Customer Reviews

Apocalypse Crucible (The Left Behind Apocalypse Series #2)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Apocalypse Crucible gave us more of Apocalypse Dawn. I like Odom's characters, action sequences, and the solid level of tension in the storyline. Goose is a true man's man, and his wife cares deeply, thinks well, but allows her heart to get the best of her at times. Jenny's complicated character has moved from the background to the frontline. Amongst this cast, there is someone for every type of reader to identify with.

Perhaps most interesting is how the author is able to slip back and forth between male-think and female think. The Goose storyline is all action, clear-cut decision making, with only short bursts of angst, while the female side is full of inner thoughts and emotional turmoil. We move back and forth between the two in seemless fashion.

The one potential danger in facing Odom's work is that the story is on the verge of either meandering (much as Left Behind began to do towards the middle of the series), or of really taking off. With all the warnings readers have issued concerning plotline drift, Book Three will either make or break this series. My Four star rating is a vote of confidence that the author will deliver!

Millions of people across the globe have disappeared and few know why. In Sanlifina, Turkey, First Sergeant Samuel Adams "Goose" Gandiers knows that his five year old son Chris has disappeared out of the Fort Benning nursery. Though concerned, he tries not to think about it as the Syrians are about to attack the American lines and he doesn't have enough military support to stop them. A rogue CIA agent Icarus tries to find Goose to tell him something about the disappearances while his immediate superior Captain Remington wonders what to do with the sergeant who has chosen a different road then him.

In Fort Benning, Georgia, Goose's wife Megan is ordered to keep a low profile until her trial when she has to defend herself in regards to a teenager she was counseling who vanished while falling off a building; his body was never found, just the clothes he wore. Megan counsels another suicidal teenage when the MPs shoot him.

Alone and separated by more than an ocean, Megan and Goose struggle with their faith as demons from hell prey upon mankind.

APOCALYPSE CRUCIBLE, the sequel to APOCALYPSE DAWN, is an exciting military thriller that takes place over a twenty -four hour period. There is plenty of action as a military skirmish is vividly described that readers feel they are at the battlefield. The protagonist's wife questions what is happening in her world but at her lowest point, she finds the courage to learn the truth that everyone left behind wants to deny. Mel Odom has written a powerful tour de force and readers will want to read the next book in this series as soon as it is published.

Harriet Klausner

I was quite pleased with the second installment of the Left Behind military series. While this volume does not cover a large amount of time, it gives us a chance to become connected with, and thereby care for, the characters introduced in volume one. You can feel the evil beginning to develop - almost like having the hairs on your neck standing up. I would suggest that readers begin with the Left Behind series before beginning the military set, because it helps to have the entire scenario in your head as you begin the Apocalypse novels - it makes everything that much more suspenseful because you already KNOW what the characters have yet to discover! I read this book in one day. I recommend it,highly!

I really enjoyed the Left Behind series that preceded the Left Behind Military series. The only problem I had with any book in the Left Behind series is the same problem I am now having with the "Military" series. In one of the Left Behind books the authors went in to excrutiating detail describing a mere three days of activity that occurred between the murder of the Antichrist and his subsequent resurrection. I was so bored by the lack of progress in that book that I almost didn't read subsequent books.

I am now at that position with the "Military" series. The author now has two books "under his belt" but, unfortunately, has allowed the timeline of the series to progress only about a week beyond the Rapture. In fact, his plotline has only allowed one of the main characters to accept the full truth and implications of the Rapture and its effect on their lives. The author has taken entirely too long to progress through the first week after the Rapture. In addition, the author has spent entirely too much "book" on minutae details and not enough "book" on moving the parallel story lines along.

I sincerely hope that this author reads this review because I believe that many other readers will share my concerns. I will probably read the third book in the series when it is published, simply because I enjoy reading books concerning the end times. But, I can promise that if book three does not "get off the dime", start moving the story lines along, and start bringing the story lines closer together, I will NOT buy the fourth book.

