LEVIATHAN

by James Byron Huggins

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.

Before it feasts upon the world.

Genres: Science Fiction, Christian Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Adventure, Action, Christian

408 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

A veteran novelist and best-selling author, James Byron Huggins' life story reads more like fiction than fact. His career as a writer began normally enough. He received a bachelor's degree in journalism and English from Troy State University, and then worked as a reporter for the Hartselle Enquirer in Hartselle, Alabama.

Huggins won seven awards while with the newspaper before leaving journalism in 1985. With a desire to help persecuted Christians in eastern Europe, Huggins moved to Texas to work in conjunction with members of the Christian underground in that region.

From the Texas base, Huggins helped set up a system used to smuggle information in and out of Iron Curtain countries.

In 1987, Huggins was finally able to leave the United States to offer hands-on assistance in Romania. As a jack of all trades, Huggins photographed a secret police installation, took photos of people active in the Christian underground, and also continued his work as an orchestrator of smuggling routes.

Huggins was instrumental in smuggling out film and documentation that showed the plight of Christians in Romania. He even found time to create a code that allowed communication with the United States. As in Texas, Huggins' life had few creature comforts. To survive, he would often remain hidden in the woods or in secure basements for days at a time.

After his time in Romania, Huggins returned to the United States and took up journalism once more. He again worked for a small newspaper and won several awards as a reporter. Later on, he worked at a nonprofit Christian magazine before becoming a patrolman with the Huntsville Police Department in Huntsville, Alabama.

After distinguished service as a decorated field officer, Huggins left the force to pursue writing novels. His first three novels--A Wolf Story, The Reckoning, and Leviathan--achieved best-seller status in the Christian marketplace.

From there, Huggins broke into mainstream science fiction with Cain and Hunter, both of which were optioned for film rights. Huggins then released Rora, a historical novel depicting the harrowing life of a European martyr. His following book, Nightbringer, was met with critical acclaim and is in production for a movie.

Reviews

[OutlawPoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Cyr · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's too bad about this book. It's like the author had a good idea for a techno-thriller sort of story, a clear vision for where he wanted to go with it and some great themes to work into it - but his actual writing skills just weren't quite up to the task. I'm talking about the business of choosing the right word and crafting a great sentence. Huggins's solution was just to try to make every scene "epic", and every sentence as intense as possible, shooting his lines full of superlatives and over-the-top adjectives, and the result is melodrama and pulpy dialogue. It's a little like Michael Crichton wrote a book at the age of 17, with his teenager friends as the intended audience. Or more like, Michael Crichton wrote a book, and Donald Trump adapted it into a screenplay for an action movie to be directed by Michael Bay. That creative process would yield something like Leviathan, except without this book's spiritual overtones.

And yet, for all it's flaws, there's enough of a living soul to the book that comes through, that I hate to give it just two stars. I would give it 2 and a half if I could, and if I stand back and close one eye and sort of squint at the book with the other, it almost looks worthy of 3 stars. But when you look up close at the individual brush strokes you can't help but see how sloppy they are, the lack of control and polish to the technique. Really, how many times can you use the word "mushroom" or "mushrooming" as a verb in one book, to describe flames or an explosion? The adjective "volcanic" is thrown in to intensify the action so often it becomes sadly comical, though not so much so as when Huggins resorts to "galactic" for something really intense, as in "galactically enraged." Most of the characters aren't quite believable as real people either, mostly due to dialogue that is too often weak, occasionally even sounding like it was lifted from an action cartoon.

But after a while you almost don't even care, because after all the clumsy exposition in the first part of the book, the action is pretty non-stop and well-imagined. And the story manages to mostly hold to a worldview and set of values I would agree with. One scene actually makes a great theological point quite effectively, without it coming off too preachy. From what I can remember, I enjoyed the book when I was a teenager, though with a dim sense that this is not how you're supposed to write. I believe I will let my own teenager read it, though with a stern warning to never use "mushroom" as a verb.

[Sue Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Beauregard Shagnasty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was incredibly exciting. I could not put it down. Huggins has a real knack for creating scary monsters and very despicable human villains. This is a balls-out winner.!

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still remember reading this book back when it first came out, the sense of 'shock-and-awe' that there could be such a thing as a "Christian 'technothriller'" that was exciting and crazy and good and still have a bit of a message behind it (mostly in the conversations that one of the characters has with other characters). I have read it numerous times since, and I still enjoy reading it today. While I do recognize that it does have various 'problems' with it, I still find it an amazing story, and, once it really gets its steam going, it does not let down until the end.

