CindyJean's Full Review: Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - The Indwelling: ...
Introduction
When I first began reading the ‘Left Behind’ series, little did I know how addicted I would become.
These books have given me, as a Christian, a picture of what the Rapture and Tribulation could be like. The authors of these books have studied the book of Revelations from the Holy Bible and through this series have painted a picture of their interpretation of it.
Non-Christian fans of science fiction have also embraced the books of the ‘Left Behind’ series.
Note: I will be writing this review under the assumption that readers are familiar with the first six books of the series. Few people will be reading a review of a sixth book in a series without prior knowledge of the characters and plot. If you haven’t read the other books but wish too, I would suggest you not read this review any further.
Nuts & Bolts
Authors
Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins have teamed up to co-author one of the most popular sets of books in history, which includes this book, “The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession.”
Publisher
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. of Wheaton, Illinois, is the publishing firm behind “The Indwelling” and the rest of the wildly popular ‘Left Behind’ books.
Miscellaneous
“The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession” bears a copyright date of 2000 and contains approximately 388 pages in hardback.
The length of “The Indwelling” (as with the rest of the ‘Left Behind’ books) may appear somewhat overwhelming, but if you become as addicted to these books as I have they will fly by. I finish most books of this series (though I do read quite quickly) in about a day. I could probably finish them faster, but my house and children do not allow me any more time!
Characters
Rayford Steele
I start my character information with Rayford most often because he is the recognized as the leader of the Tribulation Force.
Rayford wanted to shoot Carpathia, but he could not. Then by accident he is bumped and his gun goes off, though he quite evidently misses the “Potentate.” When Carpathia turns up dead, it’s much more convenient to pin it on Rayford than to admit the real killer. Now Rayford is a murder suspect and once again on the run.
God is tugging at Rayford’s heart. Rayford has been distancing himself from God in the last few books, trying to do his own will instead of God’s. When God finally catches up to him and gets to his heart, Rayford becomes repentant and takes steps to make amends to those he has wronged.
Rayford still struggles with trusting other believers, but does he have cause?
Cameron “Buck” Williams
Cameron is in Jerusalem when Carpathia is assassinated, but he has enough of a view of Carpathia to know that it was not Rayford who killed the “Potentate.” Buck knows that it while it was someone dear to him, Captain Steele was not the offending party.
Unable to find his dear friend Chaim Rosenzweig in the commotion following the assassination, he makes his way to Chaim’s home secretly. He finds that the Global Community (GC) peacekeeping forces have preceded him and done unspeakable things to Chaim’s staff in the effort to learn of Chaim’s location. The things Cameron witnesses sicken him to his core, and make him ponder whether he’s a brave soldier of the Tribulation Force or a coward.
Buck finally locates Chaim in an unlikely place, and together they make their way from Jerusalem to Greece to a secret pocket of believers there. A rough landing causes some pretty serious injuries to Buck, but nothing fatal. He eventually makes his way back to Mount Prospect and his family, but will he make it to baby Kenny in time?
Chloe Williams
Chloe has always been an active person longing to be in the middle of the fight, and she finally goes stir crazy and makes a break from the safe house to check out their potential new safe house in the abandoned city of Chicago. Having been decimated in the war, Chicago was thought to be radioactive, even by the GC, but is discovered not to be.
Chloe ends up causing problems for the Tribulation Force and ends up causing the loss of one of their only two vehicles.
Chloe is a very loving mother, and she vows to do whatever necessary to keep Kenny from falling into GC hands. She even vows that if the GC were to discover the safe house that she would kill Kenny rather than let them take him. Tsion does what he can to persuade her, but will he be able to do it?
Leah Rose
The newest resident of the safe house, Leah starts off in Brussels looking for Hattie. She locates a GC insider who also bears the mark of the believers, and she learns that Hattie has been released in hopes of leading everyone to the safe house.
Leah makes her way stateside on her own, having been abandoned by Rayford. When they meet up again, he is repentant and apologetic and they seem to make a new start as teammates as opposed to rivals.
David Hassid
David is a high level GC insider and also a believer. He’s in a position where he can learn things of vital interest to the Tribulation Force, and he takes advantage of it.
David also seems to have the ear of Leon Fortunato, the heir apparent to Carpathia’s position of leadership. He’s even offered any position in Leon’s administration that he so chooses, though he prefers to stay where he is.
Leon Fortunato
With Nicolae Carpathia dead, Leon is the heir apparent to the leadership of the Global Community. He tries his best to style himself after Carpathia, but he just doesn’t seem to have the same panache.
When Carpathia fails to return from the dead in the timeframe they expect, the Tribulation Force begins to wonder if they weren’t mistaken about who the Antichrist truly is. Could it be that Leon’s act is just that, an act? Is the true Antichrist yet to reveal himself?
Chaim Rosenzweig
Towards the end of “Assassins” Chaim suffered from a severe stroke, so how is it that he escaped the aftermath of the assassination of Nicolae Carpathia?
When Buck meets up with Chaim at their unlikely rendezvous point, he is shocked to see Chaim as fit and healthy as he has ever been.
When Chaim learns of the deaths of his household staff he is distraught, feeling that he had brought their deaths on. His first thoughts are of suicide, but Buck will not allow it. On Chaim and Buck’s flight to Greece Chaim struggles with his knowledge of God versus his fear that he may come to God for selfish reasons. Can Chaim’s heart ever convince his head to follow the Lord?
Hattie Durham
Hattie is released from GC custody after it is confirmed that her pregnancy has ended. She is given a large ‘settlement’ and her freedom, with the hope of the GC forces that she will lead them to the Ben Judah-ites and their safe house.
Hattie isn’t quite as foolish as the GC thinks she is, and she’s more loyal to the Ben Judah-ites than the GC thinks she is. She’s aware that they are tailing her and as such refuses to give them up.
Hattie knows in her head that God is behind the Rapture and the Tribulation, but she cannot forgive herself of her sins and cannot accept God’s forgiveness for them either. Will her heart ever soften?
My Thoughts
This book contained, in addition to its main characters, a wide array of periphery characters that added tremendously to the story. With the storyline of the Tribulation being a large amount of death and destruction, “The Indwelling” has many characters that the reader relates to that can be killed off while leaving the central Tribulation Force alive.
I think what I enjoyed most about “The Indwelling” was that this book was filled with intrigue and mystery. There was a little less of the standard ‘action’ of the ‘Left Behind’ series and more drama.
Another thing I really enjoy about this book is that it fooled me. I generally can guess the end of a mystery show and/or book before getting there, so when this book through a curveball at me I was pleasantly surprised.
Recommendation
“The Indwelling: The Beast Takes Possession” is a part of multi-book series, and as such is best read in order. When you read a serial book out of order you lose some of the sense of what the characters are doing and why. While this book could be enjoyed on it’s own, I would not recommend reading it that way.
I would highly recommend that you read “The Indwelling,” but only after having read “Left Behind,” “Tribulation Force,” “Nicolae,” “Soul Harvest,” “Apollyon,” and “Assassins” first.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.