Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

Sinner: A Paradise Novel (The Books of History Chronicles)

Ted Dekker

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Thomas Nelson Amazon Marketplace: 37 new & used starting at $12.49

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Literature & Fiction -> Fiction
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Literature & Fiction -> Science Fiction & Fantasy
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Literature & Fiction -> Mystery

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Another disappointment from Ted Dekker 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I think I've just read my last Ted Dekker novel for a while.

I got interested in Dekker's stuff after reading House, his co-written effort with Peretti. I became an immediate fan and got a lot of enjoyment out of the Circle Trilogy, Obsessed, Blink, Thr3e and Showdown. Since reading Skin and Saint I started becoming disappointed with Dekker's stuff. It seemed like his stories would start really well then ultimately end poorly. Sinner is another example of this except that the first chapter or two is of the only interest and the rest goes downhill from there.

Contrary to what is written in the introduction to this book, there really is no point reading Sinner unless you have read Showdown and Saint in that order. But even if you have you will find this story dull. The course of events that take place in the storyline seem ridiculous to me. At one point we have Billy and Darcy being pursued by evil dudes to destroy them because of their supernatural powers which have suddenly manifested. The next we know, they've used those powers to help enact a federal law that effectively limits religious freedom, and Johnny thinks the best way to protest the law is to hole up in Paradise with 3000 others. Really it's all a bit implausible, even for supernatural fiction.

The storyline just doesn't flow at all, the four main characters are developed poorly, and not much really happens. Parts of the story made me wonder whether Ted Dekker actually wrote it all. Two thirds of the way through it was a real struggle for me to be bothered continuing.

My fear is that Ted Dekker has become pre-occupied with cranking out as many books as possible in the same hyper-marketing vein as the Left Behind series: endless sequels that don't finish and in which not much really happens.

For those who rate this as a 5 star book, all I can say is they mustn't read much fiction, or perhaps are only reading "Christian fiction". Even so, there's much better Christian fiction available than this.

Editorial Review:

Some say roll with the punches.  Drift with the tide.  Nothing can stop the inevitability of change.  There was a time when 300 Spartans disagreed with such mindless thinking and stood in the gap.

Now it's time for 3,000 to stand in the gap.

Sinner is the story of Marsuvees Black, a force of raw evil who speaks with wicked persuasion that is far more destrictive than swords or guns.  Beware all who stand in his way.

It's also the story of Billy Rediger and Darcy Lange, two unsuspecting survivors of a research project gone bad, who discover that they are perhaps the two most powerful souls in the land.  Listen to them or pay a terrible price.

And it's the story of Johnny Drake, the one who comes out of the desert and leads the 3,000.  Follow him and die.

Sinner tells the story of a free land where people who worship as they please and say what they believe are suddenly silenced in the name of tolerance.

The Chronicles of Narnia Boxed Set

C. S. Lewis

Amazon Price: $29.70 List Price: $45.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperTrophy Amazon Marketplace: 85 new & used starting at $17.93

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Action & Adventure
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Classics by Age -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1012 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good book 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I actually prefer a series of 7 books instead of a big one, so I could lie down on the couch and read it. Anyway, the book is well printed and inexpensive.

A wonderful book for young adventurers 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The Chronicles of Narnia Boxset (The Magician's Nephew; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; The Horese and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Threader; The Silver Chair; The Last Battle)

Before I let my five-year-old son see any movie version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, I wanted him to read it first and create his own interior images of Narnia. His imagination will be the better for this. The books are an appropriate alternative to the commercial campaigns of the companies hawking Transformers and Batman and Spiderman by which my son is targeted.

Editorial Review:

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, is one of the very few sets of books that should be read three times: in childhood, early adulthood, and late in life. In brief, four children travel repeatedly to a world in which they are far more than mere children and everything is far more than it seems. Richly told, populated with fascinating characters, perfectly realized in detail of world and pacing of plot, and profoundly allegorical, the story is infused throughout with the timeless issues of good and evil, faith and hope. This boxed set edition includes all seven volumes.

