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Left Behind #5
Apollyon
A New York Times BestsellerThis is the fifth volume in the Left Behind series of novels based on New Testament prophecies about the end of life on Earth. In this book, the world has been visited by a plague of demon locusts that attack anyone without the seal of God etched on their foreheads. Internet communication is becoming the primary means of maintaining unity within the underground resistance movement of believers. New global warfare threatens a third of the world's population. And the Tribulation Force members deal with personal crises, including pregnancies and lost family members.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1999
About the author
Tim LaHaye
739 books2,089 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 616 reviews
July 23, 2011
As one who always reads other reviews before reading and reviewing a book, I feel like I should respond to what some of the other reviewers have to say. First of all, some complain that the writing style is too sophomoric. Well, every writer has his voice, and how interesting would the world be if everyone wrote or spoke exactly the same way? Yes, the writing style is simple, but that just makes the book(s) easier too read. Secondly, as to the complaints that the books are sexist, that's just silly. In fact, you can even see that the writers probably felt obligated to respond to those claims by giving the character Chloe some strange dialogue, such as telling Tsion that she felt insulted when he called her a "precious little one." At any rate, Chloe's character is as strong a female lead as a reader can ever hope for.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I feel that the writers have come a good distance with character development, as I find myself actually caring what happens to them and feeling some emotion with what they are going through. They learn, they grow, they make mistakes, they are as human as fictional characters could be. Also, the writers have gotten better at building suspense. There is no immediate gratification when something mysterious comes up -- sometimes you have to wait several chapters to find out what is going on. And finally, they do a good job keeping you guessing with who is the "good guy" and who is an "impostor." It really puts you in a place to relate to what the characters must be feeling. I will definitely continue on in this series.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I feel that the writers have come a good distance with character development, as I find myself actually caring what happens to them and feeling some emotion with what they are going through. They learn, they grow, they make mistakes, they are as human as fictional characters could be. Also, the writers have gotten better at building suspense. There is no immediate gratification when something mysterious comes up -- sometimes you have to wait several chapters to find out what is going on. And finally, they do a good job keeping you guessing with who is the "good guy" and who is an "impostor." It really puts you in a place to relate to what the characters must be feeling. I will definitely continue on in this series.
October 21, 2008
Okay, so another reason to dislike these books is the good math. Ready? Alright. One of the main characters is pregnant, right? And has been for lets give them the benefit of the doubt three months at the beginning of the book. Okay. Now: There is a five-month plague of demon locusts (just take it at face value) and anyone stung by them will be writhing in pain for a) the rest of the five months that the plague exists, and b) for five whole months after that. When does the main character give birth? Just as people start coming out of the terrible pain. Basic maths mean that she was pregnant for 13 months at a minimum. This means one of three things: 1) she's pregnant with the AntiChrist, but that can't be, because we know who the AntiChrist is. 2) She's an elephant, which I'm not cutting out as a possibility. Or, 3) LeHaye and Jenkins are impossibly bad at math.
August 9, 2021
Left Behind: Apollyon carries on the torch of squandered potential and disjointed storytelling with neither flair nor flounder. It’s “the boring one.” The book lingers below the heights of disfunction charted by Tribulation Force, but also offers less to keep the reader engaged. Of the entries in the series so far, Apollyon is not the worst, but it has perhaps the least to offer.
This book took me a while to complete, and this review took longer to write. So much of what’s terrible — the prose, the misogyny, the passive main characters, the preachiness, etc. — is a continuation of what’s been present throughout the rest of the books. The repetition is numbing. I try not to tread the same ground with each review unless there’s something new to say. And five books in, myself and the authors are hitting the same wall. So, instead of covering everything, this will be more of an overview and discussion of the things that have changed with Apollyon. What got better, what got worse, and what sticks out like a lump that wasn’t there in our last checkup?
To begin, here’s the lay of the land. Book four was all about the aftermath of yet another apocalyptic event. Millions are dead, cities were destroyed. Our heroes raced around the globe, literally digging through the wreckage (twice!) to find their women, dead or alive. Where will the thrilling adventure lead us next? To a conference! *pause for dramatic effect* A solid two-thirds of this book is concerned with planning, attending, and escaping a conference where the current preacher-protagonist (the first one died in book two) gives a globally-broadcast series of sermons. There are some gems in the middle of all this (like a scene where all of the new Christians are compelled by Jesus to guzzle bottles of water that turns to blood in anyone else’s mouth), but the rest is as dry as it sounds. Trying to remember the contents of this section feels like recalling TV static. If you have ever spent an afternoon enchanted by daytime televangelists, then you will be on the edge of your seat.
