Customer Reviews

Acts of God (Book Three of The Christ Clone Trilogy)

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

By the end of "Birth of an Age," book two of the Christ Clone Trilogy, author James BeauSeigneur has you on the edge of your seat, expecting anything and anticipating what will happen next; you're primed for something big, something monumental, and you wonder if he can possibly deliver on the promise of the first two books and the expectation you have going into the third and final installment of the series. Well, sit back and hold on, because with "Acts of God," BeauSeigneur certainly does deliver, and more. And, whereas the first two books evoked a sense of Asimov, Crichton and Melville, this one brings to mind Stephen King's epic novel, "The Stand," as it clearly leads you to a conclusion that can be nothing less than the final showdown between the forces of Good and Evil.

As it begins (and as BeauSeigneur did previously, the opening chapter is actually the final chapter of the second book), the prophets John and Cohen are dead, and the resurrected Christopher Goodman, now Secretary-General of the U.N., is poised to lead Humankind into the New Age, with promises of a long and healthy life with renewed youth and vigor for everyone, as well as world peace. And to help him spread the good news, there is his loyal press secretary, Decker Hawthorne, and his own prophet of the New Age, Robert Milner.

For Christopher, everything seems to be going well; without the disruptive influences of John and Cohen, all of his aspirations are being realized, as people around the world are embracing him and the tenets of the New Age. But not everyone; there is still the Koum Damah Patar, the "KDP," and the cliques of fundamentalist Christians who adamantly oppose him and seem bent on clinging to the past, no matter what the cost. Meanwhile, amid a series of world-wide, devastating plagues, Decker Hawthorne is confronted with circumstances that rattle his faith and for the first time cause him to question the very foundation of the mission he has undertaken in Christopher's name; and ultimately, it will force him to make the hardest decision of his life.

Though a work of fiction, BeauSeigneur presents his story with such logic and acuity that is seems, not only believable, but very real. And he writes with a concise, universal voice that makes the material accessible to everyone; you don't have to be a theologian to appreciate the magnitude and the ramifications of the conflict that is played out here. It's a riveting, intense and suspenseful tale, but beyond all of that, there is an inherently moral message that comes through succinctly and quite effectively.

It's been a long time since I was this excited about a novel (and by that I mean the trilogy); BeauSeigneur has done an extraordinary job of creating a story of such tremendous ethical and moral proportions, and presenting it in an exciting and objective way. In the final analysis, "Acts of God," is an affecting novel that for some just may prove to be a veritable life-changing experience. It certainly was for me.

I have been interested in prophecy for more than 30 years. As such, I've read some very good and some very bad fiction and non-fiction treatments on the subject. One of the best non-fiction books I've read is FOOTSTEPS OF THE MESSIAH by Arnold Fruchtenbaum. Unquestionably the very best fiction treatment I've read is THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY.

Because of my interest in the subject, and because I spend most of my day on the Internet, I spend a lot of time on various prophecy web sites. I read about TCCT on PhopheZine.com, which gave BeauSeigneur's books glowing reviews. Of course the best known books on the subject are the LEFT BEHIND books by LeHaye and Jenkins, but lately I've seen people talking about TCCT more and more places. Usually when people discuss an idea that originated with BeauSeigneur, they cite him or mention TCCT. But even when they don't, you can tell they've read TCCT because the ideas are so completely original.

I first heard of THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY from a review by Charles Sheffield, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction author. Sheffield raved about BeauSeigneur's trilogy, calling it "an engrossing and ingenious story," and said that "James BeauSeigneur brings to bear a fine mix of scientific, political, and religious knowledge to illuminate this powerful tale."

It sounded great but it wasn't until two years later when I read the comments of Kerry Livgren (you know, the guy who wrote "Dust in the Wind," "Carry On Wayward Son," and a dozen other million-selling songs for the band Kansas) that I finally ordered the books. After reading the trilogy I have to completely agree with Kerry Livgren's opinion: "Breathtaking. It's as fine a piece of work as I have read, on several different levels."

Before I started book three of the series, I was worried. Could Mr. BeauSeigneur keep it up? Book two was fantastic, so I was worried this one would be a letdown. Rest assured, this isn't the case. Book Three was a great conclusion to the story.

The Anti-Christ finally makes his appearance(of course, he's been there all along, but you'll see what I mean when you read the book) and, undoubtably, his true plan is finally revealed. For those of you who were wondering just where the author was going with all the new age stuff, be faithful. It will all make sense in the end.

I particularly liked the theme of redemtion in this novel. I don't want to give too much away, so I will not say more, but I think you will be as pleased as I was.

