Rating: 
Summary: Fun read, too many problems though
Review: I've never read a book like this before, and I'm still trying to figure out what genre to call it. It's not science fiction, because the science is nonsense. It's a thriller, but it's also apocalyptic/End Times foolishness. The author clearly has a beef with organized religion, which makes for a curious mix. The problem is, he didn't do enough of his homework to make the book believable, and I am not referring to the existence of Jeza the Possible Messiah, or even the research project that begat her. When I note that he can't distinguish between an evangelical Christian and a millenarian (not even noting the difference between pre- and post-millenarians), I know somebody didn't do his rewrites.What the book lacks is proper verisimilitude. Almost all of it takes place in Israel and Cairo, but there aren't enough little touches that convince me I'm not in my living room. Kleier wrote the book with dozens of short chapters, using the location as a heading and assuming the reader would take his word for it. I don't have the sense that he ever spent time in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, because he didn't use any local knowledge to take me there. "Show, don't tell" is something covered in beginning writer's workshops, but Kleier must have been out sick that day. The descriptions of Vatican City are slightly more on the mark, but again, could have been lifted from a travel book rather than his viewing a papal procession himself. And the flat, two-dimensional backgrounds aren't the only off-note in this otherwise gripping tale of a modern-day Messiah. Having chosen to write a religious thriller, Kleier then brings in characters from several religions without showing any sense of how their theological underpinnings differ. A Lubavicher rabbi agrees to debate a Catholic cardinal on Messianic Prophesies, and the former comes across more like a Lutheran! Did Kleier also miss the lecture in religion class on how Jews don't consider the New Testament a sacred text, nor do they consider Jesus of Nazareth to have any standing? Does he understand the difference between the different ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups? There's no mention of it here; you could substitute "Conservative" for "Lubavicher" and it wouldn't make a speck of difference in how the book plays out. That whole section rang false as well; it's unlikely any ultra-Orthodox rabbi would accept a female as the Moschiach.. he certainly wouldn't be defending her... Same thing with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; they are cast as opportunists in organizing a religious conference, and not one of them seems troubled that the new redeemer is a woman. If Kleier had done any research into the LDS' teachings, he'd find out how they view the priesthood as completely male-dominated, far more so than the Roman Catholic Church. The latter has nuns; the former expects all adult males to become priests, and women have no standing on religious issues at all. This may show the impetus for Kleier's book in understanding its failings: he, like the viewpoint character Jon Feldman, can't accept the boon of religious salvation, but also can't see living without it. Kleier cannot conceive of a character without a Christian viewpoint, and it so colors this novel that Jews, Moslems, atheists, and other non-Christians demonstrate the same assumptions, beliefs, and expectations as the Christians. But it's nonsense to set a novel in Israel and then expect that everyone knows it's Palm Sunday. More likely, everyone is getting ready for Passover by cleaning their homes, or ignoring it entirely because they're secular Jews or religious Moslems! It's laughable to set a scene in Vatican City and have Italian cardinals explaining how to translate Latin phrases into English; the official language of the Vatican is Latin, and that was how Jeza should have addressed the Pope. I'm still giving this book 4 stars because it was a great read and I had a lot of trouble putting it down... but when I did I wanted to throw it across the room! How could it be plotted so well and executed so poorly? How many obvious errors can I find in 2003 in a book written only five years ago... like the unveiling of horrible Roman Catholic hushed-up scandals that neglected to mention the child molesters! How about the election of 2000, with an incumbent Democrat challenged by a religious conservative Democrat, and no Republican anywhere in the picture! And Pope John Paul II is still alive; if Kleier needed to kill him off to present a new Pope, why didn't he tell us when JPII died? Why do we spend more than half the book in Israel with almost no mention of the intifada, the occupation zones, or any of the terrorist bombings? These had started before 1998 when the book was published. I'd better stop this or I'm going to take away another star.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best!
Review: I was really surprised at the quality of this book. As Endtimes thrillers go, this is one of the very best. The author shows real intelligence in plot and writes some interesting characters. The ending is a little disapointing, but overall, this is a very entertaining book. It is much better than Left Behind and the Christ Clone trilogy and only slightly less gripping than We All Fall Down. Pick it up if you want a fun, exciting, sometimes though provoking read.
Rating:
Summary: Well done.
Review: A creative twist on Revelations and our times. Enjoyable and thought provoking. A new Sermon on the Mount that surpasses the legalism that plagues modern religion.
Rating:
Summary: Surprised me
Review: What a great read! I picked this up at a friend's house just to kill time and got hooked immediately, took it home and read it nonstop, and that's not something I've ever done before. It's fast paced, has a lot of provocative points to make, and will surprise you constantly. A thriller to the final word, and a rewarding read that stays with you. Terrific fun!
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and surprising
Review: VERY different. Wild fascinating plot, lots of action and surprises, but also much to think about. Examines issues that are current and relevant, blends fact and history with frightening extrapolations about how the present state of religious mania could bring about the End of the World. Will keep you on edge of your seat to the last. And excellent, fast reading story that will haunt you.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Slim Stuff
Review: Oddball, overwrtten silliness that shoots for controversy but simply numbs the mind of the reader. Cliche ridden and ignorant, the reader will be overwhelmed by flat characters, ridiculous dialog, and a plot that simply insults the intelligence. I couldn't wait to put this overblown drivel down.
Rating:
Summary: Gutsy, harrowing, thrilling, eye-opening
Review: I don't generally expect to find all these elements in a suspense genre novel, but then, The Last Day is not your garden variety suspense novel. It is in a category all to itself, a Classic in the true sense of the word. How would the world respond to the return of a messiah? Probably a lot like this book envisions -- although I would never have looked at it in this light. The Last Day opens some really intriguing and interesting windows on mankind, and in the most surprising ways. This novel will shock, scare, infuriate, (possibly offend), delight, amuse and outrage just about everyone who reads it. All to a point. As the story ends, it makes one of the more poignant literary statements I've come across in many years. Kudos to Mr. Kleier for a brilliant page-turner that offers some truly valid and important insights into the current, mad religious condition of the world. This novel will likely be as relevant 100 years from now as it is today. Top shelf entertainment. A gem!
Rating:
Summary: Author Makes Messiah in His Own Image
Review: The writing was 5-star! The ideas Kleier deals with are intriguing. The pace and wording of this theological, scientific, romance, thriller are sharp, clear, and yet suspenseful and provacative. As a story--this is over the top. And yet... can I give the top rating to a novel that, in the end, blantantly puts the author's own theological notions into the mouth of a modern-day christ-figure? I could not--though my hat goes off to a writer who clearly had fun denouncing so many sacred cows. The Last Day offered some useful criticism of religious adherents and their sometimes incongruent systems of worship. On the other hand, his proposed solution is far less persuasive than his complaints.
Rating:
Summary: New Age pseudo-religious blathering
Review: I must admit I was captivated by the storyline throughout most of the novel. I cannot say the same for the ideas proposed theirein however. The "messiah" is a thinly disguised postergirl for all of the NewAge-ism that many American sadly mistake for spirituality. The author is against organized religion and flagrantly anti-Catholic, and shows considerable ignorance toward Roman Catholicism, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Chasidic Judaism, and possibly a few other "hypocritical" religions that I might've forgotten to mention. Enjoy this book for the story, but if you want any real religious insight try Henri Nouwen or Thich Nhat Hanh.
Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic and Provocative Thriller!
Review: This was a superb book that was much more than just an exciting, page-turning, thriller. It made you think about both your personal religious beliefs and about organized religion. I highly recommend this book.
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