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Left Behind #8
The Mark
His Excellency Global Community Potentate Nicolae Carpathia has been resurrected and indwelt by Satan himself. He plans to remodel his offices and add two floors to his palace, including a glass ceiling. He also demands that the people of the Global Community worship him. Statues of himself are erected for worship. He introduces Viv Ivins to the senior staff and tells them of the loyalty mark program. The Antichrist declares that every single person on earth must receive his mark of loyalty and worship his image or lose their head to the loyalty enforcement facilitator.
[Source wiki]
[Source wiki]
381 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 2000
About the author
Tim LaHaye
604 books2,018 followersTimothy "Tim" F. LaHaye was an American evangelical Christian minister, author, and speaker, best known for the Left Behind series of apocalyptic fiction, which he co-wrote with Jerry B. Jenkins.
He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.
He has written over 50 books, both fiction and non-fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 496 reviews
February 12, 2019
The Mark is the eighth installment in the Left Behind Series. I started this series about a year ago and haven’t regretted it at all. While this is my first endevour with Christian fiction, it is not my first with dystopian. Not being a religious person myself, I was worried coming into it that I would struggle with the context of the story. Luckily, that has not been the case. I find the story to be compelling, interesting and very exciting. They have all been quick reads as well, which is nice.
Nicolae Carpathia has been resurrected and granted powers by Satan himself. That’s right, people. This is not a drill. The title “antichrist” is official. Due to his belief that he is now God, Carpathia mandates that statues be constructed in his image and that the masses worship those images at least 3 times a day. And he also introduces the Mark of Loyalty which has been prophesied already in the bible.
What is the Mark of Loyalty? It’s the Mark of the Beast. One needs to have it in order to trade or buy goods. And if one does not have said mark, they are given the choice of taking the Mark or losing their heads to the “Loyalty Enforcement Facilitator” which is a fancy way of saying guillotine. Obviously the days of accepting other faiths are gone. Our Tribulation Force is forced to go underground if they hope to stay alive to see the Glorious Appearing.
We run into some old friends that we thought were dead or serving the antichrist. We find new believers and lose some friends to the cause along the way. The story just continues to roll on and every time you think there’s no way it could get more exciting, it somehow does. Our main core of believers get into these crazy situations but manage to find a way out. Knowing that not all of our faithful believers won’t make it until the end leaves you on the edge of your seat every single time.
I think the writers do a great job creating a very believable scenario around the biblical prophesies. The characters get a little more depth each time you encounter them. The shifting perspectives make for a suspsensful reading experience and keeps those pages turning!
Nicolae Carpathia has been resurrected and granted powers by Satan himself. That’s right, people. This is not a drill. The title “antichrist” is official. Due to his belief that he is now God, Carpathia mandates that statues be constructed in his image and that the masses worship those images at least 3 times a day. And he also introduces the Mark of Loyalty which has been prophesied already in the bible.
What is the Mark of Loyalty? It’s the Mark of the Beast. One needs to have it in order to trade or buy goods. And if one does not have said mark, they are given the choice of taking the Mark or losing their heads to the “Loyalty Enforcement Facilitator” which is a fancy way of saying guillotine. Obviously the days of accepting other faiths are gone. Our Tribulation Force is forced to go underground if they hope to stay alive to see the Glorious Appearing.
We run into some old friends that we thought were dead or serving the antichrist. We find new believers and lose some friends to the cause along the way. The story just continues to roll on and every time you think there’s no way it could get more exciting, it somehow does. Our main core of believers get into these crazy situations but manage to find a way out. Knowing that not all of our faithful believers won’t make it until the end leaves you on the edge of your seat every single time.
I think the writers do a great job creating a very believable scenario around the biblical prophesies. The characters get a little more depth each time you encounter them. The shifting perspectives make for a suspsensful reading experience and keeps those pages turning!
April 10, 2013
A re-read - well worth it - has made me go digging in the Bible - if you haven't read the series, some of the stuff in these books look like they are ripped out of today's headline news. Make me think of a line from a song "I wished we'd all been ready"
Life was filled with guns and war,
And everyone got trampled on the floor,
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold,
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,
I wish we'd all been ready,
There's no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you've been left behind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A man and wife asleep in bed,
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone,
I wish we'd all be ready,
Two men walking up a hill,
One disappears and one's left standing still,
I wish we'd all been ready,
There's no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you've been left behind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life was filled with guns and war,
And everyone got trampled on the floor,
I wish we'd all been ready,
Children died, the days grew cold,
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,
I wish we'd all been ready,
There's no time to change your mind,
How could you have been so blind,
The Father spoke, the demons dined,
The Son has come and you've been left behind.
Life was filled with guns and war,
And everyone got trampled on the floor,
I wish we'd all been ready
Children died, the days grew cold,
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,
I wish we'd all been ready,
There's no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you've been left behind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A man and wife asleep in bed,
She hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone,
I wish we'd all be ready,
Two men walking up a hill,
One disappears and one's left standing still,
I wish we'd all been ready,
There's no time to change your mind,
The Son has come and you've been left behind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life was filled with guns and war,
And everyone got trampled on the floor,
I wish we'd all been ready,
Children died, the days grew cold,
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold,
I wish we'd all been ready,
There's no time to change your mind,
How could you have been so blind,
The Father spoke, the demons dined,
The Son has come and you've been left behind.
July 8, 2013
Another reviewer of this book asked "Should Christian Fiction be held to a higher standard?" Yes, it should.
