Evading Babylon

Times of Turmoil #1

by Chad Daybell

Go ye out from Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations. Doctrine and Covenants 133:7
In the near future, the world as we know it will suddenly change. Natural disasters will lead to economic difficulties, leaving the United States on the edge of collapse. During this time of strife, members of the LDS Church will be invited by their leaders to survive the civil unrest by gathering to holy refuges.
In the midst of the turmoil, recently returned missionary Nathan Foster joins a secret team of men who help the Saints escape modern society's implosion. Nathan is expected to devote all of his time and energy to this cause, but he faces a major personal obstacle in doing so - Marie Shaw.

Nathan has admired Marie since their high school days, and now she's showing genuine interest in him as well. However, more national trouble erupts including acts of bioterrorism on U.S. soil that not only threatens to tear apart their relationship, but puts their lives in deep peril.
Readers who enjoyed the author's bestselling Standing in Holy Places novels will find a new set of futuristic twists and turns in the Times of Turmoil series.

Genres: Fiction

170 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

About the author

Chad Guy Daybell was born August 11, 1968 in Provo, Utah. He married Tamara "Tammy" Douglas in Manti, Utah on March 9, 1990. After graduating from Brigham Young University in 1992 with a B.A. in journalism,Daybell worked as a cemetery sexton, before establishing end of days publisher Spring Creek Book Company, in 2004, with his wife, a graphic artist and manager. Chad and Tammy had 5 children: Garth, Emma, Seth, Leah, and Mark.

In 2015, Chad Daybell allegedly twice heard a voice telling him to relocate to Rexburg, Idaho; he and Tammy moved there from Springville, Utah that June. Tamara passed away on October 20, 2019. Chad Daybell married Lori Vallow on November 5, 2019 in Hawaii.

Daybell was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Tammy Daybell, his late wife, JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, his current wife's two children.

On May 30, 2024, Chad was found guilty of all charges related to the deaths of his first wife and of Lori's children. On June 1, 2024, he was sentenced to death.

Reviews

[Trudy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could give all of this murderer’s books a negative million stars. Rot in hell, Chad.

[Mindy Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yikes I’ve been following the news lately about this author. He and his wife are on the run from the police because her children are missing and there are suspicious circumstances regarding both of their ex’s deaths😳
I just read this book last summer, here is my review..

Exciting LDS fictional story about the last days. Very short book and I read it fast because I liked the storyline. But the writing is not good! The dialogue sucks, and there’s no depth to relationships or characters in general. It’s also so cheesy and corny in parts it made me cringe.
1 star for writing, 4 stars for plot line so I gave it 2.5 stars and rounded up to 3. It was thought provoking for sure, and made me think about the last days. So despite the poor writing I would recommend

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book was just not very well written. It felt like the author was just getting ideas down and he was planning on coming back and fleshing them out later. Paper thin characters and motivations, cringe-inducing dialogue.

Also guilty of my least favorite LDS fiction problem: all the non-LDS characters are morally ambivalent, at best. Even the ladies who give our hero a lift to his destination are planning on mugging him before he gets out of the car.

[Tamera Westhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book and his writing, but it's oh-so-short! And his books come out about once a year, so I'm not sure about how long I'll keep following the series. I don't want to pay $10 for a Kindle book that is so short! The idea is great, because it branches off of the original series with new people in the same time period, but with a lot more story, which I like! I just wanted to get further into the story before being cut off!

[Bryan Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a amazed at how quickly I read through this book, but it's compelling story line and engaging characters kept me turning to the next chapter. It's a great fictional story but it's written in a way that helps you to see how real these event could happen in our own lives. Chad is a good writer but a better person as I have met him on a few occasions and I'm glad I finally started to read his fictional work, now on to the next book.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

easy read

[Samyy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chad Daybell is a doomsday cult leader who orchestrated & carried out murders of his wife & step children.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the Standing in Holy Places series, and this new series looks to be just as promising. I just wish the author would make the books a little longer since he only publishes one a year. You can easily read this book in a day. There are 7 mistakes the prof readers didn't catch, but I guess if I read faster I wouldn't catch them either. Anyway, I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next.

I like books like this that make me think: How would I react in this situation? Do I really follow the Prophet? Am I prepared for what's to come?

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing story and a quick read. Hard to put down once I got into it. I listened to the audiobook (did not love the narrator... just ok). A few negatives. This book was not the best writing, just average. The characters, relationships, and events were poorly developed. You weren't really attached to anyone. However, the part I liked were the circumstances of the story. The scenarios presented were eerily close to home and a possible, realistic future that fits many prophecies. I'm looking forward to the reading the next book in the series.

[Cherie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is volume I of TIMES OF TURMOIL series, an LDS take on what can happen when the the "beginning of the end" finally happens. The book tells of economic collapse, natural disasters, and much civil unrest. Utah is not spared! LDS leaders tell the people to gather to refuge sites.
I was interesting, but certainly not great literature. I did purchase the 3 book set, so I will be reading on to find out what happens.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the start of another series by Chad Daybell. It is set in the same time frame as the, "Standing in Holy Places" series. I really liked this book. It follows a former missionary in his new job with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. It also follows a woman that he likes as she goes to Chicago on an apprenticeship.

I just read this book again. I really like it.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

LDS end-of-the-world-as-we-know it fiction that the emergency prepper in me wanted to read. The writing was shallow; there wasn't much emotion or inner thought or depth at all. I think the author just wanted to get his ideas about what he thinks is going to happen into a fictional story format, and that's what this is.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I really liked the premise of the book and it did make me think about preparing myself for Christ's second coming, there just wasn't very much that happened in this book. But having said that, I will still probably read the next books in the series just to see where the story goes :)

[Cass · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked most of it. There was a few mistakes in the grammar. I liked the moral, and that it's based on something that can REALLY happen, not only fiction. (Even though it is fiction) It's realistic fiction.

[Melanie Renee Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I read the Stand In Holy Places series and couldn't put them down. When I saw this book I had to get it. I love how it coincides with the other series. It explained things that his other series did not go into detail about. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Chad Daybell book's !!!!! I can't wait to read the next book in this serious!!!!

[Rebecca Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story for first book in series. Action packed and interesting with a potential love story. waiting "patiently" for book 2.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first series so I'm glad he's written more!!

[Kimberly]

Love his books!

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wondering when #2 is coming out. Been waiting a long time.

[Ines · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! I loved it!

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the other series. Only real negative is the short length of the book and the time to wait for the next one. I do enjoy the series though.

[Lonny Winterton · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good, light reading.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am enjoying this series better than his first series.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

Starts out rather cheesy. So short, read it in a couple hours. Hard to imagine these things could really happen. Too bad the author has turned out to be a creep.