the lack of basic security precautions around a man - Nicolae - who is considered the ruler of the world) that destroy whatever value was in the concept to begin with. There is a bizarre scene where Chicago is being destroyed around the main characters and Rayford Steele is desperate to get home to his family. In the middle of this nightmarish battle and terror that is occurring all around him he stops to negotiate and purchase an SUV from a local dealership. The mere incomprehensible thought of two men bartering for a vehicle while the world around them disintegrates boggles the mind. The writers must have laid out their scenes in little scraps on paper on a desk and where there were holes between them, or where characters needed to magically appear in one scene or another, they merely stretched the bounds of their fiction to fit their needs. The story would have been so much stronger from better control of the plot lines and tighter boundaries on their vision of reality. I do not recommend this book or series to the serious reader. Yes, I am a man of faith and there are a number of better, more inspirational or though-provoking books in the Christian genre that I would recommend instead (read Peretti, for instance). The christian ideology in these books is fair and passable, but the lack of storybook control reduces any lessons or entertainment here to a mere afterthought on the part of the reader. It is, ultimately, highly disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: A Book Recommendation for "Left Behind" Readers
Review: As a minister, I am always enthusiastic when I recommend (from the pulpit or anywhere else) the wonderful series of "Left Behind" books, which of course focus on the last book of the Bible, Revelation as its text. For all of us who appreciate these books, I recommend an excellent book about the first book of the Old Testament.
Dennis Shulman's "Genius of Genesis" is a reverent and beautifully-written description of the glory of the Book of Genesis; and an excellent text for our church's spring book discussion circle.
If you want to truly understand the Bible, from its last words to its first, read the "Left Behind" books and "The Genius of Genesis."
Rating:
Summary: Lame
Review: Pretty much describes the whole series. Don't waste your money (or make this twosome more rich and powerful . . . sort of like Jim and Tammy Baker). This is a so-called fictional version of Revelation, and though somewhat imaginative, a real stretch to the imagination. Cynical at best.
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