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Title: Soon by Jerry B. Jenkins ISBN: 0-8423-8406-5 Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.96 (28 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: a real page turner
Comment: I had never heard of Jerry Jenkins until I started reading the Left Behind series. I was skeptical about this book, mostly because the flaws of Left Behind are in that it isn't extremely well written (powerful and compelling, but not exceptionally well written). I wasn't sure I wanted to read another religious End Times type story, especially from the same guy. Parts of the premise started sounding more interesting, and I finally decided to give it a shot. The style is very similar, it is a fast paced novel and rather simplistic at times, but a lot of fun to read.
It is 36 years after World War III (which happened in 2009). The war was a religious war and the end result was that there is a worldwide ban on religion. This would ensure that there would be no more conflict as most of the world's conflicts had to do with religion. Now, 36 years later, whatever religion that exists has gone underground. Religion and all aspects of it are illegal, and it is hated, feared and denounced by most of the world's population (think a Big Brother sort of indoctrination against religion).
Paul Stepola is an agent for the National Peacekeeping Organization. He is rabidly anti-religious, though he is a religion scholar (know thy enemy). His role is to kill (persecute) believers. There are reports of Christian groups popping up all over the country and it is his job to track them down and shut them down, with force. Paul begins the novel as rabidly anti-religious as you can be, but over the course of the book he softens and his journey mirrors that of Paul the Apostle (in the Bible, see the book Acts of the Apostles).
There are some very interesting concepts in this book, specifically the vision of the future where religion is outlawed. We know from the beginning that this book will have a Christian tint to it and will naturally support a Christian worldview, but this is also just an interesting book to read. I mentioned earlier that it was a fast moving book, and it is. This is the kind of book that I just fly through. Like the Left Behind novels, the writing is simplistic (not necessarily a bad thing) and this time there weren't any names that felt amateurish and grating like Buck Williams did. I didn't expect to enjoy this novel, but I did. It is the first book of a proposed trilogy, and considering how fast Jerry Jenkins writes, you won't have to wait long for book 2 to come out. If you like religious fiction, give this one a try.
Rating: 4
Summary: Despite flaws, this futuristic thriller is a compelling read
Comment: Fans of the Left Behind series (which will conclude with the final book, GLORIOUS APPEARING in March 2004) have wondered what's next for the co-authors. For Jerry Jenkins the road has led to a new trilogy, which begins with SOON.
SOON is a futuristic thriller. The prologue, which starts with some hard-edged powerful writing, is more in-your-face chilling than anything in the Left Behind series. It's edgy and graphic. It is the reader's opening clue that Jenkins is pushing the envelope further with this new series.
The story is set in 36 P3. What is that, you ask? World War III ended in the Fall of 2009, and with it the world as we know it has changed. The religious war has eliminated entire countries and redefined the world, and a tsunami caused by exploding nuclear warheads has obliterated most of Asia, Hawaii and Southern California.
The war's result: the world ends up committed more than ever to peace. How can this be achieved? By banning religion and enforcing a law where anyone caught practicing their faith is punished with death.
The United States is now divided into the United Seven States of America, and its National Peace Organization seeks out religious terrorists in the goal of maintaining peace. This story takes place in the 36th year after the war's end, post-Word War III, or P36.
By the time readers have gone through the opening chapters, Jenkins has laid out a huge concept. Thinking about the wars over the centuries where man has fought over religious turf and religious beliefs, readers will take pause at the concept of life without religious conflict. Jenkins is at his best when he lays out an idea like this. He plays with it from a number of angles, and by the time he is done, readers have moved into this new world to hear the story.
Paul Stepola is a zealous agent in the National Peace Organization. He takes his role as an enforcer seriously, and travels around the country killing believers on sight. Along the way he starts to see some startling new trends as there are some unexplained supernatural events, which defy meaning. The NPO labels them as conspiracies, but Stepola starts to see them as signs of something else --- a force that is greater than man, but illegal.
After he has a miraculous healing of his own after a blinding accident, he recognizes that religion is a force that should not be denied. He begins to work with religious zealots to spread the word of God while embracing the concept that the rapture will be coming "soon." Thus there is an urgency to get religious information into the hands of those who are not yet committed, as only believers will be assumed into heaven.
While I appreciated the concepts outlined in SOON, there are times where I felt the writing hastened the story along way too quickly. There needed to be more tension between Stepola seeing a concept and embracing it. All too often the reader sees the challenge and the setup, and the resolution within a few paragraphs instead of exploring it with more tension, or questioning.
Also, whenever I read Jenkins' writing I harken back to my college English professor who once told me after hearing the dialogue in one of my stories --- "people do not talk like that." He was right. The words I used were herky and jerky, and not as smooth as the natural cadence in people's phrasing. I always think of this reading Jenkins. His dialogue should be punched up, as well as descriptions of body language and personality. It's all black and white, and the characters plod more than glide. The awkwardness of the writing becomes more apparent when so much energy has been put into the set up and the plot.
That said, when I read the last page, I was wondering what happens next. The futuristic angle had drawn me into the overarching premise, and after years of listening to the nightly news filled with stories fraught with religious conflict, the concept of life without religious tension definitely gets a reader thinking Those who enjoy wondering what if, those who want to know how others have had their faith tested and emerged stronger, and those who enjoy futuristic theories will be interested in SOON.
--- Reviewed by Carol Fitzgerald
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent book!
Comment: Taking the concept of Christian persecution to the modern/near future age, Mr. Jenkins truly indeed has created a great book where you are gripped in the storyline. It is relentless, and when it pauses you know that you are being set up for another shock in the plotline. Yes, there are plenty. =) I truly think that this book is more "real" than the books in the LB series (Which it is always being compared to), and it feels more real. I seriously recommend reading this, check your local public library if you can't buy it now. Trust me, you'll be glad you did!
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Title: Glorious Appearing: The End of Days (Left Behind #12) by Tim F. Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins ISBN: 0842332359 Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Pub. Date: 30 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
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Title: Babylon Rising by GREG DINALLO, TIM LAHAYE ISBN: 0553803220 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 21 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Apocalypse Dawn (Apocalypse Dawn, 1) by Mel Odom ISBN: 0842384189 Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: End of State (Political Thriller Left Behind, 1) by Neesa Hart ISBN: 0842384197 Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Pub. Date: January, 2004 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: Armageddon: The Cosmic Battle of the Ages (Left Behind #11) by Tim F. LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins ISBN: 0842332340 Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Pub. Date: 08 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
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