Customer Reviews

The Rising: Antichrist Is Born (Before They Were Left Behind, Book 1)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Even though I am a huge fan of the Left Behind series and feel that it has done much to advance the cause of the Gospel throughout the world, I must admit that I rolled my eyes when I heard that Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye were releasing three more books. I felt that people had waited long enough for Glorious Appearing. I have actually talked to more and more people who liked the Left-Behind series but have felt that it should go quietly into the night.

So I was surprised at the aim and direction of Rising. Jenkins could have rolled out the same script and characters as Left Behind, inserted some forward-looking prophecies by Tim Lahaye, threw a few dozen Bible verses in and called it a day. Instead what comes forth is a reasoned, deep, character-driven, rich novel of intrigue and suspense.

Jenkins takes us through the rather sordid events that surround the conception of the one who will be the antichrist, tapping into a well of mainstream evangelical theories as to the origins of his birth. A dowdy teacher's aid is chosen by the Satan-worshipping organization that is setting itself up to rule the world. At the same time, we're taken through the very average life of one Rayford Steele, who will emerge, post-Rapture, as a hero and nemesis of Carpathia.

I was mildly disturbed and surprised by the detailed events of both Carpathia's conception and the juvenile college relationships of Rayford Steele. For that reason alone, I would not recommend this book to anyone under the age of 16-17 and even in that, I would hesitate. The book is clean, but some of the subjects discussed are appropriate for adults.

I was also delighted to see that Rising shares the clear Gospel message and takes a poke at the modern evangelical church who inspires and warms the heart but never seeks the salvation of the soul. To me it reveals the deeping longing in the heart of the writer to see more people added to God's Kingdom.

On the whole, Rising is a great prelude to the Left-Behind series, a wonderful read, but not a necessary companion to the twelve brilliant end-times volumes.

I had just finished the twelfth "Left Behind" book and was wondering how to feed my ravenous addiction to this series; then I found the prequels and eagerly started reading, "The Rising." It was surprisingly exciting and, I think, the best-written of the books so far. It's all about the childhoods of Rayford Steel and Nicholae Carpathia. Ray grows up in an average mid-west family, marries, and becomes a pilot. Nicholae is born to troubled parents in Romania; with the help of the mysterious Viv Inis he becomes a phenomenally successful entrepreneur with an eye on world domination.

Unbelievable dialogue was Jenkins' weakness in the previous books, but "The Rising" has a lot less dialogue and reads better. The narrative is swift and mesmerizing. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next to young Nicholae - his story was absolutely chilling and would make a terrific movie. Ray's life is more conventional but still interesting and well-told. The book ends with Nicholae, 23, about to enter the political arena; Ray is 32, dealing with marital problems and temptation at work. "Left Behind" fans are sure to enjoy this exciting prequel; it's a quick and satisfying read.

I absolutely loved the Left Behind series...some installments more than others, of course, but it will always remain one of my favorite series. At first I was excited to hear that they were going to write prequels...a chance to get to see how the characters in Left Behind became who they were, and all that...but after getting a few chapters into the book, I was struck by how boring it all was. Also, it felt like the authors went a little too into detail about some of the Satanic stuff...but maybe that was just me.

Despite my disappointment with The Rising, I will probably continue to read the prequels; one can only hope that it gets better from here.

Marilena Carpathia is a dowdy unfeminine woman who is more interested in the intellect than in looking attractive. She is married to Sarin who, like her, is a professor at the University of Bucharest in Romania. Their relationship is platonic, a mating of the minds, and she is satisfied until the day comes that she wants a child, something Sarin doesn't want. She meets and becomes involved with Viv Ivins, a spiritualist who worships Lucifer.

She tells Marlena that Lucifer will grant her a child if she promises to raise him to worship him. Both Lucifer and Christ contact her; the former promises her the child while the latter offers her nothing but salvation. She chooses Viv's god and gives birth to Nicolae who grows up to be a brilliant, cunning, and manipulative man who promises to worship Lucifer as his god in return for becoming ruler of the Earth.

Readers of the Left Behind series get to see how Nicolae came into being, how Viv entered his life and how Lucifer controlled events to make Nicolae the perfect Antichrist who would obey him. Surprisingly, hearts will go out to Marilena who realized she made a Faustian bargain and lived to regret it. The audience also learns how Rafe Steel becomes the man he grew up to be prior to the Rapture. THE RISING is a fantastic work that only master writers like Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins can produce.