"The Mark" reads more like a screenplay than a traditional book. The St. Martin's Guide to writing states that narration and description are needed for almost any type of writing. This book contains very little of either. (Can anyone actually tell at what point Rayford and Albie transitioned from the helicopter to the "fighter jet" in the beginning of the story? And just how did they put a 3rd person, Hattie, into a "fighter jet" later on? Most modern military fighter planes are 1 or 2-seaters.)
This book is almost 90% dialogue, and not good/realistic dialogue either. This is "sanitized for children" speech that is so ridiculous it sounds like it came from a 70's B movie. Real people do not speak this way. Real Christians, of which I am one, do not speak to each other as if giving a Sunday morning sermon. Nor do they only and always talk about God/Jesus and/or The Bible. This is screenplay style dialogue that is designed to reinforce the plot of the story, as well as teach the Gospel, but does nothing to present the characters as real, living people. The characters come off as nothing more than cardboard cut outs who are merely mouthpieces for Christian doctrine with no real personalities of their own and are impossible to care about.
There is absolutely no description of anyone's surroundings, or anything else for that matter. Outdoor settings are not described, indoor settings are not described, vehicles are mentioned but never described. People are almost never described, and when they are it is so minimally that if you blink you will miss it.
I can only surmise that Jerry B. Jenkins passed high school English, and perhaps even attempted college level composition, but I cannot believe that he has ever read any books other than for school classes. Ever. He could not have. Writers of genre fiction that you, dear reader, do not read but can find at your local library are better writers than this. Most mid list writers who are writing the latest Star Trek and Star Wars novels are light years beyond the weak story telling of "The Mark." (Weak storytelling does not make the cut with Star Trek and Star Wars novels.) I do not understand the high ratings and praise this book, and it's series, has received. I have a very hard time believing that Mr. Jenkins has written over 100 books and still writes this poorly. Has anyone ever tried to tell him just how bad this kind of writing is and what he needs to do to improve it? (Reading books with good narration and description is a start. A challenging book like Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" or "Light in August" is even better.)
"There's a magic moment, a really magic moment, if you read enough that will always come to you, if you want to be a writer, where you put down some book and say 'This really sucks. I can do better than this, and this got published.'"-Stephen King
("The Mark" is one of those books, and was THE book for me.)
"The Mark" reads more like a screenplay than a traditional book. The St. Martin's Guide to writing states that narration and description are needed for almost any type of writing. This book contains very little of either. (Can anyone actually tell at what point Rayford and Albie transitioned from the helicopter to the "fighter jet" in the beginning of the story? And just how did they put a 3rd person, Hattie, into a "fighter jet" later on? Most modern military fighter planes are 1 or 2-seaters.)
This book is almost 90% dialogue, and not good/realistic dialogue either. This is "sanitized for children" speech that is so ridiculous it sounds like it came from a 70's B movie. Real people do not speak this way. Real Christians, of which I am one, do not speak to each other as if giving a Sunday morning sermon. Nor do they only and always talk about God/Jesus and/or The Bible. This is screenplay style dialogue that is designed to reinforce the plot of the story, as well as teach the Gospel, but does nothing to present the characters as real, living people. The characters come off as nothing more than cardboard cut outs who are merely mouthpieces for Christian doctrine with no real personalities of their own and are impossible to care about.
There is absolutely no description of anyone's surroundings, or anything else for that matter. Outdoor settings are not described, indoor settings are not described, vehicles are mentioned but never described. People are almost never described, and when they are it is so minimally that if you blink you will miss it.
I can only surmise that Jerry B. Jenkins passed high school English, and perhaps even attempted college level composition, but I cannot believe that he has ever read any books other than for school classes. Ever. He could not have. Writers of genre fiction that you, dear reader, do not read but can find at your local library are better writers than this. Most mid list writers who are writing the latest Star Trek and Star Wars novels are light years beyond the weak story telling of "The Mark." (Weak storytelling does not make the cut with Star Trek and Star Wars novels.) I do not understand the high ratings and praise this book, and it's series, has received. I have a very hard time believing that Mr. Jenkins has written over 100 books and still writes this poorly. Has anyone ever tried to tell him just how bad this kind of writing is and what he needs to do to improve it? (Reading books with good narration and description is a start. A challenging book like Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" or "Light in August" is even better.)
"There's a magic moment, a really magic moment, if you read enough that will always come to you, if you want to be a writer, where you put down some book and say 'This really sucks. I can do better than this, and this got published.'"-Stephen King
("The Mark" is one of those books, and was THE book for me.)
February 20, 2023
Whew 🥺🥺🥺😭😭😭😭.
April 28, 2023
Left behind 8: The one where people get the mark of the beast
We start off strong with the fact that the only way Jerry and Tim can make "tension" is by one character not knowing what happened to another character and not being able to contact them. Thats it. Over and over and over again.
Also, there is a new audiobook reader for this one and he does the antichrists voice like Dracula and it is so so good.
They 'jokingly' call this random Native American, "Medicine woman." Horrendous. Why do they feel the need to degrade every culture they can think of. Again I don't understand why and how Evangelicals just accepted this as literature.
Wow Rayford finally gets what he wants. After 7 and a half books of wanting to cheat on his wife with Hattie he finally rescues her right as she’s about to kill herself and he saves her and immediately does mouth to mouth with her to “save her life.” This trope is so rapey and disgusting. The authors purposely write it in a way to draw attention to and sexualize a woman who is unconscious. Rayford is offered the chance for someone else to take a turn giving her cpr but he declines.
