The Rapture

THE RAPTURE concludes its prequel trilogy with back-stories for all the main characters. Narrator Jerry Sciarrio is particularly adept with delivering Italian accents and developing Nicolae Carpathian's embodiment of the brutal Antichrist and his treachery. Sciarrio's descriptions of those raptured, their ascendance into heaven, the judgments of the "saints," and what heaven's first moments are like are clear and rendered in tones of joy. His depiction of those left behind portrays real pain, surprise, and disbelief. The narration and character portrayals are excellent, but they can't disguise the sense of repetition because the listener who is familiar with the series already knows the end of the story. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine