The Left Behind Complete Set, Series 1-12

by Tim LaHaye

Though Steve wouldn’t admit it, Buck believed the luster had faded from Steve’s relationship to the potentate too.

Well, so much for any promise between Plank and Carpathia. Carplankia shippers, you're out of luck.

The only positive factor about Buck’s new position was that he now had the means to isolate himself somewhat against the terrible crime wave that had broken all records in North America.

So much for three years of peace

Buck was all for it and had secretly studied the feasibility of producing an anti–Global Community Web site on the Internet. As soon as he could figure out a way to do it without its being traced back to his penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue, he would do it.

despite Carpathia’s unparalleled popularity and his emphasis on the new one-world government and one-world religion, there were still enough vestiges of the old ways in the Middle East that a western woman would feel totally out of place there.

Welp. What do?

Buck missed Bruce more than he thought possible. Buck tried to see him every time he got back to Chicago to see Chloe. Anytime Bruce came through New York or they happened to run into each other in a foreign city, Bruce tried to make the time for a private study session.

After a year and a half, the sexual undertones of this relationship are still going strong.

Bruce had become famous, even popular.

Lol

For the past couple of months, Amanda had been driving Rayford to O’Hare for these long trips, but she had recently taken a new position and couldn’t get away. So today, Chloe would take Rayford by Amanda’s new office, where she was chief buyer for a retail clothier. When they had said their good-byes, Chloe would drive him to the airport and bring the car back home.

After the eighteen month time jump, I'm glad we got an update on Rayford's commute. This is also the first thing we learn about Amanda White, which is a less than thrilling introduction.

As they drove, Rayford’s mind drifted to Amanda. Neither he nor Chloe had known what to make of her at first. A tall, handsome woman a couple of years Rayford’s senior, she had streaked hair and impeccable taste in clothes.

But does she have sensible shoes?!

Mrs. White, however, seemed oblivious to Rayford and Chloe as people. To her they had been just names associated with a former acquaintance, Irene Steele, who had left an indelible impression on her. Amanda had insisted on taking them to dinner that Sunday noon and was adamant about paying. Rayford had not felt much like talking, but that seemed not to be an issue for Amanda. She had a lot to say.

Amanda, you and the male characters are not going to get along if you don't get that "a lot to say" condition fixed.

Eventually Amanda slowed down and shared her own story of the loss of her family.

Well, that didn't take long. I was being sarcastic, but the author took me at face value.

“Well, before I could get my little mind around the idea, I was the only one in my family who wasn’t saved.

"little mind"

Somehow, Amanda White managed to finish her meal while talking, but when she got to this part of her story she clouded up and had to excuse herself for a few minutes.

Amanda runs off to cry in her first scene

Besides sounding a little like iron and steel, I remember thinking that Irene sounded more like a name of someone many years older than your wife. She was about forty, right?”

Plot twist: she was sixty-five

“Well,” Amanda said, “it was her own story that moved me, but more than that, it was her carriage, her countenance.

“You want to have her over?” Chloe asked. “I want to ask her out.” “Pardon me?” “You heard me.” “Dad! You mean like on a date?” “A double date. With you and Buck.”

“I’m ready when he is,” Chloe told Rayford. “But I’m not going to say a word.” “Why not?” Rayford said. “Men need a few signals.” “He’s getting all the signals he needs.” “So you’ve held his hand by now?” “Dad!” “Bet you’ve even kissed him.” “No comment.” “That’s a yes if I ever heard one.” “Like I said, he’s getting all the signals he needs.”

Chloe's thinking of all the cookies they've eaten

“I’m sorry,” she said. “This is going to be so hard.” “I know.” “No you don’t. Buck, you can’t say you care for me as much as I care for you.”

P: "It's only because I'm so in love." A: "No, it's only because I'm so in love with *you*." P: "So love has blinded you?" We are in prequel territory romantic dialogue, my friends.