They are trying to get a kid out of working for the Global Community and getting the mark of the beast so his sister tells the Christians to kidnap him or tell everyone he has AIDS so they won't go near him. The worst part of this is that the group of Christians genuinely consider this as an option. Thank you Jerry and Tim for stigmatizing an incredibly dangerous disease that at the time of writing was still barely understood and killing tons of people. Y'all rock.
They also call one of the middle eastern characters "camel jockey" because of course they do.
"With her back the rest the gaping wound emitting great gushes of black blood ran down her hair and on to her sweater was exposed to everyone. Most averted their eyes, but Buck stared at the white of her skull at the top of her laceration. Her skull had shattered and surely bone had been drive into her brain and there she knelt silently continuing to pray."
The Christian martyr complex and fetishization of violence is on full display in the quote. I recall as a child not being allowed to consume media that had crude language or sexual content, but somehow this disgustingly vivid violence is lauded as beautiful and God-honoring because its happening to a Christian that won't deny their faith. Tim and Jerry hide behind the ruse of calling this work "fiction" with a subtle wink to their audience that denotes their real intentions of weaponizing religious fear. If someone makes the argument that this book is harmful because it creates mistrust and hatred of people who don't believe, Tim and Jerry will fall back on the safety of it just being misinterpreted fiction. In the same breath Tim and Jerry will also say that this is the only true way to understand the Bible's prophecy about the end of days. Why is it a surprise then that American Christians who have spent their life being saturated in this propaganda feel that any change in their status atop the sociological hierarchy of American culture is the same as getting their skull bashed in because they won't get the mark of the beast.
Tim and Jerry - this is written directly to you (because I know you have been reading my reviews of your books with bated breath). We all recognize what you are doing. We all see what your goal was with these books. Please stop writing and profiting from fear and manipulation. You are both deplorable and your life work has had an irreversibly damaging effect. So step one will be to shut up and then once you have mastered that, get back to me and we will talk about step two.
We start off strong with the fact that the only way Jerry and Tim can make "tension" is by one character not knowing what happened to another character and not being able to contact them. Thats it. Over and over and over again.
Also, there is a new audiobook reader for this one and he does the antichrists voice like Dracula and it is so so good.
They 'jokingly' call this random Native American, "Medicine woman." Horrendous. Why do they feel the need to degrade every culture they can think of. Again I don't understand why and how Evangelicals just accepted this as literature.
Wow Rayford finally gets what he wants. After 7 and a half books of wanting to cheat on his wife with Hattie he finally rescues her right as she’s about to kill herself and he saves her and immediately does mouth to mouth with her to “save her life.” This trope is so rapey and disgusting. The authors purposely write it in a way to draw attention to and sexualize a woman who is unconscious. Rayford is offered the chance for someone else to take a turn giving her cpr but he declines.
They are trying to get a kid out of working for the Global Community and getting the mark of the beast so his sister tells the Christians to kidnap him or tell everyone he has AIDS so they won't go near him. The worst part of this is that the group of Christians genuinely consider this as an option. Thank you Jerry and Tim for stigmatizing an incredibly dangerous disease that at the time of writing was still barely understood and killing tons of people. Y'all rock.
They also call one of the middle eastern characters "camel jockey" because of course they do.
"With her back the rest the gaping wound emitting great gushes of black blood ran down her hair and on to her sweater was exposed to everyone. Most averted their eyes, but Buck stared at the white of her skull at the top of her laceration. Her skull had shattered and surely bone had been drive into her brain and there she knelt silently continuing to pray."
The Christian martyr complex and fetishization of violence is on full display in the quote. I recall as a child not being allowed to consume media that had crude language or sexual content, but somehow this disgustingly vivid violence is lauded as beautiful and God-honoring because its happening to a Christian that won't deny their faith. Tim and Jerry hide behind the ruse of calling this work "fiction" with a subtle wink to their audience that denotes their real intentions of weaponizing religious fear. If someone makes the argument that this book is harmful because it creates mistrust and hatred of people who don't believe, Tim and Jerry will fall back on the safety of it just being misinterpreted fiction. In the same breath Tim and Jerry will also say that this is the only true way to understand the Bible's prophecy about the end of days. Why is it a surprise then that American Christians who have spent their life being saturated in this propaganda feel that any change in their status atop the sociological hierarchy of American culture is the same as getting their skull bashed in because they won't get the mark of the beast.
Tim and Jerry - this is written directly to you (because I know you have been reading my reviews of your books with bated breath). We all recognize what you are doing. We all see what your goal was with these books. Please stop writing and profiting from fear and manipulation. You are both deplorable and your life work has had an irreversibly damaging effect. So step one will be to shut up and then once you have mastered that, get back to me and we will talk about step two.
July 23, 2011
"The Mark," the 8th book in the Left Behind series, is definitely the best one so far, in my opinion. This book just seemed extremely well put together. For starters, the suspense definitely picked up, where I felt it was lacking in some of the other books. I read "The Mark" in a few sittings over the course of two days, and even when I wasn't reading it, I was mulling it over and wondering what would come next. The dialogue between the characters was also much more believable than in some of the other books. They ponder, they pray, they fight, they grieve, they act like "normal" people would in unfathomably difficult times. Character development in this book also took a huge leap forward. Rayford is restored to leadership, David finds himself more and more involved in the networking of the Tribulation Force, and certain people who were "on the fence" make a decision to accept God's grace. There are also some heart-wrenching scenes in this book that force you to contemplate: would you pay the ultimate price for your faith?
