Leaving behind the "Left Behind" series, LaHaye and Jenkins launch a series that will chronicle the four gospel writers. Here we meet the ancient John, last surviving apostle, as he decides it's time to offer his version of events. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

With their wildly popular Left Behind thrillers, LaHaye and Jenkins took the Christian fiction genre to new heights of mainstream success, but also sparked renewed debate among evangelicals concerning End Times theology. Now, they reunite to undertake the Jesus Chronicles, a four-book series of historical novels profiling the lives of the Gospel writers: John, Mark, Matthew, and Luke. This first installment recounts the personal and spiritual journey of the only one of the original apostles who died from old age rather than martyrdom. Robinson Dean brings an appropriately deep and sober tone to his duties as narrator, especially in his portrayal of the elderly John's exhaustive efforts to leave a written record of both his first-person experiences and prophetic visions. The authors steep their storytelling in a conservative interpretation of scripture that may not appeal evenly across the broader spectrums of Christian theology, but they provide some engaging human drama. The audiobook also includes Dean's reading of the complete texts of all five New Testament books for which John is credited (John's Gospel, his three Epistles and Revelation). (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.