Buck had already planned his first kiss. He had hoped to find a reason to simply brush her lips with his at the end of an evening, say good night, and slip away. He didn’t want to have to deal with her reaction, or deal with kissing her again just then. It was going to be meaningful and special, but quick and simple, something they could build on later.

That's so weird

He lowered his head until his eyes were inches from hers. “Did you hear me?” he said. “Don’t say it again. Don’t imply it, don’t even think it. There’s no possible way you could care for me more than I care for you. You are my whole life. I love you, Chloe. Don’t you know that?” He felt her nearly recoil at that first declaration of his love.

Rayford was not sure just when his respect and admiration for Amanda White had developed into love. He had grown fond of her, liked her, loved being with her. They had become comfortable enough with each other to touch each other when they spoke, to hold hands, to embrace. But when he found himself missing her after only a day away and needing to call her when he was gone more than a few days, he knew something was developing.

Rayford knocked and entered Amanda’s office. “I hope you’re not expecting me to be cheery, Ray,” she said. “I’ve been trying to work up a smile all day, and it’s not working.” “Let me see what I can do to make you smile,” he said, pulling her from her chair and kissing her.

“Oh, Ray!” Amanda said, gazing at the ring on her finger. “I love you. And for the few years we have left, I will love being yours.” “There’s one more thing,” he said. “What?” “Buck and I have been talking. He’s proposing in the next room right now, and we were wondering if you two might be open to a double ceremony with Bruce officiating.”

Is the final chapter really going to be a double wedding? Well, that'd definitely be unpredictable, seeing as we didn't know one quarter of the betrothed until this penultimate chapter. Did we really need to give Rayford a love interest by the end of the book? Like, he’s already got a strong case of the not-gays from Hattie and Irene, so what gives? Maybe Tim didn’t want him third-wheeling his way through the rest of the series.

“Rayford Steele!” she said. “It takes a while to get your temperature up, but not long to make you boil.

Eww

Something big was brewing.

At Star*Buck's*! It took me too long to find a place to capitalize on that joke.

Fitzhugh confided to Buck that Egypt, England, and patriotic militia forces in the U.S. were determined to take action “before it was too late.”

"patriotic militia forces" HMMMMMMM………

This was all part of the foretold future. The uprising against Antichrist would be crushed and would initiate World War III, from which would come worldwide famine, plagues, and the death of a quarter of the earth’s population.

Spoilers, Buck!

The double ceremony in Bruce’s office two weeks later was the most private wedding anyone could imagine. Only the five of them were in the room. Bruce Barnes concluded by thanking God for all the smiles, the embraces, the kisses, and the prayer. Buck asked if he could see the underground shelter Bruce had constructed. “It was barely under way when I moved to New York,” he said.

Well, the wedding scene didn't linger

Carpathia pulled a tiny remote control from his pocket and pointed it at the intercom on his desk across the room. “Darling, would you join us a moment, please?” Darling? Rayford thought. No pretense anymore. Hattie Durham knocked and entered. “Yes, sweetie?” she said. Rayford thought he would gag.

“We have an announcement too,” Carpathia said. “Hattie will be leaving the employ of Global Community to prepare for our new arrival.” Carpathia was beaming, as if expecting a joyous reaction. Rayford did what he could to not betray his disgust and loathing.

This development could go many directions, and I don't trust LaHaye with any of them.

Chloe broke down when she read her father’s e-mail about Hattie. “Buck, we have failed that woman. We have all failed her.”

Ugggghhh

“One of these days we have to get to Hattie, even if it means going to New Babylon.” “What are you going to do, Chloe? Tell her she’s carrying the Antichrist’s child and that she ought to leave him?” “It may come to that.”

Buck had been praying about whether to tell Chloe of President Fitzhugh’s warning about New York City and Washington.

You mean you haven't told her about the impending World War Three?!

Rayford was grateful that Chloe had begun getting to know Amanda better by e-mail. When Rayford and Amanda were dating, he had monopolized most of Amanda’s time, and while the women seemed to like each other, they had not bonded other than as believers. Now, communicating daily, Amanda seemed to be growing in her knowledge of Scripture. Chloe was passing along everything she was studying.