Chaos (The Lost Books, Book 4) (The Books of History Chronicles)

Ted Dekker

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Thomas Nelson Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $7.25

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Religions -> Fiction -> Christian
Subjects -> Teens -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Fantasy

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Dekker's Big, Sloppy Kiss of Chaos 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The big 4th book of Dekker's "Lost Books" had promise written all over it. I still think it should've been top notch. And with the sprawl and tenacity of "Renegade," I simply thought the best was yet to come. Ted Dekker is blessed that he is nothing less than an accomplished writer. Because I was rolling my eyes through the first hundred pages, and then it thankfully got better. That's a good thing!

So, you have Johnis and Silvie, hanging out in a stolen Chevy...in Las Vegas! But make no mistake about it, books are top priority! Don't get in the way.

Love is in the air, and deception is beyond the reach of nobody! And just when you thought the nasty stench of Alucard was gone, take another sniff. You never thought it could get this crazy, and going out for blood never tasted so good!

Remembering Elyon, remembering a purpose. Dekker refuses to reveal any tricks up his sleeve, but lets us know that we should be keeping our eyes peeled. And please, beware dear reader. Sometimes the end is simply the beginning! Especially with Ted Dekker. Don't forget that.

Get ready for a big kiss, but expect it to get bloody! So expect nothing less than a kiss of chaos.

Editorial Review:

A final quest and an ultimate betrayal.

Deep in the mountains of Romania stands a fortress, and deep within that fortress lies a chamber. In that chamber, ruling the dead for over two thousand years, lives one Shataiki bat straight from the bowels of the Black Forest. He seeks the final Books of History with which he will destroy the world.

But there are four who stand in the way.

The chosen are trapped in a new world of high technology and weapons of mass destruction. In the midst of chaos, they must find the last book before the Dark One can in this final test to save the world.

Renegade (The Lost Books, Book 3) (The Books of History Chronicles)

Ted Dekker

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Thomas Nelson Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $7.50

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Religions -> Fiction -> Christian
Subjects -> Teens -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Fantasy

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Dekker always surprises 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This 3rd in the Lost Books of History series is the best yet. Unexpected reverses and entrance into new worlds holds the reader's attention. Dekker never fails to give constant action and characters who touch the heart. Better buy 3 & 4 together, because you won't be able to wait for 4 after finishing 3!

Best yet in the series 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Sometime after the year 4000 AD, history appears to be repeating itself as Teeleh, enemy of Elyon, overruns the once lush green forests. Those who are faithful to Teeleh, the desert Horde, have multiplied in number, and those loyal to Elyon, the Forest Dwellers, must recruit a new army as theirs dwindles. Thomas of Hunter, the Forest Dweller commander, carefully selects 1,000 worthy young men and women to replenish his diminishing troops.

Heading up this unseasoned army are teenagers Johnis, Silvie, Billos and Darsal, who, unknown to Thomas, have been similarly handpicked by the white Roush (bat-like guardians of all that is good) for a larger mission than Thomas can imagine. The four are instructed to find the seven Books of History, which hold such supernatural power as to destroy all of mankind. With three in their possession, the foursome must search out their lands and that of the Horde to retrieve the other four...or so they think.

When Billos experiences a rush of power unlike anything he's ever known after touching the Book with his bleeding hand, he then schemes and steals the three books and escapes to the desert. Once alone, Billos repeats the process; a vortex opens to another reality and he steps into it. What he discovers is an alternate world where a mysterious stranger, Marsuvees Black, offers him unlimited power in exchange for the books. At his fingertips Billos receives what seems to be endless power to command weaponry to appear at will, and he ruthlessly uses it to kill off innocents in Paradise. Succumbing to the temptation despite inner misgivings, he turns traitor to Elyon and agrees to Black's plan.

Meanwhile, Billos's comrades discover him missing, search for him and the books, and must face Thomas with the truth. Thomas orders them to find Billos and stay out of trouble. Instead, more complications arise when Darsal sets off on her own to find Billos. Thinking herself alone, she is startled to see Karas, the former Horde girl, following her. Together they enter into enemy territory, and Darsal makes a deal with Alucard, the Shataiki, under command of Teeleh, to use his Book in order to rescue Billos. It works...sort of.