Meanwhile, and I’m shocked to write this, Hattie undergoes the most compelling character arc in the series, but is somehow NOT the main character. I mentioned earlier that a series trademark is squandering potential story ideas, and this one hurts the most. After fleeing the Antichrist and enduring a miscarriage, Hattie is on the blood path, and none of the pleas from our protagonists can dissuade her from killing her evil ex-boyfriend. With this setup, any competent writer would see that they had stumbled into writing the only active protagonist in the series — a potential Linda-Hamilton-in-Terminator-2 type lead to carry us forward. Fellow Hattie stans, I ask for a moment of silence as we mourn the revenge plot we will never get, but which we are promised by LaHaye and Jenkins in this book. Since the next one is titled “Assassins,” I have to assume Hattie and some of our main characters will finally get around to doing something about that Antichrist. But we all know it won’t amount to anything empowering for our female cast. The biggest red flag is the amount of time our male protagonists spend in this book deciding which one of them has dibs on the near-dead woman in their care. Guess who gets the I-can-fix-her romance subplot? It would be totally unethical and gross if it was her primary physician, but that’s never stopped these writers! It seems to me (total guess here; I don’t know where this series is headed) that Hattie will be redeemed right before she dies. She’ll say the sinner’s prayer, probably after she gets revenge on Carpathia, and also probably in the arms of the doctor she’ll fall in love with. These books like punishing women, and, as she expresses repeatedly throughout the book, Hattie has the most punishable offenses. I just don’t see a future where these authors let the “whore of Babylon” live to the end, let alone become the driving force of the plot for the rest of the series. So, here’s to you, Hattie. No matter what happens, we’ll always have Apollyon.
Moving on, I see by the table to the left of my pulpit that I have some Backhanded Compliment trophies to award. First up, the Accidentally Meaningful award goes to the plot structure, which begins with a miscarriage and ends with a birth. This creates a pleasing death/life symmetry for the story, and makes it feel like we’ve come full circle. It further poises Hattie and Chloe as foils, marking a symbolic divergence in their lives. Since it revolves around the internal states of two women, however, I have no choice but to assume any meaning other than the pure plot points are unintentional.
Next, the No News is Good News award goes to the first two thirds of the book, because, for once, all of the POV characters are in the right place to see the plot happen. There are almost no scenes of characters hearing about key events from a news anchor, and it feels revolutionary. I am saddened, however, to say that the last third of the book has so many news scenes that it evens out the quota, negating the award entirely. So sad — and just when you thought they were learning.
Last, but not least, a twofer: the What a Twist award is presented to a sudden, gruesome character death in the third act and to the first traitor Christian the series has given us. Neither amount to much of consequence, but they did surprise me. Shoutout to the runner-up: Chloe’s subplot about starting a Christian blackmarket. It would have scored higher on surprise scale were it not for my old friends pedaling MLM products on Facebook.
Now for some observations that are just backhanded, no compliments attached. The villains get really weird treatment by this book. This is the first entry where Carpathia and friends aren’t driving the plot. Consequently, the only scenes we get with them are slapstick shenanigans where God dunks on them for being rascals. When they aren’t having microphone troubles or literally tripping over each other, the bad guys are trading insults and getting made fun of for their outfits and long names. It’s like the authors couldn’t think of anything new that would make the audience hate the Antichrist, so they just made them incompetent and gave them goofy peripherals. The book already has pacing issues, and, on top of that, the antagonists aren’t a threat. That’s why most of this book is so boring. When the plot actually does pick up for the final third, it isn’t the villains providing the antagonistic force — God is.
For all of the previous books, the Antichrist & co. have been the source for most of the fear-mongering to make readers convert. With them out of the picture, the horror is now coming from God and from his instruments, be they the Witnesses, tribulations, or demons God has explicitly let loose on the world. The plagues that end the book are more horrific than anything in up to this point. Nearly every non-Christian is incapacitated by pain but cannot die. Literal torture. For months. It is baffling that a series whose whole schtick is scaring people into converting flubs the messaging in this way. The authors are unaware that they have made God evil.
In spite of all the negatives, there is some pleasure to be gained from this entry in the Left Behind saga. The writing continues to reward those readers plundering the worst of the worst for hilarious lines. And if humor doesn’t do it for you, then maybe schadenfreude will satiate you.
By this point in the series, I don’t think the authors are having fun. And (if I may take a cue from them) let’s jump forward in time at the very end of my rambling. Looking back, we can see that they suffered a fitting punishment for this garbage: being stuck writing seven more books before they could be free.
And then four prequels.
And a kid’s series.
This book took me a while to complete, and this review took longer to write. So much of what’s terrible — the prose, the misogyny, the passive main characters, the preachiness, etc. — is a continuation of what’s been present throughout the rest of the books. The repetition is numbing. I try not to tread the same ground with each review unless there’s something new to say. And five books in, myself and the authors are hitting the same wall. So, instead of covering everything, this will be more of an overview and discussion of the things that have changed with Apollyon. What got better, what got worse, and what sticks out like a lump that wasn’t there in our last checkup?
To begin, here’s the lay of the land. Book four was all about the aftermath of yet another apocalyptic event. Millions are dead, cities were destroyed. Our heroes raced around the globe, literally digging through the wreckage (twice!) to find their women, dead or alive. Where will the thrilling adventure lead us next? To a conference! *pause for dramatic effect* A solid two-thirds of this book is concerned with planning, attending, and escaping a conference where the current preacher-protagonist (the first one died in book two) gives a globally-broadcast series of sermons. There are some gems in the middle of all this (like a scene where all of the new Christians are compelled by Jesus to guzzle bottles of water that turns to blood in anyone else’s mouth), but the rest is as dry as it sounds. Trying to remember the contents of this section feels like recalling TV static. If you have ever spent an afternoon enchanted by daytime televangelists, then you will be on the edge of your seat.