Continuing in the Apocalypse series, I got and read the 2nd book, Apocalypse Crucible by Mel Odom. While I like the series concept, I'm fairly dismayed over the pacing of the story. I don't think much happened in book 2 to advance the story, and definitely not enough for 326 pages.

"Goose" Gander is still over in Turkey, helping to run a delaying action in a town, designed to slow down the Syrians. A CIA spy that everyone is looking for has apparently focused on Gander, and Gander is holding out on his chain of command in order to figure out what's going on. All this while dealing with the loss of his youngest son to the Rapture. His wife is still on base back stateside, and she's in even more hot water now that a teen client tries to commit suicide with a pistol shot to the gut while the wife is trying to talk her out of the act. But for some reason, the military brass on base seems to think she actually shot the teen, and coupled with the "missing" boy from book 1, her freedom is tenuous at best. And then there's the military chaplain who goes to the grave of his son, planning on digging it up to see whether his son was part of the Rapture or not. He tries to walk away from the deed prior to opening the casket, but his own personal demon shows up to force him to open the casket or be killed. But the creature disappears before either happens, and the chaplain is still trying to make sense of what's left of his faith. Oh, and there's the lovely OneWorld News Network reporter over on the war front, thinking she has the lead on a big story related to the CIA spy, but is being stonewalled by her boss for unknown reasons...

Yeah, I've probably made this sound worse than it actually is. But I really thought we'd end up further down the plot after installment 2 than things ended up. Too many "why is this happening to character x" questions posed at the end of book 1 are still hanging there in book 2, and I felt as if we could have gotten there in far less pages. I'll still read book 3, as I have it on my shelf right now. But my enthusiasm for the series is starting to drag, and I'm not going into it with any great expectations...

I am not sure what Mel Odem's background is but he has managed to tell a story that is multi-dimensional. He writes an interesting story that is relevant to today's headlines in regards to the struggle between Muslim extremists and the rest of the world--- prophecies that are clearly described in the Bible in terms of modern day events--- and the complexities of relationships between people. He describes the confusion and dysfunctions that occur when a young mother divorces, remarries and has a second child with her new husband. He describes the complexities brought about by an alcoholic father whose son becomes a minister, who has a son that becomes a chaplain, and has a son that joins the military and is killed in action. He describes the fear that overcomes teenagers and adults when the rapture occurs and only non-Christians are left behind. He tells of the human tendency to bully others and to force others to submit to their will. And he tells of the struggle for good people who were too confused by the complexities of life to have given themselves completely to God who are caught up in a post-raptured world struggling to make sense of the situation that they now find themselves in. I left Mel Odem's first book on my dresser for nearly a year because I thought it was a shallow fiction book based on the military aspects of end time events. I was wrong. I have read the first two books in this series and ordered the third which I am looking forward to receiving and reading.

Received this book in great condition and in a very timely manner. Much quicker
than I was to expect. Thanks.

This is actually one of a four book series. If one enjoys christian fiction concerning the rapture, this is one of the series for them. It has close connections to the "Left Behind" series by Tim LeHaye and is just as compelling. It has a lot of military scenes of 1st Sgt Goose Gander of the 75th Rangers fighting along the Syrian & Turkish borders. It also frequently comes back to the states in the setting of Ft Benning, Ga., where Mrs. Gander is a Post counselor wth her hands full with the rapture having occurred. This included the loss of one of her own sons, leaving her nerves strung out. To me, it was a 'can't put down book'. It kept me wanting to read cover to cover in one setting. As always God takes care of his own.

This series is really easy to read. Its compelling and thought provoking. Still its not as in depth as it could have been as far as the Apocalypse is concerned. As the scenes change they seem to be repeated much to frequently through out the book. But that is fine, it helps keep the reader up to speed. The author provides great detail throughout the book. I look forward to reading the final book in the series. Yet I fear Ill be left wanting more. (Im hooked)

Well written, definitely holds your attention! An engaging blend of biblical fact with fictional characters.