Customer Reviews

Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(35)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

A lot of the reviews I have read of these books tend to put it down by comparing it to other end of the world books. And while I will admit that these are not as smart or engaging as some of the the better books that cover the same topic like Fire of Heaven or We All Fall Down, I still really enjoyed them. A friend introduced me to the first book and I cut through all 12 books over the past two months. In a way, it's not really fair to compare them to some of the other books because they are trying to do different things. Left Behind seems to me to try to simply tell a great story about the end of the world. It's light, but what's wrong with that? I really felt like I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next when I finished a book and the very next day would order the next one. I call that a success. A book like We All Fall Down is obviously much more intense and thoughtful, the characters seem much more like real people, and it gives you more to think about, but why does that make Left Behind bad? Can't The Ten Commandments and The Passion both be good movies?

this book my be boreing at times but it is a sequel of other books and the ending books the ones after this are great. This is a goog one but i sitll love it.

In this book, the gloves come off and the Antichrist goes from mean to really mean, parodying every move made on Jesus's own trip to Jerusalem. To my taste, it's far too relentless. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent was subtle. Here, he's surrounded himself with incompetent minions who he keeps assassinating for their incompetence. This book does itself a disservice by portraying the Enemy as stupid.

I'm also getting tired of the Tribulation Force smart-mouthing everyone they meet. Apparently, a lot of people find that funny, but if you're on a life-or-death undercover mission, why taunt EVERYONE you encounter? And my Bible says something about loving your enemies, not treating them with contempt.

But the main problem with this book is that as the Antichrist turns up the pressure, the Tribulation Force gears up to fight back. Logically, it doesn't all make sense: we have scenes in this book where angels materialize to smite the Force's enemies for them, so why bother with those 50-caliber explosive rifles, especially when the other side has tanks? Instead of shooting, I'd be waiting for the angels.

Worse yet are the book's ethics. To me, putting faith into practice involves prayerfully trying to figure out your basic principles, then doing your best (with God's help) to put them into practice. But this book teaches something quite different. Two issues that keep coming up are whether Tribulation Force members should lie to the enemy's minions, and whether they can shoot them. A case can be made for either answer. But part of any sensible person's preparation for an ordeal such as these people face is figuring out their answers. These people don't, and to the extent they have views, they change with the situation. Consider this exchange from p. 274:

"Arms?" Buck said. "... Count me out."
"You might change your mind if the GC opens fire."
I just might, Buck thought.

That comes prominently at the end of a chapter, so it's not simply an slip on the part of authors trying to write 12 books in a hurry. It's how they think one of their central characters would react in that situation. And it sounds a lot more like the "if it feels right, do it" attitude that characterizes the New Age, rather than Christianity.

If you want a book that better addresses human behavior in the face of apocalyptic events, try Connie Willis's Doomsday Book, a time-travel story centered on the Black Death. The people of that era really did believe the world was coming to an end, and reacted accordingly. It's a secular book (albeit by a Christian author), but I find far more of Christ in it than in this one. And you can get it for well under $10.

Like many others I became totally fascinated and hooked into the series because it simplifies the prophecies of the end times in a storyteller fashion. However, about half way through the series I began to get annoyed with the sloppy writing, but continued on until I started reading Desecration. There is no excuse for educated people to write a book as poorly as this. I could not keep up with the pages and pages of unnecessary dialogue and finally just put it down. Well I know the outcome of the story anyway! The series is a great idea. I just wish the authors could have told the story in fewer books and with some sense of literary merit.

Those who say that this series is starting to drag out are somewhat correct. Even I tend to skim a little bit. But I really liked this book, unlike the others I feel that it had more action to it and was almost like the "climax" book in the series. The anti-Christ really starts to crack down in this one, and I think that is what held my interest. In his desperate attempts to curb criticism and build his following, Nicolae only succeeds in making even his devout followers doubt him. And this only provides the background for multiple suspense and action scenes that involve the Trib Force as they work against him. When I was done I said "Wow. That was a good book." And it's hard to say that with all the trash out there.

I'm a little behind in reading this series so I can't wait to get caught up. Desecration was another great addition to the books and the excitement going on in the lives of the Tribulation members. I personally like this series because Revelations (the book in the Bible that this series is based off of) is too complex for me to understand. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins do a great job at simplifying the story and telling it in modern day form! Recommended to anyone!!!!

'Desecration,' book #9 of the 'Left Behind series' the AntiChrist takes the Throne. Nicolae Carpathia now raised from the dead to be the new AntiChrist. Nicolae commits his most heinous, diabolical act: the desecration of the Holy Temple. He claims the Throne as Lord of the Earth. As predicted in the book of Daniel ch. 9. The Tribulation Force (Rayford, Buck, Bruce and Chloe) and the world face the worse and prepare to do battle against the evil AntiChrist.

After reading "Conquest of Paradise" by Britt Gillette, I was instantly turned on to biblical end times literature, and I quickly began reading the Left Behind series. From book one, I was totally hooked, and I've read up through book ten in less than a couple of weeks.

In "Desecration", LaHaye and Jenkins move the story of the Great Tribulation forward as the resurrected Nicolae Carpathia begins an unhindered campaign of murder in his kingdom of evil. The first two bowls of wrath from the Book of Revelation are poured out upon the earth, water turns into blood, and sores break out on people across the earth. At the height of his godless rebellion, Carpathia desecrates the Temple in Jerusalem by proclaiming himself to be god. As the world fights to overcome his rule, the Tribulation Force must deal with the greater problems of the world as well as their own personal problems. This is a great continuation of the overall series. Fans will not be let down...

I can't wait to find out what happens next. I look forward to reading books ten through twelve, and I encourage other Left Behind fans to pick up "Conquest of Paradise: An End-Times Nano-Thriller" as additional reading. That book got me interested in this series, and what a great book! What "Left Behind" lacks in realism, "Conquest of Paradise" adds in abundance. The prose is much more advanced and the international politics are identical to the current world scene and the war on terror. Peppered with biblical verses, "Conquest of Paradise" will turn even the most hardened skeptics into believers, or at least it will make them think twice. It's one lovers of end-times fiction shouldn't miss.

Book ten, "The Remnant" continues the adventures of the Tribulation Force, and thousands of God's witnesses rise up against Carpathia in the days before Armageddon and the Glorious Appearing. Can't wait to read the rest!

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.

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.