Meanwhile, and I’m shocked to write this, Hattie undergoes the most compelling character arc in the series, but is somehow NOT the main character. I mentioned earlier that a series trademark is squandering potential story ideas, and this one hurts the most. After fleeing the Antichrist and enduring a miscarriage, Hattie is on the blood path, and none of the pleas from our protagonists can dissuade her from killing her evil ex-boyfriend. With this setup, any competent writer would see that they had stumbled into writing the only active protagonist in the series — a potential Linda-Hamilton-in-Terminator-2 type lead to carry us forward. Fellow Hattie stans, I ask for a moment of silence as we mourn the revenge plot we will never get, but which we are promised by LaHaye and Jenkins in this book. Since the next one is titled “Assassins,” I have to assume Hattie and some of our main characters will finally get around to doing something about that Antichrist. But we all know it won’t amount to anything empowering for our female cast. The biggest red flag is the amount of time our male protagonists spend in this book deciding which one of them has dibs on the near-dead woman in their care. Guess who gets the I-can-fix-her romance subplot? It would be totally unethical and gross if it was her primary physician, but that’s never stopped these writers! It seems to me (total guess here; I don’t know where this series is headed) that Hattie will be redeemed right before she dies. She’ll say the sinner’s prayer, probably after she gets revenge on Carpathia, and also probably in the arms of the doctor she’ll fall in love with. These books like punishing women, and, as she expresses repeatedly throughout the book, Hattie has the most punishable offenses. I just don’t see a future where these authors let the “whore of Babylon” live to the end, let alone become the driving force of the plot for the rest of the series. So, here’s to you, Hattie. No matter what happens, we’ll always have Apollyon.
Moving on, I see by the table to the left of my pulpit that I have some Backhanded Compliment trophies to award. First up, the Accidentally Meaningful award goes to the plot structure, which begins with a miscarriage and ends with a birth. This creates a pleasing death/life symmetry for the story, and makes it feel like we’ve come full circle. It further poises Hattie and Chloe as foils, marking a symbolic divergence in their lives. Since it revolves around the internal states of two women, however, I have no choice but to assume any meaning other than the pure plot points are unintentional.
Next, the No News is Good News award goes to the first two thirds of the book, because, for once, all of the POV characters are in the right place to see the plot happen. There are almost no scenes of characters hearing about key events from a news anchor, and it feels revolutionary. I am saddened, however, to say that the last third of the book has so many news scenes that it evens out the quota, negating the award entirely. So sad — and just when you thought they were learning.
Last, but not least, a twofer: the What a Twist award is presented to a sudden, gruesome character death in the third act and to the first traitor Christian the series has given us. Neither amount to much of consequence, but they did surprise me. Shoutout to the runner-up: Chloe’s subplot about starting a Christian blackmarket. It would have scored higher on surprise scale were it not for my old friends pedaling MLM products on Facebook.
Now for some observations that are just backhanded, no compliments attached. The villains get really weird treatment by this book. This is the first entry where Carpathia and friends aren’t driving the plot. Consequently, the only scenes we get with them are slapstick shenanigans where God dunks on them for being rascals. When they aren’t having microphone troubles or literally tripping over each other, the bad guys are trading insults and getting made fun of for their outfits and long names. It’s like the authors couldn’t think of anything new that would make the audience hate the Antichrist, so they just made them incompetent and gave them goofy peripherals. The book already has pacing issues, and, on top of that, the antagonists aren’t a threat. That’s why most of this book is so boring. When the plot actually does pick up for the final third, it isn’t the villains providing the antagonistic force — God is.
For all of the previous books, the Antichrist & co. have been the source for most of the fear-mongering to make readers convert. With them out of the picture, the horror is now coming from God and from his instruments, be they the Witnesses, tribulations, or demons God has explicitly let loose on the world. The plagues that end the book are more horrific than anything in up to this point. Nearly every non-Christian is incapacitated by pain but cannot die. Literal torture. For months. It is baffling that a series whose whole schtick is scaring people into converting flubs the messaging in this way. The authors are unaware that they have made God evil.
In spite of all the negatives, there is some pleasure to be gained from this entry in the Left Behind saga. The writing continues to reward those readers plundering the worst of the worst for hilarious lines. And if humor doesn’t do it for you, then maybe schadenfreude will satiate you.
By this point in the series, I don’t think the authors are having fun. And (if I may take a cue from them) let’s jump forward in time at the very end of my rambling. Looking back, we can see that they suffered a fitting punishment for this garbage: being stuck writing seven more books before they could be free.
And then four prequels.
And a kid’s series.
November 29, 2021
Action, suspense, and the story is in full swing. Yes please.
February 9, 2023
I’m in so deep now. I am thoroughly enjoying this series reread. 🔥🤩
August 8, 2018
Appollyon is the fifth book in the Left Behind Series. Things continue to pick up as the world faces more and more Trumpet Judgements. Getting further into the Tribulation-the period after the Rapture but before the Glorious Appearing- the world’s surviving population is facing yet another large blow to its numbers.
With the so-called blessing of the Antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia, the great conference of witnesses is scheduled to occur in Israel. After being exonerated of earlier accusations of the murder of his family, Tsion Ben-Judah is given “permission” to come back to his homeland of Israel to speak to the 144,000 witnesses prophesied about in the book of revelations.
