Armageddon

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View books by Tim F. LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins.

The End - Rated
This is the eleventh book in the Left Behind series. Though the story is fast paced in this book. It was not a page-turner as the previous one. I normally read these books in one afternoon. This took me two days to finish. It is just not a page-turner that a couple of the other books in the series are. But even though we still have the two-dimensional characters, the book has an even and steady flow to it.

The Antichrist is rallying his armies for the last battle. He plans to destroy the Remnant in Petra and take over Jerusalem. And he is sure since he read the Bible himself and knows what to expect...that he can win.

Our heroes prepare to defend both places against horrible odds. One of our heroes is martyred in the middle of the book and some die. The novels pace slowly picks up toward the end when Armageddon actually begins. The defenders of Petra and Jerusalem fight valiantly against overwhelming odds. As we all anticipate the Glorious Appearing. Which of course does not happen. Though I find this book to be of lesser quality of most of the other sin the series. It is still worth the read.

The Final Battle - Rated
The eleventh book in the "Left Behind" series finds Rayford, Buck, and Chloe in constant danger as they travel from San Diego to New Babylon and Jerusalem to battle Nicolae Carpathia, who is now executing all those who do not have his loyalty mark on their foreheads. Many new friends join the Tribulation Force in the ancient city of Petra and help them prepare for the second coming of Christ - which takes place at the end of the book.

This is an action-packed thriller that will keep you turning the pages despite the poor writing that plagues all the Left Behind books. On the down side, Jenkins' consistent use of awkward words and phrases makes his dialogue ring false, and the Trib Force members are still to be too good to be true, while Carpathia and his comic sidekick Leon Fortunato are bumbling and helpless villains. Even with these flaws, "Armageddon" is a fun read if you are a fan of the series because it has much more action and suspense than any of the books since the original "Left Behind."

nearing the end of the series - Rated
Book 11 in the Left Behind series.

When I began reading this book, I was a little hazy on what had happened in the previous books. I still remembered the major events, but some minor events of importance I was lost on. I didn't remember a couple of the characters (ones that had been recently introduced). After 50 pages I remembered what I needed to and the context filled me in on the rest and the story started to really get going.

I've noticed complaints about the actions of some characters. The only one who I think acted out of character was Chloe. Her actions at the beginning of the book were both stupid, and I think a little out of character. It served the plot, though, so we can gloss over it. There were some surprises in character action near the end, but these were explained well enough that I don't feel as if they were misplaced.

The usual complaints about the series apply to this book. The quality of writing is not that great, I still have problems with naming one of the primary characters "Buck", and much of the books seem to be heavy handed. However, when I'm reading the book I forget all about that and I can't put it down. There is something incredibly compelling about the Left Behind series. Maybe it is seeing God take such a prominent role in a popular novel. Maybe it is just how quickly and easily the series reads, but there is something about it that makes me want to keep reading and gets me involved in the story. Maybe it is God working through these books, if such a thing is possible.

The story begins late in the Tribulation. A plague of darkness and pain is on the city of New Babylon, the capitol of the Anti-Christ, Nicolae Carpathia. There are questions of whether or not the Safe House is still safe and Chloe Steele-Williams gets captured by the GC (Global Community) troops. Believers must get out of New Babylon as God's further judgment is coming. As the book progresses, the story jumps several months and the final judgments from Revelation are unleashed. More than one major character is killed in this book, so there is some shakeup going on in the cast of characters. Which ones and in what way I will leave for the reader to find out.

I am not blind to the flaws and faults of this series, but as I read the books, the flaws and faults simply do not matter. I won't pretend that these should win awards for the craft of writing, though. I think that one reason why the Left Behind books are so compelling (this one included) is that we get to see one possible interpretation of how the Book of Revelation may play out. I am a Christian, so I do believe that Revelation is true, but I don't claim to have any interpretation of it myself nor do I believe that this is necessarily the correct interpretation. It does help in imagining the End Times, though. The next book is to be the last book, and I am curious as to how Jenkins will write the second coming of Christ (LaHaye is the theologian, Jenkins the author).

-Joe Sherry

A Good Read - Rated
I have enjoyed this book and the others in the series. They keep you entralled and on the edge of your seat. It has helped to have knowledge of the Holy Bible especially the book of Revelations. Unlike some reviews I am not tired of this series and look forward to the next book out in late 2004.

Armageddon tired of this! - Rated
Never can it be said that Jerry B. Jenkins is a good writer. As this series rolls on to its climax - or possibly a whimper; everything just seems to be getting more and more ridiculous.

I'm not saying that the subject matter is. I've read a fair bit about the Apocalypse prophecies from the Old and New Testaments; it's more the writer's total lack of knowledge about how the real world really works that bothers and annoys me. There appears to have been little or no research done during the writing of this series. The political landscape and infrastructures of various countries in the early stages were ignorant to say the least; but with the one world government they could pretty much get rid of the things they didn't know about early on - how convenient. Even so, they seem to make gaffs throughout about various nationalities and customs etc.

Most of the people who've read this book and the previous ten(!) have said they've gotten more and more critical as the books became more and more like comic books.

The Antichrist has gotten less powerful than he was before Satan entered him. The Tribulation Force have 747's and other extremely expensive, high-tech equipment, and fly around the world as they like. Ridiculous!

And the British do NOT wear tweed! What time period was Mr. Jenkins writing about? The 1800's or 1940's? We don't wear bowler hats either - just in case you were thinking... This aint Mary Poppins you know!

Two final things for the authors to note: The end times will not be fought using high-tech equipment and the U.S. will not be a superpower. In fact, many students of the bible think the U.S. will play no part in these events. Unfortunately, Messrs Jenkins and LaHaye seem to think the globe is just an extension of America.

I suggest that Jenkins read a few decent authors like: Clancy, Wilbur Smith, Grisham, rather than trying to pretend they're on the same level.