We *barely* passed the Bechdal test in this book, so any female-to-female bonding is welcome.

Amanda tried to summarize for Rayford: “We’re looking at a world war, famine, plagues, death, the martyrdom of the saints, an earthquake, and then silence in heaven as the world is readied for the next seven judgments.” Rayford shook his head, then cast his eyes down. “Bruce has been warning us of this all along. There are times I think I’m ready for whatever comes and other times when I wish the end would simply come quickly.” “This is the price we pay,” she said, “for ignoring the warnings when we had the chance. And you and I were warned by the same woman.” Rayford nodded.

The phone rang. “So much for surprises.” Buck said. “That has to be him.” But it wasn’t.

Dun dun dun…

“I would like you to fly the plane to Chicago and have someone you trust return it to New York the same day.” “I know just the person,” Rayford said.

Will Earl, Rayford's boss, finally get his wish of flying Air Force One, thus completing his character arc?

“This is Rayford Steele calling for Earl, but please don’t tell him it’s me. I have a surprise for him.”

He is! But now that he'll do the only thing he wanted, he's got "dead meat" written across his chest.

“But he picked up some kinda bug in Indonesia and we had to get him to the emergency room. He didn’t want us to tell anyone, because he was sure it was something they could fix real quick and he could still get down there. But he’s slipped into a coma.” “A coma!?”

LaHaye put Bruce in a coma in the final chapter!?

Despite their concern for Bruce, Rayford felt a little more whole. He had a four-person family again, albeit a new wife and a new son. They discussed Bruce’s situation and brought each other up to date, and though they were all aware that they were living in a time of great danger, for the moment they simply enjoyed being together again.

Buck sat in the backseat with Chloe, listening. How refreshing to be with people who were related and yet loved each other, cared about each other, respected one another. He didn’t even want to think about the small-minded family he had come from. Somehow, someday, he would convince them they were not the Christians they thought they were. Had they been, they would not have been left behind, as he was.

Chloe leaned against Buck and slipped her hand into his. He was grateful she was so casual, so matter-of-fact, about her devotion to him. She was the greatest gift God could have granted him since his salvation.

A whole lot of nope, with a side of that's not how that works

A Cable News Network/Global Community Network radio correspondent was broadcasting live just outside Washington, D.C. “The fate of Global Community Potentate Nicolae Carpathia remains in question at this hour as Washington lies in ruins,”

Oh my

It appears to have been preemptive as well as retaliatory.

It cannot be both

The radio announcer continued: “We’re on standby for a lie feed, excuse me, a live feed from Global Community Potentate Nicolae Carpathia. . . .” “He had that right the first time,” Chloe said.

Zing!

As Rayford looked for a route that would get him near Northwest Community Hospital, the CNN/GCN correspondent came back on. “This late word: Anti–Global Community militia forces have threatened nuclear war on New York City, primarily Kennedy International Airport.

“And now this from London: A one-hundred-megaton bomb has destroyed Heathrow Airport, and radiation fallout threatens the populace for miles. The bomb was apparently dropped by peacekeeping forces after contraband Egyptian and British fighter-bombers were discovered rallying from a closed military airstrip near Heathrow. The warships, which have all been shot from the sky, were reportedly nuclear-equipped and en route to Baghdad and New Babylon.”

That escalated quickly

I think one of us with an ID should go, and the other should stay with the wives.

Rayford’s heart sank as he came over the rise and saw the hospital. Part of the full height of the structure was still intact, but much of it was rubble.

If you were just going to kill Bruce in an airstrike, why did he need to be in that coma?

The woman, whose nameplate read Patricia Devlin,

“Barnes, ICU. Yep, that’s where he was. There’s still more inside, you know, but ICU was just about vaporized.” “So he might be here and he might still be inside?” “If he’s out here, hon, he’s confirmed dead. If he’s still inside, they may never find him.”