1. Kaci says:

    Haha. Wow. I read that during my middle school end times kicked and liked it. Think I read Fourth Millennium too. (Hey, I’m older now. I didn’t realize it was that bad.) Ah well. I don’t remember anything about it other than a fascination with the date Av 9, so that probably says something. Do I get a pass for being 11 when I read it?

    Looking forward to reading more. (Um, of yours.)

    • Surely that counts, Kaci! And that adds another angle as well: books we liked when we were younger, but grew to dislike as we got older (and perhaps read better books). This situation is similar with me and the Left Behind series, though I still have an affection for many of those volumes, flaws and all. …

      • Kaci says:

        Yeah, I think I grew out of Left Behind as much as anything. Like I said, by book 11 or whatever number, I was thinking more as a writer than a reader, methinks. Go figure, I grew into Narnia, but out of all those end times clones. I think you’re right: as time goes on, what passes for one age bracket simply won’t on an older one; and as kids we may not even notice glaring flaws. (Although, as a kid, I could still get frustrated in cartoons.)

        As far as LB goes…I did like Buck and Rayford (the versions in my head) and Chloe. As it was, they took a cool, strong, feisty female lead and turned her stupid so they could off her. I got kinda tired of that: take a great character, make me like him/her, then off him.

        But I’m pretty sure nowadays I’d just be annoyed. And believe me, we have most of those in hardback. (Or did, assuming they survived the purge.)

  2. Kaci says:

    *end times kick

    On days I can spell…

  3. This is going to be fun :). Although I kinda like the line “The whole world is turning into scrambled eggs.” I feel it is true.

  4. UKSteve says:

    Yikes, end times novels – I think I have yet to hear of a properly good one! I read one a few years back called Wired, in which the obligatory Jewish Bible scholar had the voice of Yoda and the name of an adult film star. Although I think the dialogue at the top of this post pretty well trumps most things I’ve read outside of NaNoWriMo…

  5. Christian says:

    Good gravy that book sounds awful!
    I’ve read some badly-written books – The Inheritance Trilogy (first two) , The Sword of Shannara, Shadowmancer, The Left Behind series, to name just a few and they’ve helped me to better understand the mechanics of writing; what works and what doesn’t. It’s very helpful. The sad thing is the latter two at least had some good stuff. Shadowmancer was terribly-written but the author had an incredible ability to make the evil very tangible and both seductive and destructive. It was a very atmospheric book and the villain was amazing. The premise was also good but the writing let it down. As for the Left Behind series, I don’t hold to the same view of the End times as the authors, nor do I think Tim LaHaye shouldv’e been allowed to fill the books with many sermons and almost all of them very long – much telling, not much showing. But they had some interesting kernels of action, story and intrigue and yes, Rayford, Buck and Chloe were very likeable, also the young Asian man (I can’t remember his name). Still, there’s one way not to end your series – ending with the return of Christ and making him dull and incredibly one-dimensional. But yes, badly-written books are just as useful, if not more, to help writers learn their craft.
    Great article mate!

    • Kaci says:

      Still, there’s one way not to end your series – ending with the return of Christ and making him dull and incredibly one-dimensional. But yes, badly-written books are just as useful, if not more, to help writers learn their craft.

      Hehe. The other reason I didn’t read Glorious Appearing. How’s that line go? “When the author walks on stage, the play is over.”

  6. Ken Rolph says:

    What I find interesting is that you all seem to accept end times fiction as speculative fiction, to read some of it and to actually think it worth discussing.

    I persevered with reading Shadowmancer to the end. I can’t say it was an enjoyable experience. As I recall, it seemed that Taylor got sidetracked into bashing the church for perceived failings in the past. It is possible to write about flawed people and institutions, but this seemed to be just nasty. It came across more like a demolition job on the church.

  7. Yes, that dialogue is truly, truly awful. So bad it’s amusing.

  8. […] Part 1: Even the worst of bad Christian novels may contain lessons on what to avoid. […]

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