This was a unique book for me and I appreciated the author's attempts at bringing a fresh take to this genre. It was immersive, slow at times, but still very entertaining. I do recommend if looking for an underrated author.

Was für eine Chance! Eine Fortsetzunt von 20.000 Meilen unter dem Meer, meinem absoluten Lieblingsklassiker. Leider blieb das Buch vollkommen hinter meinen Erwartungen zurück.

The review of Nemo Rising is in the July 2019 issue of SFRevu.com (<http://sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=17762>) and is exclusive to them until August 2019.

Nemo Rising was a very good book. I will admit it starts off a bit slow, but once this story gets started it took me on an impressive journey. Readers go deep into this amazing submersible and all the wonders it possesses. This is a tale full of mystery, and a few surprises. If you liked 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, then this is a book you will want to read.

Nemo Rising popped up at me on NetGalley, since I've seen various versions of Nemo and the Nautilus through the years, and I thought a new version of a sequel focused on the US would be interesting. This one turned out to be a double-dose of Verne, although I didn't realize it when I was reading that it was a cross-over with another Verne anti-hero. When the villain revealed his real name, I had the feeling that I should know who he was, but it wasn't until the author's notes at the end that I figured out who he was. Mind you, he comes from some of Verne's lesser known works. Seriously, everyone knows 20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in 80 Days, and Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Those three in particular have been adapted for film and television many times over the years.

But Robur the Conqueror? That was one I'd never heard of.

Basic plot of the book is that strange sea creatures are attacking ships in the Atlantic, and the world is blaming the US, recently out of their civil war. President Ulysses S Grant finally decides to go with a dangerous plan to prove that his country is not behind the attacks: Nemo is in a US prison, and his aide's daughter has been repairing the Nautilus. They release Nemo from prison, and with the daughter, Sarah, as part of the crew, they send Nemo to find out who is behind the attacks, and prove the US innocent.

While Nemo and a possibly not very loyal crew head out to fulfill their side of the bargain, with Sarah tasked with killing Nemo if he strays, Grant and Duncan (Sarah's father) work the diplomatic side, despite sabotage and assassination attempts.

From the description, you might expect a book full of action and thrills, and I had high hopes, but unfortunately the end product didn't entirely deliver. There was action, and there was thrills in places, but the events were so muddled that I had trouble figuring out the overall plot. The ideas were great, but the end result was a bit of a muddled mess.

I might recommend this to a Jules Verne enthusiast, but definitely not to the general reader with only a vague knowledge of the man's writings.

Book Review
Title: Nemo Rising
Author: C. Courtney Joyner
Genre: YA/Steampunk/Fantasy
Rating: DNF
Review: The opening to Nemo Rising was very gripping and had a real Moby Dick feel to it. We meet Horst and Krieg old friend aboard a ship discussed things they had received from their grandchildren when the ship is attacked and destroyed by a giant ray where both men are killed. When then jump forward to the White House where Ulysses S. Grant and John Duncan are discussed this sinking of several ships and the apparent monster that has been destroying them. While Duncan believes the accounts for dying sailors from all over the world the President doesn’t.
During their discussion Duncan makes the point that there might be someone who knows what is happening to the ships. We learn of a terrorist who went by the name Nemo aboard his ship with Nautilus who launched several attacks on military vessels to stop any future wars and preserve peace. When then jump to a prison break where the prisoners are breaking Nemo out of prison. While this story is intriguing I wasn’t keen on the location jumps almost every chapter, but I am hoping for a consistent location soon. When Grant and Duncan travel to the prison where Nemo is being held they encounter a riot in progress and despite attempts to subdue the prisoners, they are outnumbered ten to one. When Nemo finally appears, he doesn’t make ludicrous demands for prisoners to be set free, just for them to be treated better and this resonates with a few soldiers on the opposing side.
While Nemo is injured in the riot, Grant does agree that the prison is in poor shape and that men need to be taken better care of which upsets the men running the prison, but they must bow to the President’s orders. Grant also makes a deal with Nemo, he will take the Nautilus and find out how the ships have been sinking in their waters and stop whatever or whoever is doing it. Faced with the choice between the hangman’s noose and dying at sea Nemo takes the offer. We are also constantly reminded of new ships sinking constantly and the thing destroying them. We also see the tension building in other countries at the US as men are dying and ship are being destroyed in their waters. As this novel is set shortly after the American Civil War the treatment of Nemo by his supposed superiors is absolutely disgusting but it is a real visual of how these men were treated at the time, but Nemo escape the brunt of persecution as he is on a mission for the President and a pardon has been issued if he succeeds.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, tensions are rising to boiling point, but the Nautilus isn’t in the best of shape being an enemy vessel and one of the most powerful in existence, so it may take a while before Nemo sets off. Grant on the other hand is dealing with problems of his own and more than one attempt on his life. We are also introduced to Sara Duncan who is a lot like her father but bears her mother’s temper and while she admires Nemo’s genius she doesn’t like the way he treats her father but in my opinion Nemo treats John the best out of everyone he has met. As we cross the 1q/4 mark in the novel, Nemo isn’t happy with what has been lost on the Nautilus, some of which can never be replaced.
In addition, to the wider story we also see attacks with the US itself with the death of an Italian Bishop and a foreign general. We also see that Grant may also be a target for assassination and must take proper precautions to protect himself and his men. I also really liked the tentative alliance Sara and Nemo build over the reconstruction of the Nautilus and he talks to her about the design and some key features that no one has been able to unravel since his arrest. We see Sara recruiting a crew for the Nautilus and she is also instructs by her father to install a device aboard the ship which will allow communication but as Nemo rightly points out it can also be used to spy on him during his mission. Grant also tells Nemo he must be a sea by sunrise or he will be arrested again and face the hangman. So, up until this point the whole novel has been setting the stage for Nemo’s voyage which is about to begin, and we are over a ¼ of the way through the novel, so it requires some dedication before the novel gets interesting. I also really liked the hint at Nemo’s life before he was arrested with the portrait of his wife and son who presumably are dead and in invisible ink on the portrait are the blueprint for the ship which can only be seen under red light, this really highlights the genius that Nemo is and what he has achieved with the Nautilus.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, the Nautilus still hasn’t set sail, but we are shown another bit of trouble out at sea and I was completely bored by this point and had to DNF this book. It was just too slow paced for me and I really didn’t like the constant jumping of location and perspective making the novel feel disjointed and I didn’t have enough time with the characters to really connect with them.

