Leviathan had a degree of predictability. From the off-set, you knew what was going to happen.

The stakes were high from the start but that danger didn’t dwindle. You grew to care about the characters, which made it engaging. It was enjoyable – but dragged at times, and lacked forward momentum.

There are a number of characters introduced in quick succession. It was hard to initially establish who are our protagonists, and who gets in the way.

Connor is our main guy: an electrician who knows there is far more going on. Connor is determined and loyal to the end. His love for his family keeps him fighting and he’s a strong character. The majority of the narration follows Connor as he fights for survival, and you get to know him.

Thor was likeable… but I didn’t understand him. An outcast who waxed about good and evil, and threw numerous religious references into the fray, it was hard to figure out exactly who he was.

There are numerous secondary characters. Connor’s wife, an army colonel, the scientists responsible. They were all decent characters, but there is nothing particularly rememberable about them. They played their part rather than having room to grow.

My trouble with Leviathan was the pacing.

It starts slow. We’re introduced to the experiment with so much science the only thing I understood was it’s bad. We then get a story about good and evil.

Once events kick off, the tension is racked up – and stays that way. They’re fighting something impossible and their continuous failure means you stop noticing the tension.

Characters make great sacrifices in this. They all felt undermined by nothing working. By this point in the book, we’re ready for a change of pace and not delivering on that meant I started to get bored.

This is a book about good and evil, with some science thrown in.

The black and white nature of the good guys versus the beast felt cliché. Religion kept coming up, but in a way that felt forced rather than natural. It made a point, then pushed it too far.

Leviathan isn’t a bad book by any stretch of the imagination. But the lack of rise and fall of tension made it seem flat, and the overwhelming science stopped a reader with no scientific background from fully engaging. Good characters; good premise; should have been shorter to be more effective.

Author James Byron Huggins (https://www.jamesbyronhuggins.com) published the novel “Leviathan” in 2019. My Huggins has published a dozen novels.

I categorize this novel as “R” because it contains scenes of Violence. The story is set in contemporary times on a remote Icelandic island. There are three primary characters. Jackson Connor runs a construction company working on the island. His wife Beth Connor runs the island's communications center. Thor Magnusson is a recluse living on the island that looks like an ancient Viking war god.

On the island, an experiment is underway to develop the ultimate biological weapon. Secret laboratories buried deep into the volcanic island contains the research. They are developing not a virus but a creature that is invincible. A creature that can be controlled. Of course, things do not go as planned.

The creature escapes its confinement and a battle ensues. The creature is driven to kill all life it encounters. The staff must find a way to survive this killing machine. They must also contain or kill the creature before it finds its way off of the island. If it escapes all humanity is at risk. As you might expect the Connors and Magnusson find their way to the front lines of that battle.

I enjoyed the 10.5+ hours I spent reading this 407-page science fiction novel. The novel contains a lot of action. In a way, it reminds me of "Jurassic Park". Though the writing isn't nearly that well done and much of the 'science' in this novel is pure fabrication. The cover art is certainly appropriate for the novel. I give this novel a 3.3 (rounded down to a 3) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

I love creature horror books but found this one a little hard to read the characters were ok if standby but the plot was a little hard to follow

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers for granting me early access to "Leviathan".

I'm currently in the middle of a major move, but I will definitely come back at a later time and write out a full review and rating. Thank you so much!

Scary, Good Read

My heart was in my throat for most of this book, the action was spectacular. I particularly liked the setting and the main character's love for his family.

The author creates a novel loosely tied to the Norse legends of heroic men fighting dragons in ancient days. It is appropriately set on an island off the coast of Iceland and takes place in modern times. An experiment by a group of scientists has turned a kimono dragon into a fearsome creature via changing the relatively mild dragon into a real dragon via adjustment of it's DNA It can bend steel and granite and has the ability to shoot fire at it's enemies. The purpose of the change is to create an unconquerable weapon of war and it certainly has done so.
The experimental company is comprised of scientists, soldiers, and support personnel. When Leviathon escapes it's confinement area all realize that the beast, if it reaches the outside has the ability to literally wipe out the entire population of earth. Making the matter even more dangerous is the perception of the beast that every living human being is it's enemy and must be destroyed.
The battle to somehow destroy Leviathon is spearheaded by a mechanically inclined electrical engineer named Connor who finds ways to take on the dragon and supply the incentive for others to join in the fight since a bad outcome could mean the end of mankind. The descriptions of the many attempts to stop Leviathon are very well done and actually appear to accelerate as the reader goes ahead with the novel. Mr Huggins has a solid background of authoring similar books featuring fights against almost supernatural creatures by men and women who seem to exceed what is normal in life.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing book

its the ultimate story of good v evil....

