The Left Behind Complete Set, Series 1-12

by Tim LaHaye

Buck was putting his equipment away when he noticed Chloe was crying, tears streaming down her face. What was it with these women? Hattie Durham had been weeping when she and the captain had finished talking that afternoon. Now Chloe.

I don't know what to tell you, Buck. The women in this universe all have terrible allergies.

for the first time since he had lain facedown in fear in Israel during the Russian attack, he wished he had a private place to cry.

“Still off the record, Hattie,” Buck said, “do you mind if I ask your reaction to all this?” “Why off the record?” Hattie snapped. “The opinions of a pilot are important but the opinions of a flight attendant aren’t?” “I’ll put you on the machine if you want,” he said. “I didn’t know you wanted to be on the record.” “I don’t,” she said. “I just wanted to be asked. It’s too late now.”

Women, right? /s, if it wasn't obvious

The pastor I told you about in Illinois really has a handle on this stuff and knows much more than I do about the Antichrist and all.

"That's what it says on these business cards he had printed on short notice."

The foursome moseyed to the lobby.

LaHaye is more open-minded than I thought

He hadn’t even prayed when he became convinced of God’s existence that night in Israel. What had been the matter with him? Everyone in the world, at least those intellectually honest with themselves, had to admit there was a God after that night.

What did it say about him, what despicable kind of a subhuman creature had he become, that even the stark evidence of the Israel miracle—for it could be called nothing less—had not thawed his spirit’s receptiveness to God?

It's times like this when I feel like the author is limply trying to attack me for not buying his premise

Buck was on a personal quest now, looking to satisfy deep needs. For so many years he had rejected the idea of a personal God or that he had need of God—if there was one. The idea would take some getting used to.

So Buck's conversion comes kind of out of nowhere, and it's not because it's an unbelievable twist. At the start, Buck has a confrontation with the supernatural, and now he's faced with a choice. Setup and payoff is there, but the problem is that this wasn't Buck's arc. His non-commital to religion was never a driving conflict for Buck. He's spent the whole book tracking leads, dodging explosions, and shmoozing with the Antichrist. At no point would his actions our thier outcomes be changed by him being a Christian. But now he gets the climactic conversion scenes. It feels off, unmotivated. However, the character who *has* earned this scene is Chloe. She's spent the whole book trying to decide what she believes in a dramatically changed world. And her relationship with Rayford, the main protagonist, completely revolves around her conversion. It is the closest thing this book has to a main conflict. I spend a lot of time making fun of the writing and dialogue and crazy theology, but what I want to point out is the core reason this book doesn't work: it fails to deliver a satisfying story. At a structural level, the author does not provide a clear, motivated arc for the audience to grasp onto.

The prospect of surprising Chloe and traveling with her gave him a rush that helped overcome his fatigue. But even more exciting was the possibility that another answer man awaited him in Chicago, a man he trusted simply on the recommendation of a pilot who had seemed to speak the truth with authority.

Thank you, he prayed silently, wondering if he should say anything. Was this the time? Dare he press now?

He sat and waited, but she did not turn. Was she sleeping? Staring? Meditating? Praying? Was it possible she was crying?

Ughhh

His muscles and joints ached, his eyes burned.

Do some weight training off-page somewhere?

She took his hand again. “Buck, this is too special. This is the nicest thing anyone’s done for me in a long time.” “You said you were going to miss me, but I didn’t do it only for you. I’ve got business in Chicago.” She giggled and let go again. “I wasn’t talking about you, Buck, though this is sweet. I was talking about God doing the nice thing for me.”

That awkward moment when God takes credit for the thing you did, because he made you do it.

“But still I couldn’t talk to my dad about it. I didn’t know what was in my way. I’ve always been so blasted independent.

Hattie was no help. She doesn’t get it and maybe never will.

Hattie just can't catch a break

“I’ve been convinced,” she said, “but I’m still fighting. I’m supposed to be an intellectual. I have critical friends to answer to. Who’s going to believe this? Who’s going to think I haven’t lost my mind?” “Believe me, I understand,” Buck said, amazed at the similarities between their journeys.

Tell me this, Buck, just with your cognitive-reasoning skills.

If there is a God and if this is all true, wouldn’t he want us to know? I mean, God wouldn’t make it hard to learn and he wouldn’t, or I should say he couldn’t, ignore a desperate prayer, could he?” “I don’t see how he could, no.” “Well, that’s what I think. So I think it was a good test, a reasonable one, and that I wasn’t out of line. I’m convinced God answered.” “And I was the answer.” “And you were the answer.”

So, the thing that got Chloe off the fence, the method through which she is convinced to become saved, is that a man showed up. A man she only met the previous day, and who instantly became her romantic interest. The only female character with agency didn't know what to do until a man showed her what the right choice was. Thanks, I hate it.

I just prayed really sincerely and said I would appreciate it if God could show me personally that he cared, that he knew what I was going through, and that he wanted me to know he was there.”

Literally anything could have been the answer to a prayer like that. So much for a good test. If the flight attendant showed up with salted almonds two seconds later, would Chloe have still decided to become a Christian?

Buck felt a strange emotion—that if he tried to speak, his voice would be husky and he might be unable to finish a sentence.

1. Not an emotion 2. What??

“You know, Buck,” Chloe said, “I promise this will be the last thing I say about it, but I’m thinking the same way my dad did. I have this urge to tell you not to wait too long because you never know what might happen.”

See! I called it.