Johnis and Silvie, now in more trouble with Thomas for losing Darsal as well, search for her. Despite the danger and their separation, all four continue to play into destiny's hands as they brave their enemies and end up using the books to escape certain death. With one world and another colliding, each of the leaders discovers how Elyon is present with them throughout, using each decision, each circumstance, for a bigger purpose. Even so, not everyone in the group will survive.

This third installment in The Lost Books series is Ted Dekker's best by far. Fans will be eager for the final chapters where the battle for the seven Books of History will find their culmination. Fast-paced and multileveled, Dekker's prose shines in RENEGADE.

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe

Editorial Review:

One of the chosen has gone renegade.

Turning his back on all that he once believed, Billos enters the forbidden book and lands in a reality that is as foreign to him as water is to oil. A place called Paradise, Colorado, where he discovers he has strange new powers given to him courtesy of a mysterious figure known as Marsuvees Black.

The chosen four have survived the desert, escaped the Black Forest, battled the Horde, and added a spirited refugee to their number. But nothing has prepared them for the showdown that Billos, the renegade, will lure them into.

Chosen (The Lost Books, Book 1) (The Books of History Chronicles)

Ted Dekker

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Thomas Nelson Amazon Marketplace: 60 new & used starting at $5.13

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Religions -> Fiction -> Christian

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful book! I loved how this story shows how being "chosen" isn't always based on being the strongest, but maybe for some special inner quality that only God can see. The main characters have their faults, which make then easy to identify with, but it's so great to see them begin to grow and develop their strengths. This series is a must read for anyone who enjoyed the Circle Trilogy, especially as it gives more understanding of life in the forests there.

Editorial Review:

Think with your heart and prepare to die for you have been Chosen.

The land of the Forest Dwellers has been decimated by the Horde under the watchful eye of the vilest of all creatures, Teeleh. Thomas Hunter, supreme commander of the Forest Guard, is forced to lower the recruitment age of his army from 18 to 16. From among thousands, four new recruits are chosen to lead--and perhaps die--for the greater good.

The chosen four are sent on a quest to prove their character, but their mission takes a dramatic turn when they are intercepted, sworn to secrecy, and redirected to a different endgame. Now they must find the seven lost Books of History. Books that have power over the past, present, and future. Books whose words are alive. Books sought by the Dark One that control not only the destiny of their world . . . but that of ours as well.

Infidel (The Lost Books, Book 2) (The Books of History Chronicles)

Ted Dekker

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Thomas Nelson Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $7.49

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Religions -> Fiction -> Christian

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Fast-paced and compelling 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

In this second installment of Ted Dekker's action-fantasy series, The Lost Books, all four main characters --- Johnis, Silvie, Billos and Darsal --- are immediately thrust back into active combat after their celebratory evening. Johnis can't get his mind off the fact that the recovered ring signifies that his mother is still alive. But just how is she living? As a slave? Is she a Horde now? Under what conditions will he find her? Obsessed by this newfound knowledge, Johnis and Silvie sneak out of the city, taking their lives into their own hands and following Johnis's heart instead of his head.

Clearly, Johnis wants to rescue his mother, but there is opposition from both inside his ranks and outside. And complications. The power of the book is also another mystery and a compelling one; when someone touches the book after spilling his blood, something otherworldly and intense takes place. But where does this power come from? Is it a tool of Elyon or of Teelah?

After battling their way into the enemy city with the help of a small Horde girl, Johnis and Silvie do find his mother, but they also become victim to a bigger plot and are trapped. Johnis is given an ultimatum --- either agree to help the Horde find and abduct Thomas Hunter, or they will kill both his mother and Silvie. Johnis's heart is wrenched in two as he tries to wriggle his way out of this no-win situation.

Martyn, the Horde general, outlines the entire scheme to Johnis right down to the lies he would tell to lure Thomas into the trap. With more bravado than he feels, Johnis approaches Thomas and sets the ambush. A forest guard warrior turned traitor, Justin of Southern, with whom the Horde knows Thomas cannot resist meeting, is the bait. Johnis spins a story that Thomas is to meet with Justin in Red Valley as soon as possible. The Horde knows Thomas's interest will be piqued and they're right; plying him with lie after lie, Johnis lures the commander into the desert before abandoning him without horse or water. Riding away, convicted and ashamed, Johnis tries to convince himself that he had just acted on behalf of his mother and Silvie. But thoughts of a stunned Thomas stranded without aid won't leave his mind.

