It is Finished

As it says on the spine of this penultimate volume of the Left Behind series, it is now officially finished. I have read the 16 books that comprise this amazing mess; into your hands I commend my spirit, Father.

I don't have much to add to previous comments, except to say that this book is more of the same. It feels very much like something that was tacked-on to the series to make a few more dollars--many of the central characters from previous books show up only on the margins of this one. It's impossible to get into the plot without delving into pre-millennialist theology, something which I'm in no mood to do at the moment. The entire second half of this series managed to attain a fever pitch of religious hatred, paranoia, ignorance, and poor writing and characterization. This book continue that tradition, and serves I suppose as a representative and appropriate finale, in a sense.

I'm taking a break from right-wing religious fiction for a while, but I do intend to eventually get back around to critical reactions to this series; I know there are at least a few academic volumes out there on the topic. And of course I've yet to play the already legendary videogame.