man the inventor has done it again...on an island underground they have tweeked something and made it happen...but can they control it.. the ultimate weapon....

as things spiral out of control only one man with his faith in god and his strength can beat this thing but at what cost...

love all the characters in this book...even the baddies are really bad and hateful...man how i wanted to hit that scientist...once you get into this book its none stop action that we know and love with this author right to the last page

going to be keeping an eye out for more books from this author

Title : Leviathan

Author:James Byron Huggins

Genre: Science Fantasy ( its a mix of SCI FI and fantasy)

Pages: 482

July 29,2019



Description
On an Icelandic Island, an illegal experiment intended to create the perfect biological weapon has transformed a once-innocent creature into the biblical Leviathan that once terrorized the world. Able to shatter steel and granite as easily as it can melt the strongest containment shields, Leviathan escapes from its pen and is loose in a vast underground chamber harboring soldiers and scientists.

The installation cannot allow Leviathan to reach the surface. For if Leviathan reaches the world, it could well be the end of the Earth. They must hold the line, here, and destroy it… even if they must detonate a last-chance nuclear failsafe built into the chamber itself. But, first, they must fight with every weapon at their disposal to discover if the beast can be killed at all.



It is a battle many will not survive.



As soldiers and scientists are vaporized by Leviathan’s hellish flame, or ripped apart by the dragon’s claws and fangs, a lone electrical engineer is forced to join the fight. And in the midst of what might well be the last battle for Mankind, Connor must find a way – any way – to save his family and kill this powerful, bloodthirsty Beast of Legend that has never been killed before.



As soldiers and scientists are vaporized by Leviathan’s hellish flame, or ripped apart by the dragon’s claws and fangs, a lone electrical engineer is forced to join the fight. And in the midst of what might well be the last battle for Mankind, Connor must find a way – any way – to save his family and kill this powerful, bloodthirsty Beast of Legend that has never been killed before.



My thoughts

Rating:4.5

This is the second time I've ever read anything by James Byron Huggins , the first book was his book called Hunter which was also a Science Fantasy ( its a mix of SCI FI and fantasy)and I read that last year, at the time I had no idea that he would become an author that I would like or even his books would be something that I would read, but after reading Hunter I knew I wanted to check out more of his book ,but I do have to say that when it comes to SCI FI or even to Fantasy I'm a little pick but as soon as I saw this one I knew I wanted to read to read , those just something about his way of bring his story to life that has hooked me , and I think its because of the way he mixes science and fantasy together , in this one he not only uses science but he also as Viking mythology to the story which helps being it together and some how it works. After reading this I looking forward to more of his books ,with that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review it exchange for my honest opinion.

Huggins has written a non stop thriller that you will not be able to put down. The novel is based in present day and completely mesmerizing. Plot is believable and I enjoyed the characters. I am looking forward to Huggins next thriller!

Leviathan is a fantastic well written book that was originally written in 1990's. Interesting characters and a good storyline.

This book is full of action, adventure and suspense. If you are looking for a well written book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, this is the book for you! I enjoyed every minute of it. Thank you WildBlue Press via NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

So, this was a lot of fun, though it did drag just a bit in the middle.

I love a good chompy beast story. This was originally published back in 1995 and retains a little bit of that vintage feel. So – if you read this and start feeling like you’ve read some of this before, just remember that he did it before many of these current books!

The real fun in this book comes not from our critter oddly enough, but from our human characters. The author is very, very good with characterization and has given us complex characters that are a blast to read.

Very glad I read this one, even if at times I was rooting a little more for our critter than for our humans.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

It was quite pleasant to read a book that had a dragon in it that didn’t involve magic or mythical lands and creatures but was more science orientated (as much a dragon can be of course) I found the story engaging and found reading it smooth and easy, a pleasure to read