The End Is Now (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Anybody who can make the apocalypse funny without being patronizing deserves attention. Stennett (The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher) brings a dramatist's sensibility (his professional background is theater) to this story of a test market for the rapture: Goodland, Kan., home not of everyman but the Henderson family, whose members include fifth-grader Will. Lost in a cornfield, Will receives a vision of three signs of the rapture, a time when, according to Christian teaching, true believers will be lifted from the world before it dissolves in chaos and tribulation. That teaching was the basis for the gazillion-selling Left Behind apocalyptic novels. Stennett offers the apocalypse for the wry and non-literal-minded. Parables may be old-fashioned, but satire fits the times. Stennett's imaginative twist is not entirely successful; sometimes the narrative drags as it presents widely varying viewpoints. But the family at the heart of this satire is goofily believable, and examining the nature of belief—whatever its content—is not at all goofy. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Anybody who can make the apocalypse funny without being patronizing deserves attention. Stennett (The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher) brings a dramatist's sensibility (his professional background is theater) to this story of a “test market for the rapture”: Goodland, Kan., home not of everyman but the Henderson family, whose members include fifth-grader Will. Lost in a cornfield, Will receives a vision of three signs of the rapture, a time when, according to Christian teaching, true believers will be lifted from the world before it dissolves in chaos and tribulation. That teaching was the basis for the gazillion-selling Left Behind apocalyptic novels. Stennett offers the apocalypse for the wry and non-literal-minded. Parables may be old-fashioned, but satire fits the times. Stennett's imaginative twist is not entirely successful; sometimes the narrative drags as it presents widely varying viewpoints. But the family at the heart of this satire is goofily believable, and examining the nature of belief—whatever its content—is not at all goofy. (July) — Publishers Weekly reviews

(Publishers Weekly reviews )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310286794
• ISBN-13: 978-0310286790
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #220,753 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh why did this book have to end??, July 16, 2009

By	PriscillyGirl - See all my reviews

I have four words for you: This book is AMAZING. I don't even know how to describe it to you. I read a review of this book claiming that it was "hilarious", which it certainly is not. Yes, there were some funny moments, but they were 'Smile Inwardly' funny moments, not laugh out loud moments. It's a satire technically I suppose, but I think it would be better described as The Left Behind books for the rest of us. You know, the same thrilling end times story without being forced to endure having the disturbing worldview of premillennial dispensationalists like Tim LaHaye shoved down your throat. To put it in simpler terms, this book is the Left Behind series minus the misogyny, intolerance, glorification of violence, and best of all minus the descriptions of our Lord as a bloodthirsty killer. Ahh I'm going off on a tangent here, but you get what I'm saying, don't you?

The book is an edge of your seat thriller. I couldn't even pick it up during the day time because once I started reading I could. not. put. it. down. One night after having devoured a third of the book in one sitting, I had to throw it down on the table and run away so I wouldn't stay up all night reading. Some of the descriptions of the events in the story were so vivid and powerful that I got goosebumps.

One more important thing: I don't think you need to be a Christian to love this book. The book is definitely written from a Theistic viewpoint, but it doesn't preach or force any particular view. I don't know if Rob Stennett actually believes in the Rapture or not. All I know is that his writing didn't insist either way, and that's a pretty remarkable accomplishment.

So, in conclusion, read this book. Better yet, buy 20 copies and pass them on to everyone who you love so that they can be so blessed as well! Then come back and find me and we'll form a Rob Stennett fan club. What are you waiting for?? Go!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get ready for rapture, June 25, 2009

By	Jeff - See all my reviews

When you read about religious believers pondering whether to cut down branches in the cemetery in order to spare the rising dead any nasty head wounds as they are raptured to meet their Lord, you know that you have a different, non-"Left Behind" kind of rapture story. And, it turns out, a better one.

Rob Stennett's "The End is Now" is refreshing because it doesn't take the rapture so seriously. Or better yet, because Stennett knows precisely how serious rapture eschatology really is, he sees that to truly wrestle with its social and theological implications, one needs a bit of satirical distance. We find it at the very beginning: the Almighty wants to scope out just how the rapture will work when he finally pulls the curtain, so he sets up a test run in Goodland, Kansas. Three signs are given to young Will Henderson that will serve as warning and preparation.

It's not quite complete to call the novel a satire: it's at least a detective-mystery-satirical-rapture thriller where the pages can't stop turning themselves. The tension builds and builds, but the book always refuses to tread where you think it's headed.

The hilarious idea of a test market rapture allows the story to explore some perennial ideas in philosophy and religion. For example, there is a delightful ambiguity that marks the entire work: Has God revealed Himself to Will Henderson, or has Will simply imagined his prophetic message? Stennett gives hints towards both readings, and indeed, it's not clear if "The End is Now" thinks that these are genuinely exclusive categories. More broadly, are the apocalyptic signs in Goodland acts of God, or simply Nature doing what she does? Stennett's not telling.

I think he's just as interested in why we're so ready to avow and fanatically gulp down religion, or equally, to spit it out, and that's what makes the novel so good. The book is a kickin' apocalyptic thriller about how God uses the rapture in Goodland, but even more poignantly, it wrestles with how God is used by us.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The End is Now.....and that's a good thing, June 17, 2009

By	Scandalous Sanity (Texas) - See all my reviews

The End is Now is the story of a small town in Kansas that believes that it will be raptured before the rest of the world. The residents of Goodland, Kansas believe that they have been chosen by God to be the "test market" for the rapture. They will be the warning sign for the rest of the world.

Enter the Hendersons, a normal family living on the outskirts of town. Jeff is a car salesman who is not very good at his job, but still does his best to provide for his family. Amy is the typical housewife, but with a little bit of attitude. Their daughter Emily is obsessed with becoming homecoming queen at her high school, and their son Will is a normal fifth grader that loves comic books.

One night Will decides to take a shortcut through a cornfield on his way home, and gets lost. While inside the cornfield, Will is visited by a face that tells him the rapture is imminent, and that there will be three signs that proceed it. Will becomes a famous (or infamous) prophet in his town, correctly predicting a disaster, though he is often unsure of himself. The town divides between those who believe that the rapture will soon occur and those that find the rapture ridiculous. People begin to fight, and the town quickly unravels into chaos. The only way order is restored is through some brave actions by Will.

Rob Stennett moves seamlessly between satire and real drama, leaving readers wondering which they are reading. It is masterful writing, and makes you want to go back and read certain passages again, because you are sure there is a hidden joke in the dialogue or narration. Stennett also has a remarkable grasp on Christian pop culture, knowing what to poke fun at (bumper stickers) and what to respect. And I won't spoil it, but the legendary Crystal Pepsi gets a plug.

The End is Now is a story that blends fundamentalism, satire, humor, prophecy, and insight. It's a rare combination, but Rob Stennett is able to pull it off. Goodland, Kansas is not only the scene of the "test market" for the rapture, it is where Christian beliefs and human nature are exposed at their best and worst, stretched to their limits for the world to see.