Thankfully, despite his many and frequent mistakes, others step in and assist Johnis, offering both real help and needed mercy before the final stage is set. As the "chosen" one, Johnis learns a great deal about following his heart, using his head, and listening to the counsel of his fellow warriors and friends. With lightning speed action, Ted Dekker delivers another energizing tale that will have readers of this series impatient for its next compelling segment. But as they wait, the multi-leveled plot and theological repercussions will keep fans mulling the storyline over and over.

--- Reviewed by Michele Howe

Editorial Review:

From Chosen to Traitor?

After being stretched to their limits, the four heroic young Forest Guard recruits--Johnis, Silvie, Billos, and Darsal--are pulled into deeper danger on their mission to secure the seven lost Books of History.

Celebrated as a hero, Johnis's world is shattered when he learns that his mother may not be dead as presumed but could be living as a slave to the Horde. Throwing caution to the wind, he rushes to her rescue.

But this is precisely what the Horde has planned. Now he will face a choice between Silvie, whom he is quickly falling for, and his sworn duty to protect the Forest Dwellers. How can he save those he loves without betraying his own people?

In the end, one will be revealed as the Infidel. And nothing will be the same for the remaining Chosen.

The Sparrow

Mary Doria Russell

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Ballantine Books Amazon Marketplace: 232 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Literary
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Authors, A-Z -> ( R ) -> Russell, Mary Doria
Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Science Fiction -> Adventure

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 454 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Spellbound 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Only two-thirds thru, I cannot wait to review it.

Normally I do not care for stories that jump constantly between timeframes, but in this instance, I am grateful for the relief. Starting at the far ends of the situation, the author builds to an intensity in one part of the story and then skillfully switches to the other end, usually just at the point I would have had to put the book down to take a breather from it. As it is, now I can hardly bear to put it down.

Another reviewer questioned, as I did, do I really want to expose myself to the horrors that destroyed the crew of this mission to a strange planet; I have reserved the fifth star for this review because of that, as I am still on the edge of wondering, do I go on or should I stop before I am simply to aghast to continue. The author, however, builds the suspense in such small increments, I hardly realize that I am becoming inured, and my need to know what happens next keeps drawing me farther.

I do know a couple of things about what is going to happen because I stumbled upon a couple of spoilers for this story in the review of its sequel, so anyone who really doesn't want to know more than the author intends, I suggest NOT checking out Children of God -- which I am still undecided whether to order, depending on how Sparrow unfolds.

But I am definitely adding the author to my list of favorite writers. I really do not care what genre a book is determined to be, or when or where the story takes place; the most important thing for me is character development. I have to like, or at least be able to relate to, the people in the story in order to give a darn what happens to them. I have put more than one book down halfway through it just because slogging through all those pages for people I don't care for is too big a waste of my time. No danger of that here; Russell writes people so clearly and so sympathetically that I want to meet them in real life.

Editorial Review:

In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet which will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question the meaning of being "human." When the lone survivor of the expedition, Emilio Sandoz, returns to Earth in 2059, he will try to explain what went wrong... Words like "provocative" and "compelling" will come to mind as you read this shocking novel about first contact with a race that creates music akin to both poetry and prayer.

Glorious Appearing (Left Behind)

Jerry B. Jenkins, Tim LaHaye

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tyndale House Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 104 new & used starting at $2.15

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> World Literature -> United States -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 286 Average rating: 2.5 of 5

Sunday school from Hell 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I'd like to say that my title is more than a little harsh, but frankly I can't. I skimmed through probably 2/3rds of this book searching for when the droning sermons would end.
Quite frankly, I don't think Jesus is that boring, nor that cruel to make his children suffer through a holier than though monotone sermon that covers not one but up to six pages at a time. Nor do I think, as it's been pointed out from other reviewers, that He would get such manical pleasure in incinerating millions of people and as was pointed out from another, so many innocent horses.
One thing that really irritated me about this book is how all of sudden Nicolae/Lucifer is turned into the biggest bafoon in all of creation. My apologies to the everyone who had a hand in publishing this book, but Lucifer did not command an army of millions of angels during the great Battle, nor has he spun his charms on so much of mankind by being a complete idiot.
The fact that I am not a Christian will cause many to say that that is why I don't like the books, and I'm completely missing the message. The message I gleaned from this book, and many of the books in the series is that fear mongering is still a preferred method of recruitment into the Christian ranks. It is because of this philosophy that millions of others like me will fear not our Lord Creator, but those who would wish to murder us because we aren't self-defeating sheep and have the nerve to think for ourselves.

