The Remaining

Last September, a movie about the Rapture – the “taking up” of believing Christians prior to the end times described in the Biblical book of Revelation – was released in theaters. Reception of the movie was so-so, and it seems to have disappeared rather quickly. After all of the “Left Behind” books by Tim LeHaye and Jerry Jenkins (with Nicholas Cage in the movie), perhaps there’s nothing left to the imagination about the Rapture and its aftermath.The movie script for “The Remaining” was “novelized,” and Travis Thrasher was the author who wrote the book, published under the same title. I normally don’t read novelizations, but I’ve read one of Thrasher’s before, “Home Run,” and he writes good stuff, even if he has to work from rather weak scripts.The book is profoundly disturbing. Perhaps it’s meant to be. But my response to it has lingered for days after finishing it.The story filters the Rapture through that most commonplace of events – a wedding. Six friends have come together for the wedding of two them in Wilmington, North Carolina. They’re all from the area; they’ve all gone to school together. A year before the wedding, one of them, Lauren, had a series of horrific visions and dreams about her friends dying. But the visions had faded, and this is a joyful event for the couple getting married, Dan and Skylar.The entire book is set in roughly a 24-hour time period.It’s during the wedding reception that the Rapture happens, except the believing Christians aren’t “taken up” bodily. They simply drop dead, and it is their souls that are taken up. Lauren is the only one of the six who dies on the spot.Chaos ensues. Explosions, plane crashes, trumpets sounding, fires, a ferocious hailstorm. Then comes the attacks by something – reptiles? Demons? It’s hard to see them clearly at night, but they’re attacking anything connected to faith, like church buildings, and anyone who is gaining faith as a result of the unfolding events. As events progress, the five remaining friends learn that this isn’t just happening in Wilmington but all around the world. Civilization as they’ve known it for all of their young lives had suddenly and horrifically come to an end.Thrasher uses short chapters, and tight (and tense) writing to build the suspense and, yes, the horror. At times it’s difficult to keep reading, because it seems that all hope has been removed, and judgment is at hand. Telling the story through a wedding (taken from the movie script) somehow makes the narrative both terrible and compelling.The effects of The Remaining still linger in the mind, though. And the heart. Thrasher has once again told a good, if horrible, story.

A Glorious read! There are a number of things that I liked about this book, but one of the most notable is that the story evolves during the early stages of the apocalyptic events described from the visions experienced by John during his stay on Patmos. A very important part of the Bible, this writing depicts a group of young adults struggling to understand, cope with, and just survive the evil that pervades the earth during the period brought on by the trumpet calls that dramatically fills the air upon each stage of events.So many people really do not understand the future as it is revealed in the scriptures. They think of the Bible as "stories" of peace, and "forgiveness" exclusively. They envision God as "Santa Claus", and Jesus as a one dimensional teacher-type wanderer. To focus exclusively upon the Gospels, or the writings of Paul is to miss a large part of the New Testament that is clearly very significant to the overall understanding of the scriptures. This book addresses that exclusion of fact.A well written story that is fast-paced, well developed, and difficult to put down. I also greatly appreciated the added chapter concerning an entirely different lady as she strives to understand, and again, survive the chaos as she encounters the events of these days. This story is called "The Crossing", and it follows the conclusion of the first book.This book ought to be required reading for school age individuals, ....and everyone else as well!!

The reason for three stars on this book, even though I thought it was great, is because of how the writing is and how the chapters are divided up. It just kind of threw me off and kept me from giving it my full attention. I still wanted to finish the book because I was interested in how this book describes what happens after the Rapture versus how Left Behind describes it.This book is intense and gives an idea of what the book of Revelation is actually going for. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the Left Behind series, it’s intense in it’s own way but I feel like The Remaining is, while not completely accurate, more so.Don’t let the three stars turn you away from this book, that’s not what I’m trying to do here. I know it’s kind of confusing saying I’m giving this book this many stars and then saying go read this book, but I would suggest giving this story a try.Also, the movie is absolutely fantastic. I know I have some movie reviewers following me, I would love to know what your opinion on The Remaining is. I work at a Christian bookstore and we had a movie day, and let me tell you, everyone was freaked out by this movie.I tried to warn them because I read the book beforehand, of course the only thing I could say without giving anything away is that it is intense and more into keeping with the chaos that the book of Revelation says there will be.

*** SPOILER REVIEW ***This was an apocalyptic book with a Biblical twist. It depicts the author's idea of what the Rapture would entail. It focuses on a group of friends who get left behind and their experiences as the book of Revelation unfolds around them. I like these characters and how they developed throughout the book. Although the book of Revelation is subject to much interpretation, I liked how the author took it quite literally. As a Christian, I also appreciated how the author illustrated that no one (except God) will know the hour or the day when the "end of times" on earth will occur and that there IS a big difference between "religion" and true spirituality.

Very engaging book and I finished to the end yay must read don't want to spoil for you but it is a good read

A graphic and startling reminder of what it means to Delay making a choice to follow Jesus , a " must read " for this generation , you will be glued to this book until you finish !!!

En anglais (US). Un passage du livre de l'Apocalypse (Révélation) mis au goût du jour. C'est très "évangélique", au sens américain, comme approche. Un catholique et Français, qui plus est, ne s'y retrouve pas vraiment et a tendance à sourire. Pour la détente.

This is an awesome book for the believers and the not believers out there! Really enjoyed it. I recommend it.