Harriet Klausner

If you are looking for book 13 in the series then forget it; the series is over. The Rising begins something different. Yes, the characters are the same but in this series we get to meet them as individuals; we see them before their lives became intertwined. And yes, if you've read the Left Behind series you already know how the prequel series is going to end, or rather what it will begin, but to me that added to it. The Rising made me conscious of what I didn't know about the characters. While I agree with one review that parts of this book are indeed mature, I found that aspect to be realistic rather then bothersome. This book still falls in the category of great Christian literature and I think the authors took a courageous step to attempt to illustrate all aspects of life. Besides, anyone familiar with the story of Tamar and Judah?

I look at this book from another perspective. What about the millions of people who have never read any of the books in the Left Behind series? This book, and the characters, will be completely fresh to them and when they read the prequel series, followed by the original Left Behind series, they will probably have a richer Left Behind experience than I did. Hopefully when this series is finished, I will read the review of someone who read all the books in the proper order.

While never confusing them with great literature, I enjoyed the previous books in the Left Behind series. I was skeptical when I heard about this book, thinking it was just an excuse to make more money. My fears were justified.

This book goes back years before the series starts to find Rayford as a nine-year-old. He knows what he wants to do, be a professional athlete or a pilot. And there is no way he is taking over his father's tool and die business. In fact, his parents embarrass him. They're older then his friend's parents are and poorer then Ray would like. He is determined to become rich no matter which career path he takes.

Meanwhile in Romania, Marilena Carpathia has become surprised to find a longing for a child. Trapped in a marriage without romance, she searches to find a distraction. That distraction leads her to Viviana Ivinisova's class on spiritualism and a potential solution. Should she accept the offer even if it means raising her child as a spiritualist?

The problem with this book is that it really doesn't have a story to tell. We already know what will happen to the characters, so much of the suspense is gone. It serves more as biography then novel. I was also rolling my eyes as Ray spent time analyzing his actions toward his parents. I know of no nine-years-olds who have the incite he did. Heck, some adults wouldn't look at things that way.

There were some points of the book that held my interest, but these were few and far between. The lack of a story made the poor writing of the previous entries stand out even more here. My advice is to stick with the originals and skip the prequels. You aren't missing much.

I read the entire Left Behind series and ejoyed it very much. It was fast moving & very interesting. This book, on the other hand, was extremely slow and boring. I purchased it on CD. The unabridged recorded book containes 9 CD but half way into disc 4 I quit. In addition to the VERY slow story, the reader is dull and lifeless. If you completed the Left Behind series consider the last book THE END. Don't spend your money on The Rising.

Reading the reviews of these books is MUCH more entertaining than the books themselves.

LaHaye and Jenkins are continuing to hurt the cause of Christ by publishing such thin gruel. I know that the supporters of this series say that the books help spread the gospel. Maybe a handful of people from around the world have gotten saved as a result of these terribly written novels. I wonder though, how many more people would have heard the gospel if the authors and the readers spent the same time and money actually sharing the gospel themselves rather than hoping that unbelievers will get saved by reading these overgrown Chick tracts.

I was so excited to see the prequels and since I hadn't read the LB books in a while (I'm still on Glorious Appearing), I figured that I would get the prequel (which you can read BEFORE finishing the LB series)...BAD MOVE!

This novel basically covers the background stories of Nicolae (before birth)and Rayford (starting at age 9). To be extremely honest, Nicolae's story is WAAAAY more interesting than Ray's story, which I find quite disturbing, since Nicolae is the future antichrist, and I should not find any pleasure out of reading about his life. Ray's story was unnecessary and his background up until the college years when he meets Irene did not need to be read. It had no meaning to his character development. Contrastly, the story of Nicolae's mother WAS needed, but wasn't given. She was wishy-washy and I felt that she should have been a stronger character - geesh, she is after all the mother of the antichrist, right. It could have been better...but oh well.

I think that the novel seemed rushed at the end and it is not consistent with the time of the other novels (mentioning cell phones, car phones and high speed internet).

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE LB SERIES, but this one is not a good read at all...

From the very first letter of the alphabet that my eyes looked upon inside this series of books, until the very last period of the very last sentence, I was hooked. Each one of these books absorbed my attention like no other book has ever done in my life. Biblically sound, theatrically entertaining, and brilliantly written, the Left Behind books will inspire you to dig into God's word and take the pieces of news from your T.V. screen and match them right smack-dab up with the prophecies of the Bible. Your hair will stand up, your heart will race, and you will find yourself helplessly caught in the suspense. Once you finish one of these books, you will desperately race to your computer screen or your local library to pick up the next one!

Carrie Lynn Jones

Author of It All Began... When Jesus Gave Me Sneakers