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Left Behind #3
Nicolae
First they were Left Behind.
Then they formed the Tribulation Force.
Now they must face Nicolae.
In Nicolae, the most explosive of the three books thus far, the seven-year tribulation is nearing the end of its first quarter, when prophecy says that "the wrath of the Lamb" will be poured out upon the earth. Rayford Steele becomes the ears of the tribulation saints at the highest levels of the Carpathia regime. Meanwhile, Buck Williams attempts a dramatic all-night rescue run from Israel through the Sinai that will hold you breathless to the end.
530 pages, Hardcover
First published July 29, 1997
About the author
Tim LaHaye
725 books2,065 followersTimothy "Tim" F. LaHaye was an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker, best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins.
He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.
He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 942 reviews
July 23, 2011
First, I must dispute some of the claims made by other reviewers. They claim that this series is sexist, mainly because of the character of Hattie Durham. That is ridiculous, not only because such women exist in the world, but especially because there are other female characters (Chloe, for example) who do not behave in this manner. Additionally, there are male characters who have impure sexual motives as well. So, calling this book sexist is utterly unfounded. Secondly, they have called this book "racist." Now that I didn't get at all, since race is not even mentioned in this book... so I can't fight fire with fire when there isn't any fuel. And lastly, they claimed that this book is "offensive to anyone who isn't a born-again Christian." Well, I'm not. I'm Catholic, and I'm not offended. But I also have more than half a brain to think with.
The authors' theology does come on a bit strong -- but really, consider the source. Both are established Christian writers. What did you think they would write about? Some sort of philosophy in which God doesn't really care about our ultimate fate? That seems to be the popular idea nowadays, but still not one everyone embraces. These authors are writing from their ideas and their life experiences, which surely are different from mine or yours. Additionally, if you are trying to compare this fictional work with the text of the Bible, this series will come up short every time -- it is FICTION for a reason! It is someone's idea of what COULD happen, not a definite foretelling of what will happen.
I enjoyed this book because it is a fascinating look at what COULD happen at the end of time. How the "Rapture" will effect the global economy, politics, and families. How easily people can be deceived and killed with kindness. It makes the reader reflect on what he or she would do in that situation. It was a very easy read, and very entertaining. I will absolutely be reading the next in the series.
Nicolae is the third book in the Left Behind series, and in my opinion, it is the best one so far. This book gets into some real character development, which seemed to be lacking in the previous two books. The characters are multi-dimensional and face real problems and need to make serious decisions, and seem to have deep emotions. Significant characters do pass on in this book, and as the reader I felt all of the emotions connected with the loss. Additionally, the suspense is definitely more engaging in this book, and I kept the pages turning and am looking forward to reading "Soul Harvest."
The authors' theology does come on a bit strong -- but really, consider the source. Both are established Christian writers. What did you think they would write about? Some sort of philosophy in which God doesn't really care about our ultimate fate? That seems to be the popular idea nowadays, but still not one everyone embraces. These authors are writing from their ideas and their life experiences, which surely are different from mine or yours. Additionally, if you are trying to compare this fictional work with the text of the Bible, this series will come up short every time -- it is FICTION for a reason! It is someone's idea of what COULD happen, not a definite foretelling of what will happen.
I enjoyed this book because it is a fascinating look at what COULD happen at the end of time. How the "Rapture" will effect the global economy, politics, and families. How easily people can be deceived and killed with kindness. It makes the reader reflect on what he or she would do in that situation. It was a very easy read, and very entertaining. I will absolutely be reading the next in the series.
Nicolae is the third book in the Left Behind series, and in my opinion, it is the best one so far. This book gets into some real character development, which seemed to be lacking in the previous two books. The characters are multi-dimensional and face real problems and need to make serious decisions, and seem to have deep emotions. Significant characters do pass on in this book, and as the reader I felt all of the emotions connected with the loss. Additionally, the suspense is definitely more engaging in this book, and I kept the pages turning and am looking forward to reading "Soul Harvest."
June 26, 2023
Nicolae - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - 5 Stars - THIS ENDING! I need to know all the things after that ending! (Book 3 in the Left Behind Series)
I absolutley love every time I dive back into this series. I truly appreciate the recaps in the beginning too. It's wild to think this was written almost 30 years ago and the things going on in this book - some are happening today as biblical prophecy continues to unfold. This series reminds us that NOW is the time to come to the Lord and be ready for the end of times. We are surely living in them today. Trust in Jesus before it's too late.
In this book, we see the rise of the antichrist character and all the judgements as they start to unfold. Rayford and Buck find themselves pressed into service for the antichrist and they are all working as the tribulation force together as Nicolae continues to take over the United Nations, sign a peace treaty with Israel, push for one world religion among the nations, cashless society....again, prophecy unfolding left and right. Global war erupts. We see more of Nicolae's true motives in this book. What a cliff hanger of an ending. I loved book 3 and can't wait to continue into book 4.
I absolutley love every time I dive back into this series. I truly appreciate the recaps in the beginning too. It's wild to think this was written almost 30 years ago and the things going on in this book - some are happening today as biblical prophecy continues to unfold. This series reminds us that NOW is the time to come to the Lord and be ready for the end of times. We are surely living in them today. Trust in Jesus before it's too late.
In this book, we see the rise of the antichrist character and all the judgements as they start to unfold. Rayford and Buck find themselves pressed into service for the antichrist and they are all working as the tribulation force together as Nicolae continues to take over the United Nations, sign a peace treaty with Israel, push for one world religion among the nations, cashless society....again, prophecy unfolding left and right. Global war erupts. We see more of Nicolae's true motives in this book. What a cliff hanger of an ending. I loved book 3 and can't wait to continue into book 4.
August 2, 2018
In an already exciting series, things really begin to get amped up in this installment. Once again LeHaye and Jenkins do a nice job of bringing biblical events into a believable dystopian setting. Even during the action-packed scenes, we are learning more and more about our characters and getting an in-depth description of the prophecies foretold in the bible.
World War III has broken out as prophesied in the book of revelations. There is mass chaos and destruction. The death of a loved member of the Tribulation Force leaves the small group heartbroken and in search of guidance.
Of course, our band of survivors are scattered throughout the world and are on their own. They’re looking for one another not knowing who is alive, who is dead, injured or maybe even captured by the Global Community.
Tsion Ben-Judah, a Jewish rabbi and scholar was commissioned by his home country of Israel to study and analyze these prophecies. His study began three years prior to the Rapture and was meant to help the Jews recognize the promised Messiah. When Ben-Judah concluded that only one person fit the hundreds of prophecies that mention Messiah, and that person was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He makes this bold proclamation on national television and is immediately shunned by most of the Israeli community.
But things get even worse for Ben-Judah. His wife and children are brutally murdered, left beheaded in the streets. Amid his grief, he is forced into hiding as the Global Community, led by the antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia, concocts a much different story. They place blame at the feet of Ben-Judah claiming that it was he that murdered his family after their refusal to convert to Christianity.
Chloe was in downtown Chicago at the time that bombs started dropping which resulted in a terrible car crash. Buck tries to locate her which proves even more difficult due to the wreckage from the bombings. Rayford asks his new girlfriend to go and aid Buck and Chloe and make sure they are safe while he is forced to charter the antichrist all over. Luckily for him, his new plane has a bugging system that allows him to know where the next attacks will be so that he can keep his loved ones safe.
What follows is one of the most intense chain of events. Buck, a fugitive on the run from the GC himself, must use one of his many false identities as a reporter to try to locate Tsion and bring him to safety. After receiving fragmented information from their mutual friend Chaim Rozenweig, Buck flies to Isreal in search of Tsion.
Will Buck and Tsion make it back to the United States under the all-seeing eye of the Global Community? Will Rayford and Amanda be able to get back to Illinois for the funeral service of their beloved leader? How many more will die before the Glorious Appearing?