I’ve got a lot of mixed feelings about NEMO RISING. I enjoyed the whole story, but when I sat down to write this review and really started thinking about it, I realized that I gave the book too much slack because of my love of 20,000 LEAGUES. If NEMO RISING wasn’t about Captain Nemo and the Nautilus, but about some other random submarine post Civil War I would not have liked it anywhere near as much.

I enjoyed the nostalgia of NEMO RISING. I’ve always been a big fan of 20,000 LEAGUES. I grew up watching the old Disney movie, and have read the book a couple of times. Joyner does a good job of capturing Nemo’s spirit, but there was often too much tell instead of show. If you aren’t familiar with Nemo and the Nautilus then some of the story might be confusing, because Joyner writes NEMO RISING assuming your familiar with 20,000 LEAGUES.

Joyner also really kicks up the violence way beyond what Verne would ever have done. But the discovery and exploration that was key to 20,000 LEAGUES is still present in NEMO RISING. My favorite part of NEMO RISING is the lack of over explaining for having Sarah be an important part of the story. So many historical fiction novels spend forever coming up with reasons to have a female character. Sarah was never treated any differently, she was just naturally part of the story, and it was a nice change of pace.

If you are a fan of 20,000 LEAGUES than I’d recommend giving NEMO RISING a try. If you've never read 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA then I highly recommend you give that one a try, Jules Verne was a genius who predicted many technological advances.

An amazing new take on a classic character that will resonate with fans of the classic literature and modern readers alike.

Nemo Rising by C. Courtney Joyner is a continuation of the classic story begun by Jules Verne in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Nemo is rotting in prison while he awaits the carrying out of his death sentence for the ships he sunk and the lives he took as captain of the technologically advanced Nautilus. Meanwhile, the ships of all nations except the United States continue to be sunk, but by unknown parties. President Grant finds himself in a quandary as suspicions arise that no ships of his nation are falling prey to the mysterious attackers. The other nations of the world believe the United States is somehow using Nemo’s own technology against them in an attempt to seize ultimate power. Grant has no choice but to spare Nemo from the hangman’s noose and enlist his aid in solving the mystery of who is really behind the attacks. Once more, Nemo captains the infamous Nautilus, but this time in service to one of the warmongering nations Nemo hates the most.

So begins a very promising story that, unfortunately, is dragged to the depths of the deepest ocean by, amongst other things, the writing style of the novel’s author. The book cover alone for Nemo Rising is spectacular. Throw in the connection to the Jules Verne classic and Captain Nemo and who wouldn’t want to pick this book up? There’s a certain promise of quality I felt was understood between myself, the author, and the publisher. Granted, I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review, so the only investment I have in Nemo Rising is the time it took me to read it, but I still felt that when you slap such an incredibly awesome cover on a book that is also a sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that you have to deliver. Nemo Rising, sadly, did not.

First, there’s the writing style. Based on his bio on Goodreads, Mr. Joyner is an accomplished screenwriter, with many movies to his credit. Unfortunately, writing a screenplay and writing a novel are two very different things. Looking back, and now knowing of Mr. Joyner’s background, the writing style of Nemo Rising actually makes sense (perhaps it’s the only thing that makes sense during this entire reading experience). It’s written with such matter-of-factness, such mechanical structure, with little to no description or background or even the smallest setup for a scene or other occurrence, that I had to go back many times to figure out how or what just happened. Too many times, ‘something’ happens, with no preamble or buildup. It’s jarring at times, confusing at others, and disappointing overall.