In terms of any kind of 'technical stuff,' the character development is decent; some of the secondary characters seem more 'cut-out' than others and very few tertiary characters are given names or really stand-out in my mind. In the beginning, some of the dialogue (especially between Connor and his son, Jordan) is pretty stilted and feels forced; it gets more 'natural' as the story progresses, but it is a bit rough in the beginning. The story begins with some initial excitement; to draw the reader in, I am sure! Then it gets into more of an expository stage that sets up the rest of the book. Various 'important characters' are introduced during this point (scattered over the course of the narrative). But, once the action really begins, it is quite a ride!

Some quibbles: I had not noticed this before, but the author really likes to use variations of the word "mushroom" to describe explosive effects; I did not bother to count the total number of times it is used, but it is quite a bit. He also likes to use the word "galactic" to describe some things, mainly in reference to Leviathan. I think it might have to do with an attempt to imply the dragon has been possessed by a demonic entity, but I am not sure. It pops up at least three times in the story, however, and also stood out to me.

Connor is identified as "Jackson Connor" in the second chapter. Everybody refers to him by his last name, though. Everybody, including his wife! I could not decide if this was to imply he preferred to be identified by his last name as opposed to his first name, but it really stood out to me this time around while reading the book. As I was thinking about it, I realized I would never address my best friends by their last names, unless I was yelling or trying to get their attention. My wife identifies me by my first name and not my last when speaking to me. I know authors tend to do that when writing because it helps identify which individuals are speaking when you might have more than one person with the same first name, but it seemed funny to hear (read) Beth calling her husband "Connor" instead of "Jackson." I guess Jack Reacher is also identified by his last name in the Jack Reacher series of books, but most book I have read identify the person being spoken to by their first name and not their last.

A picture is definitely worth a thousand words! There is almost an entire chapter devoted to the battle between Thor and Leviathan. It is pretty crazy! Super intense! Yet, when Frank and Beth are asking Connor about it, he says that the battle was over in three minutes (348). I was, "Seriously!??! That whole 'scene' only took three minutes!?!" Maybe Connor wasn't there for all of it; maybe he caught the last portion of it? In any case, it was a crazy moment in a book filled with insanely crazy moments.

I loved Thor (Thor Magnusson) in this book; i thought he was an amazing character. He stands eight feet tall and weighs in at 450 pounds. He has a thick red beard and long red hair. He is the epitome of what a Viking warrior-king should be, and yet, he served as a priest for a long period of time. He is all muscle and has incredible strength. He was also deeply philosophical and cared about other people. I enjoyed reading his discussions with others about spiritual matters and philosophical ideas. I did find myself wondering about the historical records that were mentioned that claimed to reference dragons being alive in different parts of the world at different times in history. I used to try looking up various references off-and-on, but rarely ever had any luck finding them. He truly is (and was) a gentle giant with a heart of gold, but he also had a strong anger and deep sense of justice that you did not want to unjustly arouse. I thought his was the best character in the book, to be honest, and I thought he had some of the best lines/moments.

I hated that Colonel Carl Chesterton died during battle; I liked his character as well. He went out fighting, though, and did not give up in the end. I also hated that the men under his command died as easily as they did. I know Leviathan was like nothing they had ever faced or been trained to face, but I found myself wishing there had been more survivors than the five at the end of the book. Personally, I thought more could have survived, but that is just me. Well, I should clarify. I wish more had survived the events in the cavern; everybody who was on the surface of the island had already fled to safety.

I could not decide if Blake losing it like he did was 'inspired' by how moronic American military officers have been portrayed in Hollywood movies or not (255 - 257). I did not like his character, anyway, but he really seemed to lose it in the end in such a way that seemed more 'Hollywood cliche' than realistic. That is my opinion, but that is how that whole 'moment' struck me. He was supposed to be higher in rank than Colonel Chesterton, but he just came across as an incompetent windbag who was out of his element. Granted, after some of the stunts he pulled in the book, he never would have made it to the surface, anyway, as far as I would be concerned!

I loved Lieutenant Barley's character and was quite happy that he did survive!. He was a great assistant for (and foil to) Chesterton, and Colonel Chesterton clearly relied heavily upon Barley. The soldiers under Barley's command respected him and immediately obeyed him. He was 'crazy' (in a good way) and strong and powerful and intelligent; he was able to get the lay of the land and determine the best points for attack and defense. He was a good man, willing to lay down his life for those on either side of him, and he protected Beth and Jordan with a vengeance. A complete bad-@$$!

Some of the craziest parts of the book had to do with the electrical traps laid by Connor to try and slow the beast down before he figured out how to make sure it stayed dead. I also liked how he recognized he had to somehow control the amounts of electricity being directed at the creature; it as being hit with enormous amounts of energy, but the energy levels were not sustained, which allowed the creature to survive them. He set up better traps as the story progressed (which only makes sense) that culminated into the one at the end of the book.