This was one wild ride of a book. Don’t even think about picking it up unless you have time to devote to it. Every time I had to set it down, my mind was reeling with questions wondering what could possibly happen next, or how they could make it out of the situations they were in alive. As mentioned throughout all these books the trials and tribulations will only get harder and more severe as they near the Glorious Appearing. With main characters dying, you as the reader will be on the edge of your seat in anticipation about who will survive to see it. I know it may seem as if I have spoiled the whole book, but trust me, this is merely the tip of the iceberg.
You can check out my reviews for the first two books here:
Left Behind
Tribulation Force
World War III has broken out as prophesied in the book of revelations. There is mass chaos and destruction. The death of a loved member of the Tribulation Force leaves the small group heartbroken and in search of guidance.
Of course, our band of survivors are scattered throughout the world and are on their own. They’re looking for one another not knowing who is alive, who is dead, injured or maybe even captured by the Global Community.
Tsion Ben-Judah, a Jewish rabbi and scholar was commissioned by his home country of Israel to study and analyze these prophecies. His study began three years prior to the Rapture and was meant to help the Jews recognize the promised Messiah. When Ben-Judah concluded that only one person fit the hundreds of prophecies that mention Messiah, and that person was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He makes this bold proclamation on national television and is immediately shunned by most of the Israeli community.
But things get even worse for Ben-Judah. His wife and children are brutally murdered, left beheaded in the streets. Amid his grief, he is forced into hiding as the Global Community, led by the antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia, concocts a much different story. They place blame at the feet of Ben-Judah claiming that it was he that murdered his family after their refusal to convert to Christianity.
Chloe was in downtown Chicago at the time that bombs started dropping which resulted in a terrible car crash. Buck tries to locate her which proves even more difficult due to the wreckage from the bombings. Rayford asks his new girlfriend to go and aid Buck and Chloe and make sure they are safe while he is forced to charter the antichrist all over. Luckily for him, his new plane has a bugging system that allows him to know where the next attacks will be so that he can keep his loved ones safe.
What follows is one of the most intense chain of events. Buck, a fugitive on the run from the GC himself, must use one of his many false identities as a reporter to try to locate Tsion and bring him to safety. After receiving fragmented information from their mutual friend Chaim Rozenweig, Buck flies to Isreal in search of Tsion.
Will Buck and Tsion make it back to the United States under the all-seeing eye of the Global Community? Will Rayford and Amanda be able to get back to Illinois for the funeral service of their beloved leader? How many more will die before the Glorious Appearing?
This was one wild ride of a book. Don’t even think about picking it up unless you have time to devote to it. Every time I had to set it down, my mind was reeling with questions wondering what could possibly happen next, or how they could make it out of the situations they were in alive. As mentioned throughout all these books the trials and tribulations will only get harder and more severe as they near the Glorious Appearing. With main characters dying, you as the reader will be on the edge of your seat in anticipation about who will survive to see it. I know it may seem as if I have spoiled the whole book, but trust me, this is merely the tip of the iceberg.
You can check out my reviews for the first two books here:
Left Behind
Tribulation Force
February 5, 2023
The ENDING 🤯🤯🤯🔥🔥🔥Must keep reading. 🤣🤣
May 9, 2020
Left Behind: Nicolae is a kaleidoscopic mess. There are so many angles from which to approach the book, but none of them capture the full scope of the text. It is simultaneously the best and worst book in the series thus far. Any unifying theory will miss some mortal wound or decorative flourish in this magnificent corpse. So, I’m stealing a move from Jenkins and LaHaye, breaking down my review into four technically-connected acts, and praying someone is determined enough to reach the end.
###Act One: “Let’s Do This One Last Time”
Left Behind: Nicolae is a soft reboot of Left Behind: Left Behind. After the back-written mess that was Tribulation Force, Jenkins and LaHaye have gotten past the preamble of their apocalyptic drama. The story is finally far enough removed from reality that the authors are free to play with their toys without worrying about the rules. And with that freedom, we essentially get a rehash of the plot from the first book. Here is an outline of the plot for both books:
- Act One deals with the immediate aftermath of an apocalyptic event, and is mostly concerned with the hour-by-hour travel logistics as our protagonists race around the globe.
- Act Two blindsides the reader with an rogue-hero subplot where Buck goes on an adventure that doesn’t have anything to do with the events of Act One.
- Act Three unifies all the heroes in Chicago to rekindle their faith and share their testimonies
- Act Four builds up to a show-stopping cliffhanger in which the apocalypse gets somehow worse for the world and our heroes
As a soft reboot, Nicolae does manage to improve on this formula in some ways. For one thing, our protagonists are finally allowed to make decisions that have consequences. Those choices are few and far between, but this was the first book where there was any sense of agency among our core group of acolytes. The action scenes in this book were likewise an improvement, and were the first times I felt Jenkins enjoying himself without describing horrible suffering and carnage. Most importantly, this was the best-paced of the three books so far. The plot never stalled for chapters on end the way Left Behind and Tribulation Force did. All of these improvements meant I was able to read through the book relatively quickly, and remember almost all of it.
But don’t get comfortable, because this is where the praise ends.
###Act Two: “I Hear You Like Clip Shows”
Left Behind: Nicolae is a book in a series, and the authors must have known this. And just in case you thought they hadn’t read the first two books, they’ve added lengthy recaps anytime a returning character enters. Recaps in books aren’t bad by default. In long-running series, it’s a good idea to refresh those of us who took a break between books what already happened that will be relevant in this book. However, in a bizarre choice, the recaps in Nicolae don’t begin until Act Two, and stretch on for pages at a time. Minute plot points are recounted in rote recitals that consume up to half a chapter at a time. It is mind-boggling that these sections made it into the final draft. They are too detailed, and too far into the book to be useful to any reader.
With that said, let’s move on before any more time is wasted on this dumb topic.
###Act Three: “Left Behind as Performative Conservatism”
Left Behind: Nicolae is a book desperately trying to scare “yer dad.” In their portrayal of the end of the world, the authors reveal their own biases rather than any legitimate commentary on society. What is the worst case-scenario for Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins? When has the world truly gone to hell? Easy: when the Antichrist raises taxes, expands social services and abortion clinics, and manipulates the economy to his own advantage. A conservative’s worst nightmare.
What results is an apocalypse tailor-made to trigger fear and anxiety in the audience not towards the characters in the book, but towards liberals and leftists in real life. The authors are essentially setting up a “slippery-slope” argument, but without any nuance to mask their fear-mongering. At times, they seem to drop buzzwords just because they know it will spike their audience’s blood pressure. The talking points are so pointed, and the straw-men so flimsy that it becomes hard to dismiss the political sections of the book as anything but propaganda.
Regardless of which side of the isle LaHaye and Jenkins fell on, they failed to connect any of their political themes to the story itself, and should have realized that this was not the place to voice them.
And while we’re talking about conservative viewpoints, let’s get an update on this series as it relates to feminism. Or...
###Act Four: “How Many Women Can I Fit in this Fridge?”
Left Behind: Nicolae is a book that stopped pretending it was interested in female characters (with one exception). Amanda, Rayford’s new wife, has no discernible character. She spends most of her time standing next to the men making important decisions, only piping up to tell Rayford how uncomfortable she is sitting next to the Antichrist. Chloe and Amanda both are sent home to Chicago for the entire second act, while Rayford and Buck experience the plot without them. Loretta gets an elevated role as the hostess and southern-mom of the Tribulation Force. Her most important contribution is printing out the notes of a male character who died in the last book. Verna, Buck’s female antagonist, gets a faux redemption, before revealing that she was actually a nasty woman because she is (SPOILER) a lesbian. She also vocalizes being a worthless journalist compared to Buck. On the whole, the female characters have nothing to do in this book, until the fourth act, when they are designated to deal with Hattie. And we need to talk about Hattie.