Carpathia, not wanting to be outshone, makes a special guest appearance. Here he tries to assure everyone of his open and passive nature. He does not see any reason for open hostility. He wants everyone to practice the religion they believe in but wants this group to join the One World Faith. What he gets instead is a crowd that refuses to listen to him. It is then that Israel’s water supply turns to blood… at least for nonbelievers that is.
It is on the last day of this conference that all hell breaks loose. There is a Global Community attack which forces the Tribulation Force to flee. They head back to Chaim Rosenweig’s house that is basically an old fortress and is equipped with a helipad. But their escape back to the States does not go as planned. As they are running from the helicopter to the plane that will fly them to safety, one of our beloved members is shot and killed. Buck is unable to make it onto the plane at all leaving him injured and stranded in Israel. This is bad news for Buck since he is an international fugitive from the GC.
Meanwhile Hattie is rushed to the hospital. She is pregnant, but battling a severe illness, or more likely she is suffering from being poisoned by Carpathia. Will her baby survive? Will she? Do we want to know what the child of the Antichrist looks like?
Buck, still trying to get home to the States, finds his way back to Chaim Rosenweig’s where he can bide his time until arrangements can be made. The fourth Trumpet Judgement makes the stars, moon and sun 1/3 less bright causing temperatures to drop significantly. Now that everything is running on solar power, courtesy of the Global Community, this complicates Buck’s plans for rescue even further. The worst part? Chloe goes into labor while he is in Israel.
Once again this book is one hell of a page-turner. It’s nonstop action and excitement. You find yourself wondering if our Tribulation Force will ever catch a break knowing fully well that they will not. Not until they die and meet their maker or until the Glorious Appearing where they will be rewarded for their efforts. Their burden gets stronger by the day. They must save every soul they can and the window of opportunity is getting smaller and smaller.
I am so glad that I made the decision to pick these up this year. I have been fully immersed in this world that LeHaye and Jenkins have created. There is almost nothing I enjoy more than an end of the world tale. Death and destruction. Chaos. I love it. And this is proving to be a super fun and exciting series.
With the so-called blessing of the Antichrist, Nicolae Carpathia, the great conference of witnesses is scheduled to occur in Israel. After being exonerated of earlier accusations of the murder of his family, Tsion Ben-Judah is given “permission” to come back to his homeland of Israel to speak to the 144,000 witnesses prophesied about in the book of revelations.
Carpathia, not wanting to be outshone, makes a special guest appearance. Here he tries to assure everyone of his open and passive nature. He does not see any reason for open hostility. He wants everyone to practice the religion they believe in but wants this group to join the One World Faith. What he gets instead is a crowd that refuses to listen to him. It is then that Israel’s water supply turns to blood… at least for nonbelievers that is.
It is on the last day of this conference that all hell breaks loose. There is a Global Community attack which forces the Tribulation Force to flee. They head back to Chaim Rosenweig’s house that is basically an old fortress and is equipped with a helipad. But their escape back to the States does not go as planned. As they are running from the helicopter to the plane that will fly them to safety, one of our beloved members is shot and killed. Buck is unable to make it onto the plane at all leaving him injured and stranded in Israel. This is bad news for Buck since he is an international fugitive from the GC.
Meanwhile Hattie is rushed to the hospital. She is pregnant, but battling a severe illness, or more likely she is suffering from being poisoned by Carpathia. Will her baby survive? Will she? Do we want to know what the child of the Antichrist looks like?
Buck, still trying to get home to the States, finds his way back to Chaim Rosenweig’s where he can bide his time until arrangements can be made. The fourth Trumpet Judgement makes the stars, moon and sun 1/3 less bright causing temperatures to drop significantly. Now that everything is running on solar power, courtesy of the Global Community, this complicates Buck’s plans for rescue even further. The worst part? Chloe goes into labor while he is in Israel.
Once again this book is one hell of a page-turner. It’s nonstop action and excitement. You find yourself wondering if our Tribulation Force will ever catch a break knowing fully well that they will not. Not until they die and meet their maker or until the Glorious Appearing where they will be rewarded for their efforts. Their burden gets stronger by the day. They must save every soul they can and the window of opportunity is getting smaller and smaller.
I am so glad that I made the decision to pick these up this year. I have been fully immersed in this world that LeHaye and Jenkins have created. There is almost nothing I enjoy more than an end of the world tale. Death and destruction. Chaos. I love it. And this is proving to be a super fun and exciting series.
July 29, 2019
They must have been getting flack by this time about the racism and sexism, but their fix is to add some magical ethnic people to work for the white evangelicals. They gave a woman some important work but still ask her husband if it's ok to lie to her about her pregnancy. Other than those changes it's still the same fear mongering, prosperity gospel and conspiracy evil as the rest of the series.
February 20, 2023
My rating doesn't reflect my theological beliefs nor my view of eschatology, my rating is solely based on the entertainment value of the book.
November 11, 2020
Another excellent addition to the Left Behind series.
Hubby and I both enjoyed it very much.
Hubby and I both enjoyed it very much.
