The Last Day

Rating:
Summary: Not your garden variety suspense novel.
Review: I was pulled into this story from the very first page. It is truly a different sort of book. A catastrophic event puts the world religions on notice that Judgement Day is imminent, and allhell breaks loose. The research that went into this book is unbelievable. It is filled with subtle symbolism and double meanings that only become clear by the very end. I'm sure I missed many of them and will re-read it to pick up on them. The story is very fast paced and I enjoyed all the twists and turns and the irreverent humor. I was continually surprised and kept guessing all the way through and found myself rushing as fast as I could to find out how this giant puzzle was finally going to come together. Come together it does, in a really wild ending that had me rereading sections several times to digest it. A thrilling story chock full of scares and intelligent, thought provoking points.

Rating:
Summary: Hit and Run...
Review: I think the juxtaposition of creaky, bureaucratic, ecclesiatic politics with the female Messiah Jeza, will philosophically affront many readers. That's fine as far as it goes. People need to be affronted from time to time-sort of clears the air for an overdue examination of Faith, Truth, and the Promise of the Gospel as we are given light to understand.

One thing that continues to puzzle me is the lack of appreciation for the role that humans play in determining destiny. God sees the end from the beginning and called our names in the womb before we were born. Having said that, we are remarkable creatures, in the image of God created just below the Angels. We have extraordinary abilities and potential. We are both desperately wicked and frighteningly destructive. In millennial fiction, each event has been set in motion by either God or Satan actively setting the stage and arranging the characters. I don't buy it.

No more than a reporter is responsible for the Airliner crashing into the side of a mountain, God and Satan, have no need to claim responsibility for what we do in this possible end of the age. We are fulfilling with our own means what God has forseen from the beginning.

No one seems to grasp this better than Jerry Furland, author of "Transfer-the end of the beginning". I found it to be the most credible and exciting portrayal of the near future yet written. It is so deeply disturbing simply because it rings so true. You decide...

Rating:
Summary: A damn good read, isn't that enough?
Review: Why get all hung up on the controversial elements of this novel? It really doesn't matter what your philosophical or theological bent, this story stands alone as a brilliant, complex mystery thriller. Getting upset over the possible hidden messages is like ranting against Mary Shelley for raising the dead in "Frankenstein" (is the monster a symbol of Christ, and therefore, the story a profanity?) That's foolish. "The Last Day" is excellent fiction, the author's theology aside, let's not get hung up on the possible socio-religious implications.

Rating:
Summary: Fair
Review: This is an okay thriller, but it isn't great. The characters are flat and lifeless, the writing pretty mediocre. The plot had some cute twists, but the lecturing was tedious. Jeza, the cloned messiah, was too much to take, as was the Vatican cabal of stereotypical evil cardinals. I guess disliking this novel reveals me as an agent of the religious right, but I actually just enjoy reading.I don't mean to offend fans of the book. I simply thought it was a below average thriller that was tough to get through.

Rating:
Summary: A dose of their own medicine!
Review: At last, the sanctimonious prelates of the world get a taste of what's like to be judged--by a petite, beautiful young FEMALE messiah, no less (how vexing!). Sure, the fundamentalists hate this book. They hate looking into this highly polished mirror to see the ugly, intolerant truth about bigtime religion. This novel does a hell of a job "cleaning out the temple" just like Christ did 2000 years ago. If you can't take the heat, turn your face away from this biting reality and limit yourself to your bible and your fellow, thin-skinned fanatics.

Rating:
Summary: Blasphemy!
Review: If you want some insight into the mentallity of people who don't get this book, read the "review" by the grand inquisitor below who deplores "The Last Day" and refers readers to Robert Stone's "Damascus Gate." "Last Day," as the vast majority of 660 reviewers agree, is an extraordinary thriller. "Gate," on the other hand, is one of the dullest, most pretentious novels I ever attempted to read. But don't take my word for it, go to the Amazon page on "Gate" and see how panned the novel is by the vast majority of readers and critics alike. The religious right and their henchmen target books like "Last Day" to "protect" us readers from seditious influences (read: truth). The same type of censorship is happening with the movies "Dogma," "Stigmata" and "End of Days," to name but a few. The self-appointed religious watchdogs of the world don't want the rest of us exposed to anything but what they hold sacred. The irony is, if the religious right ever does succeed in turning this society into a theocracy, chances are good they themselves will end up the victims of religious persecution. Down with censorship and more power to courageous authors like Glenn Klier and watershed novels like "The Last Day!"

Rating:
Summary: Silly
Review: This is the dumbest book I've read in years. The plot is based on an interesting concept, but the way the book is written makes for an unpleasant reading experience. It's simply crude, long, and boring. I'm no defender of the faith, but the bigotry toward Catholics was crass, ugly, and repulsive. The hamhanded writing, cardboard characters, and silly ideas were hardly worthy of the cheapest thriller. I suppose this was cranked-out for the millennium, but it will be forgotten a minute past midnight. For an intelligent novel on a similar theme, Robert Stone's Damascus Gate is challenging and thoughtful. Unlike Last Day, it will make you think about faith without playing on misinformed prejudice and nonsense.

Rating:
Summary: The most rivetting book I've ever read
Review: As exciting, intelligent, thrilling and supsenseful a novel as I've ever read. Perhaps the best book I've ever read! I'm not exaggerating. The story is terrific, stimulating, thought provoking, absolutely fascinating. I can't say enough about it. I kept thinking to myself all the way through, --there's no way the payoff can live up to the build-up--but this time, it does. I can't get this novel out of my mind. I am buying copies as Christmas gifts for all my friends and family.

Rating:
Summary: Awful
Review: Poor writing, superficial characters, female stereotypes, and dumb dialog highlight this silly, uniformed comic book story. Overblown, uninformed, and basically senseless. Two stars for a wonderful premise, wasted completely in an over-long vanity opus that is pretentious and embarassingly self-important. There's hardly a thing worthy of analysis here, but suffice it to say this illiterate mess is not "the best book I ever read."

Rating:
Summary: Impossible to put down, a little simplistic
Review: I read a lot of mass market thrillers, and this is a very good one. I am a sucker for a good story, and I found myself having to force myself to put it down in order to go to work, or get some sleep. So if you are looking for a good entertaining read, you will not be disappointed.

However, the characters are all a bit one dimensional, and the dialogue isn't exactly Oscar Wilde. That's not really relevant - have you ever tried to write dialogue? It's not easy. The main fault with the book is the baddies, especially the ones from organised religion. I was yearning for Malachi Martin, and his subtle observations of Vatican politics. But this is a fault that only stops the book from being great, and doesn't stop it being very good.