May 3, 2023
This one really got me in the feels 😭😭😭
WOW 💔💔💔
WOW 💔💔💔
November 15, 2012
I'm not reading any more in this series, 200 pages of the same repetitive thing OVER and OVER. i should have just read the 1st and last book and filled in my own conclusions.
September 22, 2014
much better writing, but still seems racist and sexist.
March 19, 2018
4.5/5
I really liked this one! The plot was generally fast and I am so happy about the new believer!
Looking forward to the next!
I really liked this one! The plot was generally fast and I am so happy about the new believer!
Looking forward to the next!
December 11, 2021
Nice little ride, but I expected a bit more horror in this one. Atleast Carpathia is upfront about your choices, instead of some cryptic messages from God. I like Dr. Moon and Hannah Palemoon, and I'm super glad they brought Steve Plank back. Wonder what happened to that secretary chick Buck helped then wished he hadn't. She just kinda went away after they're little truce. If God accepts murderers, rapists, pedophiles, why couldn't a homosexual receive the mark of the believers? The more the story evolves the less I side with the tribulation and the more I agree with Carpathia; up until this book. Then it's , WOAH, hypocritical much there with your tolerance? Sounds like communism. With a fascist flair. Very eerie with what's going on in the world today.
July 3, 2023
I’ve read the entire series several times. This time the book made me weep with sadness and joy. The members of the Tribulation Force are quite memorable. Pressing on with the next in the series. The narrator is outstanding.
August 11, 2011
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in their book “The Mark” Book Eight in the Left Behind series published by Tyndale House Publishers tells us The Beast Rules the World.
The Bible Book of Revelation tells us, "telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:14-17 NKJV)
Nicolae, the antichrist, had previously been assassinated but was brought back to life by the devil himself. Nicolae is tightening his grip over the planet erecting statues of himself and demanding that people worship it. He also demands that the people receive a mark that will allow them to do business. Once a person has received the mark they are aligned with the devil and will be going to hell when he is finally sent there. Without this mark a person cannot go anywhere without being questioned, detained and eventually led to the guillotine. "The Mark" leads the reader to the moment where they would have to make a decision on what direction they would take, receive the mark and have no hope of Heaven or not receive it and possibly face the guillotine. It is enough to chill the blood and the scenes in this book will affect you emotionally.
Dr. LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins provide a fictional background for the real events that the final book of The Bible, Revelation, speak about: the end times. The Biblical accuracy in“The Markt” is flawless and the story is a page turning thriller. There are wonderful themes: salvation, faith in what you cannot see and who is in charge despite appearances to the contrary. I do not recommend starting this book late at night because it will cost you sleep as you will not want to put it down. Mr. Jenkins is an excellent writer and knows how to twist your nerve endings as he tightens the suspense. I am looking forward to book nine in this series.
If you would like to listen to interviews with other authors and professionals please go to www.kingdomhighlights.org where they are available On Demand.
To listen to 24 hours non-stop, commercial free Christian music please visit our internet radio station www.kingdomairwaves.org
Disclosure of Material Connection: I own this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
The Bible Book of Revelation tells us, "telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:14-17 NKJV)
Nicolae, the antichrist, had previously been assassinated but was brought back to life by the devil himself. Nicolae is tightening his grip over the planet erecting statues of himself and demanding that people worship it. He also demands that the people receive a mark that will allow them to do business. Once a person has received the mark they are aligned with the devil and will be going to hell when he is finally sent there. Without this mark a person cannot go anywhere without being questioned, detained and eventually led to the guillotine. "The Mark" leads the reader to the moment where they would have to make a decision on what direction they would take, receive the mark and have no hope of Heaven or not receive it and possibly face the guillotine. It is enough to chill the blood and the scenes in this book will affect you emotionally.
Dr. LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins provide a fictional background for the real events that the final book of The Bible, Revelation, speak about: the end times. The Biblical accuracy in“The Markt” is flawless and the story is a page turning thriller. There are wonderful themes: salvation, faith in what you cannot see and who is in charge despite appearances to the contrary. I do not recommend starting this book late at night because it will cost you sleep as you will not want to put it down. Mr. Jenkins is an excellent writer and knows how to twist your nerve endings as he tightens the suspense. I am looking forward to book nine in this series.
If you would like to listen to interviews with other authors and professionals please go to www.kingdomhighlights.org where they are available On Demand.
To listen to 24 hours non-stop, commercial free Christian music please visit our internet radio station www.kingdomairwaves.org
Disclosure of Material Connection: I own this book. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
April 26, 2021
This is the 8th, in the Left Behind Series. I thought it was the last but see there are actually 4 more books in this series. It's beginning to feel like a never-ending story.
I do believe the Tribulation will be a lot worse. In the book, everyone had real skills to keep getting their hands on what they needed, such as: airplane pilot, airport owner, computer wiz, nurse, doctor, tattoo artist who could produce fake ID's and such. What about normal people like me?...haha. Of course, I better not be here. But, I didn’t feel the authors really captured the desperate situation of the end times at all.
IN THE BIBLE: Revelations 20:4 - Then I saw the souls of those who have been beheaded for the witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for 1000 years.
In this novel, the sign of the beast doesn’t appear until after Satan enters the Antichrist’s body. They are about 3-1/2 years into the Tribulation and entering the Great Tribulation. Christians across the globe are fleeing and going into hiding as guillotine's used in the beheadings are shipped to every city across the globe. Prisoners are the first to either receive the mark of the beast or immediately be put to death. Then, the workers of the Global Community (GC) are then marked to prove their loyalty to the Antichrist.
