Left Behind analysis
Apocalyptic fiction has always captured my imagination. As it turns out, I like destroying the world. “People in extreme circumstances” often makes fiction compelling.
I’ve always adored The Stand, Stephen King’s best novel, and one of my favorites. I enjoyed Earth Abides. So, full of hope, I picked up Left Behind, and then actually plowed through all 12 volumes of the series, all the way to Glorious Appearing.
Here’s the plot, in a nutshell: All the “believers” are {killed|raptured}, and those left behind fight a seven-year battle against the Anti-Christ, culminating at Armageddon with the Second Coming of Christ.
Ok, that’s a pretty good setup for a story.
Unfortunately, the authors ruined a fine concept with awful execution. They made the apocalypse boring, the second coming of the Lord tedious. They crammed five books worth of material into twelve books. Of course, I bought all twelve books, so points for them, I guess.
Anyway, that’s my short review. More interestingly, here’s a blog where the writer is deconstructing the Left Behind series. He brings information and insight to the topic, including explaining the series’ basic flaw — “the characters in the book act like they read the book jacket.”
