I apologize in advance for the length. You have been warned (or challenged, if you prefer).Babylon Rising is Tim Lahaye's fictional account of a Biblical archaeologist who gets caught up in his own series of unfortunate events in search of a mysterious Biblical artifact that can prove the credibility of the Bible. Along the way, however, he not only discovers that this artifact holds a secret that is darker and more ancient that he realizes, but also that there are those following his every step that will stop at nothing to take this artifact for themselves.As a Christian alternative to today's literature, this book provides an exciting story that combines adventure with Biblical truth. In third person fashion, Lahaye jumps not only between the worlds of the characters involved in the story, but also between our time and that of ancient Babylon--providing extra substance to the overall story. He also incorporates casual mentions of God, and sermons and lectures that might inspire the reader to feel as though he/she has stepped into the halls of a seminary. All of this with the Indiana Jones-inspired adventures of Michael Murphy, who manages to escape death at least three times with margins that only narrow as the book continues. As I previously mentioned, this book is a great Christian alternative to literature. However, as a literary piece itself, I was not as thrilled. This book contained an inconsistent tone, several dull moments which seemed irrelevant to the story, and a plot which, although good in itself, was underdeveloped and filled with hidden interests of the author.From the very first chapter, Lahaye really knows how to create a suspenseful tale. Murphy is immediately framed as an adventurous man with physical endurance enough to support his dangerous habits of going after vague clues in search of a desired artifact. This works well to grasp the reader's attention as Murphy encounters his first adventure--and first clue. The tone in this segment reflects one focused heavily on events, without as much interest as development in the story line (which is appropriate, given the events that occur). I was pleased to see that, in the next chapter, as the scene changes to Babylon, the tone was adjusted to one which had more style and allure. As he explored the other characters, he also used tones appropriate for them--the ruthless businessman, the sadistic tormentor, and the mysterious men who ruled both of them. While I believe the character development could use a little more work in regards to personal history of each character, I can understand that this story did not necessarily see such things as a priority.By about chapter five, it became evident to me that the author was comfortable with creating brief sporadic moments of suspense to add to the story. This began as a great technique to build excitement within the text. However, he also grew too comfortable with 3-5 page chapters which, while explaining all that was necessary to the story line, did not take the time to develop as many elements of tone that I would have liked (such as the more complex aspects of emotion and thought processes of each character). He often left character development up to dialogue, rather than taking full benefit from the advantage of third person. Although I must appreciate the times when character development was complete (which was primarily early on), I wish that I would have been able to see such development and character change as the story changed.Much of the substance within the chapters between ten and thirty contained more information than plot. With the exception of chapter 18, these were some of the slowest chapters of the book. While I understand the need for plot development, I sometimes wondered at this reasoning. Along with dull development, Lahaye makes no secret of his stance (or even what he does for a living outside of writing). Devoting entire chapters to Biblical archaeology lectures and other sermons, I found his attempts tiresome. The lectures often repeated information that was already stated to the reader, and the sermons teetered on the balance between being too short (as to not thoroughly explain its purpose) and simply being overly "preachy" (for lack of a better term). As a Christian myself, I applaud Lahaye's vision of his evangelistic opportunities through this book. After a while, though, I felt that it may have been too much, and could inevitably keep some non-Christians from reading some of his other books if they find his approach uncomfortable. I appreciate what Lahaye wants to accomplish--but sometimes subtlety is more effective.I will say that the book did begin to pick up around the thirty's chapters (30-39), which is what carried me through to the end of the book. I feel as though these chapters (and the rest of the book) did wrap up nicely and make up for the moments of dullness. Although the ending was a little disappointing, I realized that this was the best that I could hope for with a book that was the first in its series.I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. I liked it will enough to read it and even recommend it to someone looking for an exciting story with heavy Biblical undertones. I did not like it enough to recommend it to someone whom I know is looking for flow and style.Tim Lahaye is a great author. I have no doubt that his nonfiction works are wonderful masterpieces that only lend themselves positively to his already growing list of credentials. As a fiction writer, I think his style could use a little more work. I have no doubt that this is little more than a seminary scholar writing a work that is out of his element. At the same time, I have no doubt that his skill can be polished and perfected (just as any other).
