She pursues a professional career because it is something she is good at but not passionate about. She is apolitical but fundamentally distrusts politicians and authority figures, especially as she is one. She despises Christian fundamentalism at an almost instinctive level because she views that kind of faith as pathological. She and I share certain values and assumptions that are common amongst the Brit graduate population but which rarely surface in American fiction.She embraces atheism with a bone-deep belief that perhaps only someone raised as a Catholic can achieve. 'The Rapture' felt more real to me than other 'End of Days' apocalyptic nightmare novels and movies, not just because it is set in the UK but because I feel a strong affinity for Gabrielle Fox, a paralysed therapist (now there's a metaphor to conjure with), from whose point of view the story is told. Nevertheless, there is still a good end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it thriller to keep you turning the pages and solid science to keep everything credible.

The focus is on the characters and the different ways in which they are broken and on the nature and impact of belief on how we see ourselves and others. This 'End of Days' tale is more fiction with science in it than classic science fiction. A distinctly English take on the 'End of Days'

The rapture by liz jensen