Product Description

The Rising begins a new Left Behind series that will give you a glimpse into the lives of your favorite characters before the Rapture. Have you ever wondered what life was like before the Rapture for Rayford, Irene, and Chloe Steele, Bruce Barnes, Buck Williams, and Tsion Ben Judah? Plus, see why Viv Ivins plays such a pivotal role in Nicolae Carpathia's life. What were the events surrounding Nicolae's sudden rise to power? How did he become filled with evil? You will find all these answers and more in this exciting new series!

In The Rising,Marilena Carpathia has only one dream: to be a mother. So when a mysterious clairvoyant promises the fulfillment of this dream, Marilena does not hesitate. Through genetic engineering and the power of the prince of darkness himself, Marilena is about to become a chosen vessel, one who will unknowingly give birth to the greatest evil the world has ever known.

Halfway around the world, God's plans are subtly being carried out too. Young Ray Steele is determined to avoid one day taking over the family business. Instead, Ray sets his heart on becoming a pilot.

Soon Carpathia's and Steele's lives will intersect. And good and evil will clash in an explosion that will shake the world.

The eternal battle for souls has come to earth. The world hurtles toward the countdown to the Rapture.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #110147 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

From AudioFile
Richard Ferrone's gravelly voice and professional delivery skillfully portray the main characters of the Left Behind series in this new series, Countdown to the Rapture. Ferrone's depiction of Rayford as a child is typical of a youngster with the dream of becoming a pilot. His recreation of Nicolae Carpathia portrays an icy-cold persona from birth. His portrayal of Carpathia's haughtiness strikes a chord of fear. Ferrone's narrative and characterizations capture the essence of each character, but, as good as he is, he can't overcome the plot. Since the listener knows the ending from the beginning, the characters' back story fails to engage. This title would work well as a sequel, but not a prequel. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Download Description
Summary
The newest book in the Left Behind series, The Rising, will give you a glimpse into the lives of your favorite characters before the Rapture. Have you ever wondered what life was like before the Rapture for Rayford, Irene, and Chloe Steele, Bruce Barnes, Buck Williams, and Tsion Ben Judah? Plus, see why Viv Ivins plays such a pivotal role in Nicolae Carpathia's life. What were the events surrounding Nicolae's sudden rise to power? How did he become filled with evil? You will find all these answers and more in The Rising.

From the Back Cover
Marilena Carpathia has only one dream: to be a mother. So when a mysterious clairvoyant promises the fulfillment of this dream, Marilena does not hesitate. Through genetic engineering and the power of the prince of darkness himself, Marilena is about to become a chosen vessel, one who will unknowingly give birth to the greatest evil the world has ever known.

Halfway around the world, God’s plans are subtly being carried out too. Young Ray Steele is determined to avoid one day taking over the family business. Instead, Ray sets his heart on becoming a pilot. . . .

Soon Carpathia’s and Steele’s lives will intersect. And good and evil will clash in an explosion that will shake the world.

The eternal battle for souls has come to earth.
The world hurtles toward the countdown to the Rapture.

Customer Reviews

An Amazing Thiller
This book had me on the edge of my seat many times and once I actually jumped when something happened. It is well written and is a prequel, along with two other books, to the Left Behind series of books. The Left Behind series is Biblically based thillers about the end of time. All of them are great reads - Biblical or not.

Was this also about a time warp?
Here is my only complaint:
They seemed to not know what year they were writing about in the beginning of The Rising.
If you read the original series you would see that Rayford is in his 40s and Carpathia in his 30s, in the first Left Behind book. For Rayford to be 9 and Carpathia not born yet, the setting had to be the 70's, yet they are talking about cell phones and high speed internet. I may be wrong, but I really didn't think these things came about until the middle to late 80's. I am just now 31 and remember that people with cell phones in the late 80's were really something, since it cost so much to use or buy one. Rayford's parents are made out to be middle-class, if not lower middle-class. How did they have a car phone and 2 cell phones, when Rayford's mother left him in the car? And high-speed internet in the woods? There are people now-a-days, that live in rural areas that can't get high-speed internet, let alone Romania,circa 1970 something.
Otherwise, it was an okay read. I loved the original series, but this was not as good, at all.

a redemption from the "Glorious Appearing"
I have read all the previous books in the series. The first one was good, the second was really good, and books 3-10 were AWESOME. And the last one as we all know was the biggest flop in history. However I found this book redeeming, not only in the way it kept the reader's attention, but also with the toning down of the endless and repetitive scriptures that were cited in some of the previous books.