The Remaining by Travis Thrasher

The Remaining is a novelization of the apocalyptic movie from Sony Affirm. Just after a young couple says their vows, the earth shakes, and some people die suddenly and are taken away. The rest of their wedding party and friends are left to wrestle with what happened and with their faith. Characters struggle with secret love, dreams, hopes, and beliefs as they continue to evaluate their faith. This book and movie are both action-packed thrillers that will encourage audiences to think about their beliefs.

My review:
   I have read several Travis Thrasher books, and his books are usually really different from the average Christian fiction book. He is an excellent writer, but some of his stuff is just..... weird. And this book falls into that category.

  I have also read several fiction books about the Rapture, but this book is totally different from any that I have read. Instead of Christians disappearing, their souls were taken, leaving them quite dead. I guess that is a possibility, but it doesn't seem likely.

 Things happened really fast in the book. It had things happening close together that the Bible indicates happen further apart.

  I did like the characters, but didn't enjoy their going back in time and thinking. It detracted from the story line for me.

  The book was entertaining at times, but overall, I didn't really care for it, and it is rare I say that about a book I review. The departure from the normal idea of the Rapture did bother me, but the book seemed more like a Stephen King thriller, than a book about the Rapture, and there were too many rabbit trails with the main characters. 

  Travis Thrasher is an excellent author, so I would lean towards the movie being that way, since this book is just a novelization of the movie. I wouldn't really recommend the book, but he has many others that are excellent reads.

About the author:

Critically acclaimed and creatively diverse novelist Travis Thrasher has made a career out of defying expectations.Writing stories that have moved, haunted and provoked readers, Thrasher has told tales in a variety of genres. His one common theme is brokenness, and his one common tactic is surprise. He lives with his wife and three daughters in a suburb of Chicago. 

For more information on Travis, go to www.travisthrasher.com.

The Remaining is available from Tyndale Publishing.

Thanks to Tyndale for the review copy.