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Leviathan
Nobody knows why Kristen Singer returned to her old hometown of Leviathan, Oklahoma, least of all Kristen herself. Yet, it does not take her long to realize her return might have been a mistake, for there is something in the air of Leviathan which prickles at the back of the mind, which sets the teeth on edge. There is the smell of blood lingering in the air. There is the way the Sun seems to hang heavy and dead in the burning sky. There are the people in the wolf masks who stand there and stare. There are the red eyes below the porch, in the shadows…
278 pages, Paperback
Published March 4, 2025
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February 19, 2025
Hey there book lovers! It’s your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes Loves Books Headquarters. Today, I have my review of Brian McNatt’s Leviathan for you. I have coffee in my system, and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!
I am a sucker for horror novels set in a small town. I spent my formative years in the mountains of North Carolina, and the tales the old timers told could fill several volumes. A friend of mine sent me a copy of Brian McNatt’s Leviathan, hoping it would cure that small-town itch.
Leviathan is a small town in Oklahoma with a population of 800 people. We are talking about a town where everyone knows everyone else (for better or worse) and their secrets. Kristen Singer is one of the few people who managed to leave this small town for college, then life in the “big city” with a career writing for a newspaper. COVID hit, followed by budget cuts, leaving Kristen no choice but to return home and face her personal demons (namely her family, and the townspeople) and a local legend, a man who dressed in a jester costume with a werewolf mask that killed and ate his victims at random. The man in question is dead, killed by a mob of angry citizens when he was arrested. He was set on fire in a police car. That was a long time ago. Now, the scent of blood is heavy in the air, cars are being set on fire at random, and Kristen keeps seeing the red eyes of the local legend…
The story is good and it held my attention. It brought to light the struggles the LGBTQ+ community has with their family, friends, and town/city. Kristen Singer, the protagonist is bisexual, leaning more toward women. When she comes home, she is forced to sleep in the attic, and her mother goes to the length of carving a derogatory description of her daughter in the ceiling above her pillow. The town itself holds a scandal Kristen was a part of against her with a blinding fury. The so-called Christians in the community are the most vile people I have read about in a long time. These people are so bad, that even Jesus himself would feed them to the lions. The actual “monster” in the book is terrifying and the gore is plentiful.
The writing in the book is a bit iffy. Some of the sentences had words in a different order than what I am used to reading, and some sentences lacked some necessary words, there were some misspelled words as well. My mind was doing mental gymnastics to keep up. These factors disrupted the flow of the book. It could have also benefitted from several pages of backstory to give me a better idea of the history of the town, Kristen’s relationship with her friends when she was younger, and maybe an epilogue to better explain the ending. A bit of extra editing would have gone a long way to give it the polish it deserves.
This book is perfect for members of the LGBTQ+ community, those like me who devour small-town horror, and those who like their horror bloody and impactful. I have several friends in mind to get this for and I am certain they will thank me for it.
I am a sucker for horror novels set in a small town. I spent my formative years in the mountains of North Carolina, and the tales the old timers told could fill several volumes. A friend of mine sent me a copy of Brian McNatt’s Leviathan, hoping it would cure that small-town itch.
Leviathan is a small town in Oklahoma with a population of 800 people. We are talking about a town where everyone knows everyone else (for better or worse) and their secrets. Kristen Singer is one of the few people who managed to leave this small town for college, then life in the “big city” with a career writing for a newspaper. COVID hit, followed by budget cuts, leaving Kristen no choice but to return home and face her personal demons (namely her family, and the townspeople) and a local legend, a man who dressed in a jester costume with a werewolf mask that killed and ate his victims at random. The man in question is dead, killed by a mob of angry citizens when he was arrested. He was set on fire in a police car. That was a long time ago. Now, the scent of blood is heavy in the air, cars are being set on fire at random, and Kristen keeps seeing the red eyes of the local legend…
The story is good and it held my attention. It brought to light the struggles the LGBTQ+ community has with their family, friends, and town/city. Kristen Singer, the protagonist is bisexual, leaning more toward women. When she comes home, she is forced to sleep in the attic, and her mother goes to the length of carving a derogatory description of her daughter in the ceiling above her pillow. The town itself holds a scandal Kristen was a part of against her with a blinding fury. The so-called Christians in the community are the most vile people I have read about in a long time. These people are so bad, that even Jesus himself would feed them to the lions. The actual “monster” in the book is terrifying and the gore is plentiful.
The writing in the book is a bit iffy. Some of the sentences had words in a different order than what I am used to reading, and some sentences lacked some necessary words, there were some misspelled words as well. My mind was doing mental gymnastics to keep up. These factors disrupted the flow of the book. It could have also benefitted from several pages of backstory to give me a better idea of the history of the town, Kristen’s relationship with her friends when she was younger, and maybe an epilogue to better explain the ending. A bit of extra editing would have gone a long way to give it the polish it deserves.
This book is perfect for members of the LGBTQ+ community, those like me who devour small-town horror, and those who like their horror bloody and impactful. I have several friends in mind to get this for and I am certain they will thank me for it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review