Apocalypse Burning

“Apocalypse Burning”, by Mel Odom, is the third in a series of three of the military actions at the time of the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation. This purely fictional account follows one military family as they continue to deal with the disappearance of the youngest son, Chris, as well as the deployment of Goose, a First Sergeant, with the 75th Army Rangers. Megan, Goose’s wife is a counselor back in the United States and is dealing with not only the disappearance of her youngest son, but she deals with teens on the base who have either had family Raptured or their family members are in Turkey.
Joey, the oldest son of Megan and Goose is feeling neglected and despondent because he blames himself for not being there when Chris disappears. He is feeling left out and runs away when Megan, his mother brings so many teens into their house for both counseling and protection. Megan also has to deal with the military accusations of dereliction of duty as a counselor.
As you can see there is much going on during this episode, so to speak, and Odom has done a wonderful job of bringing his series together in a tight cohesive story of loss, questions and faith.
There are also other characters we follow is this book, such as Chaplin Harte, U.S. Navy Chaplin who is trying to deal with his own failings as a man of the cloth, and there’s also other’s, too many to mention that have great influence in the story as it is being told.
Bravo to Mr. Odom, for his depiction of the events following the Rapture, leading into the Tribulation. This purely fictional story is only one way of looking at the End Times, but who knows, it may be just the way Odom writes it. This military series fits well with the original Left Behind series and there is also a political series which may be of interest to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Rapture and Tribulation

Buried Alive, Roy Hallums

“Buried Alive”, by Roy Hallums is an extremely thought provoking true story of being kidnapped and held by extremists in Iraq. The story is told through and by the author, Roy Hallums as he takes the reader from the being to the end of a very painful and secluded imprisonment. Most of the time, he is held underground and literally buried alive by his captors.
As you pick up this book, you see the shadow of a man who appears to be in a seated position, with his hands behind his back, probably tied and his eyes are blindfolded. It appears that he is in a dark place and very uncomfortable. Reading the introduction gives you just a brief look into what this man went through for so many days and months. I can only imagine the courage and fortitude he had to endure such treatment and conditions.
Hallums tells his story in a matter of fact and simple way which brings the reader right into the scenes as well as giving the reader such vivid detail that no one can miss the terror he must have felt, with the beatings and degradation. Once can only guess how he felt, not knowing whether he was going to come out this terror alive or would he be beheaded like so many in the past had been.
It seems strange to point out here that this story was told in vivid and chilling detail, and this reader could not put the book down. You will become completely absorbed into the story, waiting to find out what is going to happen next. !!!
What can be learned from the story, is that with the right mind set and courage, even the most brutal of conditions can be overcome. Hallums appears to be a man of faith and he spent a lot of time praying and thinking about his family. He endured the conditions and initial movements from one site to the next, with a hope of survival and eventual rescue.
Another segment of his story deals with how his family dealt with his kidnapping. First the family is kept completely out of the loop of information, even to the point where officials were telling them not to speak to the media for fear that Hallums captors would find out more about the man they help captive. This could have been dangerous for Hallums as he is a retired U. S. Naval Commander, who was a civilian contractor in Iraq, at the time of his kidnapping.
The eventual rescue is also something to wait for.
This story is in deed a must read for anyone who wants to know exactly what happens to kidnap victims, however, as Hallums notes, he was lucky. Not all kidnap victims get out alive, and very seldom is there a successful escape. This story is rated 5 stars. A very compelling story, not to be missed.