This series (1-8) does not go very far into the Great Tribulation because, according to the Bible, there is more to come before the glorious return of Christ. The angels still have to pour out the 7 bowls of God’s wrath upon the earth.
IN THE BIBLE: Revelations 16:1-2 - Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls in the wrath of God on the earth." So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
So, it looks like God will dole out some more pain and misery, more scary stuff, to unbelievers as they continue to go around killing all the believers.
I do believe the Tribulation will be a lot worse. In the book, everyone had real skills to keep getting their hands on what they needed, such as: airplane pilot, airport owner, computer wiz, nurse, doctor, tattoo artist who could produce fake ID's and such. What about normal people like me?...haha. Of course, I better not be here. But, I didn’t feel the authors really captured the desperate situation of the end times at all.
IN THE BIBLE: Revelations 20:4 - Then I saw the souls of those who have been beheaded for the witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for 1000 years.
In this novel, the sign of the beast doesn’t appear until after Satan enters the Antichrist’s body. They are about 3-1/2 years into the Tribulation and entering the Great Tribulation. Christians across the globe are fleeing and going into hiding as guillotine's used in the beheadings are shipped to every city across the globe. Prisoners are the first to either receive the mark of the beast or immediately be put to death. Then, the workers of the Global Community (GC) are then marked to prove their loyalty to the Antichrist.
This series (1-8) does not go very far into the Great Tribulation because, according to the Bible, there is more to come before the glorious return of Christ. The angels still have to pour out the 7 bowls of God’s wrath upon the earth.
IN THE BIBLE: Revelations 16:1-2 - Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go and pour out the bowls in the wrath of God on the earth." So the first went and poured out his bowl upon the earth, and a foul and loathsome sore came upon the men who had the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.
So, it looks like God will dole out some more pain and misery, more scary stuff, to unbelievers as they continue to go around killing all the believers.
July 29, 2016
This book was the 8th installment in the Left Behind Series and by far my favorite and most intense book in the series. Each character in this book have intense and interesting stories to tell. A great continuation to a great series never leaving you with a dull or boring moment.
Pros
Intense
Suspense
Clift hangers
Can't but the book down
Character / plot interactions
Cons
Nothing
Pros
Intense
Suspense
Clift hangers
Can't but the book down
Character / plot interactions
Cons
Nothing
September 21, 2020
Enjoyed the read, but all the major action didn't happen until the end. I need more action lol. Carpathia is still a crazy man, but now he's the devil reincarnated with "power" -- I love the Tribulation Force. Hattie really is annoying me lol.
September 5, 2021
Good read
I'm giving this one a 3 because they had someone who had both the seal and the mark and I think that's ridiculous. A mistake for this series. Otherwise it would have been 4 or 5
I'm giving this one a 3 because they had someone who had both the seal and the mark and I think that's ridiculous. A mistake for this series. Otherwise it would have been 4 or 5
April 27, 2018
I did enjoy reading this book a second time; fortunately, enough time had passed that I honestly did not remember much of it from the first go-around. The cover is kuh-RAY-zee awesome! Probably one of the best parts of the book! hahahah An excellent cover! It was a fast read for me, even reading it in my spare time. While it move at a pretty quick pace, it seemed like a lot of dialogue without too much 'description' in it. I sometimes had an image in my mind while reading of what the 'scene' entailed [i.e. - furniture, decorations on the walls, any knickknacks lying around, was it clean or messy, was there a window to look outside, etc.], but not always. The character development was all right; some previously-introduced characters were killed as new characters were introduced.
I thought it as interesting to learn that the previous book, The Indwelling, took place over essentially three days [the same amount of time for Jesus between His crucifixion and resurrection]. I thought that the previous book had taken place in under a week; turns out it was even less time than I had thought.
There were some things I really enjoyed in this book.
Overall, it was a good book. It had some priceless moments in it [all of which fail to come back to mind, except there were some good zingers back and forth between some of the believers]. It was a fast-paced read, so I cannot decide if that meant it was more shallow than I realized. hahahah On to the next book!
I thought it as interesting to learn that the previous book, The Indwelling, took place over essentially three days [the same amount of time for Jesus between His crucifixion and resurrection]. I thought that the previous book had taken place in under a week; turns out it was even less time than I had thought.
There were some things I really enjoyed in this book.
Overall, it was a good book. It had some priceless moments in it [all of which fail to come back to mind, except there were some good zingers back and forth between some of the believers]. It was a fast-paced read, so I cannot decide if that meant it was more shallow than I realized. hahahah On to the next book!
July 18, 2017
Starting this review is well, easy to say the least. I started reading the first book in this wonderful series just as soon as I heard about them. Being from a christian home life growing up and as well as my husband and family this was a no brainier.
I am going to do one review including the whole series.
From the first page of the first book to the last page in the last book, I was not able to put these books down. I grew hunger so to speak for each page. I have always had a great belief in the Bible and in my Faith. This series, although some would call fictional, I believe are very close to what will:
To read more of my review: https://breathoflifebookreviews.blogs...
I am going to do one review including the whole series.
From the first page of the first book to the last page in the last book, I was not able to put these books down. I grew hunger so to speak for each page. I have always had a great belief in the Bible and in my Faith. This series, although some would call fictional, I believe are very close to what will:
To read more of my review: https://breathoflifebookreviews.blogs...
