Tribulation Force

Thank you jesus

Maybe I’m not far enough into the series, but the female characters are kind of one dimensional. Almost representations of what a man might “assume” women are like. Very “typical” tropes. The only female characters that have been mentioned more than a few times are Hattie, Chloe, Alice, and Verna. Hattie is sleeping with the Antichrist and acts kind of like a harlot. Chloe is a heart-eyed school girl who acts like a 14 year old. While the men of the tribulation force are doing and planning to do great things in the name of sharing the gospel to the world, she’s assuming Buck is a cheater, throwing flowers in the trash, and then assuming Bruce, her pastor, also has a crush on her. Feels very middle school and not what I expected the subplots to be in a book about the end times. The romance is out of place and badly written/rushed. And kind of proves the stereotype of Christians getting married quickly so they can have sex before the end times. Continuing with the female characters: Verna is a woman boss who doesn’t actually deserve the job because she isn’t a good writer, or as good as her male coworkers, she got the position by default. She’s tyrannical and is a typical boss who has no skill but the highest position in her department. The subtle message that women can’t have authority over men is glaring because she complains about Buck’s disrespect to her male boss and gets told, “Yeah. You can’t tell him what to do.” I understand that Buck is the good guy, but it sends a bad message about female boss’ and unintentionally represents what female Boss’ actually deal with in the workplace as justified. Alice is that typical “cool-chick” with a rebellious streak. I mean, I guess I expected better representation in this series. Especially concerning Chloe, the Christian woman who is a main character. She’s not the typical Christian woman that I envisioned living during the tribulation. Christians at that time, men and women, will be spreading the gospel as much as possible. Again, maybe she changes later on and I’m jumping the gun. I suppose you could also argue that the authors intended to be realistic and showcase even the personal lives of Christians in the end times. However, Chloe is the only female Christian character so far and I can’t relate to her on anything. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Imagine a reversal of the characters. Chloe is a big shot article writer that the antichrist is after, while Buck, a 30 year old man, is sitting back in Chicago crying because Chloe might have led him on. Sounds strange doesn’t it? Disappointed more than angry. Left a review so others attempting to write a fictitious story revolving around such important subject matter would do a little better than write a Christian fan fiction. I guess I should factor in this book’s age (written 20 years ago), but women are still being written this way in Christian fiction today. It needs to stop.

I can't put them down. I keep reading one tight after the other.