Glorious Appearing (Left Behind) [Unabridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Tim F LaHaye (Author), Jerry B. Jenkins (Author), Richard Ferrone (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2004

10 compact discs. The smash hit Left Behind® saga, the best-selling inspirational series of all time, comes to its extraordinary conclusion in this thrilling novel. The cosmic battle of the ages has concluded, and not all the members of the Tribulation Force have survived. As the Antichrist assembles his armies, hoping to ascend the throne of God, believers awaiting the Glorious Appearing of Christ turn their eyes to the heavens.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC (2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402574630
• ISBN-13: 978-1402574634
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (320 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,579,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( L ) > Lahaye, Tim
  • #73 in Books > Books on CD > Authors, A-Z > ( J ) > Jenkins, Jerry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, July 28, 2004

By 

David Benjamin (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Glorious Appearing: The End of Days (Left Behind #12) (Hardcover)

Just as a preface, I found the previous books in the Left Behind series flawed but engaging enough to warrant reading. For a lengthy and relatively faithful rendition of how Revelation might play out in our world, I thought the books were suitable--though I would love to see this story retold more realistically and not in a preaching-to-the-choir sort of way.

All that said, Glorious Appearing was a large disappointment for a variety of reasons, most of which are problems in the writing rather than the content of the source material. The first major problem is that there is zero dramatic tension once Jesus shows up. You know the good guys won't get touched and you know all the bad guys will get what's coming to them. You also know exactly what's going to happen, because all the characters have been studying the Scriptures and talking about the prophecies which will be fulfilled. I know that the fulfillment of prophecy is very important for eschatological writing, but novels need dramatic tension to keep the reader's interest. I think it would have been much more interesting to have the focal point characters NOT always in the know, and have them struggle through these experiences without knowing all the answers before hand.

The second major problem is how Jesus and the angels speak: almost entirely in passages lifted straight from the Bible. I'd imagine Lahaye and Jenkins wanted to err on the side of caution here, not wanting to ascribe to Jesus anything that he might not say. That was a mistake for two reasons. From a dramatic standpoint, it made Jesus and the angels dull, their dialogue stale and tedious because we've heard it before (and in this very book series, too). From a theological standpoint, it's troubling because it feels like it's limiting Jesus. A better solution would be to have Jesus speak original, modern dialogue that fits with who he is (as presented in the Bible) and is tied closer to the context of the book.

The third problem is that individual perspective is all but obliterated. Very often there will be a six-page section during which the focal character's name is mentioned once... and then somehow he or she is able to witness things such as mountains splitting in two and entire cities raised hundreds of feet. This book is written like a summary rather than a personal experience. If I wanted the broad picture from a distant point of view I would read Revelation or one of the hundreds of commentaries written on that book. When I'm reading a book--particularly one labeled as FICTION--I want to know and feel what the characters are going through. To this extent, I would rather the characters and myself know less about what's going to happen, so I can experience a much richer and less predictable drama.

There are other problems with this book but those are the primary ones. If you've read most of the previous books in the Left Behind series, then you should definitely read through this one just to complete the story. If you haven't read any of the series or you've only read a book or two, you might want to reconsider before you invest your time in 12 books with a disappointing payoff.

The books are based on worthwhile material (Revelation--which I'd recommend over these books any day) and the authors seem to have good intentions (though I question why they had to stretch this out over so many books if not for money-making reasons), but the execution really falls short in the end. Hopefully the financial success of this series will pave the way for another, better fictional rendering of Revelation.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing... at best., May 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Glorious Appearing: The End of Days (Left Behind #12) (Hardcover)

I was looking forward to the release of this book for almost a year. I was at the bookstore on the day it came out. Unfortunately, Glorious Appearing left much to be desired. It is full of filler, quotes from The Bible, and nothingness. I wanted so badly to enjoy reading it, as I have read the previous books and loved them. But this is not impressive.

The wars are fought. Of course, we win, since nothing can harm the children of God. The Lord returns. And that is it! THE END!

I am a born-again Christian who believes that the order of events in the books are correct. I know much about the Bible, and have done my homework when it comes to The Gospel. I am thankful that the series has led people to Christ, but I am sorry to say that this book has failed to entertain me.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Like waiting for paint to dry, May 20, 2005

By 

Wayne L. Faust - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Glorious Appearing: The End of Days (Left Behind #12) (Hardcover)

Whoo boy, what can I say about this one? I am a Christian and it's nice that Christian themes are getting a lot of attention these days. But this book committed a cardinal sin in fiction - it bored me nearly to death. The writing is so poor that during the reading of the book on a CD version my daughter and I listened to on a cross-country car trip, we ended up fast-forwarding lots of it, and even skipping whole CD's, just so we could finally hear what happened at the end.

I read several of the early books in this series, and they seemed to get more padded with each installment. I gave up in frustration some time around book 7, but decided to try this one to see how the whole thing ended. That turned out to be a mistake.

As far as what exactly is wrong with this book, it's hard to know where to begin. The characters are all two-dimensional for starters. They talk in speeches and platitudes for pages at a time. When they are brief they sound like comic book characters, and poorly-written ones at that.

In stories like this, the villain is very important. He provides the sense of menace that gives the story its tension. One wonders how the heroes are going to defeat such an awesome adversary. In this story the villain, Satan himself, comes off as a buffoon. He is mostly comic relief, thus depriving the reader of any sense of foreboding.

Any other possible drama is diffused by the characters in this book telling us ahead of time exactly what is going to happen. And they're usually right. So where's the drama? It's like watching a football game where the good guys are ahead 1 million to zero in the 4th quarter. And we're supposed to be holding our breath.

Read your Bible instead. It's written a whole lot better.