Reviews

Glorious Appearing

By Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Tyndale House
Reviewed by: Rob Holden


Anyone not familiar with Dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins' popular Left Behind Christian fiction series (or anyone familiar with the series only from either of the two appallingly bad films based on the books) should probably not start their Left Behind experience with Glorious Appearing. Although in an interview with ReadersRoom.com Jenkins revealed that there are two more novels coming (including a prequel), Glorious Appearing is, in effect, the end of the 12 book series and if you haven't read at least a few of the novels that came before it, it isn't going to make a great deal of sense to you. (I should note at this point that a trip to the local library to pick up a couple of the previous books could be well worth your time and effort.)

Since it first hit bookstores in 1995, the Left Behind series has become the most popular series in the history of Christian fiction. Based on Dr. Tim LaHaye's interpretation of the biblical book of Revelations and the end times recounted there, the series is the authors' vision of the seven year tribulation starting with the rapture of "saved" souls and culminating in the battle of Armageddon and the glorious appearing of Christ. By using a series of characters that the reader comes to care about throughout the series, the authors vividly create a world ruled by the Antichrist and plagued by judgments from God. While there is a great deal of fundamentalist Christian theology throughout all the novels in the series, one of the reasons I think it has succeeded so well is that -- unlike many faith-based novels -- the story is never subjugated to the preaching. These are action/thriller/suspense novels with a bit of science fiction and romance tossed into the mix. They do have a message, but whether you are interested in that message or not, they are all still compelling, edge of your seat reading. The characters are well drawn, the chain of events moving from one book to the next are meticulously presented, and Jenkins (the writer of the pair and an old hand at writing what people want to read with over 100 books under his belt) throws the reader curve ball after curve ball so that you never know what is going to happen next -- an absolute necessity in suspense fiction.

For those of you who have read previous Left Behind novels, Glorious Appearing is the book you have been waiting for since the beginning. After reading the first eleven books in the series in preparation for the ReadersRoom.com interview with Jenkins I, quite frankly, had no idea how the authors were going to make Glorious Appearing anywhere near as interesting as the first eleven books. I mean, the title tells it all -- Christ is coming back -- and you know it is going to happen because the authors have told you that it is going to happen since the first book, and these guys do not cheat their readers. So, thought I, how much suspense could this installment have, since I already know the pay-off going in?

Answer: As much, if not more, as any of the other books in the series -- and all of the credit goes to the storytelling abilities of Jerry B. Jenkins. This guy can flat out write, and it is obvious that in Glorious Appearing he pulled out all the stops. This is one of those rare novels that survives -- and excels -- based almost totally on its subplots, and on Jenkins' ability to write compelling, vivid action scenes. Covering the shortest "real time" span of any of the Left Behind series, Jenkins virtually flies from scene to scene and presents his readers with a vision of cataclysm such as the world has never known through the eyes of his very human characters. While I had expected this book to be extra heavy on preaching and very light on action, those expectations were proven false starting on about page two. There is a good deal of Dr. LaHaye's theology in the book but -- like almost all of the previous eleven novels -- it is so intricately and seamlessly woven into the narrative that I doubt even the most jaded skeptic would find it overly intrusive. The series -- and this novel in particular -- is written from a singular, unflagging point of view, and that is one of the things you need to accept going in. That point of view, however, does not belay the entertainment value of this novel -- or any of the previous eleven -- any more than the conservative politics of Tom Clancy belays the entertainment value of his novels for died in the wool liberals, such as myself. Whether you buy into the authors' vision of the "end times" or not -- and, quite frankly, this reviewer does not -- if you are a fan of action/suspense fiction, there is something in this novel, and the previous eleven, for you.

Glorious Appearing is a fine culmination of an excellent series, and I recommend it highly.

*Note to audio book fans: If you would like a quick introduction to the Left Behind series, you might consider starting off with a couple of the abridged versions of the earlier novels. While I normally run like the wind from abridged audio recordings, these abridgements are read by the legendary Frank Muller -- and if Muller reads something, I will listen to it. I would, unfortunately, not recommend the unabridged recordings from Recorded Books, Inc. -- most of which are narrated by Richard Ferrone. Though Ferrone is an excellent reader of mystery and mainstream novels, he doesn't bring the excitement to most of the high octane scenes in the Left Behind novels that those scenes need and deserve. If you are thinking about going the unabridged route here, I would advise that you read the books instead.




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