Average Rating: 
Rating: - A good start, but poor followup
About halfway through this book a preacher tells his flock what they can expect during the "Tribulation" which has just begun, namely, a series of Judgments which only get worse as time goes on. Unfortunately, the same can be said for the writing in this series. Which is a shame, since the first book is actually quite good, if judged on its own terms. First off, it is written from the perspective that, according to Biblical prophesy, we are about to enter the "End Times," a seven year period of time in which the Antichrist comes to power on Earth. If this sort of religious literalism turns you off, you'd best not try reading this book. On the other hand, if you can accept this, and ignore certain episodes of plot silliness (such as a bizarre Russian attack on Israel), this book is a fine read. Certainly there is plenty of drama as the characters have to deal with the reality of a mass vanishing of millions of people, as well as the rise of a Clintonian style politician from Romania who, despite starting as a minor member of his country's parliament, seems destined to become the leader of the entire planet. That, plus the knowledge that, in just a few years, the Earth will suffer a series of disasters that will dwarf anything in human history, and all the makings of a terrific thriller are here in spades. And this book, the first in a series which now numbers eight volumes, delivers the goods. Unfortunately, the rest of the books in this series just fall flat. The characters are never developed beyond what we see in the first book, and worse, the series seems to descend to a level of shallowness that becomes positively insulting to the intelligence of the reader. Despite living in times of great terror and suffering, one never gets the sense that anyone actually experiences this in any meaningful way. People simply bounce from one adventure and location to another like characters in a James Bond movie. Not to mention, the plot is dragged out waaaay too long. There are supposedly going to be 12 books in all when the series is completed, which at about 400 pages a book, works out to almost 5,000 pages, of which perhaps 4,000 could be edited out with no loss at all to the reader. To be perfectly honest, a savvy reader could save himself a lot of times (and money) by simply reading "Left Behind", then getting the non-fiction work "Are we living in the End Times?" by the same authors, which will at least satisfy your curiosity on the final outcome without having to hack your way through eleven more volumes, the last of which won't even be out for at least another year or two.
Rating:  - Exciting subject but simple plot.
The book starts with huge hype and interest. Millions of peoplesuddenly disappear and only handful of individuals understand thisevent means nothing less than the rapture of the church and Jesus promised second coming. A reader is finding some information about the apocalypse time, but if one doesn't have a good knowledge of the "Bible", one will find some difficulty in understanding the dare consequences of being "Left behind". The subject is extremely interesting and important for believers and non-believers but the plot is somehow shallow and second-handed, and the story is for the most part of the book rather slow. Some ideas force you to think about life and morality , but some others are very naïve. Reader will find rather amusing the concept of Romanian Antichrist, who first needs an assistance from international business people and American press to take over United Nations while hypnotizing all advisors and non-believers, and elevating pretty but simple flight attendant to the role of First Lady. I had to admit I was looking forward to read the next sequel but when I had found out that Messrs. Lahaye and Jenkins decided to drag this story in 12 books, I became less excited about this entire story.
Rating:  - A powerful series for some -- not for others
The books are the authors attempt to explain what happens on earth after the Rapture (the taking away from earth of all believers in Jesus) comes to pass. It's a fictionalized account of what many believe will happen. It's told through the eyes of a small group of people who are not Raptured -- they are "Left Behind".I think it's fascinating that someone has chosen to tackle the story and write about it. The whole concept is a dichotomy in our culture. Tens of millions of people believe it in the United States alone, even more study it, and yet it is virtually ignored in all mainstream media. As much as possible the book is still ignored in the media except for the occasional poor review to keep readers away. Interesting considering it has sold as many copies as Harry Potter. I don't think it's difficult to determine which series has received more attention between the two. This series won't be for everyone. The writing lacks the deep intellectual probing that some books thrive upon. In fact it's only slightly more complex than the aforementioned Harry Potter. The authors try not to offend and it does make the story alittle simple. I'd expect much worse horrors to overtake the earth after the calamity of hundreds of millions of people suddenly disappearing -- major looting and anarchy. In the book society pretty much works together and soon everything is running relatively smoothly once again. You also will not find any profanity or sexual description in these books. They are made for the enjoyment of everyone although for some readers this will cut down on the special "flair" that they expect from books. While the later works have more of an ethnic mixing, the first book does not. It's basically four people in white suburbia trying to cope. The authors could have thrown in a person of a different race, but under the circumstances I'm glad they didn't as I feel it would have come across as the token minority so prevalent in TV shows from the 70's. There is such a thing as trying too hard. The authors are obviously fascinated with the Jewish people and their role in the post rapture world. Their positive admiration for this group comes across. For instance the person who discovers the single greatest invention in the history or humanity is Jewish. Based on the percentage of Jews in our world population the probability of this occuring randomly is only about 1 out of 350. But it should also be noted that the very nature of the subject of the book would make Israel and the Jewish people the main focus group above all others. Many of the women in the story show great strength of character, but I have to say that overall the men seem to show just a bit more. Although I also noticed that among the main characters, the men seem to be the ones who make the most mistakes and I've picked up an underlying current that they wouldn't make as many mistakes if they listened more to the women. It is understandable though that some readers will not like that no woman could really be called a leader. Overall the series will be enjoyable to some and not so enjoyable to others, but I found it to be daring to tackle such a taboo subject matter and I feel it is worthy of reading. I hope this review will help others to make the choice for themselves.
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