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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hero in a dark time!!!, December 19, 2005
This review is from: Shadowed: A Novel (Hardcover)
Yes, this is one of the authors of the famed or infamous `Left Behind' series (over 63 Million copies sold), and though that series started off well, it slowed down so much and became so dry I could just not finish it. This, on the other hand, is a third book in a new trilogy. It reads like a spiritual Tom Clancy or Dan Brown. The first two books in this series are Soon and Silenced and now finally Shadowed.
The premise or background in this series is based in a post World-War III world. In 2009 a new world government was established in Bern Switzerland. This WW3 is known as the religious war. Since then all religion has been banned and has been persecuted. The world has stopped using A.D. (anno Domini, `in the year of our lord') with the new designator P.3. (Post-World War III) Our book takes place 37 years later in 38 P.3. and our hero is an unlikely religious hero. Paul Stepola did a Masters in Religious Studies after serving in the military. He worked for the regime in power as a sort of cop and intelligence community officer. He often infiltrated religious groups to break them up and persecute them. In the earlier books, Paul's life went through a drastic change, from finding a letter his father wrote at his birth, in which his father declared his faith, to being blinded in an explosion, to being a believer.
Paul's journey went from being undercover to being under suspicion for being a double agent. In most of the second book he is suspected of having turned, yet continues to convince the government of his loyalty. In this final installment he has to go underground, and not only that, he has his wife and two children with him. He has been found out and is hiding with the Columbia underground when former colleagues start helping him evade authorities.
Can he save his family, can he help bring religious freedom to the world again? Will faith prevail or finally be squashed forever? Read this fast-paced book or the whole series and find out!
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
futuristic thriller, September 23, 2005
This review is from: Shadowed: A Novel (Hardcover)
World War III was a holy war with no winners as survivors eke out an existence on a decimated planet. Reactionaries felt that religion was the cause of all wars and for this reason religion was banned and people who prayed openly were declared traitors and arrested. The Nation Peace Organization was formed to find the underground zealots and arrest them and until recently Paul Stepola was one of their best agents.
While hospitalized a believer talked to him and Paul eventually became a believer which was when his sight returned. He became a double agent, a mole who helped the believers whenever he could. With the oppression getting worse, the believers pray to God that the first born male of non-believers will die and He answers theirs their prayers proving to the world that he does exist since the underground announced the event before it happened. Neither Paul nor his son dies so the NPO knows that he is a believer. He and his family go on the run from the man who needs to punish his beliefs, his father in law, Ranold Decenti, the founder of the NPO. He wants his son-in-law his daughter and grandchildren punished for breaking the law.
This futuristic thriller in which religion is banned and an organization is formed to find and execute the traitors to the one world government is Jerry Jenkins at his very best. The characters are well developed, there is plenty of action and the storyline is believable because with God, all things are possible. The protagonist is a hero who risks his life to save the believers and overthrow the ban on religion while the antagonist is a frighteningly believable opponent who is more interested in power and revenge than the ideology he once believed in.
Harriet Klausner
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SHADOWED in the cloak of The Underground, December 23, 2005
This review is from: Shadowed: A Novel (Hardcover)
This was a great finale to the SOON series. I enjoyed each book very much, but this one I liked the best. I blew through this one in about 4 days, which is pretty fast for me.
The concept of a futuristic one-world government is written well by the author. The idea of a banishment of all religion is quickly approaching, at least from a Christian stand-point because we are "judgemental" and "intollerable" Well, forgive us for being honest.
I liked the resolution of this series and I think that this trilogy had me hooked and more interested than the first 3 books in the Left Behind series. I liked LB alot also, I am not one of those bashers, but I thought that this story-line was more gripping than that one, at least the first books of it.
I hope to see more from Mr. Jenkins. He is an easy read, but that just means I can get through them faster and have more time to read more stories.
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