Read
August 27, 2023Rereading this series decades later I am astonished how well they've held up. Still can't wait to get to the next one
April 3, 2016
In this, the fifth book of the "Left Behind" series, the writing has definitely improved, for the most part. Another big improvement is a noticeable lessening of illogical actions and events that were so annoying in earlier volumes. That is not to say that is is completely lacking, though. In this book, we are reminded of the revelation in the "Soul Harvest" that Carpathia had Bruce Barnes poisoned. The question is, "Why?". At the time, Bruce (and the "Tribulation Force" as a whole) was no great threat to either Carpathia or the Global Community. The story, however, is still the same flaccid, tepid series of escapes, rescues, and chases that we have become used to from these authors. It also shows the same lack of imagination that has plagued this series from the beginning. Once again, the action reads like something stolen from a second rate movie or a two bit TV show and are further robbed of any tension or suspense by the characters constantly reminding each other that God is protecting them, so they are, ultimately, safe from any serious harm. Add in the fact that the authors have given me no real reason to care about the characters, and what should have been exciting scenes crackling with tension and concern are nothing more than just a boring sequence of words. Even the title of the book is nothing more than a cheap attempt to grab the readers' interest. Apollyon, "chief demon of the abyss", never puts in an appearance. When his horde of demon locusts finally put in an appearnce, about two-thirds of the way in, they are only there for about two chapters and are not all that terrifying. They sting people once, causing swelling and pain, and then move on. Perhaps that is the greatest downfall of these books: they are too tame. These events should be terrifying and heart-rending, but come across as limp and comical. (Witness the slapstick scene of Bo and Ernie trying to escape the locusts.) Even the descriptions of scenes of decadence and liscentiousness are watered down to the point where the most abominable actions include men kissing other men and (horrors of horrors!) tattoo parlors. These books aren't just a waste of time and paper. They are also a waste of a great opportunity to give us frightening, exciting, gut-wrenching stories.
January 14, 2012
Book #5 of this series has Raymond sneaking out of Israel to save his life and Buck, Chloe, and Tsion going to Israel to hold a huge conference for the witnesses. I never figured out why and that theme held true through most of this book. So much of what happened in this book left me thinking why would they do that or how could they do that? The main characters are constantly putting themselves in situations that noone should survive, yet they do things that if the world conditions really were as they are discribed in the book would be impossible for them to do.
Either because the writing is just not that good or because my thought process is wired differently from the authors, I keep thinking along the lines of how? There was a major earthquake but because of solor power all these torn up houses have power to run? After that much distruction it would take a long time for power lines to be fixed but they have no problems with having food or cooking it? I get the solar power thing, but how is the power getting to the destroyed houses? And all of the gas stations are ok to the point they have no problems always having gas for the cars, after a major earthquake? These people, who none of are trained hackers or techs, suddenly can hide there websites and phone calls from the most powerful person in the world?
If you're not the kind of person these things bother then you may not have any problems with the story. The characters are in and out of danger, they're having a baby, and there is some good scripture written throughout the book. There's characters that you like a great deal finally coming to the light.
I will continue to read the series as overall it is good one, with a good meaning behind it, some of the books are better than others.
Either because the writing is just not that good or because my thought process is wired differently from the authors, I keep thinking along the lines of how? There was a major earthquake but because of solor power all these torn up houses have power to run? After that much distruction it would take a long time for power lines to be fixed but they have no problems with having food or cooking it? I get the solar power thing, but how is the power getting to the destroyed houses? And all of the gas stations are ok to the point they have no problems always having gas for the cars, after a major earthquake? These people, who none of are trained hackers or techs, suddenly can hide there websites and phone calls from the most powerful person in the world?
If you're not the kind of person these things bother then you may not have any problems with the story. The characters are in and out of danger, they're having a baby, and there is some good scripture written throughout the book. There's characters that you like a great deal finally coming to the light.
I will continue to read the series as overall it is good one, with a good meaning behind it, some of the books are better than others.
September 19, 2011
This is the Left Behind book that made me the maddest. However it did not dissuade me from continuing the series. You'd think with a book called Apollyon: The Destroyer Is Unleashed there would at the very least be a character names Apollyon in the book. Sadly, no. There is not even a "destoyer." The name Apollyon is mentioned twice but no demon lord arises as I mistakenly believed. There are however these ridiculous demon hybrid locusts. They're 3 to 4 inches long with the 12 part segmented body of a horse and the head of a man with long flowing hair. Oh ya and they can talk. They only bite the unbelievers and when they do their victims have 5 months of agony where there are even unable to commit suicide. These locusts eventually die off. These books aren't bad but they're not good either. But the writers do do one thing right. They are compulsively readable with intriguing characters and cliffhangers galore.
August 22, 2010
These books started as a guilty pleasure, a mindless read suggested by my students. However, as the series goes on, the writing grows worse. At this point, I'm only continuing to read them because I'm curious how this train wreck of a series grew so popular and how it came to a close after something like 13 books.
July 23, 2016
The beginning started off slow but quickly built up towards the middle and held strong all the way to the end. A very satisfying fifth installment to the Left Behind Series.
Pros
Intense
Suspense
Clift hangers
Plot twists
Character development
Plot development
Cons
Nothing
Pros
Intense
Suspense
Clift hangers
Plot twists
Character development
Plot development
Cons
Nothing
May 30, 2016
Ah this one was really good too! I liked this storyline, and things are getting pretty intense now! I can't wait to keep reading this series!
