Customer Reviews
Preaching to Converted Americans? - By: Mr. Richard Clay, 12 Oct 2008 
The cover makes some spectacular claims for the sales of this book. Such claims may be true, but it is not easily foundin mainstream British bookshops and, like a number of 'cultish' American hits, is barely heard of, over here. Some aspects of the book cause me to suspect that this might not be of much concern to its authors. Backin the 80s, when their form of Evangelical Protestantism was widely successful outside America, this book & its numerous sequels would have been all over British schools & universities. - among the students, of course; their lecturers would have been horrified. Twenty years later, what is known as the American 'Religious Right' seems far more insular & 'Left Behind' shows little concern to be credible to anyone outside the US. A minor example: a brief phone-call to any Baptist Chapelin Cardiff or Swansea, who would probably have been delighted to hear from them, would have been enough for Tim & Jerry to discover that the name 'Dirk Burton' doesn't sound authentically Welsh.
So, it's a book that is preaching only to Americans. Were I to be more critical, I would suggest that it is preaching only to the converted.
Whatever its intended audience, the book exists to spread among them a message of 'Revelations'-based prophetic Protestantism. Up to a point, it does an acceptable job at this. It is an almost weirdly easy read, and, unlike some other best-sellers, the lamentable 'Da Vinci Code,' for example, it stops at a little over three hundred pages, before its thin prose style becomes boring or irritating. But, if its purpose is to create a convincing account of what would happen if its authors' particular interpretation of the Bible was true, it fails. The demands of the action thriller do not lend themselves to the thoughtful characterisation necessary. Our hero is labelled as such by his triply-symbolic name, 'Rayford Steele:' he is a creature of light, he will cross from Evil to Good during the story, & he has the mettle to do so. Such allegorical figures work better as charactersin stained-glass windows than novels. As for the Anti-Christ, Nicholae Carpathia? 'Old Nick' was, of course, a familiar name for the Devil and, here, his surname marks him as coming from the same part of the world as Dracula. Effective and, perhaps, witty, but not the stuff of a narrative that is meant to convince us on a literal level.
The book avoids some of the evils that infect much of White American Evangelical Protestantism. There is little evidence of racism (In the movie adaptation, the wisest of those saved at the outset is played by a black actor!) There is no hysterical anti-Catholicism; the Pope, too, is taken up to Heavenin Chapter One. But the old Catholic notion that the unbaptised were doomed to an eternityin Limbo is also healthily dispensed with. Tim & Jerry seem, compared to some preachers, a benevolent enough pair, bless `em. I wish they'd not made Rayford Steele's initial temptation a tediously sexual one, though. The threat that initially-sympathetic air stewardess Hattie will lead our Ray astray is too clunkily derivative of the early chapters of Genesis not to provoke a snigger. And I do not want to snigger at this book: I want to believe that its writers have their heartsin the right places. But there is so little here about the social & economic implications of Christianity that it's sometimes hard to do so. No one here takes what he has & gives to the poor, no one gives up his life for his belief, though I hope that's coming upin later volumes. Accepting all the tenets of Christianity that the authors do, one would have to acknowledge that, without a true preparedness to give up ALL physical & worldly comforts, mere chastity is of no value. Perhaps, then, the shirts & haircutsin the author photograph on the back are not as self-indulgently expensive as they look. That, one must acknowledge, is a matter for Tim & Jerry's own consciences. And I'm not saying I wouldn't be interestedin hearing either or both of them preach, if the opportunity arose. But, if I were seeking a genuine insight into the demands Jesus was making, or is making, either as a moral philosopher or as the embodiment of the Creator, I'd sooner listen to Robert Beckford.
Ayn Rand and Dan Brown do the rapture - By: C. Russell, 06 Jul 2008 
I brought this book for 50p expecting a ridiculous plot, wooden characters, & terrible philosophy.
The book exceeded my expectations. My only complaint concerns the lack of bad sex scenes.
The penultimate scene involves the anti-Christ gratuitously shooting someonein the head, while brainwashing an entire room of highly influential politicians, as our hero prays for his soulin the corner of the room. The anti-Christ concludes this by hitting on an air hostess, but no black mass/satanic orgy results.
While I respect the authors for recognizing that whatever goes on between the beast from the pit & this air hostess is their own business, I do hope this deficit will be correctedin the later books.
I recommend this book to all connoisseurs of the genre.
Trying - By: D. M. Lee, 22 Jun 2008 
Unless your a God botherer don't read this book. It's simply an excuse to bombard you with christian fundamentalist propaganda. The writing style is poor, the characters wooden & the word "scripture is probably mentioned over 150 times"
I persevered & managed to get partway through the second book before I gave upin disgust.
if you are a God botherer on the other hand then you'd probably not enjoy it cos the bible is frankly a better read.
WOW!!!! - By: Lady T, 10 Apr 2008 
If you're into action packed, cant-put-it-down, conspiracy-type stuff, this is definately the book for you!
The story line is brilliant & captivating. I've only finished reading it this morning & i'm gutted i have to wait a whole day till saturday to get the nextin the series. Great for Christians AND non-Christians alike. Not the least bit offensive to those from non Christian backgrounds/views but does allow opportunity (if you're the deep-thinking type) to 'soul-search' & consider your own thoughts & beliefs about God & Jesus as you 'get into' the minds of the main characters.
Leaves you wondering if there's the slightest possibility that these things could really happen & where you'd end up if it did come true..........scary but gripping!
So what should you do next? Pick up a copy............unless ya wanna be Left Behind! :)
Religious propaganda thinly disguised as science fiction - By: S. Bryant, 18 Jan 2008 This book made me feel distinctly queasy -in fact, so much so I wasn't able to get beyond three-quarters of it. However, if you enjoy reading full-on Christian fundamentalist progagandain the shaky guise of a futuristic drama, then this is definitely for you.
The scenario is that millions of people have disappeared - including all of Earth's children - with grief & horror on a colossal scale. You might think that this theme would be developed - or at least mentioned again! - through the book, but no, after three days everything seems to be back to normal & one of the 'heroes' has had a blinding revelation through watching a videotape! This blinkered, one-eyed effort is rounded off by stereotypical descriptions, wooden characters, banal dialogue, poor research (if any) - please note, we haven't drunk 'ales'in pubsin the UK within living memory - so that the end product is truly dire.
Physically, too, the book is a poor effort. My copy was printed on cheap paper, contained spelling inconsistencies, unnecessarily large margins & unjustified text. Visually, it appears to be aimed at gullible twelve year olds with severely challenged attention spans.
To sum up, I found this book disappointing, smug, offensive & insulting to my intelligence.
