Left Behind (Left Behind #1)

Rating:
Summary: Left Behind
Review: This book may be the best book on the Rapture ever written. Often the scriptures are difficult for people to understand and apply to present-day situations. I always wondered how an event like this could take place and how people would deal with it. Although I do understand it's fiction and it will not happen exactly this way, the book shows how it COULD happen. It made me question my own life, and gave me a great way to minister to others. While it may be difficult to get those in need to read the Bible, it doesn't take much to get them interested in a Sci-Fi adventure story. After reading Left Behind, I hope non-believers will question the future.

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Summary: A fun read and kind of scary too...
Review: From the viewpoint of a 40-something Jewish male, Left Behind is a fun, interesting, (educational?), and scary story. I've read a lot of Steven King and Left Behind is right up there with his most horrifying stories. As a member of the "Chosen" people, I find the story not only scary but intriguing. What will happen to all the rest of the devout, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc.? Will we ever be "Good" enough (although not Saved in the Christian sense) to be brought back to G-d's heavenly paradise, after this life? It is a troubling question. On the fun side of things, the somewhat futuristic view of the world in the not so distant future, and the book's simplistic story line and dialogue, make it an easy and enjoyable read. Many reviewers/detractors have pointed to the book's simple story and dialogue from a negative standpoint, but I beleive its inherent simplicity makes it "available" to all, no matter what their religious background is. From an educational standpoint, I find Left Behind a window into the Christian world's take on the "Rapture" and the book of Revelations. I look forward to continuing on with the Left Behind saga.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, at most
Review: One sentence echoed in my mind while I read this book; It could be so good. This book has so much potential but fails to ever reach it. The plot is interesting but the writing is far from quality. This book should become the definition of weekend reading. It DOES NOT challenge the mind.

Rating:
Summary: Not nearly scary or realistic enough for me
Review: I was expecting something to raise the hairs on the back of my neck and keep me glued to the pages till the wee hours. This novel didn't deliver near the level of thrills I was hoping to enjoy. For a judgment day novel that does, I gladly recommend that anyone who is interested in a rivetting endtimes experience read Glen Kleier's THE LAST DAY, which has to be the definitive judgment day novel of them all. It will definitely put the fear of God in you, while opening your eyes to some amazing truths.

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Summary: Deceptive religious tract
Review: This review process fores me to provide a rating, the lowest of which is one star. This book deserves a minus rating. Shame on the publishing industry, from author to publisher to bookseller, for not stating outright that this is a Born-again-Christian, Jews-for-Jesus tract, masquerading as science fiction, with a plot line that's obvious very early on, one-dimensional characters, naive writing and so much preaching. I should have informed myself more thoroughly before ordering the book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Plot, Excellent Writing, Excellent Message
Review: I have just finished reading Left Behind, and I am stunned. A fan--and occasional writer--of poetry and prose, I was impressed by the consistent style of the writing. An action, sci-fi fan, I was hooked by the plausible, yet unpredictable plot twists. And a Christian, I was deeply convicted by the words behind the words. Mr. Jenkins did far more than write a good work of fiction. He wrote an inspiring work of fiction. My most sincere urging to anyone who is considering this series -- read it. In a literary life full of gas station hotdogs and fast food, it's nice to be able to feed upon a gourmet course that's healthy.

Rating:
Summary: I READ the book.
Review: As I can see from some of the other reviews is that many of you read this book as you would read any other book. You critiqued only the word usuage and sentence structure. Perhaps this isnt a book that you'd use as the epitome of good writing for your English class, however I would argue that the message is strong enough so that one would be able to look past such trifles. I began reading this book early this morning and I have not been able to put it down. When I picked up this book I wanted to read it not to critique and study grammar and word usage, but to study the book of Revelations. Revelations is a hard book for many to understand including myself. I thought this would give me a little better knowledge of the endtimes. Also another thing I heard someone say was that it was at an 8th grade reading level. Well, that's wonderful! All the more people that that message can reach. The message that says if you go to church and try really hard to be a good boy or girl it doesnt guarentee salvation. Only trust and faith in Jesus Christ will get you to heaven. I wish I knew that when I was younger.

Rating:
Summary: Not sophisticated, but engaging.
Review: I picked this book up based on nothing more than a lack of time to investigate the topic. By the time I realized that it was really a fictionalization of Revelations, it was too late! I wanted to dislike it, but couldn't. It's neither clever nor witty, the characters aren't particularly well-developed. Nonetheless, it seems to grab you and not let you go. It even made this cynical New Yorker open the Bible to cross reference a few citations! I recommend this book to my fellow New York cynics, perhaps there's hope for us too!

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book
Review: I am loving this whole series. The first confused me a little with all the political, Nicolae Carpathia stuff but the next five are awesome! I can't wait till the next one comes out!

Rating:
Summary: I read this book, in general.
Review: After reading the first 50 pages of this book I began to seriously wonder what all the hype was about; I finished it anyway. It is somewhat of a good idea, but this book was not written for an intellegent audience. Someone had to write a new inspirational book for our generation, seeing as how nothing overly relgious had been popular lately, but the fact that this book is religious is possibly the only reason it is so popular. Aside from the simply sentence structure and the vocabulary based at the 8th grade level, this book jumped around far too much to keep a decent plot at all. I certainly hope it's sequel's are better.