June 26, 2024
Nicolae Carpathia has risen and is eviler than ever! Now you must follow him 100% with a visual mark and a tracking device in your body. We know the story, right? Hang on we’re heading to Jerusalem in the next book.
April 20, 2019
In this, the 8th book in the Left Behind series, Nicolae Carpathia has been raised from the dead, has mandated that statues be erected in his image and worshiped, and gives the mark of the Beast to his followers. Those who choose not to receive the mark are beheaded. Things are looking grim for the Christians.
This book in particular is fast paced with a lot of action. I sometimes tire of the corny humor injected here and there, but the books are very interesting. I recommend them to all.
This book in particular is fast paced with a lot of action. I sometimes tire of the corny humor injected here and there, but the books are very interesting. I recommend them to all.
December 31, 2020
Listened to this on audiobook with my husband.
We both found it riveting.
We both found it riveting.
March 17, 2023
Things are going down 🫢
January 4, 2023
Wonderful book! I had to put this book back on my shelf halfway through reading it this year but I was so pleased to finally get back into his series. This book was so heartbreaking but also incredibly encouraging. All of these books lead really nicely into the next so I'm excited to continue reading.
March 4, 2013
I know I keep saying it, but I do find the books getting better and better. I've read reviews in previous books that say it is pushing religion on them, but it's only in line with the story line. It is a Christian series based on the Bible, a religious book, and it is taking place AFTER the Rapture, when it is a most important time to have someone believe in God as quickly as possible and not die a non-believer. The closer we get to the end of the series, the more you can feel the determination and the pressure they do to save as many souls as they can. Each book starts with a small description of each of the characters and a short ending of the previous book. I now skip those, as I'm reading them one right after the other and do not need the reminders, though I would have found them helpful if I was reading them as they came out. The book itself starts off with the "resurrection" of Carpathia himself, now actually Satan, and basically the battle begins (no more mister nice guy). I'm still surprised at how David has been able to get away with even more secret bugging than we had on the first plane. I mean, really? He's a computer genius and there is no one who is at least on his level to check the same thing? You're telling me Carpathia/Satan would put that much trust in one person? I very much enjoy reading Tsion Ben-Judah's "writings". It was sad to see the first die in the name of God, but how in the world can Buck see so much first hand without anyone recognizing him? Seriously. Again, it was a book I still could not put down. I've already seen questions to my own personal Tsion and as soon as I am done with the series, I will be reading Revelations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2012
I beginning to enjoy these books less and less with each I read and begin to feel as if the authors are really novices who don't know how to write well. The things that bother me and that outside of the names, it is difficult to tell the characters apart because they all start to sound the same and talk the same. The characters are given descriptions presenting them with different backgrounds and personalities, but their dialogue is interchangable. This goes for the majority of tribulation force characters and also for the GC characters. The CG leadership is supposed to be educated, experienced people but their dialogue comes across like children. Maybe its the intent of the author to make the villians sound immature but it doesn't support realism. Another annoying factor of these books is the consistent switch to reading Ben-Judah's cyber sermon notes. While it is done within the context of the story, each time it stops the story cold and seems more like the author is preaching to the reader as opposed to advancing the plot. Finally, with this book, the plot drags a bit too much. There is extensive build-up and foreshadowing for the climax of the book but then the climax is given less than 20 pages of the book and is done mostly as an afterthought. It is also done as a cliffhanger which I felt was unnecessary and would have been better if that piece of the plot could have been completed within this novel so the next one could move on to the next series of events rather than rehashing the same material.
March 10, 2017
I'm still reading this series because I enjoy light reading and I am a follower of Jesus the promised Messiah. However, I'm sort of trudging my way through.
There are a great many awkward phrases, confusing dialogue (grammatically and contextually) and rushed plot for my liking. I also feel like the writers left a lot to be implied by the reader (to make sense of certain scenes on their own) but being that I'm no mind reader, I found myself just moving on knowing that I missed something. I hesitate to give it 2 stars, but wouldn't want to rate it as high as 3 stars.
I'm also continuing to read it because I'm sold in to the characters and their situation and I like watching them work out their faith in the midst of chaos. Albeit, some clarity in dialogue and some more detail between paragraphs would be extremely helpful. It's almost painful to experience the "rushing" of the story. Especially the very last chapter.....you'll see what I mean when you get there. However, I thoroughly enjoy the scriptural teachings! Those seem to be on-point although minimally included.
I already own the entire set when I purchased years ago so I'm off to the bookshelf I grab #9. I guess I'd also like to be able to say that I finished a complete set. That's got to be good for some bragging rights eh?
There are a great many awkward phrases, confusing dialogue (grammatically and contextually) and rushed plot for my liking. I also feel like the writers left a lot to be implied by the reader (to make sense of certain scenes on their own) but being that I'm no mind reader, I found myself just moving on knowing that I missed something. I hesitate to give it 2 stars, but wouldn't want to rate it as high as 3 stars.
I'm also continuing to read it because I'm sold in to the characters and their situation and I like watching them work out their faith in the midst of chaos. Albeit, some clarity in dialogue and some more detail between paragraphs would be extremely helpful. It's almost painful to experience the "rushing" of the story. Especially the very last chapter.....you'll see what I mean when you get there. However, I thoroughly enjoy the scriptural teachings! Those seem to be on-point although minimally included.
I already own the entire set when I purchased years ago so I'm off to the bookshelf I grab #9. I guess I'd also like to be able to say that I finished a complete set. That's got to be good for some bragging rights eh?