Editorial Review:

Thousands of years of human history stained by strife, death, and sin come to an end when the King of Glory returns to earth. The satisfying conclusion of the seven years of tribulation covered by the Left Behind series portrays the return of Jesus Christ to earth in both glory and judgment at the height of the battle between the forces of evil gathered at Armageddon and the remaining Christian believers at Petra and Jerusalem. Nothing seems to be able to stop the Antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia. But God is in control. Street date: Tuesday, November 16, 2004.

Nicolae: The Rise of Antichrist (Left Behind No. 3)

Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tyndale House Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 1878 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> General
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Literature & Fiction -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 376 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Antichrist. The very word send shivers through us. And Nicolae Carpathia certainly does not disappoint as Antichrist. Nicolae is the third book in Left Behind series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, and is preceded by book one, Left Behind, and book two, Tribulation Force.

Nicolae Carpathia becomes the focus as he continues to consolidate his power, unifying political states ("Global Community"), media ("Global Community Network," "Global Weekly"), and religions ("Enigma Babylon One World Faith") under a Nicolae-appointed supreme pontiff. Nicolae himself is grand potentate of the global community.

Our heroes, pilot Rayford Steele and journalist Buck Williams, along with the rest of the Tribulation Force, continue their struggle to survive and protect their families in the midst of global war and destruction. They have come to recognize Nicolae Carpathia to be the Antichrist prophesied in the Bible, and to them it comes as no great revelation that this man, who presented himself as a charming and benevolent leader, has been unmasked as a ruthless and cruel tyrant, manipulating people and events to serve his own ends. And his ends are undoubtedly evil.

It becomes apparent that the chaos and turmoil created by Nicolae are the fulfillment of John's prophesy of the seven seals as recorded in the book of Revelation. And it becomes also apparent they are now facing the sixth seal, a great earthquake which is sometimes called "the wrath of the lamb." This upheaval of the earth, with its accompanying death and destruction, is familiar apocalyptic imagery: a blood-red moon, a sun turned black, and the stars falling from the sky. And the Tribulation Force discovers that these incredible descriptions turn out to be not so very far from the truth.

Who survives? How? What does Nicolae have in mind for the world? Readers of the first two books should not be disappointed with this third installment to this chilling tale.

Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne (Left Behind No. 9)

Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Tyndale House Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 141 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Contemporary
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> Genre Fiction -> Action & Adventure
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Literature & Fiction -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 236 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Amidst the glitzy fanfare of a new world regime, control is unraveling for self-proclaimed god and Global Community potentate Nicolae Carpathia in Desecration, the ninth installment in the Left Behind series. It's 25 days into the Great Tribulation, and the newly resurrected Carpathia evinces an increasing fondness for gruesome killing. He's thrown into turmoil when the first two "bowls of wrath" from the biblical book Revelation are poured out on the world. Water turns into blood, and those who are branded with the mark of loyalty become covered with loathsome sores. When Carpathia commits the ultimate act of desecration against the Judeo-Christian community, chaos ensues. Meanwhile, the Tribulation Force soldiers on, receiving visitations from heavenly messengers that prod the team to greater acts of courage. Jenkins's characters seem almost comic book-like in their actions; the author relies on pages of slangy, slapstick dialogue rather than character development or descriptive settings to flesh out his tales. It's the angst of wondering what disaster will occur next and the fascination with end times that keep loyal fans turning the pages. And there's no shortage of angst here. Chang Wong flirts with suicide. Hattie Durham risks her life in a confrontation with Carpathia. Tsion Ben-Judah inadvertently gives away a secret location. Chloe Williams uncovers a remnant of believers. There are touches of the standard Left Behind humor, and even some romance in the last days. As always, readers are left hanging at the edge of disaster, which should keep appetites whetted for the promised next installment. --Cindy Crosby