It is kinda funny, the ending. It was almost anticlimactic. There was a nuclear fail-safe device set to go off on a nuclear countdown. Two things would set it off - it was set to explode within twenty-four hours of being started if Leviathan was not either killed or recaptured, and it was set to go off immediately if Leviathan reached Crystal Lake. So, you have the issue of having to either kill or recapture the escaped weapon of mass destruction and of having to somehow figure out a way to stop the nuclear countdown. By the end of the book, they decide they have to stop the nuclear countdown "first" before killing Leviathan because there is not enough time to do both and it is taking too long to kill Leviathan. So, it was (and is) funny to me that after they were able to stop the nuclear countdown they still almost lost to Leviathan (granted, I assume that the nuke would still go off if Leviathan made it to Crystal Lake) but were able to beat him (it) and kill the beastie.

I did like the 'basic plot' of the story; I thought it was quite clever and a fascinating concept. The idea is that some animal is going to be biogenetically engineered and modified into a weapon of mass destruction, of having the ability to appear without notice, attack a specific target, and then retreat. The idea is that, instead of having men killed in battle, it would be better to send a 'monster' to attack the given target, thereby saving the lives of the soldiers to whom the creature belongs. There is a 'biological weapons arms race' going on between the Americans, the Japanese, and the West Germans, and the Japanese actually won the race. However, the facilities housing the Japanese creature (a heavily-modified and genetically-altered lion [89 - 90]) were destroyed, leaving America's heavily modified, genetically altered Komodo dragon, Leviathan, as the sole remaining 'living weapon of mass destruction' "alive." The book never says what the Germans were trying to genetically alter to use as their beast of prey, and I do not remember if their facility was destroyed as well.

The idea is that the monster could attack a country, a region, or a town, perform the amount of damage it was programmed to cause (or the number of deaths), and survive an encounter with said nation's military forces. The idea is that nobody is going to nuke their own country, their own territory, their own people, especially to kill what is perceived to be a 'dumb monster.' However, the conventional forces of a country's military would be assumed to be unable to kill the creature or stop its destruction, and any injuries would be quickly healed due to an accelerated healing factor. Plus, the creature could restore its strength and vitality by eating any humans or animals as food sources. It is a pretty ingenious idea. What with nothing being said of the German's creature, I could see a potential sequel, were it ever written, involving their creature and possibly a revived (or, recreated) Leviathan.

About Beth Connor. I liked that she was a bit of a strong woman herself, even if she does somewhat turn into a kind of 'damsel in distress.' She is a computer genius, incredibly smart and talented, and extremely confident. She believes she can crack any code any government agent or agency can create because nobody is smarter than her (in her own mind). She refused to back down when confronted by Adler and Tolvanus (the "bad guys") and still sought to undermine the efforts of the villains after she was taken prisoner. She was (and is) a pretty amazing woman!

Regarding Jackson Connor, he was a great hero. He is more of an 'everyman' who is trying to support his family and has been hired to act as a 'foreman' of the U.S. government's construction project. He tries to do what is best by his family, first, and then his 'extended family' of employees and their families. He works hard and is intending to earn enough money that he and his family can 'retire' to a farm and live in quiet, apart from the big cities and whatnot. He is also quite knowledgeable when it comes to electricity, and he uses this knowledge to great effect during the ensuing battles with the beast. I did like how the author used electricity as a weapon throughout the book; it was fascinating and interesting and crazy. He was probably my second-favorite character in the book.

The book does have a lot of information dumps, and I felt they were done in such a way that both maintained the flow of the story and were interesting at the same time. The author did remind of Tom Clancy and Clancy's ability to explain 'complicated' processes and concepts in a way that was easy for the common reader to understand. I felt like this author had (has) the same knack, and his info dumps did not detract from the overall story/plot (in my opinion).

It was a fun book; it was a crazy book; it was intense all the way to the end. It focused on the dynamics between military members and civilians, on the dynamics between government agencies and the civilians who are hired to work for and support said agencies, genetic manipulation, biogenetically created weapons of war, combat, family dynamics, relationships forged under the fire of conflict, interagency politics, nuclear bombs, a potential change to the face of warfare, Viking warrior-king(s), the historical basis for the existence of dragons, how electricity can be used offensively and defensively, some spiritual and existential discussions, what it means to be courageous, and what a man will do to protect his family. It has quite a bit packed between its covers, and it is still one of my favorite books to read. I am glad that I reread it (after not having read it for quite some time). It was an intensely fun and fast read.

