Customer Reviews

Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days Goofiness

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I never read any of the "Left Behind" series, but I know the theology and mindset all too well. This brilliant parody dismantles premillenial dispensationalism, the shallowness of the evangelical subculture, and the shoddy quality of the great majority of Christian fiction all in one hilarious fell swoop. The Antichrist, a former preacher from Tulsa (!), engineers a phony Rapture that leaves Christians stuck on ceilings, leaving behind their appendixes and any clothing that is not 100% cotton. The showdown between one of the "heroes" and the Antichrist in a Christian bookstore, where the Antichrist is pelted with Precious Moments figurines and is attacked with the help of a Thomas Kinkade painting is a real side-splitter.

This book is definitely not recommended for Christians who have no sense of humor. Ah, what the heck, they should read it, too. Might be good for them to get a little offended now and then. After all, Jesus offended the religious of his time, although He did it in a much less satirical fashion.

It's gotta be something in the Wilson genes. It's funny, it's light-hearted and most of all, it's entertaining. It should make the reader think, but it's too funny to take any of the content serious. It's a brief "Hitchhiker's Guide to Popular End Times." Douglas Adams would be proud of the grammatical and societal play. I read it in about two hours and it was worth every second. I had a great time with with Wilson's obvious joy in writing and playing with words.

Debate all you like about spiritual license to mock or jest or poke fun or whatever you like, just enjoy the title above. Have an antihistamine or bottle of Jolt Cola and enjoy. This book is not the end of Christianity. If you're worried about someone attacking your end-times convictions, buy a new bumper sticker and pray. You'll be OK.

The reason I didn't give "Right Behind" five stars is because I finished it in the same night I picked it up, and I wanted more.

"Right Behind" follows in the same fine tradition of satire and parody as such works as "Bored of the Rings," except that here I think Mr. Wilson (and Mr. Sock) have more to work with. As a Born-Again, Bible-thumping follower of Jesus, an aspiring fiction writer, and an employee of a Christian bookstore, I can say with great confidence that there is much in the pop-Christian consumerist culture that is worthy of satirizing, and "Right Behind" is right on the money.

(I think it's worth saying that while the "Left Behind" series has indeed been used to introduce people to Christ - more power to them! - it's not Biblical canon, and I'm a bit unnerved by those who treat it as such. After all, God uses the foolish things of man... "Left Behind" is also not the best of fiction, and the fact that the series has been so popular is perhaps indicative of the low expectations present in the Christian market. Then again, "The Da Vinci Code" is also a bestseller, so perhaps the fault is with the average American reader in general?)

"Right Behind" is, to coin a phrase, a hoot. Wilson manages to nail the stylistic quirks, plot holes, and outright confounding contrivances of the "Left Behind" series, as well as some of the oddities of the Christian subculture in a brief amount of space and often with marvelous subtlety. I didn't get through a single page without an outburst of laughter. If you've enjoyed the satire of the magazine "The Door," been fed up with the half-hearted quality of a great deal of Christian fiction, and have read the first of the "Left Behind" books, you should thoroughly enjoy this little gem.

Even if you're a Fundie like me.

... yup, as an individual who actually sat through a year of Sunday morning Bible study of dispensational escatology taught by none other than Tim LaHaye, I have to say this book is a kipper. Oh wait, that's that jabez mantra stuff, I mean it's a keeper.

Right Behind takes advantage of the hackneyed poor attempt of Clancy-esque writing in the original book in both style and substance. It only fails in that Right Behind does a better job at keeping my attention with a fast pace ... and though a parody ... with better technical detail than it's "Left" counterpart.

All the while it takes aim at the weird post-modern thinking that has infected the church through almost 200 years of anti-intellectualism ... with all the insane plot twists of the Hitchhiker's guide.

In fact my wife, who also took the LaHaye class with me, is upstairs Right Behind my book marks, laughing out loud.

This book was priceless. True, its a whole 7 years too late in coming (sounds ominous, doesn't it? Isn't something supposed to happen seven years after the rapture spoken about in Left Behind? I guess this series hasn't been released in real time)... but hey, it needed to be written.

I'll share some of my favorite passages:

Page 19: "We left Buford surprised in the big tube part of the airplane. We join him again now. He walked out of the cockpit in time to suddenly see a woman walking toward him, but more importantly, towards the lav, which is what people in the know call the airline restrooms. She had the kind of look that attracts TV Baptists. Her hair was big, bleached, and beautiful. Her face was tastefully painted, and her outfit was a very classy evening dress. Buford smiled. For a split second he thought neither of Haddie nor his wife. His mind and eyes walked toward him in slow motion. Suddenly she was gone. Her dress was empty and it slid down onto the floor under a pile of blonde wig. Buford stopped. He was surprised. The people on either side of the aisle were surprised, at least those who were still there. Some of them had dissapeared as well."

Page 30 and 31: "...there are only two options when writing apocalyptic literature," Buff said. "The first is as follows: When writing dialogue, at the end or in the middle of every line the author must insert the phrase 'he said', 'she said', or someone's name followed by the word 'said.' Of course, real authors of fiction prefer the word 'said' to all the many creative options that an amateur will come up with. But they will lace it through their dialogue, not distracting from what is being said by saying 'said,' but using it so the reader can keep track of the speaker. Only the good apolalyptic writer, or an eigth grader writing for an assignment, will give you the 'said' phrase following every speech. But there is also the other option. The second option is to leave the speaker completely unnamed. This is useful because he is it hip and keeps the reader interested, because he is always trying to discern the speaker. It goes something like this:

'Why?'
'What?'
'Where have you been?'
'Nowhere in particular. How is the Rapture treating you?'
'Well, the traffic is rough.'
'Is your mother still a masseuse?'
'Sure, you need a rubdown?'
'Are you ready for a physical relationship?'
'No.'

