The Last Day

Rating:
Summary: Garden-Variety
Review: Fair to middling. Dean Koontz does this kind of thing a lot better. A few too many stereotypical villains and the plot gets outrageous. Awfully long and drags at times. Has an interesting central premise but the writer seems to lose focus. The ending is a bit too zany. OK for a horror/thriller easy read. Definitely not anything special, but then I read a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Simple-minded Spirituality
Review: As a rabbi of thirty years, I have encountered many more seriously misguided books concerning the concept of messianic prophesy. As a minor entertainment, this novel would warrant scant attention. However, the book seems to have been taken seriously by certain gullible and uneducated members of the reading public. I would offer three areas of criticism and concern which are worthy of consideration. First, the messiah as depicted is without foundation biblically. This book abounds in theological errors too numerous to address here. Second, the book is inaccurate as well as vicious in its attacks upon the Catholic Church in particular. The author's hate of this religion is clear and his contempt for people of faith is egregious. Last, the author attempts to portray the Jewish people as particularly gullible and ignorant of their own faith. The way he depicts Jews and the Israeli nation embracing the false messiah and her obviously perverted teachings is simply insulting. If there is an attempt in this novel to present a sober indictment of orthodox faith, it is a uniquely misinformed effort based on some very old bigotry. If there is attempt at satire, it is clumsy and ugly. Too often prejudice and hate raise their ugly faces within popular culture in the guise of sophisticated entertainment. What is most disturbing is that such nonsense should be accepted and viewed as spiritually uplifting or meaningful. Are readers that desperate for hope, their lives so empty of meaning, that a ridiculous and superficial suspense novel might be the source of a simple-minded spirituality? As cults proliferate, the gullible multiply, and those who take advantage of the ignorant (the author) profit by demeaning the faithful.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Take It So Seriously
Review: I would hardly call this a deeply spirtual book, but it's good for a thriller. If one has a sense of humor about things like this, it is as one reviewer wrote, an "apocalyptic comedy". The aspect of the book I enjoyed the most was where the Jeza character made fools of the Cardinals and became a media celebrity. I can't see anyone taking offense at it and I think the author would be surprized at that reaction to this kind of fluff. I mean, this has about as profound a statement to make about the Second Coming as the movie "the Omen" had to make about the anti-Christ. It's just good fun, not Aquinas.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I would have enjoyed it more if the author had created a more plausible messiah character. The whole story hinges on her and the fact she was hatched in a laboratory is a bad start. She is also unlikeable and hateful at times. Her tedious condemnation of world religion would have been better if it had been done with some compassion. Without any emotion and no sign of a caring nature, how could such a cold oddball be accepted as a "savior". The story is most interesting when it depicts the kind of media event the turn of the century may be. But with the centerpiece of the book being so off the wall (and biblically ignorant) it's just impossible to get into the story. A big disappointment to say the least.

Rating:
Summary: What are we afraid of?
Review: I've been a parish priest for 17 years and this book was brought to my attention by a number of my congregation who used it for a discussion group. Some loved it, some detested it. The ones who loved it saw in it an affirmation of deeply held suspicions and concerns. Those who hated it found it undermining of their beliefs. My take on reading it is: this is an important book. As a theological scholar, I found nothing here that I could rule out as a plausible response from God were He to send us another Messiah. This book is a wake up call. We organized religions have our faults, and we mustn't stick our heads in the sand over them. The novel offers some unique and truly thought provoking ideas that could benefit all of us, particularly the clergy, if we'd quit being so defensive and simply open our minds. This is a deeply spiritual story for those willing to look beneath the surface. I think the author has been having some sport with those of us lacking a little sense of humor!

Rating:
Summary: Overwritten and Silly
Review: I guess some fundamentalists find this book hard to take. Well, it' not that easy for some of the rest of us either. Such a good idea wasted! The author forgets to tell a story and becomes preoccupied with his dislike of religion. After 200 pages, his diatribes get old. The story ends up going nowhere and slowly. I kept expecting it to get better but it just got sillier. This is pretty drab stuff. Not a pleasant reading experience at all.

Rating:
Summary: Heavyhanded but Interesting
Review: A great idea (Jesus as female Jeza) is too heavyhanded to be really entertaing but is still interesting. The reaction of the church seems overdone and Jeza isn't what one would hope for (lab created and slightly kooky). Institutional religion takes a beating but comes out more sympathetic than Jeza and her fans. Kleier is a talented writer and shows some real potential. First time out though, maybe he took on too big a topic. Still, not so bad.

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad
Review: Above average suspense novel has some interesting things to say about the media and its view of religion. The atmophere of the last day of the 20th century is well presented. Story gets bogged down when the author got too preachy about his anti-religious bias. Seemed shaky theologically speaking, but you don't expect some kind of spiritual experience from something like this. Could have used a little more action and fewer long speeches. Not bad, but not a book I would recommend spending the hardcover price on.

Rating:
Summary: Am I Missing Something?
Review: Seems that anyone who dislikes this book is accused of fundamentalism. Well, I'm Jewish. The fact that some readers find this book profound and are somehow effected by it says a lot about how spiritually bankrupt society has become. When I read this novel I thought it was ok for a thriller, but I couldn't imagine people following the screwy messiah figure as depicted. Now that I've read some of the more positive remarks here, I think people just might. And that says a lot about the organized faiths' failed mission to those who are so sadly searching for hope. For goodness sake, it is only a thriller, not spiritual reading.

Rating:
Summary: Apocalyptic Apoplexy
Review: This novel was recommended by a Jesuit here at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. I agree with him - this is a an amusing read. The scriptures are turned upside down as a female Christ returns, to the consternation of a bumbling pope and some evil cardinals (aka here as the gang that couldn't shoot straight). Surprisingly, this theologically deprived messiah win over the world despite being as offensive as possible. This shrill feminist's confrontation with the Church is cheered on by a cynical reporter who finds "redemption in Her eyes." Pretty well done when it doesn't take itself too seriously, but not for the easily offended. Successful more as an "apocalyptic comedy" than as thriller and pretty harmless fun. I recommend it to other students of theology as a fairly funny take-off on the Book of Revelations and as evidence of the Vatican's need for a pr man before the year 2000.