Even if you absolutely hate books, you most likely have heard of the Left Behind series. For many people, that bestselling apocalyptic saga is all they have experienced and/or know of when it comes to the world of Christian fiction. That's actually a shame, in my opinion; although the story contained in those books is good, Jerry Jenkins' shoddy writing style made it hard for me--a longtime reader of Christian literature--to stomach even three books' worth, which amounts to less than twenty-five percent of the series. Not only that, but there are much better Christian novelists--Melody Carlson, Frank Peretti, Bill Myers, Rachel Hauck, Bodie and Brock Thoene, Janice Thompson, etc.--that don't have the name recognition the Left Behind authors have.After reading that, you might expect me to give Babylon Rising a negative review, but I won't, because it actually was very good. Although it was created by Tim LaHaye, who also created Left Behind, Greg Dinallo's wordsmithing is far superior to Jerry Jenkins' any day of the week. This is actually my second time reading it; I found the entire series at a yard sale a few years ago, and found the entire series to be riveting, especially the last two or three volumes. This introductory novel doesn't have as much action as the latter three volumes, but that's only because LaHaye and Dinallo need to set up the story for the later volumes. Think of this one as the backstory for a video or computer game as told through an opening cinema sequence or in the game's manual; it may not be as exciting as actually playing it, but you need it to understand how to reach the ending.
What do You think about Babylon Rising (2005)?
If you don't believe in God, this book might just change your mind. This book is about Michael Murphy, a professor/archeologist who dedicates his life to authenticate the bible by finding biblical artifacts. In this book Murphy focuses on finding the brazen serpent that was given to Moses when he was in the desert and thought to have been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. It is a fast paced book without any dull moments. This book is filled with action, history, love and death, adventure, and lectures about the bible, as Murphy teaches his class at Preston university and talks to Bob Wagner, the pastor of his church.
—Dan
Babylon Rising is the first book in the series. Almost instantly, the reader starts relating Michael Murphy to their life. Murphy, a Biblical archaeoligist and main character of the story, is a young, active professor at Preston University in North Carolina. He, along with many other guys, face challenges with pride and self-confidence. I would recomend this book to anyone who enjoyed reading about action and adventure.I liked a lot of things about this book, such as the non-stop action. The reader is in constant suspense while they are reading about Murphy on his hunt for the Brazen Serpant. He encounters many challenges on the way, but overcomes them with his vast knowlege of combat and quick wits.Another thing I liked about it is the fact that you can't guess what's going to happen next, causing suspense. Chapter after chapter, more unexpected things are revealed about the characters.I would recomend this to anyone who likes reading about action, but doesn't like it when the authors get too graphic in describing the action.
—Nathan
After a wonderful experience reading Tim LaHaye’s Left Behind series, I had high expectations for the Babylon Rising batch of books. However, while the story was interesting, I found it to be not quite up to par with LaHaye’s previous success. It’s not so much that it was bad as that it wasn’t as good. Michael Murphy is a biblical archeologist in search of artifacts that prove the truth of the Bible. He is also a university professor who loves to teach, and, of course, a devout evangelical Christian. As the novel begins, Murphy is engaged in an Indiana Jones-like struggle for a clue. Unlike Jones, however, Murphy doesn’t even know why he is risking his life until the contest is over. The clue he receives leads him to the three pieces of the brass serpent, which then leads him to the statue prophesied of by Daniel. The story itself was interesting, intriguing, and engaging. The characters are fairly realistically portrayed, although I did have a problem with two. It is hard to imagine someone as evil as Talon, or as unfeeling as Shane, though I suppose such cruelty is out there. Still, both were consistent in all of their acts; I just had a hard time fathoming such people. But I’m fairly naïve. The problems I struggled with came primarily from the writing style. The most immediate issue came in the first chapter. We are plunged immediately into action, which grabs our attention. However, in the middle of falling to his possible death, Murphy engages in a prolonged flashback that takes time to explain how he got there. This distracts significantly from the action at hand, and I think it could have been done a little smoother. But the worst part came every time our professor lectured. Because he almost always lectured. We would read a chapter of straight lecturing. Not only is this an ineffective (albeit dominant) way to teach, it also is rather boring. Even worse, if I was a student in Murphy’s class, I might be intrigued, but I would also demand a refund for my tuition. He spent a lot of time on archeology he was currently performing. What about verified, documented, already proven archeology? Is there any? Is there none? That would be what I would mostly want to learn about as a student, with current expeditions mentioned as a footnote or after-class instruction. These lectures, of course, served as a way to lecture the reader on all of the background information relating to Daniel and the serpent, but I would have preferred a more integrated way to learn such things. Even Indy didn’t spend chapters lecturing. I did like the novel, and if I hadn’t already read books by LaHaye and the Left Behind co-author, Jerry Jenkins, I might not have been as disappointed. The story was interesting, but I didn’t find it quite as gripping as previous novels. I have a feeling the other three books will take me some time to get through, because they don’t create the page-turning feeling of intensity.
—Nola Redd