For about two chapters, I had hope for Hattie. Out of nowhere, she becomes the most self-realized character in the entire story. She sees her faults, acknowledges them, and takes action to rectify a bad situation. That’s more than any of the other characters have managed to do in this series. But it didn’t last long. Hardly had I picked my jaw off the floor, when the assassin of all that is well-written stuck: an abortion conversation. After being reduced to a puddle by Rayfords facts and logic, Hattie becomes a prop in the pro-life argument the book is suddenly very concerned with making. None of the characters seem to care what happens to Hattie, as long as she doesn’t visit a clinic. At one point, Buck shudders at the idea of having to raise the child of the Antichrist — an ironic moment that definitely flew over the authors’ heads. The premise of a character deciding whether or not to abort the child of the Antichrist is full of potential, but you will find none of it expended here. Hattie exists to make one point, and one point only.
All the problems with the female characters culminate in the final chapters of the book (Spoilers from here on out). The book ends with a giant earthquake, during which Loretta is unceremoniously squished, and Amanda, Chloe, and Hattie (i.e., all the female characters minus Verna) are left in unknown jeopardy. The only change their maybe-deaths have prompted by the final page is getting Rayford to turn against Carpathia. So, while it’s still up in the air how many of the women are dead, they will have died as they lived: only servicing the character development of their men.
And I, for one, can’t wait to open Schoedinger’s Fridge and see what’s inside...
TL;DR: Rehash of book 1; too much recap; bad politics; not a fan of women. Bad book is bad.
###Act One: “Let’s Do This One Last Time”
Left Behind: Nicolae is a soft reboot of Left Behind: Left Behind. After the back-written mess that was Tribulation Force, Jenkins and LaHaye have gotten past the preamble of their apocalyptic drama. The story is finally far enough removed from reality that the authors are free to play with their toys without worrying about the rules. And with that freedom, we essentially get a rehash of the plot from the first book. Here is an outline of the plot for both books:
- Act One deals with the immediate aftermath of an apocalyptic event, and is mostly concerned with the hour-by-hour travel logistics as our protagonists race around the globe.
- Act Two blindsides the reader with an rogue-hero subplot where Buck goes on an adventure that doesn’t have anything to do with the events of Act One.
- Act Three unifies all the heroes in Chicago to rekindle their faith and share their testimonies
- Act Four builds up to a show-stopping cliffhanger in which the apocalypse gets somehow worse for the world and our heroes
As a soft reboot, Nicolae does manage to improve on this formula in some ways. For one thing, our protagonists are finally allowed to make decisions that have consequences. Those choices are few and far between, but this was the first book where there was any sense of agency among our core group of acolytes. The action scenes in this book were likewise an improvement, and were the first times I felt Jenkins enjoying himself without describing horrible suffering and carnage. Most importantly, this was the best-paced of the three books so far. The plot never stalled for chapters on end the way Left Behind and Tribulation Force did. All of these improvements meant I was able to read through the book relatively quickly, and remember almost all of it.
But don’t get comfortable, because this is where the praise ends.
###Act Two: “I Hear You Like Clip Shows”
Left Behind: Nicolae is a book in a series, and the authors must have known this. And just in case you thought they hadn’t read the first two books, they’ve added lengthy recaps anytime a returning character enters. Recaps in books aren’t bad by default. In long-running series, it’s a good idea to refresh those of us who took a break between books what already happened that will be relevant in this book. However, in a bizarre choice, the recaps in Nicolae don’t begin until Act Two, and stretch on for pages at a time. Minute plot points are recounted in rote recitals that consume up to half a chapter at a time. It is mind-boggling that these sections made it into the final draft. They are too detailed, and too far into the book to be useful to any reader.
With that said, let’s move on before any more time is wasted on this dumb topic.
###Act Three: “Left Behind as Performative Conservatism”
Left Behind: Nicolae is a book desperately trying to scare “yer dad.” In their portrayal of the end of the world, the authors reveal their own biases rather than any legitimate commentary on society. What is the worst case-scenario for Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins? When has the world truly gone to hell? Easy: when the Antichrist raises taxes, expands social services and abortion clinics, and manipulates the economy to his own advantage. A conservative’s worst nightmare.
What results is an apocalypse tailor-made to trigger fear and anxiety in the audience not towards the characters in the book, but towards liberals and leftists in real life. The authors are essentially setting up a “slippery-slope” argument, but without any nuance to mask their fear-mongering. At times, they seem to drop buzzwords just because they know it will spike their audience’s blood pressure. The talking points are so pointed, and the straw-men so flimsy that it becomes hard to dismiss the political sections of the book as anything but propaganda.
Regardless of which side of the isle LaHaye and Jenkins fell on, they failed to connect any of their political themes to the story itself, and should have realized that this was not the place to voice them.
And while we’re talking about conservative viewpoints, let’s get an update on this series as it relates to feminism. Or...
###Act Four: “How Many Women Can I Fit in this Fridge?”
Left Behind: Nicolae is a book that stopped pretending it was interested in female characters (with one exception). Amanda, Rayford’s new wife, has no discernible character. She spends most of her time standing next to the men making important decisions, only piping up to tell Rayford how uncomfortable she is sitting next to the Antichrist. Chloe and Amanda both are sent home to Chicago for the entire second act, while Rayford and Buck experience the plot without them. Loretta gets an elevated role as the hostess and southern-mom of the Tribulation Force. Her most important contribution is printing out the notes of a male character who died in the last book. Verna, Buck’s female antagonist, gets a faux redemption, before revealing that she was actually a nasty woman because she is (SPOILER) a lesbian. She also vocalizes being a worthless journalist compared to Buck. On the whole, the female characters have nothing to do in this book, until the fourth act, when they are designated to deal with Hattie. And we need to talk about Hattie.
For about two chapters, I had hope for Hattie. Out of nowhere, she becomes the most self-realized character in the entire story. She sees her faults, acknowledges them, and takes action to rectify a bad situation. That’s more than any of the other characters have managed to do in this series. But it didn’t last long. Hardly had I picked my jaw off the floor, when the assassin of all that is well-written stuck: an abortion conversation. After being reduced to a puddle by Rayfords facts and logic, Hattie becomes a prop in the pro-life argument the book is suddenly very concerned with making. None of the characters seem to care what happens to Hattie, as long as she doesn’t visit a clinic. At one point, Buck shudders at the idea of having to raise the child of the Antichrist — an ironic moment that definitely flew over the authors’ heads. The premise of a character deciding whether or not to abort the child of the Antichrist is full of potential, but you will find none of it expended here. Hattie exists to make one point, and one point only.
All the problems with the female characters culminate in the final chapters of the book (Spoilers from here on out). The book ends with a giant earthquake, during which Loretta is unceremoniously squished, and Amanda, Chloe, and Hattie (i.e., all the female characters minus Verna) are left in unknown jeopardy. The only change their maybe-deaths have prompted by the final page is getting Rayford to turn against Carpathia. So, while it’s still up in the air how many of the women are dead, they will have died as they lived: only servicing the character development of their men.
And I, for one, can’t wait to open Schoedinger’s Fridge and see what’s inside...
TL;DR: Rehash of book 1; too much recap; bad politics; not a fan of women. Bad book is bad.
August 15, 2011
Once again, I am enthralled by the subject matter of these books but I am so confused as to why it was not executed better. The writing is so laughably lacking in any sort of creative realm it is almost painful to me. The use of metaphoric language is absolutely nonexistent in these novels. Basically, I read this book in a day. And while I am a fast reader, that is a feat I have rarely achieved. I am convinced I did it because they are so simple to read. Straightforward, no frills, just boom boom boom. But not exactly in a good way. While the pace is sometimes exciting, the author's frivolous use of flipping back and forth between stories is obnoxious at times and very unnecessary. I am not sure why this book was titled, "Nicolae" as very little of the book actually had to do with Carpathia. He was around...but the main story revolved around some sickeningly tidy and sugar sweet dual love stories about Buck/Chloe and Rayford and some obscure woman whom we are supposed to care about OUT OF THE BLUE! I am pretty disappointed in mostly the execution of this novel and not so much in the story. The final straw for me was the extremely obnoxious right wing preaching about abortion smack dab in the middle of the book. Uhm, random? To me it was a desperate attempt to throw down a religious agenda that had, up to this point, been coming along nicely with no "in your face" politics involved. Yuck. I'll keep reading because the story of the Rapture is captivating, I just wish someone else had this idea and did it better, because this series could have been absolutely astounding and breath taking, but it just isn't anything more than a little intriguing.