December 7, 2019
Needed more flying horse scorpions. And cowbell. Cowbell was virtually absent and people definitely had fevers.
April 4, 2020
Excellent series so far. Starting the next book...Assassins!
April 26, 2021
Ugh! How disappointing! This book did not pick up where it left off in the last book. It had nothing more to say about the first three trumpets sounding off and the destruction that followed, which was just barely mentioned, as in a passing comment as if, nothing to see here, folks! Ridiculous! I believe they have made the characters and their silly little stories more important than the actual Biblical events the author is trying to tell us about. This book was literally all idle chit-chat about this and that as multitudes made there way to Israel, and to the Wailing Wall to hear the anointed Tsion Ben-Judah give his message to the believers. You would never know the world was in chaos and that the Lord would soon be arriving in just a few more years. It wasn’t until page 262 before there was even a mention of the 4th Trumpet.
They were now two years into the Tribulation. They had another 1-1/2 years before, what is considered the Great Tribulation, would begin, bringing on monumental catastrophe like none could imagine. Meanwhile, even the next 1-1/2 years would be worse than what they had experienced so far on earth. In those last years of the Great Tribulation, Luke 21 reminds us: "There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea in the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven would be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your head, because your redemption draws near."
Before the 4th Trumpet sound and devastation was brought against the people, Buck, his pregnant wife Chloe, Ken the saved pilot, Rayford and the anointed Tsion Ben-Judah had returned to Israel for the great gathering. Afterwards, the GC (Global Community) were onto all of them and were going to have them killed, so they had to flee in a quick getaway. Ken was shot and killed in front of Buck as Buck just landed on the airplane steps. The plane was already moving to take off, but he got caught in wiring on the step rails and couldn’t make it aboard. The plane took off and had just barely made a fence line when Buck was able to detangle himself and fall back to the ground in the brush.
Afterwards, and for some reason, a scene on page 247, actually drew some kind of emotions from me and made me cry. It wasn’t the story, it wasn’t the character cause I have no feelings for none of the characters. Buck made his way back to the Wailing Wall. He was lost, confused, disheartened, torn apart, and didn’t know what to do. He needed to be in God’s presence. He walked past the angry and scared crowd of people and up to the gate to see if Moishe and Eli would have advice for his aching heart from losing Ken. People were hollering at him to stay back, calling him a fool and idiot. Buck didn’t care. He needed God’s word. As he got close, the two saints spoke directly to him in a way that only Buck could hear. And right there, believe it or not, I started to cry and feel for the first time in this whole series. Buck was in God’s presence and receiving God’s words directly as he looked into the eyes of the two prophets, needing to feel God's touch. How I would love to see and hear God’s words and feel his touch, telling me that I am worthy too and to hold fast.
When the 4th Trumpet sounded off, it struck and permanently cut off 1/3 of the light from the sun, moon and stars. Daylight was only 2/3's as bright. The sun shone 2/3's as bright, temporarily bringing on winter-like temperatures until an angel flew through heaven and gave warning to the remaining inhabitants of the earth, an audible, out-loud warning that every human being clearly heard, before the final three angels sounded off. Woe to the people!
Buck made his way around Israel and was living temporarily in the safe haven of a new believer's home. When one morning, as he stepped outside into the clear bright sunshine, the sky suddenly darkened. Morning turned to twilight and the temperature dropped. He knew the 4th Trumpet had sounded off. (Revelations 8:12) All across the world temperatures plummeted to blizzard like conditions. Energy stores were diminished, all except for the potentate Nicolae and his people, who had directed extra capacity to their bunkers in New Babylon. Meanwhile, people were trying to keep warm and many were dying. Just like FAKE news today, Nicolae dressed up in his antarctic weather gear and put out an all-weather bulletin while in front of the Wailing Wall in an attempt to negotiate with the two prophets Eli and Moishe, who they believe had cursed the earth. But, there was no negotiating! The prophets spoke out, "Woe to you who do not lift your heads to the sky!" Nicolae walked up to the camera, and as a show of "props", denounced all the lies and blame he had laid on the previous scholarly believers. In two days, the weather and the light of day returned to normal.
The 5th Trumpet sounded off. Astronomers and scientists all over the world had their telescopes out and were following an object, known in Revelations as Wormwood, barreling straight towards earth. It landed and created a smoke so thick and far-reaching that it blocked the sun and spread around the world. End! Nothing else mentioned about this. More idle chit-chat like it was just another day in paradise.
The 6th Trumpet sound off sent a swarm of locust down to earth like never before seen. Out of the pitch black smoke came hideous black, yellow and brown little monsters, demons, with loud pitch screams like the sound of metal brushing together, here to attack everyone without the seal on their foreheads, causing great pain and the body to swell. The locust were the size of a man's hand, with the body of a horse, the face of a man and teeth like those of a lion. Their tails were translucent scorpion tails filled with venom which was clearly visible. The locusts also had a voice. They chanted, in Greek, "Apollyon, Apollyon, Apollyon." And in Hebrew, they chanted, "Abbadon, Abbadon, Abbadon."The victims wanted to die, and prayed for death, but death did not come. The Lord did not allow death at this time...nor for the next 5 months. Nicolae and his side kick, Fortunato, were well protected. All other commanding officers were attacked along with all other unbelievers.