"In this way the reader is forced to go back and count lines in order to discover the speaker."

The humor extends to more serious points, which subtly point out the gross errors in dispensational eschatology and theology. Page 43 points out their neo-gnostic leanings: "She got on her knees and crawled to a window. It wouldn't open. In a last reaction against the evils of the material world, she kicked the glass and crawled out into the sky."

Thankfully the author doesn't only parody the two dimensional characters and amateurish dialogues. He also points out the errors of dispensational theology and makes it fun to read about.

Finally, since I've been among those who shakes his head when I see so many people reading the "Last Days Goofiness", I really needed to read this book to get a good laugh. The last book that I read that was even remotely funny was "An Objetive, Scholarly History of the Early Church" by Dave Hunt.

Okay, I admit it, I read the first book in the Left Behind series. It was moderately interesting, but I can't say I was dying to read the second one. This parody is relatively short, and there were about three scenes that just made me roll on the floor! The one in the Christian bookstore was *priceless*, and the author truly captured our crazy Christian culture. There were some cute suprises in the dialogues, things that make you giggle to yourself.

Here you find an excellent and thoughtful critique of modern pop-Christianity all wrapped up in goofiness. You will find yourself laughing and thinking at the same time. There was so much potential in this project that I feel it didn't quite live up to. But overall, it was a joy to read, and I even read a few of the scenes out to my husband, who laughed as loud as I did. Those scenes earned this book four stars.

The good folks at Credenda/Agenda, a journal of Reformed theology and opinion, have issued a line of parodies skewering various forms of silliness that have overtaken the Evangelical Protestant landscape. Any who have read Credenda/Agenda know it is sometimes caustic, usually challenging, and always Calvinist. This series shows they can also be extremely funny - shattering the common image of Reformed folk as people whom God has predestined to be humorless.

Right Behind is a truly cutting satire that joyfully pokes fun at the pretensions, bad theology, and "bunker mentality" of the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Normally, a good parody concentrates on a particular trait that in any other context would be amusing and brings it to the forefront. The difficulty here is that the entire series is a ridiculous concoction that can make no sense outside of a narrow and distorted understanding of certain passages of Holy Scripture. An additional hurdle is that many readers of the series have no idea how badly they are written. It is a tribute to Wilson's writing skill (and comedic sense) that he so successfully pulls it off.

Wilson leaves few stones unturned in mining the original series for laughs. The implausible plots, the absurd dialogue, the lack of any sense of historical or cultural understanding exhibited in the Left Behind series all come under a barrage of brilliant satire. The "battle scene" in a Christian bookstore is absolutely hilarious. Even the cover contains pointed jabs with the fact that LaHaye is not actually involved in the writing noted by having a sock puppet (Mr. Sock) as the prophecy expert/co-author. The common practice of authors endorsing books they have not read is also lampooned by including endorsement blurbs by St. Augustine and John Calvin - among others.

The reaction to the book is bound to be mixed. Those who are ardent fans of the Left Behind series will probably not find the suggestion of poor judgment on their part appealing. Those unfamiliar with the Left Behind series will probably not understand some of the allusions. However, those in the Church whom the "prophecy experts" never fooled or who now reject the distortions of God's word in such sensationalistic fare will find it highly entertaining. The latter group, in particular, may laugh heartily at the errors of their youth.

Great book! Both Right Behind and The Mantra of Jabez are great reading. These books are comic relief for the goofiness of contemporary evangelicalism.

P.S. To Nathan Wilson, my sympathies go out to you concerning Mr. Sock. If he is still alive, may he soon be found. Perhaps if you chant the words of Jabez he'll miraculously re-appear just as he vanished (or maybe he was raptured or something, I dunno).

I love the Left Behind Series.
I even agree with it's view on the end times.
While MOST who are against the LB Series are down right nasty to followers, and though most of them are merely capatalizing their whiny butts into their moment in the spotlight, THIS book is totally different.
YES, this is a spoof, and YES the author disagrees with the writers of LB. But even in the end, you can tell there is still respect amongst fellow believers (something anti-LBers usually don't have.)
This book is a hillarious parody. I suggest even if, like me, you DO agree with the LB series.

I laughed - Ha!, I cried myself to sleep.... and I woke up laughing even harder! I found myself giggling out loud and then having to read sections of this book out loud to my husband and guests (at this point, I could go on ad nauseum about voicing this book out loud and my listeners' responses, all the time not in any way advancing my thoughts on this review, but you'll get the idea better from reading the book...) I had been given a copy of Left Behind as a gift a couple years ago, and despite all the rave reviews, I couldn't read beyond the first dozen pages because IT WAS SO POORLY WRITTEN, nevermind the silly theology and completely implausible plot. So it was with great mirth that I read Right Behind, a book that not only spoofs this goofy Left Behind series, but at the same time pokes fun at all poorly written, shallowly developed, "action-packed," bad-dialogue-driven, suspense-type novels that include a plethora of steriotyped characters. I enjoyed this book immensely, as did my husband (we were each grabbing it whenever the other didn't have it in hand!!), and we plan to pass it on to a bunch of other friends (who aren't completely already enraptured with the Left Behind series - wouldn't want to offend, eh?). Anyway, kudos to Nathan Wilson for a very funny book that also reminds us that the God portrayed in Left Behind couldn't possibly be the same God who created "the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and by Thine outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for Thee!" (Jer. 32)