Moving on, there’s the characters, which fall flat time and time again. There are no character arcs, no character descriptions, no character anything except names and a bit of discussion about Nemo or some other person’s philosophies. It’s a shame, too, because the author could have made Nemo a sympathetic character, one who may never forgive for the countless innocent lives he took, but at least one we might have some understanding of with respect to his motives. There’s references to his wife and child, both driving forces in his mad acts of the Vernes’ novel, but not once does the author delve into the implications of that event. Nemo is a very driven man, but we are never given a glimpse into his psyche. There are so many lost opportunities there that I cannot begin to even document them here.

I could go on, but it’s almost depressing to consider Nemo Rising in any more depth than I already have because of how great of a novel this could have been. I’m giving it one rocket because I just don’t see any reason for anyone to read this book.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
This Story is about Nemo who has been captured by the US Government and is held in a prison in Virginia. When all the ships coming to the US area are brutally ripped apart by different types of giant monsters, Nemo is freed by President Ulysses Grant on the condition that he takes the Nautilus out again and finds the monsters. This was a very slow book! I couldn't really get into it until over halfway through. I had to keep rereading whole passages to understand what was going on. I give this book a 2.5 star rating!

This should probably be classified horror rather than science fiction since the author seems to take great pleasure and with particular emphasis on setting up or visiting people being brutalized or dying messily. Torture-porn enthusiasts will find nirvana here but for the rest of us, there wasn't much to enjoy. The writing was particularly stilted and disenfranchising with protagonists spending most of the book making statements rather than actually living or breathing. Add in an incredibly dreary mood of 'everyone is basically brutal/vicious, even when they supposedly have high minded altruistic values' and you get a reading experience more likely to make you clinically depressed than engaged.

Story: Nemo has been captured by the US Government and is held in a horrific prison in Virginia. When all ships coming to the US area are brutally ripped apart by various types of 'giant monsters' (flying manta rays, squids, etc.), Nemo is freed by President Ulysses Grant on the condition hetakes the Nautilus out again and finds the monsters. At stake is the likelihood of world war since all the foreign powers believe the US is behind the sinkings.

To understand the level of depressing brutality, the first 10% has vivid descriptions of how sailors are chewed up, skewered, drowned, or otherwise have limbs removed as they are crawling away to (never) escape death. Then we get to Nemo in prison where he is being systematically tortured along with the other inmates - just because. Grant doesn't care - just demands that Nemo get back in the Nautilus or he hangs. Nemo wants justice for the prisoners but takes bullets calmly while standing there - just because he expects no less brutality from the world. And meanwhile Nemo himself killed thousands to try to stop people from warring more, which doesn't make a lot of sense logically but paints him as a idealistic zealot. Cut away to another few pages of another ship, this time from Italy, with shipmates being ripped apart or having half their body eaten off while still alive. Then back to Nemo coming to the Nautilus, which is in poor state, and being depressed that the US couldn't even bother to keep a treasure like the ship repaired or in good working order.

If we had characters we could understand or get behind, I think I would have enjoyed this more. But the writing is stilted and the characters are so underwritten as to be cardboard. More frustratingly, I had to keep rereading whole passages to understand what was going on with the story. The segues were nonexistant and the story bounced around everywhere without really landing on any one person or subject.

Inexplicably, the author had the foreign sailors giving dialogue in their own language but thinking in English, which made their passages even more confusing (and put the focus completely on the horrifying death scenes). I'd like to say that this is gritty in a good way or even as engaging as a bloody Tarentino story. But honestly, this is Tarentino gore without the personable characters.

For me, I've always found Nemo to be a fascinating and highly nuanced character. But none of that is here and for that reason, I found this book particularly disappointing. I think Moore got Nemo best in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: a man disgusted by the imperialism/colonialism of the world and fighting back against it. In Nemo Rising, he is a superhuman who doesn't feel pain and just makes a lot of pronouncements and commands. He, like everyone else in the book, never really thinks or has depth of emotions.

Baen definitely has an audience for these types of stories and I feel that those who enjoy John Ringo's Black Tide Rising will find more of the same here. It's definitely a very macho book that pretty much ejected Verne's Victoriana in favor of Tarantino shock value gore and violence.

It took a bit to get into the book, but it really picked up about a quarter of the way through it. I liked how they added Robur the Conqueror, because it combined two Jules Verne books (20,000 Leagues and Master of the World) to create this new one. Toward the end, it got a little bit confusing with all of the details, but after reading the very end, my mind was able to sort out everything into place and have an 'aha' moment of clarity! Overall, I loved it!