Rayford also hoped that Chloe wasn’t about to announce some ill-advised whirlwind romance in the bud.

Too late

He peeked back at Steele with his daughter, engaged in intense conversation and then praying together.

Chloe's conversion happens in the background, from the perspective of the character without a stake in that conflict. An equivalent to this scene would be Han and Leia's "I love you" scene, if the camera focused on Boba Fett and we didn't hear any of the dialogue over the hissing machinery.

In a few minutes Chloe stepped into the aisle, and Rayford stood and embraced her. They both appeared overcome with emotion. A middle-aged couple across the aisle leaned out and stared, brows raised. The captain noticed, straightened, and headed toward the cockpit. “My daughter,” he said awkwardly, pointing at Chloe who smiled through her tears. “She’s my daughter.” The couple looked at each other and the woman spoke. “Right. And I’m the queen of England,” she said, and Buck laughed out loud.

I don't get it

he was greeted with coolness by Lucinda Washington’s former assistant, a young woman in sensible shoes.

What an odd detail to highlight during a character introduction.

It’ll take years to effect all this stuff, but someday, somewhere down the line, we’re going to see world peace. No more weapons, no more wars, no more border disputes or bigotry based on language or religion. Whew! Who’d have believed it would come to this?”

Nicolae will not do anything illegal or underhanded or even too political. He’s pure, man. Pure as the driven snow.

he wants to see that stewardess friend of yours again.” “Steve, no one calls them stews anymore. They’re flight attendants.”

He must, Buck thought, if he’s inviting me to his big pre-press-conference meeting.

Suddenly this style of telling us Buck's thoughts returns, as LaHaye remembers that he used it once at the start of the book.

God’s people are in for dark days. Everybody is.

And more books! Did you know there are more books coming? Stayed tuned, cause we're pumping out two a year. Buy them all! Subscribe to this newsletter for Bible study guides and notes from the author!

I’ve also been thinking about a smaller group within the core. I’m looking for people of unusual intelligence and courage.

Please tell me Nick Fury is about to walk into the office

“What are you getting at?” Rayford asked. “Going on the offensive?” “Something like that. It’s one thing to hide in here, studying, figuring out what’s going on so we can keep from being deceived. It’s great to pray for the witnesses springing up out of Israel, and it’s nice to know there are other pockets of believers all over the world. But doesn’t part of you want to jump into the battle?”

This is how radicalization starts

“So your little group inside the group, a sort of Green Berets, would be your Tribulation force.”

"We're some kind of Suicide Squad"

“Tribulation Force,” Bruce said, looking at Rayford and rising to scribble it on his flip chart. “I like it.

This has to be exactly what happened when LaHaye pitched book 2

We will be the naked ones,

Let's start a nudist colony! Who's with me?

“Your friends, the Steeles, told me you might call,” Barnes said. Buck was struck by his honesty.

Lol

Not that long ago I would never have set foot in a place like this or dreamed anything intellectually worthwhile could come out of here. I know that wasn’t exactly journalistically fair of me, but as long as you’re being honest, I will be, too.

You can see LaHaye throwing journalists under the bus for not reporting the religious views of some churches as fact. Whether this is intentional, or just a subconscious belief, it promotes a breed of anti-intellectualism that we've seen gain traction recently.

Bruce began by telling Buck his life story,

Oh God, not again!

have enough energy to go to midnight if you do.” “I’m all yours.”

Phrasing

“You think Carpathia is this Antichrist?” “I don’t see how I could come to any other conclusion.” “But I really believed in the guy.”

"…and Dr. Rosenzweig said he was a chill bro."

He told Buck about his conversation with the Steeles and how they had collectively come up with the idea of a Tribulation Force. “It’s a band of serious-minded people who will boldly oppose the Antichrist. I just didn’t expect that his identity would become so obvious so soon.”

Honestly, neither did I. I thought LaHaye would let the slower audience members stew in anticipation before throwing back the curtain in book 3 or 4.

Bruce told the story of Buck Williams, without using his name or mentioning his connection with Rayford and Chloe. Chloe cried silently as the group prayed for his safety and for his soul.

Wish I had been keeping a tally of how many times characters break down crying in this book

We need him.” “Do we? Have you run into any schools of thought that link him to end-times events in the Bible?” Steve Plank did not respond.

The "what if Antichrist?" line is a really effective -- and under-utilized -- way to escape a boring conversation. Try it out yourself, at the next wedding or office party you get dragged to!

Buck scribbled, Carpathia. End times. Antichrist?

only one thing stands in the way of my being convinced that this Carpathia guy is the Antichrist. I can’t make it compute geographically. Almost every end-times writer I respect believes the Antichrist will come out of Western Europe, maybe Greece or Italy or Turkey.”

Time for LaHaye to explain his homework again.

“Well, he comes from a town, one of the larger university towns, called Cluj, and—” “Oh, he does? I guess I thought he was from a mountainous region, you know, because of his name.” “His name?” Buck repeated, doodling it on his legal pad. “You know, being named after the Carpathian Mountains and all. Or does that name mean something else over there?”

Isn't that like assuming Denzel Washington is from Washington state?

“You’re not my friend, Buck. It was obvious you didn’t even like me.

Once again, you go girl

He answered in such a way that she could tell he was not in the mood for conversation.

He slung his bag over his shoulder, tempted to take the gun from his bedside table but knowing he would never get it through the metal detectors.

Why does Buck have a gun stashed in his beside table?

Do I pray? he asked himself. Do I “pray the prayer” as so many of those people said yesterday morning?