July 19, 2016
This is the third novel in the Left Behind series. The novel continues to build off of where the last book left off. The book was really intense in some parts, while other parts felt like they were added into the novel to make the book longer. Overall it was a nice installment to the series.
Pros
Intense
Character development
Plot development
Clift hangers
Cons
A few slow parts
October 10, 2014
[audiobook]
At this point I'm only listening to these for laughs and because they don't require much thought to follow. Being the third book in the series, there's a lot of time spent recapping the entire premise of the original story and the previous books, but most of this doesn't show up until the last third of the book.
Again, the author shows that he has very limited knowledge of science despite attempting to throw terms into the book, even allowing for dating technology back about 15 years to publication. Concepts which are included erroneously in this book are centrifugal force, internal bleeding, flight ranges of specific aircraft, satellite dishes, truth serum, earthquakes / plate tectonics, and meteors / meteorites.
Women are less disparaged in this book than in the past two, but only because they are almost completely inconsequential or stereotypical. The only women included are wives of main characters, a bitchy lesbian, a secretary, and a woman included in order to be able to preach the Christian standing on abortion. There are no female doctors, sales people, preachers, ambassadors, pilots, presidents, etc. There is one nurse and one policewoman mentioned in passing, because all nurses are women and the policewoman is incompetent.
At this point I'm only listening to these for laughs and because they don't require much thought to follow. Being the third book in the series, there's a lot of time spent recapping the entire premise of the original story and the previous books, but most of this doesn't show up until the last third of the book.
Again, the author shows that he has very limited knowledge of science despite attempting to throw terms into the book, even allowing for dating technology back about 15 years to publication. Concepts which are included erroneously in this book are centrifugal force, internal bleeding, flight ranges of specific aircraft, satellite dishes, truth serum, earthquakes / plate tectonics, and meteors / meteorites.
Women are less disparaged in this book than in the past two, but only because they are almost completely inconsequential or stereotypical. The only women included are wives of main characters, a bitchy lesbian, a secretary, and a woman included in order to be able to preach the Christian standing on abortion. There are no female doctors, sales people, preachers, ambassadors, pilots, presidents, etc. There is one nurse and one policewoman mentioned in passing, because all nurses are women and the policewoman is incompetent.
November 21, 2019
In which 25 percent of the remaining Non-Raptured Persons (NRPs) is killed by meteors, the Global Community bombs a few cities for peace, and Rayford Steele tries to convince Hattie not to abort the Devil's Spawn. He would not have been a helpful friend to Mia Farrow in ROSEMARY’S BABY.
May 26, 2017
You know for born-again Christians these are some selfish, self-centered, entitled people? Or is that redundant?
Statements one doesn't hear everyday:
"I had to kiss my husband goodbye in front of the Antichrist this morning."
"Cabbie, the wailing wall please."
Statements one doesn't hear everyday:
"I had to kiss my husband goodbye in front of the Antichrist this morning."
"Cabbie, the wailing wall please."
December 9, 2020
Dnf 40% - 2 stars and giving up bc this is a complete recap of everything that happened in books 1 and 2 and I'm bored. I'm sure anything new that happens in the last chapter will be recapped in book 4, so I will press on to the next.
August 5, 2020
One and a half stars, rounded down because the authors just can't get out of their own way.
Let me preface this by reminding everyone I'm not reading the series to trash it. I own the whole set and I have to read books before I get rid of them. I *want* these to be good, honestly. It's a fascinating premise to take Revelation literally. But man, LaHaye just keeps finding new ways to disappoint me and it is sad.
So this is the third book in the series, by which point one would figure that readers are aware of the general outline, right? Wrong. LaHaye continues to treat his readers as though we are fresh out of a memory-erasure chamber and recaps *both books* in great detail. And not even in a "previously on" kind of way at the beginning--no no, LaHaye spends a full five pages treading over old ground literally 142 pages in. It's an entire recap of the previous two books. Yo, I got it. I promise. And if I don't got it by now, I clearly don't need to get it because I'm 142 PAGES IN.
The racism is much more insidious than the sexism, but it's there, not least in the utterly dismissive ways LaHaye talks about the two Jewish characters. Tsion ben-Judah gets a bit more leeway because he converts (although the amount of times someone remarks on his accent makes it clear that HEY THERE'S A FOREIGNER WHO ISN'T WHITE HERE because no European has that many accent-based comments), but Chaim Rosenzweig is just tossed around. Like this lovely patronizing sentence: "Buck bent to hug his tiny friend, and Rosenzweig clasped his hands behind Buck and squeezed tightly as a child." (148) I'm not saying an adult can never act like a child, but I am saying that LaHaye never misses an opportunity to comment on the size or the child-like aspects of Rosenzweig even though he's a Nobel Prize winner and a scientist.
One of the biggest issues I have with the kind of idolatrous Christianity personified by LaHaye's series and now blooming under right-wing extremism in the United States is the absence of morality in the "us vs. them" battle. This whole interpretation of Revelation is about "Christians Good Everyone Else Bad" and "Everyone Else Bad" allows for some pretty awful moves. There's a character that gets introduced who has killed a bunch of people who were looking for Tsion, the convert, and when called on it by Buck Williams he says, "I do not consider it murder. Their bodies will be buoyed up and burned by the salt when they reach the Dead Sea. Better their bodies than his." (194-195) And Buck seems sort of fine with that. BUT "DO NOT MURDER" IS LITERALLY ONE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and part of the complexity of the Hebrew Bible is that caveats get ugly really, really quickly so, just, don't murder people. Their lives are not yours to take. Every death should haunt you because IT IS UNCHRISTIAN. Fight me on this if you want, but that dismissal of someone else's humanity is why we're in the middle of a plague with kids in cages in this country.
The sexism continues apace because really, what are women but helpmeets to the men who actually matter. (Gem in point: "Buck had not seen Hattie Durham in real distress since the night of the Rapture. He, like most other men, usually only saw her as striking." [374] Sing it with me, OBjectiFICAtion!) And, in true fanatic conservatism bingo, there's an extended scene against abortion. I'm not going to bother hiding it under a spoiler tag because this has been in the making since Hattie was announced pregnant and it surprises exactly no one that there are three pages of Rayford mansplaining Hattie's body and duty to her child to her. The fact that it is literally the spawn of the Antichrist, that it was an unplanned pregnancy, that she at the time of the conversation doesn't think she has any support network because Nicolae has tossed her to the side are apparently not good enough reasons to consider perhaps not wanting to keep the baby (296). Also, there are several conversations through the book between Buck and Chloe about how unfair it would be to bring a child into a world that's literally ending, so apparently they get to choose to avoid creating life however they want but once Hattie gets accidentally knocked up that's it? Fuck right off, forced-birthers. (And it devolves in a later conversation between the Head Baddies that all abortions are going to be in the service of eugenics [370], which is an important historical precedent to avoid repeating but has fuck-all to do with actual modern abortion patterns in the overwhelming majority of procedures but hey, I actually own a uterus, what do I know.)
There was a quick swing-and-a-miss of inclusivity with this weird moment of outing Verna, Buck's problematic boss/coworker, as a lesbian. I'm still not quite sure how it happened but I am definitely sure it was botched as hell and totally stole her right to disclose her own personal business. I thought it was going to be okay, accepting even, when Buck has the line, "Verna, your personal life is confidential with me" (348) and doesn't freak out and condemn her on the spot. But nope, then there's this exchange:
"With what your religion says about homosexuals, are you kidding?"
