...
Series: Left Behind
Title: Nicolae (Book 3)
Author(s): Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins
ISBN: 0-8423-2924-2
Format: Oversized Paperback
Page Count: 415
Overall Concept 7
Execution 8

This is the third book in the Left Behind series, which examines what would happen if the Rapture as outlined in the Bible were to happen in the modern era.

This book picks right up after the last, with the main characters realizing and having to accept a death of one of their own.

This book is a much faster paced book, with lots of action and suspense, very much unlike its two predecesors.

Due to the faster pace, this book seemed a much quicker read, but not less enjoyable. Actually the story didn't seem as dumbed down as the other two and therefore it became more enjoyable.

I still stand by my opinion that this series is best described as 'mental bubble gum', but it is very 'flavourful' and enjoyable none the less.

The end of this book is an even larger cliff hanger than the last, as we are left wondering the fates of two of the main cast, and the world is in even greater shambles than after book 2.

My peeves with this book, as with the last, is the way that the Catholic and Jewish faiths are overtly downplayed. The Pope in this novel is unrealistically dismissive of the tenants of the faith and is shown as a patsy for the anti-christ. And the Jewish are shown as seemingly spineless in how quickly they are willing to convert to the Chrisitian faith after the presentation of a simple arguement of the validity of Jesus as their prophesied saviour.

Also, there is portions of overly long explanation of what has gone on in some of the previous books. This I can explain off as the authors attempts to offset the time between the novels, and the readers perhaps forgetting some of the details. However, these 'flashbacks' are still too long and too detailed for the purposes of a 'recap'.

However, in light of todays seeming intolerance of faith or its positive expression (i.e. Muslims are shown in the media as zealots and terrorists, and the only time that religion comes into play in a movie or TV show is as a representation of its corruptive influence), this series is a refreshing example of how faith can be shown to be powerful, useful and necessary to the positive continuation of the human spirit. And since the reader is well aware that this book is aimed with goals of prostelyzation, so they can't be offending at its obvious attempts to do such.

All in all, I would recommend this book and series to anyone who 1) has an interest in Biblical Prophecy, 2) Christian based fiction or 3) is looking for a quick modern supernatural suspence read.