Book Review: Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins

Jerry B. Jenkins calls Riven the book he has always wanted to write, unlike anything he has ever written before. In Riven, we follow two main characters down two entirely different paths.

Brady Wayne Darby, a high school student with a bad-boy image, can't seem to find his place. After failing with the high school football team, he tries out for the school's performance of Bye, Bye, Birdie. An outcast from a broken home living in a trailer with an alcoholic mother who doesn't care what happens to him from one day to the next, Brady is the last person anyone would expect to picked for the school play -- especially for the high profile role of Conrad Birdie.

Reverend Thomas Carey, a small church pastor who can't seem to land a supportive flock, finds himself suddenly assigned to a group of several small churches, all of which he is expected to lead as spiritual guide. When he finds himself losing a power struggle with an elder at one of the small churches, Reverend Carey once again finds himself out in the cold, without a church home or even a place to live.

The author takes us on a journey through the lives of these two men: one who can't seem to stay out of trouble and away from the courts, and another who refuses to give up on God and pursue a secular career. We witness as Brady moves through the criminal justice system, from Juvie to the county jail and beyond. We see the Reverend Carey accept a highly unlikely assignment as the Chaplain of a Supermax Prison with the State Department of Corrections -- an assignment that allows him little to no contact with the very flock he is supposed to lead.

When an unfortunate turn of events throws Brady and Reverend Carey together, they become the most unlikely pair you could imagine, and highly unlikely things begin to happen. As Reverend Carey finally finds the hope he has longed for his entire career, and Brady Darby finds the hope he has rejected all of his life, the two become fast friends on a course that will shock the reader.

Of the many books I have read by Jerry B. Jenkins -- including the Left Behind series and The Underground Zealot trilogy, Riven is by far the most thought-provoking and most inspiring. The character development is some of the best I have seen from Jenkins, and the shocker ending will leave you wanting for more. A highly recommended read!

Your comments?

Joe

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Book Review: Left Behind - The Rapture

How many sequels can the authors get from the second-coming of Christ? One more, it seems. That's what Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins have planned for the hugely successful Left Behind series. After twelve books in the series, three prequels, and numerous spin-offs, Left Behind: The Sequel is the next promised installment.

I just finished reading the third -- and apparently final -- prequel: The Rapture. If you read the original Left Behind book, much of The Rapture will seem familiar to you.

The authors revisit much of the accounting of the Rapture from The Bible's book of Revelation. You'll witness again as billions of people the world over disappear without explanation. You'll see Nicolae Carpathia, the Antichrist, begin his rise to power as he ascends to the presidency of Romania and puts in motion his plans to take over the United Nations. All familiar territory to the millions of Left Behind fans who have made the books so popular.

What you won't find familiar is the accounting of the first Judgement of those who have been raptured. Lahaye and Jenkins share their version of what those of us who will be raptured can expect in the presence of God. Judgements to determine what reward each raptured saint will receive for his or her works on Earth.

The book is an easy read, though the reaccounting of the original Left Behind is a bit unnecessary. It serves only to set the timeline for activities that occur to those who aren't left behind after the rapture.

If you've invested the hours required to read the rest of the Left Behind series, you'll certainly want to read The Rapture, as well. If for no reason other than to be prepared for the next installment, Left Behind: The Sequel, which promises to show us how the authors vision the time that Satan is to be let loose after being cast into the Lake of Fire. I, for one, can't wait!

Joe

Read more here about Left Behind: The Regime.

Book Review: Jerry Jenkins Underground Zealot Trilogy

From Jerry B. Jenkins, co-author of the popular Left Behind series, comes a new end times saga.

The year is 38 P3, thirty-eight years after the end of World War III, the International Government of Peace is based in Bern, Switzerland, and all religion has been outlawed, but in the United Seven States of America, there is a large movement of underground zealots who refuse to denounce their faith in God. Willing to fight for what they believe in, and calling on God for help, they bring forth a drought on Los Angeles and a new Passover, causing the first-born male of every non-believer to drop dead throughout the world.

National Peace Organization Agent Paul Stepola lives the double life of an underground religious zealot and the leader of a squad of agents out to destroy the underground movement. Going head-to-head with his father-in-law and former Army General, unsure whether his wife's support lies with him or her father, Agent Stepola finds himself living a life on the run.

Jerry Jenkins brings a new story in this latest trilogy; one that will hold your attention and have you wanting for more. A must read from the creative genius behind the Left Behind series. Pick up your copies today of Soon, Silenced and Shadowed. You won't be disappointed.

Joe

Book Review: Left Behind - The Regime

The second prequel book to the popular Left Behind series from Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, The Regime takes us further into the dark development of the would-be Antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia.

An up-and-coming Romanian businessman-turned-politician, Carpathia orchestrates his rise to the lower Parliamentary house thru means both immoral and illegal.

The Regime differs from other volumes in the Left Behind collection in that it is a creation purely from the imagination of the authors while the rest of the series is based on the Biblical account of the second-coming of Christ foretold in the book of Revelation.

Though a purely fictional work may seem blasphemous to the most staunch of believers, the authors do a good job of keeping their fiction true to the original series without creating any theology in the process. I found The Regime to be a much more enjoyable read than it's predecessor, The Rising. I highly recommend this episode of the Left Behind saga. You'll finish it in anticipation of the next episode, scheduled for release on 6-6-06, fittingly enough.

Joe