This book ends with the warning of the 6th Trumpet and its devastation to be pronounced. Two hundred million horsemen will slay another 1/3 of the world's population. (Revelation 9:12-15)
Regardless, onto the next book, No 6 “Assassins’. I’d hate to quit now with only 3 books left in the series. Hopefully, the next book will be full of real visual action and a feel of what the real Tribulation will be like.
They were now two years into the Tribulation. They had another 1-1/2 years before, what is considered the Great Tribulation, would begin, bringing on monumental catastrophe like none could imagine. Meanwhile, even the next 1-1/2 years would be worse than what they had experienced so far on earth. In those last years of the Great Tribulation, Luke 21 reminds us: "There will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea in the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven would be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your head, because your redemption draws near."
Before the 4th Trumpet sound and devastation was brought against the people, Buck, his pregnant wife Chloe, Ken the saved pilot, Rayford and the anointed Tsion Ben-Judah had returned to Israel for the great gathering. Afterwards, the GC (Global Community) were onto all of them and were going to have them killed, so they had to flee in a quick getaway. Ken was shot and killed in front of Buck as Buck just landed on the airplane steps. The plane was already moving to take off, but he got caught in wiring on the step rails and couldn’t make it aboard. The plane took off and had just barely made a fence line when Buck was able to detangle himself and fall back to the ground in the brush.
Afterwards, and for some reason, a scene on page 247, actually drew some kind of emotions from me and made me cry. It wasn’t the story, it wasn’t the character cause I have no feelings for none of the characters. Buck made his way back to the Wailing Wall. He was lost, confused, disheartened, torn apart, and didn’t know what to do. He needed to be in God’s presence. He walked past the angry and scared crowd of people and up to the gate to see if Moishe and Eli would have advice for his aching heart from losing Ken. People were hollering at him to stay back, calling him a fool and idiot. Buck didn’t care. He needed God’s word. As he got close, the two saints spoke directly to him in a way that only Buck could hear. And right there, believe it or not, I started to cry and feel for the first time in this whole series. Buck was in God’s presence and receiving God’s words directly as he looked into the eyes of the two prophets, needing to feel God's touch. How I would love to see and hear God’s words and feel his touch, telling me that I am worthy too and to hold fast.
When the 4th Trumpet sounded off, it struck and permanently cut off 1/3 of the light from the sun, moon and stars. Daylight was only 2/3's as bright. The sun shone 2/3's as bright, temporarily bringing on winter-like temperatures until an angel flew through heaven and gave warning to the remaining inhabitants of the earth, an audible, out-loud warning that every human being clearly heard, before the final three angels sounded off. Woe to the people!
Buck made his way around Israel and was living temporarily in the safe haven of a new believer's home. When one morning, as he stepped outside into the clear bright sunshine, the sky suddenly darkened. Morning turned to twilight and the temperature dropped. He knew the 4th Trumpet had sounded off. (Revelations 8:12) All across the world temperatures plummeted to blizzard like conditions. Energy stores were diminished, all except for the potentate Nicolae and his people, who had directed extra capacity to their bunkers in New Babylon. Meanwhile, people were trying to keep warm and many were dying. Just like FAKE news today, Nicolae dressed up in his antarctic weather gear and put out an all-weather bulletin while in front of the Wailing Wall in an attempt to negotiate with the two prophets Eli and Moishe, who they believe had cursed the earth. But, there was no negotiating! The prophets spoke out, "Woe to you who do not lift your heads to the sky!" Nicolae walked up to the camera, and as a show of "props", denounced all the lies and blame he had laid on the previous scholarly believers. In two days, the weather and the light of day returned to normal.
The 5th Trumpet sounded off. Astronomers and scientists all over the world had their telescopes out and were following an object, known in Revelations as Wormwood, barreling straight towards earth. It landed and created a smoke so thick and far-reaching that it blocked the sun and spread around the world. End! Nothing else mentioned about this. More idle chit-chat like it was just another day in paradise.
The 6th Trumpet sound off sent a swarm of locust down to earth like never before seen. Out of the pitch black smoke came hideous black, yellow and brown little monsters, demons, with loud pitch screams like the sound of metal brushing together, here to attack everyone without the seal on their foreheads, causing great pain and the body to swell. The locust were the size of a man's hand, with the body of a horse, the face of a man and teeth like those of a lion. Their tails were translucent scorpion tails filled with venom which was clearly visible. The locusts also had a voice. They chanted, in Greek, "Apollyon, Apollyon, Apollyon." And in Hebrew, they chanted, "Abbadon, Abbadon, Abbadon."The victims wanted to die, and prayed for death, but death did not come. The Lord did not allow death at this time...nor for the next 5 months. Nicolae and his side kick, Fortunato, were well protected. All other commanding officers were attacked along with all other unbelievers.
