Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - Left Behind: Ilumina

Pros: It made me work to find synonyms for bad...
Cons: ... but other than that, had no redeeming value whatsoever.

In analyzing a work of Christian fiction, there exists the great temptation to simultaneously deconstruct both message and prose. Theology being what it is—one of the most prickly and hotly-debated intellectual disciplines around—a novel built ...

Pros: Interesting premise
Cons: Flat characters, unbelievable elements, preachy

*This is a slight update of a review originally published in July 2001*

Curiosity got the better of me. This is a novel concerned with the end of the world as anticipated by many contemporary Protestants. It is the first in a continuing...

Pros: Absolutely captivating novel that I could not put down
Cons: Individuals who are non-believers of Jesus Christ may dismiss this as a "religious" book

In honor of my 900th review here on Epinions, I would like to share with you a book that took me 900 minutes to read this weekend. That's because once I started reading it, I really could not put the book down until I got to the end of it! What's the...

Pros: makes you think
Cons: deeply disturbing

Imagine you're on a routine commercial airline flight when you realize half the passengers have disappeared. Their clothes and personal effects remain in a neat pile where they had been sitting, but they are gone. Sound like a Steven King novel? That...

Pros: It is nice that we are seeing more books from a lot of perspectives.
Cons: This one is as narrow as a hide-away zipper in the back of your dress.

A friend packed this novel up and mailed it to me. She was just sure I would love it. I guess you never know the reading tastes of another person. Since I would feel most ugly in saying anything harsher, I will just say that this one bites. “ ...

Pros: Unintentionally funny writing will please those with a masochistic streak.
Cons: This is Christian propaganda masquerading as a novel.

A few weeks ago, I found myself at a book sale with a friend. It’s put on a few times a year by a non-profit organization that raises funds to buy additional materials for the library, so it’s a good cause. And because the books (many of which...

Pros: Finally, a Protestant realistic about some people's pre-Christ lives
Cons: The theology is offensive to some believers, the writing stinks in spots

Rayford Steele and Hattie Durham, the pilot and lead flight attendant of a flight to Heathrow in London from O'Hare Airport in Chicago, find themselves with a surprising number of missing passengers. Buck Williams, a reporter for a major American tabloid...

Pros: interesting interpretations of Scripture, captivating characters
Cons: unrealistic (in places) dialog

Introduction

For the longest time I have been hearing the buzz about the “Left Behind” series that was so widely popular in the Christian community. Its popularity had even spilled over into non-Christians who chose to view...

Pros: Very interesting, I couldn't put it down
Cons: I have been told it was slow at the beginning.

Imagine being in the middle East during an enemy air attack. While you look up at the planes dropping bombs, most of the bombs never hit the ground and the ones that do are way off target and land in the middle of the desert. Then you see on the news...

Pros: The premise is a good one, but . . .
Cons: the best premise in the world can't do much to save bad writing.

Before you start gathering kindling to burn me at the stake, I hope you'll consider this: Left Behind is a work of fiction, a novel. It does not purport to be, nor is it, the Word of God or a sacred text. It's just a book. And this is just a book...

Pros: really kept me intrested, never boring.
Cons: None

As you read the first few paragraphs try to imagine if what I’m saying was happening to you.

You’re sitting in a seat on an airplane minding your own business. You are relaxing in your chair with a headset on listening to some music....

Pros: Uncommon, to most of us, concept, worth exploring.
Cons: The writing is a little weak.

I wanted to like this book because the theme is of interest. Many people, most of us, I'd say, haven't spent a lot of time poking around in the scarier aspects of the End Times. A close reading of the last book of the New Testament will, if...

Pros: Strong characters, excellent plot, lots of action and intrigue
Cons: Non-religious may be scared away by the hype

I was drawn to Lahaye and Jenkins' "Left Behind" as I am drawn to all sorts of entertainment of an "end of the world" or "disaster" nature. I believe that most people are interested in what could happen in the future,...

Pros: religous or not, you will enjoy this book!
Cons: More details please! More details please! (the writing isn't very descriptive)

Left Behind has to be one of the most thought-provoking pieces of literature I have got my hands on in a long time. Sure, it took me a while to get a hold of…seeing how the copyright date in the book is 1995. (has it really been THAT long ago that the...

Pros: Excellent bindery: withstood several throwings against wall.
Cons: Pathetic dialogue, condescending authors

Some years back, I started seeing a bumper sticker that mysteriously stated that “In case of Rapture, this car will be unmanned.” Since this sticker was often accompanied by one of the Jesus fishes that started appearing in the late seventies, or even...