October 12, 2011
It has been an arduous task, but I've finished Book 8 of Left Behind. The Antichrist has popped back to life after a show-stopping head-wound and has once again taken his place at the world's helm. Everybody is headed toward a mandatory "mark of the beast" (an injected identity chip) and our heroes are trying to figure out how to avoid it.
In other news: I love how some guy can basically rule the entire planet, a place that is full of creatures that demonstrably cannot agree on anything, much less one dude to rule them all. I mean, what about the Bushmen out in the Kalahari? Are they gonna get rounded up somehow? Or how about some obscure tribe in a tetchy Micronesian backwater? The Innuit? Those wily Lapplanders? How does Carpathia have the resources for that? Oh wait, I forgot.. none of these people actually count. Anyway, this book made me want to drill a hole through my head. End of review.
In other news: I love how some guy can basically rule the entire planet, a place that is full of creatures that demonstrably cannot agree on anything, much less one dude to rule them all. I mean, what about the Bushmen out in the Kalahari? Are they gonna get rounded up somehow? Or how about some obscure tribe in a tetchy Micronesian backwater? The Innuit? Those wily Lapplanders? How does Carpathia have the resources for that? Oh wait, I forgot.. none of these people actually count. Anyway, this book made me want to drill a hole through my head. End of review.
April 21, 2021
In 1995, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins—along with publisher Tyndale House—published Left Behind: A Novel of Earth’s Last Days. Nobody could have imagined where it would go from there. When the dust settled, the main series stood at twelve novels and there was a prequel trilogy, a sequel, a 40-book kids’ series, a political trilogy spinoff, a military quadrilogy spinoff, non-fiction books, a slew of movies, graphic novels, and more. The word that kept getting thrown around at the time was phenomenon. As a child of the 90s, I was actually too young to get in on the beginning of this series but around the turn of the millennium, I had gotten into the kids’ books and the regular novels soon followed. The years pass, I become a literary critic and a seminary-trained pastor, and I finally decide that it’s time to review these books and see how well they hold up. And…well…*spoiler*…not really.
These reviews will focus primarily on the literary aspects of the novels, as it’s not really fair to criticize them—in this context—for doing what they intended to do. From a theological standpoint, the novels are an expanded presentation of pre-tribulational millennialism. Tim LaHaye was a leading proponent of the view at the time and his contribution to the series was developing the overall prophetic structure within all other events take place.
What I’m looking at in these reviews is whether or not Left Behind takes that theological structure and works it out in an engaging, exciting way through story.
The Mark
With Carpathia alive again an indwelt by Satan, his grasp on the world begins to tighten and the world moves into the Great Tribulation. The Mark is the low point of the main series in terms of writing. Jenkins had been tasked with cranking out two Left Behind novels a year and given an exacting yet increasingly stretched structure to work with. The result is a novel in which barely anything happens and characters are rearranged to set up the next major story arcs.
If you just look at a physical copy of The Mark, you’ll begin to see what I mean. It’s 417 pages, similar in size to the books before it, but the margins are bit wider, the font maybe a bit larger. It’s padded to create some extra length to it. Then you get into the book and, while Jenkins had already made the decision to be sparse in narrative detail, The Mark takes it almost to an extreme. I felt like I was reading a script instead of a novel at times. Combine this with endless reintroductions and rehashings of what’s gone on before and there just isn’t a lot of substance to this novel. It’s obvious that, when the series got expanded, it stretched the story out and Jenkins didn’t have the time or inclination to fill it back in.
The plot covers some events we’ve already done. Hattie is in need of rescue, so we go and do that. Hilariously, Ray and Albie have Hattie fake her death so they can sneak her out of the prison she’s in. They just load her body into the fighter jet they flew here. Fighter jets…known for all their storage space.
The majority of the story centers in New Babylon where the regime is in full swing preparing the Mark of the Beast—a microchip necessary for participating in the global economy that will be implanted in one’s head or hands. This morphs quickly into a mark that indicates allegiance to Carpathia, with the penalty being death by guillotine. The believers in New Babylon who have somehow defied all logic and never been caught or suspected or even fallen on Carpathia’s bad side now plan their escape. The one wrinkle is that newcomer Chang Wong has become the first to have the mark put on him—against his will, as he was unconscious. There’s maybe a page’s worth of trying to determine the implications of this before Chang is simply left in New Babylon as the remaining mole on the inside.
There are so many things I could say about this. First, kudos to LaHaye’s woodenly literalistic interpretation for allowing Chang to still be saved. Second, not so much so for the whole philosophical conundrum to never be developed. Would God allow a believer to bear the mark of his enemy? Apparently so, if it serves story purposes. The problem is that LaHaye and Jenkins need someone on the inside because that’s the only way they want to present any scene from the villains. With Chang on the inside, anything can happen. Why does the GC not know how to capture any of the Trib Force? Chang. How can the Trib Force do anything? Chang. How do we have an inside perspective on what the villains are doing? Chang. And so Chang becomes replacement David. One character out, another in. No real difference. What could have been a complex philosophical point is exploited as a plotting device.
Another pet peeve is that so many important things happen off-screen. In The Mark, both Hattie and Chaim become believers. We see neither happen. These are the two longest story arcs and they reach their culmination off-screen and Hattie’s is even played up for humor. Hattie and Chaim’s conversions are literally eight books and five years in the making and then we are told that it happened without ever seeing it.