This book ends with the warning of the 6th Trumpet and its devastation to be pronounced. Two hundred million horsemen will slay another 1/3 of the world's population. (Revelation 9:12-15)
Regardless, onto the next book, No 6 “Assassins’. I’d hate to quit now with only 3 books left in the series. Hopefully, the next book will be full of real visual action and a feel of what the real Tribulation will be like.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2023
For what it’s worth, this series does an exceptional job capturing the tone and priorities of living in end-times driven evangelicalism in the 90s-2000s (and even today, in many ways). I’ve been re-reading the series as a way of processing religious trauma, and this book is where I stop. With each book, the pro-life talking points get louder and louder, yet in no way more nuanced or empathetic. If you’re open to hearing men explain pregnancy with unfounded confidence, women’s supposed role in society, and the importance of martyrdom for the sake of the unborn, then this book is a fine choice for you. Or, if you didn’t grow up in white evangelicalism and are curious what the experience is like, this is a decent case study.
June 4, 2024
An average entry in the series, with some character development but the book falls foul of really sticking to the previous book's structure of a lot of stuff happening, a brief respite and then A LOT more happening in the final 3 chapters. This does not give the reader time to adjust and was even a little frustrating in this novel. Let's hope book six breaks away from that structure, even just a little bit.
July 24, 2024
This book is better than the previous one.
The are more thing going on here and the beginning was shocking. This story focuses more on Hattie’s suffering, Chloe’s pregnancy, and the locust plague.
I’m continuing with the sixth book right now!
The are more thing going on here and the beginning was shocking. This story focuses more on Hattie’s suffering, Chloe’s pregnancy, and the locust plague.
I’m continuing with the sixth book right now!
October 27, 2020
Book #5 continues to follow the Tribulation Force.
April 3, 2021
The series is getting better and better.
August 16, 2021
Good read
This book was great. Toward the end I really just wanted to slap Hattie. She's become a real moron. Her character keeps getting worse
This book was great. Toward the end I really just wanted to slap Hattie. She's become a real moron. Her character keeps getting worse
February 24, 2022
On to the next one!
May 9, 2022
Book five in the series and I continue to love these books!
April 17, 2018
This was a decent book to read in the series. I do not think it was quite as good as Soul Harvest, but it was still entertaining. This book initially takes place immediately after Soul Harvest, but then it ends up jumping "ahead" more than I remembered it doing or realized it did the first time around. I do think the authors have improved their story-telling with each successive novel, especially the dialogue. This book also had some crazy "intense" moments in it, where the heroes are forced to escape danger as best they can. Like any other book, it also has some periodic slow moments. The character development is decent; some new characters are introduced and some "old ones" are reintroduced to the storyline. As is the case in the previous books, there is more "talking" and "discussions" (and even lectures/teaching) than there is "action."
There was definitely at least one anticlimactic moment in the book. Probably the most disappointing moment in the book.
There were a couple of "humorous" moments that stood out to me in the book, for different reasons.
One "final thought" before closing.
Oh, I almost forgot!
It was a good book, overall. It does not quite 'set the stage' for the next book in the series , but it still fits in well with the overall flow of the story of the Tribulation Force. I am glad that I took the time to reread the book.
There was definitely at least one anticlimactic moment in the book. Probably the most disappointing moment in the book.
There were a couple of "humorous" moments that stood out to me in the book, for different reasons.
One "final thought" before closing.
Oh, I almost forgot!
It was a good book, overall. It does not quite 'set the stage' for the next book in the series , but it still fits in well with the overall flow of the story of the Tribulation Force. I am glad that I took the time to reread the book.
December 16, 2023
Finished this book a couple weeks ago... and yes this series is still leaving me speechless. I may revisit my reviews on this series once I read all of the books.
July 3, 2011
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins in their book “Apollyon” Book Five in the Left Behind series published by Tyndale House Publishers takes us to the events of Chapter 9, verses 1-12 in Revelation, the last book of The Bible.
In the Bible book of Revelation an Angel is dispatched to the bottomless pit with a key. Once the pit is opened out pour locusts upon the Earth unlike any ever seen before. And their sole purpose is to torment for five months "only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads". These locusts have a leader, "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. (Revelation 9:11). According to the Greek Dictionary Apollyon simply means, "Destroyer".
Nicolae Carpathia continues his rise to power and wants to eliminate all the believers that are opposed to his One World Religion. The world's believers are gathering in Jerusalem for a stadium rally and Carpathia decides to wipe them all out there. Capt. Rayford Steele is now the pilot for Carpathia while Buck Williams is working for Carpathia's news network. The remaining members of the Tribulation Force must figure out a way to stop this wholesale slaughter.
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“Apollyon” 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 six 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 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.”
In the Bible book of Revelation an Angel is dispatched to the bottomless pit with a key. Once the pit is opened out pour locusts upon the Earth unlike any ever seen before. And their sole purpose is to torment for five months "only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads". These locusts have a leader, "And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon. (Revelation 9:11). According to the Greek Dictionary Apollyon simply means, "Destroyer".
Nicolae Carpathia continues his rise to power and wants to eliminate all the believers that are opposed to his One World Religion. The world's believers are gathering in Jerusalem for a stadium rally and Carpathia decides to wipe them all out there. Capt. Rayford Steele is now the pilot for Carpathia while Buck Williams is working for Carpathia's news network. The remaining members of the Tribulation Force must figure out a way to stop this wholesale slaughter.
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“Apollyon” 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 six 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 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.”
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