"My Bible doesn't differentiate between homosexuals and heterosexuals," Buck said. "It may call practicing homosexuals sinners, but it also calls heterosexual sex outside of marriage sinful." (365)
THAT'S A DIFFERENCE, LAHAYE. One of these two NEVER HAS THE POSSIBILITY OF NOT BEING DEEMED SINFUL if they engage in intimacy with someone they love, even in marriage, by this standard. So, scratch that tiny bud of hope--that was almost resurrected by a beautiful conversation about God's unconditional love and humans' attempt at it on page 378, but then shot in the face once more by how utterly conditional that love is and how every character is dragged through the mud for their sins over and over and over again in case they ever lose sight of their shame at their pre-conversion self. That's not love. That's abuse.
One thing that I do appreciate is how dated these books are by their technology. It's not their fault, poor dears, but it's hilarious here in 2020 to read about what was state-of-the-art then and consider how boggled they would be by what we have now. For instance, I'm heartily chuckling after my third Zoom meeting of the day on my $400 laptop about this exchange of Buck Williams wanting "a computer with virtually no limitations":
"And I can add another feature for you, too."
"What's that?"
"Video conferencing."
"You mean I can see the person I'm talking to while I'm talking to him?"
"Yes, if he has the same technology on his machine."
"I want all of it, Donny. And I want it fast. And I need you to keep this confidential."
"Mr. Williams, these machines could run you more than twenty thousand dollars apiece." (46)
LOLZ.
Let me preface this by reminding everyone I'm not reading the series to trash it. I own the whole set and I have to read books before I get rid of them. I *want* these to be good, honestly. It's a fascinating premise to take Revelation literally. But man, LaHaye just keeps finding new ways to disappoint me and it is sad.
So this is the third book in the series, by which point one would figure that readers are aware of the general outline, right? Wrong. LaHaye continues to treat his readers as though we are fresh out of a memory-erasure chamber and recaps *both books* in great detail. And not even in a "previously on" kind of way at the beginning--no no, LaHaye spends a full five pages treading over old ground literally 142 pages in. It's an entire recap of the previous two books. Yo, I got it. I promise. And if I don't got it by now, I clearly don't need to get it because I'm 142 PAGES IN.
The racism is much more insidious than the sexism, but it's there, not least in the utterly dismissive ways LaHaye talks about the two Jewish characters. Tsion ben-Judah gets a bit more leeway because he converts (although the amount of times someone remarks on his accent makes it clear that HEY THERE'S A FOREIGNER WHO ISN'T WHITE HERE because no European has that many accent-based comments), but Chaim Rosenzweig is just tossed around. Like this lovely patronizing sentence: "Buck bent to hug his tiny friend, and Rosenzweig clasped his hands behind Buck and squeezed tightly as a child." (148) I'm not saying an adult can never act like a child, but I am saying that LaHaye never misses an opportunity to comment on the size or the child-like aspects of Rosenzweig even though he's a Nobel Prize winner and a scientist.
One of the biggest issues I have with the kind of idolatrous Christianity personified by LaHaye's series and now blooming under right-wing extremism in the United States is the absence of morality in the "us vs. them" battle. This whole interpretation of Revelation is about "Christians Good Everyone Else Bad" and "Everyone Else Bad" allows for some pretty awful moves. There's a character that gets introduced who has killed a bunch of people who were looking for Tsion, the convert, and when called on it by Buck Williams he says, "I do not consider it murder. Their bodies will be buoyed up and burned by the salt when they reach the Dead Sea. Better their bodies than his." (194-195) And Buck seems sort of fine with that. BUT "DO NOT MURDER" IS LITERALLY ONE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS and part of the complexity of the Hebrew Bible is that caveats get ugly really, really quickly so, just, don't murder people. Their lives are not yours to take. Every death should haunt you because IT IS UNCHRISTIAN. Fight me on this if you want, but that dismissal of someone else's humanity is why we're in the middle of a plague with kids in cages in this country.
The sexism continues apace because really, what are women but helpmeets to the men who actually matter. (Gem in point: "Buck had not seen Hattie Durham in real distress since the night of the Rapture. He, like most other men, usually only saw her as striking." [374] Sing it with me, OBjectiFICAtion!) And, in true fanatic conservatism bingo, there's an extended scene against abortion. I'm not going to bother hiding it under a spoiler tag because this has been in the making since Hattie was announced pregnant and it surprises exactly no one that there are three pages of Rayford mansplaining Hattie's body and duty to her child to her. The fact that it is literally the spawn of the Antichrist, that it was an unplanned pregnancy, that she at the time of the conversation doesn't think she has any support network because Nicolae has tossed her to the side are apparently not good enough reasons to consider perhaps not wanting to keep the baby (296). Also, there are several conversations through the book between Buck and Chloe about how unfair it would be to bring a child into a world that's literally ending, so apparently they get to choose to avoid creating life however they want but once Hattie gets accidentally knocked up that's it? Fuck right off, forced-birthers. (And it devolves in a later conversation between the Head Baddies that all abortions are going to be in the service of eugenics [370], which is an important historical precedent to avoid repeating but has fuck-all to do with actual modern abortion patterns in the overwhelming majority of procedures but hey, I actually own a uterus, what do I know.)
There was a quick swing-and-a-miss of inclusivity with this weird moment of outing Verna, Buck's problematic boss/coworker, as a lesbian. I'm still not quite sure how it happened but I am definitely sure it was botched as hell and totally stole her right to disclose her own personal business. I thought it was going to be okay, accepting even, when Buck has the line, "Verna, your personal life is confidential with me" (348) and doesn't freak out and condemn her on the spot. But nope, then there's this exchange:
"With what your religion says about homosexuals, are you kidding?"
"My Bible doesn't differentiate between homosexuals and heterosexuals," Buck said. "It may call practicing homosexuals sinners, but it also calls heterosexual sex outside of marriage sinful." (365)
THAT'S A DIFFERENCE, LAHAYE. One of these two NEVER HAS THE POSSIBILITY OF NOT BEING DEEMED SINFUL if they engage in intimacy with someone they love, even in marriage, by this standard. So, scratch that tiny bud of hope--that was almost resurrected by a beautiful conversation about God's unconditional love and humans' attempt at it on page 378, but then shot in the face once more by how utterly conditional that love is and how every character is dragged through the mud for their sins over and over and over again in case they ever lose sight of their shame at their pre-conversion self. That's not love. That's abuse.
One thing that I do appreciate is how dated these books are by their technology. It's not their fault, poor dears, but it's hilarious here in 2020 to read about what was state-of-the-art then and consider how boggled they would be by what we have now. For instance, I'm heartily chuckling after my third Zoom meeting of the day on my $400 laptop about this exchange of Buck Williams wanting "a computer with virtually no limitations":
"And I can add another feature for you, too."
"What's that?"
"Video conferencing."
"You mean I can see the person I'm talking to while I'm talking to him?"
"Yes, if he has the same technology on his machine."
"I want all of it, Donny. And I want it fast. And I need you to keep this confidential."
"Mr. Williams, these machines could run you more than twenty thousand dollars apiece." (46)
LOLZ.
February 7, 2018
Good follow up! The craziness that the characters went through in this one were fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat. And I loved the way it ended.
January 24, 2023
Mostly good. I thought the conversation between Nicolae and the False Prophet was a bit campy and forced.
The scene where Buck discovers the underground bunker is cool.
The scene where Buck discovers the underground bunker is cool.
February 15, 2023
3.5 stars
My rating doesn't reflect my theological beliefs nor my view of eschatology, my rating is solely based on the entertainment value of the book.
