Book Review - Rapture by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
Category Book Reviews
While I was a fan of many of the Left Behind series, I've not been as thrilled with the prequels. They almost seemed like an after-thought, a way to grab a few more dollars off the concept. The Rapture: In The Twinkling Of An Eye, Countdown To The Earth's Last Days by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins is the last one before the real start of the series, and it's the first of the prequels. that seemed to actually contribute (in my opinion).
The story tracks the deteriorating marriage of Rayford Steele, and his likely-to-happen affair with Hattie Durham, a flight attendant who works the trips that Steele flies. We also have Buck Williams, who was in Israel when the all-out war started, and witnessed the miraculous destruction of the attacking force by supernatural means. And finally, there's Nicolae Carpathia... He's taking the steps and scheming to make his move from Romanian government official to worldwide leader. The actual Rapture occurs about halfway through the book, and then the remainder is split between action on earth and events in Heaven.
This book could have easily been cut in half and been the real start of the Left Behind series. The characters undergo significant development which explains much of what was going on in the first installment. From a pure story perspective, the last half was a bit fluffy. The scenes in Heaven spend quite a bit of time reviewing the stories of Christians throughout the ages. While interesting (and inspirational for Christians), it didn't do anything for the storyline. That's not necessarily bad, depending on the reason you're reading the book. It's just not essential to the plot.
Of any of the prequels. this was the best. I'm glad that we're finally to the point where the series can be put to bed. It's been a great run, but trying to go anywhere else from this point on would be difficult to imagine...
While I was a fan of many of the Left Behind series, I've not been as thrilled with the prequels. They almost seemed like an after-thought, a way to grab a few more dollars off the concept. The Rapture: In The Twinkling Of An Eye, Countdown To The Earth's Last Days by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins is the last one before the real start of the series, and it's the first of the prequels. that seemed to actually contribute (in my opinion).
The story tracks the deteriorating marriage of Rayford Steele, and his likely-to-happen affair with Hattie Durham, a flight attendant who works the trips that Steele flies. We also have Buck Williams, who was in Israel when the all-out war started, and witnessed the miraculous destruction of the attacking force by supernatural means. And finally, there's Nicolae Carpathia... He's taking the steps and scheming to make his move from Romanian government official to worldwide leader. The actual Rapture occurs about halfway through the book, and then the remainder is split between action on earth and events in Heaven.
This book could have easily been cut in half and been the real start of the Left Behind series. The characters undergo significant development which explains much of what was going on in the first installment. From a pure story perspective, the last half was a bit fluffy. The scenes in Heaven spend quite a bit of time reviewing the stories of Christians throughout the ages. While interesting (and inspirational for Christians), it didn't do anything for the storyline. That's not necessarily bad, depending on the reason you're reading the book. It's just not essential to the plot.
Of any of the prequels. this was the best. I'm glad that we're finally to the point where the series can be put to bed. It's been a great run, but trying to go anywhere else from this point on would be difficult to imagine...
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