Customer Reviews

Book 1: Genesis - The Prodigal Project (Walker Large Print Books)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

The Prodigal Project, Book 1, Genesis (289pp), lets you know up front that more books will follow...it is a series. The end is yet the beginning for the men and women left behind after the Rapture. All of the children (even the unborn) were taken up. This book is NOT a carbon copy of the "Left Behind" series. But if you enjoyed "Left Behind", you will love this book. The people that remain on earth are very real characters. You will feel that you know them or someone just like them. They all have normal everyday flaws like Shannon who needed a little more time to get into the bible and church; Thomas was a divorced man who now had the desire to experience other women; Rev. Smith who lusted for a bigger church and seemed a bit too on edge for a man who has Jesus in his heart; Ivy a wife that fantasized about infidelity and harbored anger at God in her heart for birthing a handicapped child; Cat whose destiny seems to be entwined with the devil/dark forces and; Slim a photographer who witnessed an evil murder and was allowed to live afterwards. These individuals will independently have to determine their purpose for being left behind and determine if their souls will pass the test for a second chance.

After the Rapture the world is in chaos. It does not read like Science Fiction, but resembles the current state of our world after Sept. 11th, just on a heighteed scale.

The story is propelled with the inclusion of Azul Dante and Izbek Noir. The readers will be intriqued as the story unfolds with good versus evil. The only hope is The Prodigal Project, but what does it mean? Get this must read book to find out.

When I saw that Ken Abraham was the co-author of The Prodigal Project, I picked it up right away.
This book does not disappoint - a great thriller, filled with action, but with great lessons about redemption and Christ's love, and about how recognizing Christ can change anyone's life.
I really liked this book, and can't wait for the next one to come out.

Using the same formula and capturing much of the same type audience from the Left Behind series this book has a tad better writing style. The theme is the same as the Left Behind books but in this initial installment the characters who are introduced are multi-dimensional and more "real." As in the Left Behind, the book begins with the massive dissapearence of the multitudes of believers leaving people who thought they had faith wondering why they are still here. Well, of course it is to fight the forces of evil! It is the time of the Rapture. The faithful heroes are cast about and converging to congregate and form the Prodigal Project in this opening book of surely more to come. His evilness is Izbek Noir who has managed to organize the diverse Arab politicians and nations against the encroaching "Western repression." The mujahhideen and Izbek Noir has far reaching appeal as his rhetoric has influenced mobs throughout the world, including Africa and Latin America to threaten the stability of their governments. The growing tension and hordes of followers has the world on the brink. His evilness orchestrates the ultimate attack on his own by attacking Mecca and blaming the West and thus galvanizing solidarity throughout the Muslim world. Izbek Noir is the equivalent of the charismatic Nicloae Carpathia from the Left Behind books. On the other side of the spectrum there are other parallels of characters including the Reverand Henderson Smith who is much like Tsion Ben- Judah and serves as the spiritual leader. The world is in utter chaos and the lines have been drawn. Which sign will you identify with? Will you identify with the imbeded bar code chip that will get you your goods or will you be one of the resistant chosen few? It is a fast moving story that is easy to follow and full of intrigue and messages. Towards the end of the book it was getting a little preachy but otherwise it is nice piece of fiction regardng the end times. Recommended for believers and non-believers alike.

This book feels like it was written for no other reason then to cash in of Left Behind's popularity. The writing is unfocused and hard to follow and the author certainly doesn't use his book to explore Christianity in any kind of depth or bring any insights into the faith. It's a waste of time from any angle you look at it. Try We All Fall Down or the Christ Clone Trilogy instead if you're looking for thoughtful books that explore the topic with insight and intelligent writing.

By in large an EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT novel!! Although there are some similarities with the Left Behind series, this book is without a doubt much more superior in its characterization and writing style. From the beginning you're immediately pulled into the lives of each of the characters and you can't help but sense that the time they live in is all too real. In addditon, although this novel is about the end-times, its delves much deeper than that. It touches on the struggles of coming to true faith in God and the reality of what it means to be born-again. It doesn't use a lot of ambiguous terminology like "finding Jesus" or "getting save" but it focuses on describing the real experience of encountering the living God through Christ. I have no doubt that this series will not only change a lot people ideas about the last days but about what it really means to be a Chrisitian.

I have read all of the poor reviews and can't help but wonder who is writing them. Didn't they read this book? I couldn't put it down. I carried it everywhere with me. I read the entire Left Behind series and became bored toward the end because I felt that the story line began to drag and the writing and character development was poor. Not so with this book.

In order to understand the importance of this topic and storyline, extensive and needed character development has been achieved throughout the first half of the book. I was truly disturbed by what I read and the evil doings in the book. I was able to feel and visualize the evilness not just read about it. The scenes of war and devastation left me breathless.

I look forward to reading the entire series and recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the Left Behind or Christ Clone series and anyone else who may need enlightening.

Ken Abraham and Daniel Hart have combined to create an edge of your seat thriller. Their take on the Islamic mujahideen's attempt to destroy the West and Christianity is right on target. The characters are fully developed and not card board cutouts. They struggle with real issues that anyone can relate to. How they struggle with their faith and ultimately find hope is inspirational. They've left the Left Behind books in the dust.

I wanted to like this book, I really did.

Looking at the other reviews or the summary, you get the basic theme of this book. It is set at the the time of the Rapture, when the faithful get called to heaven and those that remain are yet to face the perils of Armageddon.

Those the remain are not only the "real sinners" but a number of people who have not fully accepted the Lord into their lives. These are their stories.

To assist in this time there is a mysterious "Prodigal Project" that has been set up by several Christian leaders and led by the unseen (in this book) Azur Dante. The purpose of this project is unclear, though it leads me to believe that those who remain can still be saved in some way (Disclaimer: I have not read the rest of the series, so this could be completely wrong).

Unfortunately, this book dragged, the writing was fairly stilted, and the characters are wooden. There were other reviews that talked about many issues left unresolved, though in fairness, this is the first of a series. Still it did seem like the book ended not between books, but between chapters.

The book also did have an anti-Muslim overtone that I found a bit troubling. Yes it is a Christian work, but the Muslim characters were portrayed as being very cruel and one dimensional.

If you're interested in this theme, read the other series that are out covering this right now. This one can be passed by.

Man, one thing I really don't like doing is to knock someone on their can for their effort. But if you want someone to get into your series, make it interesting, starting with the first book. I can most honestly say that I wanted to get into this. You look at the cover and it really looks intriguing and like a page turner. But to be blunt, except for a few parts, it is BORING, and Left Behind is still better! The difference is that Left Behind just gets into it. This looks as if it has trouble making up its mind.

Now, I read the whole thing, but I wasn't impressed, and despite myself, I got Exodus, which I will read at some point in time. But if it doesn't get any better, then I'm not wasting my time. I respect the effort and the intentions, but at least make it interesting.

I have to admit to one and all. I rarely if ever like Christian fiction. I find most of Christian fiction to be poorly written and poorly devised. I did enjoy the Left Behind series at first, but when TL seemed to care nothing more than making money (as with the LB tshirts, the LB teddy bears, the LB coffee mugs, the LB gum, the LB life insurance ... etc etc etc.) I went away from the series.

The Prodigal Project, on the other hand, is amazing. It is well written, the story is tight from one book to the next, and you have a passionate and realistic series of characters. I love how the story worked. It was very insightful, and I hate to say this, but it was like reading a Stephen King book w/o cursing and sex. It was just that good of a story, so now I am going to read the next book and I think I wont be disapointed. And neither should you.