My rating doesn't reflect my theological beliefs nor my view of eschatology, my rating is solely based on the entertainment value of the book.
August 2, 2023
Jedan od najboljih krajeva ikada. 🫡
Volim ovo jako.
Volim ovo jako.
July 21, 2024
2.4/5 Stars 🌟
Definitely below average, for my expectations and just in general.
This is the 3rd book in the Left Behind series.
After the devastating events of the last book, our hopes and faith is tested as our characters continue on more boldly than ever as the world around them is crumbling and the space for Christianity shrinks while the agenda of Nicolae Carpathia is becoming more and more evident.
The writing falls flat early in the book. The main characters have it so easy considering the circumstances, the authors kept using witty one liners to end each POV, and the only reason that I'm even continuing on is because I'm being baited with big unpredictable moments in between! I feel kind of slighted every time we go back to boring filler. Because when we're low, we're really low, and when we're high, we're soaring. But the up and down is not the best pace for the book. It's exhausting.
There are plenty of moments where scenes are described way too technically for me, even when the situation demands a faster pace. It was hard to stay oriented between step by step descriptions of directions, instructions, and movements. These descriptions ruined many moments that could've been described with stronger and visual language.
The dialogue was very speech like at times. Especially that of the character Tsion Ben-Judah. Many times, it felt like he had a whole speech prepared to answer a simple question like, "How are you doing?"
I felt like many characters lacked strength in both character and voice. They all have similar speech patterns and responses. As for the women... I almost feel like they are here to be convenient 😅
There are moments where he uses the characters to show us what happened in previous books, and those moments irritated me. I know that they could be useful for readers who didn't read the previous books, but that's also why they summarised it at the beginning before getting into the story. It felt redundant in that regard. And I've seen reminiscing do amazing justice to a story by adding value with the past as a type of "look how far we've come" feeling. In Nicolae, this felt lifeless. It was not easy to bear.
Chloe made a lot of appearances this time when she was necessary for some mundane tasks like arranging papers, saving Buck in arguments... I just feel like she's kind of all over the place as a character. That's my point, though. I feel like I should've formed a more solid idea of who some of these characters are by now, and I should at least have a bond with them. While I feel like Buck is mean and rude at times, and it seems to be painted positively. Especially how he treats Verna.
I like Rayford, I guess. I just wish there were more people to like.
I didn't dislike all of Nicolae(the book, not the antichrist 😅).
There is still so much about this series that keeps me coming back. Especially the themes of biblical end times prophecy. The imagery is strong enough. These things could happen this way. I kept reading on and thinking about that. There's so much devastating loss before the characters, and witnessing all those parts makes it inescapable to how heavy the world will be hit. It's done well enough that I imagine the carnage. It is scary, but the contrast of the great hope is also represented in the book.
There are scenes where the aspects of faith were enough to bring me to tears.
Although all this can not carry the quality of Nicolae. There are so many missed opportunities and weaknesses. I'm only in this for the hope of an improvement, to supplement my understanding of the book of Revelations, and to see how it ends. I wish I could've liked this more.
I will continue with the series, especially because the ending is finally putting more pressure and hardship on our characters. I'm curious just how things will go once they can no longer rely on all their advantages. I hope that can bring out more of the things I'd like to see.
Definitely below average, for my expectations and just in general.
This is the 3rd book in the Left Behind series.
After the devastating events of the last book, our hopes and faith is tested as our characters continue on more boldly than ever as the world around them is crumbling and the space for Christianity shrinks while the agenda of Nicolae Carpathia is becoming more and more evident.
The writing falls flat early in the book. The main characters have it so easy considering the circumstances, the authors kept using witty one liners to end each POV, and the only reason that I'm even continuing on is because I'm being baited with big unpredictable moments in between! I feel kind of slighted every time we go back to boring filler. Because when we're low, we're really low, and when we're high, we're soaring. But the up and down is not the best pace for the book. It's exhausting.
There are plenty of moments where scenes are described way too technically for me, even when the situation demands a faster pace. It was hard to stay oriented between step by step descriptions of directions, instructions, and movements. These descriptions ruined many moments that could've been described with stronger and visual language.
The dialogue was very speech like at times. Especially that of the character Tsion Ben-Judah. Many times, it felt like he had a whole speech prepared to answer a simple question like, "How are you doing?"
I felt like many characters lacked strength in both character and voice. They all have similar speech patterns and responses. As for the women... I almost feel like they are here to be convenient 😅
There are moments where he uses the characters to show us what happened in previous books, and those moments irritated me. I know that they could be useful for readers who didn't read the previous books, but that's also why they summarised it at the beginning before getting into the story. It felt redundant in that regard. And I've seen reminiscing do amazing justice to a story by adding value with the past as a type of "look how far we've come" feeling. In Nicolae, this felt lifeless. It was not easy to bear.
Chloe made a lot of appearances this time when she was necessary for some mundane tasks like arranging papers, saving Buck in arguments... I just feel like she's kind of all over the place as a character. That's my point, though. I feel like I should've formed a more solid idea of who some of these characters are by now, and I should at least have a bond with them. While I feel like Buck is mean and rude at times, and it seems to be painted positively. Especially how he treats Verna.
I like Rayford, I guess. I just wish there were more people to like.
I didn't dislike all of Nicolae(the book, not the antichrist 😅).
There is still so much about this series that keeps me coming back. Especially the themes of biblical end times prophecy. The imagery is strong enough. These things could happen this way. I kept reading on and thinking about that. There's so much devastating loss before the characters, and witnessing all those parts makes it inescapable to how heavy the world will be hit. It's done well enough that I imagine the carnage. It is scary, but the contrast of the great hope is also represented in the book.
There are scenes where the aspects of faith were enough to bring me to tears.
Although all this can not carry the quality of Nicolae. There are so many missed opportunities and weaknesses. I'm only in this for the hope of an improvement, to supplement my understanding of the book of Revelations, and to see how it ends. I wish I could've liked this more.
I will continue with the series, especially because the ending is finally putting more pressure and hardship on our characters. I'm curious just how things will go once they can no longer rely on all their advantages. I hope that can bring out more of the things I'd like to see.
December 15, 2016
This is the last book I read in this series a year or so ago.
It was ok, I guess
3.0 stars
P.S that was a terrible review right there. Smh. This is why I don't wait for so long to write reviews haha
It was ok, I guess
3.0 stars
P.S that was a terrible review right there. Smh. This is why I don't wait for so long to write reviews haha
January 14, 2019
Book #3 of the Left Behind series was better than the first 2, in my opinion. I've become strangely (and long past publication date) addicted to this series.
After the mass disappearance of many of the world's people, there is a growing belief among "rebel factions" that it could only have been the work of God. A new charismatic world leader has moved into office. Things have been fairly calm since the date of the disappearance, but that all changes when bombs are dropped on many cities to quell the "rebel factions". One of the main characters risks his life to rescue a prominent Rabbi who has gone into hiding, and you will enjoy the action and adventure of this long scene in the book. As the book closes, massive earthquakes and meteor showers hit the earth, just as the rebel factions have warned would happen next.
If you are a Christian, or are interested in "the end times" as depicted in the book of Revelations, you will enjoy this series.
After the mass disappearance of many of the world's people, there is a growing belief among "rebel factions" that it could only have been the work of God. A new charismatic world leader has moved into office. Things have been fairly calm since the date of the disappearance, but that all changes when bombs are dropped on many cities to quell the "rebel factions". One of the main characters risks his life to rescue a prominent Rabbi who has gone into hiding, and you will enjoy the action and adventure of this long scene in the book. As the book closes, massive earthquakes and meteor showers hit the earth, just as the rebel factions have warned would happen next.
If you are a Christian, or are interested in "the end times" as depicted in the book of Revelations, you will enjoy this series.