Lastly, The Mark actually sees character development regress, particularly in terms of dialogue. Everybody sounds the same. Their vocabulary is the same. Their speech patterns are the same. The dialogue could be given to any character. That’s because LaHaye and Jenkins have largely moved from having the characters be stand-ins for various stereotypes of readers to speaking directly toward the readers. When Z gives his testimony to Hattie, it’s not two characters talking; it’s LaHaye and Jenkins speaking didactically to the reader. All the characters sound alike because the conversation is author to reader, not character to character.
The Mark is an anemic novel that gets by on hype and connection with the established characters. There’s almost nothing of value in this one by itself.
These reviews will focus primarily on the literary aspects of the novels, as it’s not really fair to criticize them—in this context—for doing what they intended to do. From a theological standpoint, the novels are an expanded presentation of pre-tribulational millennialism. Tim LaHaye was a leading proponent of the view at the time and his contribution to the series was developing the overall prophetic structure within all other events take place.
What I’m looking at in these reviews is whether or not Left Behind takes that theological structure and works it out in an engaging, exciting way through story.
The Mark
With Carpathia alive again an indwelt by Satan, his grasp on the world begins to tighten and the world moves into the Great Tribulation. The Mark is the low point of the main series in terms of writing. Jenkins had been tasked with cranking out two Left Behind novels a year and given an exacting yet increasingly stretched structure to work with. The result is a novel in which barely anything happens and characters are rearranged to set up the next major story arcs.
If you just look at a physical copy of The Mark, you’ll begin to see what I mean. It’s 417 pages, similar in size to the books before it, but the margins are bit wider, the font maybe a bit larger. It’s padded to create some extra length to it. Then you get into the book and, while Jenkins had already made the decision to be sparse in narrative detail, The Mark takes it almost to an extreme. I felt like I was reading a script instead of a novel at times. Combine this with endless reintroductions and rehashings of what’s gone on before and there just isn’t a lot of substance to this novel. It’s obvious that, when the series got expanded, it stretched the story out and Jenkins didn’t have the time or inclination to fill it back in.
The plot covers some events we’ve already done. Hattie is in need of rescue, so we go and do that. Hilariously, Ray and Albie have Hattie fake her death so they can sneak her out of the prison she’s in. They just load her body into the fighter jet they flew here. Fighter jets…known for all their storage space.
The majority of the story centers in New Babylon where the regime is in full swing preparing the Mark of the Beast—a microchip necessary for participating in the global economy that will be implanted in one’s head or hands. This morphs quickly into a mark that indicates allegiance to Carpathia, with the penalty being death by guillotine. The believers in New Babylon who have somehow defied all logic and never been caught or suspected or even fallen on Carpathia’s bad side now plan their escape. The one wrinkle is that newcomer Chang Wong has become the first to have the mark put on him—against his will, as he was unconscious. There’s maybe a page’s worth of trying to determine the implications of this before Chang is simply left in New Babylon as the remaining mole on the inside.
There are so many things I could say about this. First, kudos to LaHaye’s woodenly literalistic interpretation for allowing Chang to still be saved. Second, not so much so for the whole philosophical conundrum to never be developed. Would God allow a believer to bear the mark of his enemy? Apparently so, if it serves story purposes. The problem is that LaHaye and Jenkins need someone on the inside because that’s the only way they want to present any scene from the villains. With Chang on the inside, anything can happen. Why does the GC not know how to capture any of the Trib Force? Chang. How can the Trib Force do anything? Chang. How do we have an inside perspective on what the villains are doing? Chang. And so Chang becomes replacement David. One character out, another in. No real difference. What could have been a complex philosophical point is exploited as a plotting device.
Another pet peeve is that so many important things happen off-screen. In The Mark, both Hattie and Chaim become believers. We see neither happen. These are the two longest story arcs and they reach their culmination off-screen and Hattie’s is even played up for humor. Hattie and Chaim’s conversions are literally eight books and five years in the making and then we are told that it happened without ever seeing it.
Lastly, The Mark actually sees character development regress, particularly in terms of dialogue. Everybody sounds the same. Their vocabulary is the same. Their speech patterns are the same. The dialogue could be given to any character. That’s because LaHaye and Jenkins have largely moved from having the characters be stand-ins for various stereotypes of readers to speaking directly toward the readers. When Z gives his testimony to Hattie, it’s not two characters talking; it’s LaHaye and Jenkins speaking didactically to the reader. All the characters sound alike because the conversation is author to reader, not character to character.
The Mark is an anemic novel that gets by on hype and connection with the established characters. There’s almost nothing of value in this one by itself.
April 12, 2022
#8 in the series:
This book centers around Nicolae's program of having all on earth get the mark of loyalty to himmself, or be beheaded. This is also foretold biblically, when people must have the mark of the beast (666) in order to buy or sell, and once they have the mark, they are lost to God...
Re-reading for the 3rd time in April 2022. There were things in this book that I wouldn'thave/didn't recognize in the previous two readings. One was a hymn sung by those going to the guillotine,
"Nothing but the Blood of Jesus." I now know that hymn from Carrie Underwood's My Savior CD. Love it and the hymn.
This book centers around Nicolae's program of having all on earth get the mark of loyalty to himmself, or be beheaded. This is also foretold biblically, when people must have the mark of the beast (666) in order to buy or sell, and once they have the mark, they are lost to God...
Re-reading for the 3rd time in April 2022. There were things in this book that I wouldn'thave/didn't recognize in the previous two readings. One was a hymn sung by those going to the guillotine,
"Nothing but the Blood of Jesus." I now know that hymn from Carrie Underwood's My Savior CD. Love it and the hymn.
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