Reviews for Soon: The Beginning of the End (Underground Zealot Series #1)

The average rating for Soon: The Beginning of the End (Underground Zealot Series #1) based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-01-16 00:00:00 Jason Campbell This is a modern retelling of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9: 1~21) that's set in a post~Apocalyptic United States that has been reduced to seven regions which mirror the last seven churches in the book of Revelation. And much like the Christians in the early church, Christians in post~World War III America have to live and worship underground or face prosecution. I wanted to like this book because I'm such a big fan of the Left Behind series but I couldn't suspend my belief long enough to let it happen. I don't doubt for a minute that there will come a time when Christians will be persecuted (to an extent, Christianity and many of its core beliefs have already come under fire) but what I have a hard time believing is that the U.S. will reflect the last seven churches as portrayed in the book. The characters are a little dull and the action is brutal/intense to say the least (there are a couple of murder scenes that are kind of gory). I just think there could have been more to this story than there was… Maybe if it had followed the Bible a little more closely and not been as contrived it could have been better. I didn't mind it being set in the U.S., I just have a hard time with the obvious connection between the United Seven States and the seven churches of the last days (it just seems like that would be more of a Middle Eastern focus). On the positive side, this was a quick and easy read that leaves just enough cliffhangers to flow into a series. It'd be interesting to see if the characters are more fleshed out and if the story aligns more closely to biblical prophecy than it does right now.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-05-15 00:00:00 Chet Hurley Soon, in many ways, feels like a prologue. Though the book is light on action, I got the feeling that the story will really heat up in the next two novels. Frankly, Jerry Jenkins isn't my favorite writer, but he does better than usual here. I don't agree with the whole Rapture thing, but, as with the Left Behind and Babylon Rising series, it's simply an interpretation of Scriptures that us humans can never fully understand. In short, fans of Jerry Jenkins, Tim LaHaye, or Frank Peretti will probably like Soon. P.S.: The title makes me think of the classic Home Improvement scene: "When, Tim, when?" "Soon, Jill, soon!"