February 25, 2013
Meh. Meh. Meh. Lots of condescension and anti-intellectualism in this book as well, though I guess that's to be expected. Nothing of serious interest goes on, and Nicolae continues to be the most uninspiring and boring anti-Christ ever presented in book form. The Omen series was a good, somewhat schlocky set of movies dealing with the birth and rise of the anti-Christ. Sam Neill was an AWESOME son of the devil; charismatic, attractive, actually well spoken and wonderfully subtly evil. You could see him rising to power easily; could imagine people being captivated by him. Nicolae is nice looking and that's about it.
Buck and Rayford continue to be generally self-involved jerks, though Buck sometimes deigns to lend a hand to someone outside of the elite "Tribulation Force" inner circle. Buck drives like an absolute asshole all over Chicago looking for Chloe, then seems to worry more about the state of their newly purchased car than his wife when finding her knocked over near some kind of embankment. Later on in the book, both he and Rayford try to talk Hattie into keeping her child, which happens to be the spawn of our charming anti-Chris Nicolae. They badger her relentlessly about doing the right thing, which equals not an abortion (and heavily leans toward keeping the baby), but Buck flat out thinks to himself that he wouldn't be up to raising the child of the anti-Chris. Nice, Buck. It's cool for you to think it's icky, but Hattie should just handle that shit like it's no big thing, right? I could go on, but it would just belabour the point.
The authors of this book seem to misunderstand nuclear arms/bombs quite a bit. In the beginning of the book, World War 3 apparently breaks out and some militia's around the world coordinate attacks on major cities. The Global Community forces then retaliate with their own bombs. Despite using nukes, in many cases it's mentioned that they are several megatons, there is little to no fallout in the areas where the authors would like their kickin rad Tribulation saints to reside (namely Chicago, but pretty much a ton of other areas around the world that they want to scoot through). It's mentioned that Heathrow and the surrounding areas will have fallout for months or something ridiculous after being hit by a many megaton nuke. Seriously guys, do a little freaking research. With a 20 megaton nuke you have first degree burns as far out as 53km, so halve that for a 10 megaton nuke. That is some serious initial damage, and very serious long term effects. But Heathrow is up and running again about a year later (in future books) and no one seems to be suffering from those effects.
Back to the Hattie abortion thing again. At one point, as Rayford is pretty much trying to guilt Hattie into keeping the child, he thinks to himself "He had to remind himself that she was not a believer. She would not be thinking about the good of anyone but herself. Why should she?" Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Because apparently only born again Christians can possibly think about doing anything at all ever for the good of others. Thus far in the book series, Rayford has helped to convert exactly one person, his daughter Chloe. He sometimes witnesses to co-pilots and the like, but he has very honestly never done any thing particularly nice and or charitable for anyone outside of his little core group of elitists. He knew about planned attacks on the bay area in California ahead of time yet warned exactly NO ONE about it, including the co-pilot who had just flown into the airport with him. He delayed the flight until his new wife got on board a connecting flight, making sure that she and only she was okay, then fucked off and left the lives of millions of innocents in God's hands. Awesome job, Rayford. You sure do exemplify caring about others to an inordinate degree there champ.
This is par for the course in these books though, as unbelievers are always prideful or stupid or illogical or selfish or childish or any number of other things. I knew going in that things would be this way, but I can't help but get pissed off every time it happens.
On another note, Ken Ritz is probably my favorite character so far. He has this folksy, down-to-earth quality that I really like, and he takes part in all of the actiony type sequences, which are frankly the best parts of any particular book in this series. I hope that he is still my favorite after he converts, which I'm sure is coming fairly soon.
Oh, one other thing. No one in these books can cuss, obviously, because the books are written by two believers and I guess it's a thing with them. I'm aware of the not taking God's name in vain stuff, but I had no idea that there was anything else relating to cussing in the Bible. However, I digress. Because of this prohibition, everyone, even the blatantly EVIL characters in the book have to speak a certain way. When someone pisses them off, they can't just fly off the handle and call them assholes. Instead of this, they use the word "rascal". Repeatedly. Every character. I would think that words like "jerk" and/or "punk" and/or any number of other non-cusswords would work, but everyone and their brother uses "rascal". I feel like I'm stuck back in 1930's America reading this. I wish that they would use something even more blatant and flowery like "rapscallion", but no dice so far.
Buck and Rayford continue to be generally self-involved jerks, though Buck sometimes deigns to lend a hand to someone outside of the elite "Tribulation Force" inner circle. Buck drives like an absolute asshole all over Chicago looking for Chloe, then seems to worry more about the state of their newly purchased car than his wife when finding her knocked over near some kind of embankment. Later on in the book, both he and Rayford try to talk Hattie into keeping her child, which happens to be the spawn of our charming anti-Chris Nicolae. They badger her relentlessly about doing the right thing, which equals not an abortion (and heavily leans toward keeping the baby), but Buck flat out thinks to himself that he wouldn't be up to raising the child of the anti-Chris. Nice, Buck. It's cool for you to think it's icky, but Hattie should just handle that shit like it's no big thing, right? I could go on, but it would just belabour the point.
The authors of this book seem to misunderstand nuclear arms/bombs quite a bit. In the beginning of the book, World War 3 apparently breaks out and some militia's around the world coordinate attacks on major cities. The Global Community forces then retaliate with their own bombs. Despite using nukes, in many cases it's mentioned that they are several megatons, there is little to no fallout in the areas where the authors would like their kickin rad Tribulation saints to reside (namely Chicago, but pretty much a ton of other areas around the world that they want to scoot through). It's mentioned that Heathrow and the surrounding areas will have fallout for months or something ridiculous after being hit by a many megaton nuke. Seriously guys, do a little freaking research. With a 20 megaton nuke you have first degree burns as far out as 53km, so halve that for a 10 megaton nuke. That is some serious initial damage, and very serious long term effects. But Heathrow is up and running again about a year later (in future books) and no one seems to be suffering from those effects.
Back to the Hattie abortion thing again. At one point, as Rayford is pretty much trying to guilt Hattie into keeping the child, he thinks to himself "He had to remind himself that she was not a believer. She would not be thinking about the good of anyone but herself. Why should she?" Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Because apparently only born again Christians can possibly think about doing anything at all ever for the good of others. Thus far in the book series, Rayford has helped to convert exactly one person, his daughter Chloe. He sometimes witnesses to co-pilots and the like, but he has very honestly never done any thing particularly nice and or charitable for anyone outside of his little core group of elitists. He knew about planned attacks on the bay area in California ahead of time yet warned exactly NO ONE about it, including the co-pilot who had just flown into the airport with him. He delayed the flight until his new wife got on board a connecting flight, making sure that she and only she was okay, then fucked off and left the lives of millions of innocents in God's hands. Awesome job, Rayford. You sure do exemplify caring about others to an inordinate degree there champ.
This is par for the course in these books though, as unbelievers are always prideful or stupid or illogical or selfish or childish or any number of other things. I knew going in that things would be this way, but I can't help but get pissed off every time it happens.
On another note, Ken Ritz is probably my favorite character so far. He has this folksy, down-to-earth quality that I really like, and he takes part in all of the actiony type sequences, which are frankly the best parts of any particular book in this series. I hope that he is still my favorite after he converts, which I'm sure is coming fairly soon.
Oh, one other thing. No one in these books can cuss, obviously, because the books are written by two believers and I guess it's a thing with them. I'm aware of the not taking God's name in vain stuff, but I had no idea that there was anything else relating to cussing in the Bible. However, I digress. Because of this prohibition, everyone, even the blatantly EVIL characters in the book have to speak a certain way. When someone pisses them off, they can't just fly off the handle and call them assholes. Instead of this, they use the word "rascal". Repeatedly. Every character. I would think that words like "jerk" and/or "punk" and/or any number of other non-cusswords would work, but everyone and their brother uses "rascal". I feel like I'm stuck back in 1930's America reading this. I wish that they would use something even more blatant and flowery like "rapscallion", but no dice so far.
