Rating  - If you enjoyed Left Behind . . .
If you enjoy Left Behind, I would strongly second what so many other reveiwers have already said and suggest The
Christ Clone novels and We All Fall Down by Brian Caldwell. Both are similar to Left Behind but vastly different in aproach. I read them while waiting for the eleventh Left Behind and, while I love that series, found them to be just as good, and possibly better.
Rating  - Not a perfect series but better than some give it credit for
So far, I've read all eleven Left Behind novels, and while they are not perfect, I think that some people don't give it enough credit because of unfair comparisons. People often point to We All Fall Down and The Christ Clone trilogy as better novels, and in a way, they are, but they are also very different. Left Behind seems to be more of an introduction to the subject of the End Times, a series that is reaching out to all people of different ages. It's not particularly well written, but it is clear and straightforward. The characters are not particularly realistic or interesting, but these are not character studies, these are novels that are trying to give people an overview of this concept, and they do that quite well.
To compare these to other novels with similar themes is a little bit unfair. We All Fall Down is much better written and more intelligent, but the focus of that novel is much more intensley spiritual and more of a character study that uses the End Times as a backdrop to explore complex issues of evil and salvation. It is for more mature, serious readers and it's aim is very different from Left Behind. Likewise, The Christ Clone is more of a techno-thriller, interested in exploring how, realistically the End Times could arive. I will admit that I enjoyed these other books more than Left Behind, but that does not take away from the fact that Left Behind still does a decent job with the subject. They are not great novels, but they are nowhere near as bad as some people are saying.
Rating  - THE MARK
Did you think the Left Behind series couldnft get any better? IF youfre one of those people who thought that, than youfll be totally surprised after reading the eighth book, The Mark. After reading the seventh book in the series, The Indwelling, I could not wait for the eighth book to come out. After starting the series over a year ago, I had the feeling that nothing could top the first book, Left Behind. Thought Ifve been proved wrong time and time again. The seventh book had left off with the reincarnation of Nicolae Carpathia, with Satan indwelling the former manfs body.
This book picks up right off with the bat with the action and suspense the left behind series are known for. IN the beginning of the book Annie is still missing while David frantically searches, and eventually finds her. Rayford, Abdullah, and Mac continue on their "flighty" adventures on dangerous missions, one including the rescue of Hattie... You find out that more near and dear friends are added to the list of believers. Chaim continues his studies with Tsion, and is preparing for a huge "responsibility", unsure whether he is ready to accept it or not. The mark of the beast is finally put into affect much to the dismay of the rest of the Trib Force. The resulting consequences for not choosing the mark, is having to go through the "loyalty enforcement facilitators". Find out what David has up his sleeve, with the help of Chang, to help them get out of this mess!
The reading of this novel was great, I never experienced a dull moment; for the most part, I could hardly put the book down. I love the way the book is set up, with getting bits of pieces of different characters situations and missions in the same chapter. It reminds me of a soap opera; it keeps you on the edge of your toes constantly wondering what happened to one character while indulging into the next characters charades. The book plays on your emotions, as the author takes you through the line of brave men and women awaiting their turn to be beheaded for refusing to deny their faith. Each character stands bravely until the end, always continuing to preach the gospel through the beatings, the torture, the rude comments. It takes you back to the book of Acts from the Bible, in the days of the apostles, and how they suffered the same way. You sympathize with the characters and want to cry out, gno, donft do it!h as the prison guards beat them almost to the point of death. And these strong brave souls get back up and glorify the name of Jesus once again.
The book is completely believable, with Lahaye and Jenkins continuing to use scripture from the Bible throughout the story. You can see where they are coming from, that it is not just coming off the top of their heads. The book of Revelation has been thoroughly studied by LaHaye, and is tied in with the fiction plot line.
The book runs about three or four plot lines at a time. It has you flying around with Rayford, Abdullah, and Mac around the world hiding from GC; or you stay back at the gsafe househ in Chicago learning the behind the scenes work of the Trib Force; or you are in the GC palaces with David, Chang, Nicolae, Moon, and other characters seeing eye to eye the battle between good and evil from the front row seat.
My only complaint in this book, is that once again, it is awful to come to the ending of the book, and realize that you must purchase or search for the next book in the series. Or sometimes in my case many times, you have to wait six months or more for the next one to come out! Sometimes it is hard to remember what happened in the previous book with that much time between each one. Another thing I didnft like about the ending of the book, is that it built up to this big traumatizing climax, and then just suddenly dropped up and ended right there. I think the ended could have been held out a bit more, so to me, the ending was really disappointing compared to the rest of the book.
In conclusion, I would highly recommend this book to anyone following the Left Behind series. Its high packed adventure, excitement, and continuing episodes of the tribulation wonft leave you disappointed!
Rating  - This is the last one for me
I really enjoyed the first three Left Behinds. However, the forth one began a slow decent in quality and this one just seems like complete filler material. It seems fairly obvious that these novels could have been finished in a series of six. It's a shame that these books are still just as popular as when the first one came out, especially when there are much better End Times novels that cover the subject more fully and with more intelligence than Left Behind. James Beauseigneur's Christ Clone Trilogy is very good and Brian Caldwell's We All Fall Down is even better, probably the best in the genre. I'd strongly suggest picking up either one of these novels and dropping what has become a very thin attempt at simply making money.
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