Good, but not great

This 5th book in the series rates somewhere between Left Behind (the best) and Soul Harvest (the worst). I've read or scanned most of the reviews to date, and I've come to the conclusion that most people give these books bad (or good) reviews based on theology rather than on literature.

The Left Behind series are not great literature, but they are good reads. I find myself caring about the characters and what happens to them. I turn the pages more for that reason than to see what the next judgement is.

There is no deep thinking required when you read these books. They are written as action-adventure novels, not theological treatises. Occasionally, the books do cause me to think about my own faith, but nothing close to far-reaching soul searching. They certainly haven't "changed my life."

Appolyon and the rest of the series are not a waste of time. Read them and enjoy them. Think about your faith. Keep in mind that this is only a part of what Christianity is all about. Then go find out what the rest of Christianity is all about.

Better than people give it credit for

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?

a failure

I am an ardent believer in Christ, but that does not mean that anything written about Christianity should be endorsed and embraced regardless of its quality. I have read all 12 of these novels and they simply aren't very good. The writing is poor, the plot unimaginative, and there certainly isn't anything in these books that will cause a Christian to re-examine and thus more fully embrace our beliefs. Look, I don't doubt that the authors had the best intentions with these books, but quality has to count for something. There are better alternatives out there. Try We All Fall Down by Caldwell. It's well-written and extreimly intelligent. If you're going to read about Christianity, read something that is worth your time.