November 24, 2021
Very good. Thank goodness I have the next one already, as that cliffhanger man...
July 12, 2024
Reading for the second time after 20+ years. I can’t wait for the next one in the series. Nicolae the character is so easy to hate. Love Chloe, Buck & Rayford characters.
March 6, 2019
By this point, I was finished with the series. I never picked up the 4th book.
July 7, 2011
Nicolae
, book three in the Left Behind Series, was especially exciting to re-read. Bombs are dropping where Chloe and Buck live in Chicago. Rayford is flying Nicolae Carpathia around to New Babylon, Iraq, and other exotic places, while spying on the man he’s convinced will soon be revealed as the Antichrist. The story expands to include Ken Ritz, Mac McCullum, and Amanda White, and returns to a familiar character, Hattie Durham, to give her another shot at redemption.
In Israel, biblical scholar Tsion Ben-Judah is hiding out from the men who murdered his family and wish to silence him. Buck attempts a daring rescue of Tsion, and they both become wanted men. Even natural disasters come into play. It’s non-stop action from start to cliff-hanger finish.
This episode of the series illustrated something that amazes me about Bible prophecy. The story shows how so many will experience cataclysmic events, see all the norms of life change before their eyes, understand that in their humanness they can do nothing to help themselves, and yet turn to a human man to save them. While all the time God will continue to reach out to them through supernatural means and through the lives of Tribulation saints.
I believe that whatever the Bible says will happen in the future is just as settled as what has already happened in the past. So the first time I read this series, I remember being so thankful that two authors, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, had taken literally the Scripture I’ve built my life upon and crafted a story from it. I felt that same thanks as I re-read each book. While other speculative fiction is fantasy, I know that the concept behind these books is based on truth. This gives each exciting installment eternal consequence.
This is one of my summer reading reviews. If you haven't yet tried the Tyndale Summer Reading Program, you should. You don't need a blog. And for every 5 books you review, you receive a book for free!
In Israel, biblical scholar Tsion Ben-Judah is hiding out from the men who murdered his family and wish to silence him. Buck attempts a daring rescue of Tsion, and they both become wanted men. Even natural disasters come into play. It’s non-stop action from start to cliff-hanger finish.
This episode of the series illustrated something that amazes me about Bible prophecy. The story shows how so many will experience cataclysmic events, see all the norms of life change before their eyes, understand that in their humanness they can do nothing to help themselves, and yet turn to a human man to save them. While all the time God will continue to reach out to them through supernatural means and through the lives of Tribulation saints.
I believe that whatever the Bible says will happen in the future is just as settled as what has already happened in the past. So the first time I read this series, I remember being so thankful that two authors, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, had taken literally the Scripture I’ve built my life upon and crafted a story from it. I felt that same thanks as I re-read each book. While other speculative fiction is fantasy, I know that the concept behind these books is based on truth. This gives each exciting installment eternal consequence.
This is one of my summer reading reviews. If you haven't yet tried the Tyndale Summer Reading Program, you should. You don't need a blog. And for every 5 books you review, you receive a book for free!
September 8, 2017
Loved this book. The Left Behind series so far has been riveting to me and this book has been the best yet. The writing was not fantastic, at times, but the characters are relatable and easy to attach your heart to. Some parts in this action-packed book had me on the edge of my car seat as I listened, especially the end and also the part in the middle with the escape from Israel!! You watch certain characters wrestle with making the choice to turn to Christ and your heart wrenches as you hope they make that choice on time!! The story is great and is incredibly inspiring.
Many people are overly critical of this series due to the fact that it is a fictional rendition of what is yet to come in the End Times, but I certainly am not one of those people. I love the opportunity it offers me to think about what that time may actually look like and to soften my heart to be ready to share my faith so that those I love can have an opportunity to avoid a time where an anti-christ who maybe will be like Nicolae Carpathia is in charge. This book is worth everyone's time and is the best yet in the series!
Many people are overly critical of this series due to the fact that it is a fictional rendition of what is yet to come in the End Times, but I certainly am not one of those people. I love the opportunity it offers me to think about what that time may actually look like and to soften my heart to be ready to share my faith so that those I love can have an opportunity to avoid a time where an anti-christ who maybe will be like Nicolae Carpathia is in charge. This book is worth everyone's time and is the best yet in the series!
September 24, 2007
This book picks up where the last one left off, with Steele going to fly the new Global Community plane for Carpathia and Buck finding out about the slaughter of his friend Tsion's family.
As the bombing of major cities by the Global Community starts WWIII, Steele is equipped to listen to everything said beyond his cockpit by a secret intercom system installed for him by the maker of the plane and his good friend Earl.
Buck makes a trip overseas to save Tsion and brings him back to the church to hide in the shelter made by the late pastor.
Though not as intense as "Tribulation Force," there are still many moments in this book that are powerful and disturbing. As the book ends, the great earthquake happens, leaving Buck and Steele angry and unsure of where their loved ones are. The political stuff seems to make a comeback but it moves the story along. No longer are people viewing Nicolae as the new Messiah...his true nature is finally being seen by even those who haven't been saved.
Good book...on to the next one...
As the bombing of major cities by the Global Community starts WWIII, Steele is equipped to listen to everything said beyond his cockpit by a secret intercom system installed for him by the maker of the plane and his good friend Earl.
Buck makes a trip overseas to save Tsion and brings him back to the church to hide in the shelter made by the late pastor.
Though not as intense as "Tribulation Force," there are still many moments in this book that are powerful and disturbing. As the book ends, the great earthquake happens, leaving Buck and Steele angry and unsure of where their loved ones are. The political stuff seems to make a comeback but it moves the story along. No longer are people viewing Nicolae as the new Messiah...his true nature is finally being seen by even those who haven't been saved.
Good book...on to the next one...
July 2, 2008
Blogger and journalist Fred Clark has repeatedly attacked the book as being "Bad Writing and Bad Theology"[1] in a long running series of weekly posts[2]. He feels that after the Rapture the people of the world, including the heroes of the story, assimilate the disappearance of all the world's children with a monstrous rapidity that displays the ways that the authors have allowed their checklist of prophecies to be fulfilled to outweigh the consequences these events would have on the psyches of real people[3]. He also criticized the book for being written in "slapdash" manner in just 28 days, which in Clark's opinion betrays the Christian (Protestant) notion of the importance of treating one's craft being a vocation for God. I enjoyed reading this series; soley based upon the premise I am an "historical fiction" lover. Take what you need leave the rest behind.
November 28, 2018
It's hard to rate this book -- it's so horrible it's fantastic. A view of Evangelical history before it becomes history (or at least that's how Evangelicals view it) -- "prophecy" written in fictional form (as if there's any other form). What's not to love about it? It's both amusing and tragic that people actually think this is a realistic portrayal of the future. There are so many holes in it at every turn that one can't help but question the logic of this Evangelical vision.
Worse yet, the writing is simply awful. The dialogue is to die. Not to die for. It should just die.
Worse yet, the writing is simply awful. The dialogue is to die. Not to die for. It should just die.
March 29, 2020
Whattttttt?!?!?!?!
Oh me, oh my! This was fast paced, action every turn of the page. I'm excited to read book four!! After what Carpathia said about Hattie I am DONE with him. He needs to suffer painfully. So much death and lose in this book. I can't deal with how excellent this series is going.
Loving everything about this!! I am a fan of Tsion!!!!
Oh me, oh my! This was fast paced, action every turn of the page. I'm excited to read book four!! After what Carpathia said about Hattie I am DONE with him. He needs to suffer painfully. So much death and lose in this book. I can't deal with how excellent this series is going.
Loving everything about this!! I am a fan of Tsion!!!!
February 6, 2009
I'm really enjoying these books for some reason. They're like a fluffy VC Andrews book without the incest. Granted, I find them a bit heavy-handed on the morals and 'thou shalt nots,' but what else would you expect from a novel about the rapture?
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