Finally, I enjoyed the way BeauSigneur handled Armaggedon and the appearance of Jesus. To be honest, this is a point at which the author could have overdone it, but, as always, he hit the nail on the head. If you enjoyed the previous two books in the series, you will enjoy this one as well. Rating:4.5 Stars

I saw the Left Behind movie, which interested me in "end of times" books. I then bought the entire Left Behind series, up to "The Mark". While I enjoyed it at first, by the last book the writing was extremely redundant and seemed the writer was stringing the series along to make as much money as possible. While reading reviews on the series, I saw a remark that the Christ Clone Trilogy was much better. One I read this series, I was blown away! It is by far the very best books I probably ever will read. Amazing is more like it. I have since forwarded the series to my mother who is currently reading it and totally enthralled in book 3. What I truly appreciated was that this was only a 3 book series and thus I knew an end would be reached. I would recommend this series to EVERYONE who has any interest in revelation/ the bible/ or just good reading. Two Thumbs Up!!!

I got interested in this book when I read about it in Amazon's Left Behind review section as it was mentioned there and received glowing reviews. This is one of the finest books I have ever read and I couldn't put it down. While the first book had a steady pace and introduced most of the characters, the second and third books were intense. Mr. BeauSeigneur uses character point of view to great advantage, and he puts great detail into this story. It is a brilliant and inspirational book.

If you've read the first two books of this series, you are probably getting anxious to see where this trilogy is going. Well get ready!!! You will not be disappointed!!!! I will warn you, there are some pretty graphic sections of this book, and Mr. BeauSeigneur pulls no punches. But this book, number three of the series, is the absolute best one, and will have you totally enthralled and at the edge of your seat till the very last word. The best end times fiction that I have read!!!! Any fan of the Left Behind books owes it to themselves to read this trilogy. You will be glad that you did!

I have read the CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY by James BeauSeigneur. The "3" books are extremely well written, they cover the entire Tribulation period and they do keep you on the edge of your seat. I was amazed at the level of detail James was able to convey with the written word alone. I'm extremely impressed with his style of writing. I loved the series and I recommend it highly to all. In fact, I looked forward to riding the bus to work so I could get additional reading time.

The Christ Clone Trilogy" as a bit different from other end-times because it's written primarily for a non-Christian audience. In a few places the language might get a "PG" rating and the descriptions of violence during the tribulation are incredibly detailed and spine-chilling. The books are definitely written from a Christian world view although that does not become obvious until you get to the third book.

I highly recommend these SUPERB books to anyone interested in end-times prophecy. I guarantee you'll find them every bit as interesting as the Left Behind Series - actually, MUCH MORE!

This series is absolutely flawless. Last semester I took a class in apocalyptic literature. We read bits and pieces of more than a dozen end-times books and series. After each, we would discuss the positive and negative aspects of each. The folks in my class were pretty sharp, so we found many flaws in each of them. Finally, the professor had us read THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY. When we did our class discussion, we spent more than two hours on all the positives, e.g., EVERY prophecy was masterfully covered by BeauSeigneur, the characterizations were rich and full, the plot was riveting, the research was perfect. Class was nearly over before the professor stopped the discussion to ask about any flaws. No one had found any. The professor agreed and said that was why he had saved THE CHRIST CLONE for last. I'm buying the full set for everyone on my Christmas shopping list!

James BeauSeigneur has done some very unusual things in his apocalyptic thriller, The Christ Clone Trilogy, and he's done all of them well. First on this list is that (until the third book) he gives no clue who's good and who's bad, who's right and who's wrong. Instead BeauSeigneur acts as an unbiased reporter of the events, and the reader is left to evaluate and discern the truth for himself. This makes for a very good mystery, but it will make some readers very upset as their own beliefs are so cleverly challenged. One word of advice: do not make the mistake of thinking you know which characters speak for the author.

Second on the list of unusual approaches the author takes is that he has built his story so closely on carefully researched real events, real science, real politics, real belief systems (when was the last time you read a fiction series that included footnotes?), that you have a sense that you may be reading a non-fiction book written in the future and sent back to our time for publication.

One final thing that makes this series so extraordinary is BeauSeigneur's use of well-developed minor characters and vignettes to give the reader a view of the global scope of his story. Unlike so many authors who try deal with global issues with contrived attempts to put the story's main characters in close proximity to every important world event, BeauSeigneur draws on a boundless stable of rich characters from around the world to give every page a full measure of realism and depth.

I highly recommend these books to all.