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202 of 215 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Should Christian fiction be held to a higher standard?, March 12, 2001
I've enjoyed these books and yet I have one REAL BIG problem with them so far. Everyone knows that when you read fiction you have to be prepared to suspend disbelief and tell yourself: "Okay, it's just a book. Everything doesn't have to make sense." That's fine to a point. But the LEFT BEHIND series is about events described in the Bible, and it seems to me should be held to a little bit higher standard. I don't expect perfection: the Bible is perfect, everything else is just a book. But I do expect a Christian novel to be thought out well enough by the author(s) that it's not shot full of holes by anyone with a high school education. I have struggled with this since I read the first book in the series, but have not wanted to criticize the books when there was nothing better on the subject out there to recommend. Well, now I've found something, THE CHRIST CLONE TRILOGY by James BeauSeigneur. BeauSeigneur has done so much to insure credibility and accuracy in all the broad range of areas he covers in his series, that you'll find yourself believing it could all be true. And the way the story depicts the fulfillment of end-times prophecy will have you convinced that the author's got that nailed too. I suppose I should say that some Christians get upset because the characters sometimes use a four letter word here and there. But, guess what, folks, non-Christians do that from time to time! (Confidentially, I've heard that even Christians have been know to utter a four-letter word.) Still the profanity is very limited. If you get disgusted with a PG-rated movie, you may not want to read these books. But even this is all just part of the accuracy. Does anyone who's read LEFT BEHIND really believe that Leon Fortunado NEVER cusses??? I could go on, but suffice it to say that if you want to read an end-times series that doesn't strain your ability to believe what you're reading, THE CHRIST CLONE is for you.
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359 of 388 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Final Comparison, January 10, 2001
Okay--I had to give it two stars..because although it's written on a 5th grade level (and thats being generous), with 2 dimensional characters, unbelievably naiive plot line, totally ludicrous scenarios and 375 average pages of "filler"--guess what? we're still reading it...so I figure the marketing alone ought to be worth at least a star-- even if we read it for no other reason that to reassure ourselves that if they can do it...maybe we CAN give up our day jobs :-) I've read all three, The Left Behind series, The Christ Clone Trilogy, and We All Fall Down. The winner: The Christ Clone triology. We All Fall Down (Cauldwell) I actually found offensive. Can the guy write a page without using four letter words?? He does EXACTLY what Left Behind does---only on the other end of the scale. Very disappointing, and started with such a very promising premise. The Christ Clone Trilogy however, is really quite an enjoyable read. An Antichrist that you can see folks following--one that you even LIKE at points--scary thought right? :-) As for Tim and Jerry---you HAVE to know gentlemen...you can't tell me that you're proud of this work---you ARE capable of putting together nouns and verbs coherently--you should at least address your readers --you know the ones--the ones who are making you more wealthy by the minute--at least respect them enough to put out what you obviously went to college to learn..
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97 of 106 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, but why bother when there's better?, January 12, 2001
Left Behind certainly isn't a bad book. In its own way, the series is kind of exciting and it's pretty fun reading an interpretation of the Endtime. The writing isn't really good, but it's bassically unobtrusive. You never stop and get shocked at how badly it's written, although you also don't stop and marvel at how beautiful a particular sentence is constructed. Nothing in it to offend, although nothing in it to really provoke thought or reflection. All in all, it's pretty much an interesting light snack. My feeling though, is, why bother with that when there's so much more out there. Christ Clone Trilogy by Beausinger is a fresh take on the idea that's every bit as well written as Dune or any other science fiction series. Caldwell's We All Fall Down is another great novel, the best of the three in my opinion. It's certainly not a middle of the road novel. The language can be harsh, although it seemed entierly appropriate to the characters situation- when being strapped down and tortured, I would guess harsh language would escape the tongue-, the plot is sometimes brutal, although it should be considering that it's hell on earth, and the characters don't always make the right decisions, even when they're Christians. But I found all of that to be to its credit. Even when I disagreed with what was happening or being said, I was always engaged in the novel. I was never just watching the words pass as in Left Behind, but was always fully engaged with the characters and the plot. These are characters who are faced with horrible circumstances and have to make decisions. Sometimes they are wrong, sometimes not, and often it's hard to judge. But in reading that, you're forced to think, to reflect. No one really seemed to make any inner choices in Left Behind, so there wasn't much engagement. Certainly it didn't spur me into thinking or questioning my own relationship with God the way Caldwell's novel did. Left Behind isn't bad. But Christ Clone Trilogy and We All Fall Down are brilliant. Why settle for not bad when brilliant is out there?
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