[RH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jackson Connor decides to have financial security and works at a top secret research facility. As electrician he doesn't know what is going on there, but that quickly changes when the monster the researchers have created breaks out. The monster is engineered to kill and heals surprisingly quickly when wounded. Researcher fear it might escape through the tunnels into the ocean. They need to stop him but killing him turns out almost impossible. Not killing it will detonate the nuclear bomb placed on the island to protect the world from this creature. Together with his wife and friend Thor, as well as a bunch or army people Connor manages to injure the animal badly, as well as Thor, who dies in the fight.

It seems as if the author uses a good plot for Connor with his electrical engineering background. It keeps coming back in the story. The plot does get somewhat repetitive as the flee for the monster and block its passage through the tunnels by closing vaults one after the other. The idea behind the genetic engineering is somewhat far-fatched, but when not thinking about this flaws the story is actually nice to read.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I know it’s dated. I know it has mistakes in it. But I still love it. I don’t know if it is some kind of “nostalgia” factor at work or something, but this book is still a lot of fun to read. It is the author’s third work, and it is 25+ years old. I think some elements still stand up well to the “test of time,” and other elements do not. The computer technology described in the book does not hold up quite so well, considering how much advancement there has been since the book was published and how quickly technology advances today. The character development is decent; some characters are obviously developed better than others (and I felt some “secondary character” actually developed better than some main characters). There is plenty of action in the book (especially once all of the characters are in place and the plot gets moving). I also liked the intermixing of “spiritual themes” that were interwoven throughout the story.

Regarding the characters, Thor was my favorite character in the book. He was crazy-huge! Eight feet tall, 450 pounds, solid muscle. Incredibly strong. And he had a strong religious faith as well, which I loved. He was also more than just a mountain of muscle; he was a former priest and was quite smart (in his areas of study). I do not know that he “grew” as a character as much as he remained faithful to his core beliefs and was willing to lay down his life for his friends as well as for complete strangers. He was a rock upon whose strength those around him found comfort and encouragement and safety. I suppose he “grew” as a character when he reached his own personal “Ragnarök” and remained behind to face Leviathan in order to allow Barley and Connor to escape to safety. He refused to give in to the times he felt the briefest touches of fear, and he refused to back down and go quietly into the night when facing Leviathan. He was an amazing character, and I hated that he died (despite his dying such a heroic death). I also loved that his faith was strong and that others also drew comfort from his faith. Barley was probably my second-favorite character. He was pretty bad-@$$ himself and never stopped striving to see to the safety of others, even at his own expense. He was smart, determined, well-trained, and highly intelligent himself. He hated backing down from a fight, as it were, but he refused to spend the lives of those under his command needlessly. He would prefer others above himself. He and Thor had some good conversations, too, over the course of the book. Connor is still in my “top five favorite” characters in the book, but this time around, he seemed a little “wooden and stiff,” for some reason. I think it had to do with the author’s attempting to write “emotional scenes/moments” with both his wife, Beth, and his son, Jordan. He was probably better-written when he was fighting for not only his life but his family’s survival as well (and the few survivors left from the original crews at the start of the novel). Beth was a pretty cool character. She was Connor’s wife and quite brilliant. She was a computer specialist/programmer of some kind and figured out a way to crack the NSA’s “uncrackable code.” I don’t know enough about computers to know if what she did was really a valid method or not, but it sounded good (and believable). She refused to back down to any man, especially when she was in the right or if her family was being threatened. I thought she and Connor made a great couple, and I liked their relationship, how it remained a source of comfort and strength for both of them over the course of the novel. I cannot quite decide if they “grew” as a couple, but it seems like they must have, considering how much they had to trust each other to accomplish their “given tasks” as the story progressed. I cannot really think of any “secondary characters” at the moment; maybe because all of them died? Or all of the ones in the cavern, anyway; the ones in the camp on the island had repaired the three “cruisers” and had already fled for their lives.

There were some “funny things” I noticed this time around. One of the things has to do with how much elements of this book did remind me of Jurassic Park. I don’t know if that has to do with me having read JP not too long ago, followed by Mathew Reilly’s book about a dragon-filled zoo in China, but I was, “wow! It’s Jurassic Park all over again!” It was probably three “main elements” that stood out, to be honest. Well, four, if you include most of the people being killed (i.e. – eaten) by their creation. The first was that a group of individuals (scientists in this case) believed they could control Leviathan, even though it had already “mutated and grown” beyond where it should have been. Their extreme pride would cost them (and a second group of thirty-some scientists and three platoons of Rangers) their lives. Even after initial evidence that they had lost control of their “little experiment,” they still believed they could regain control. The second was using genetic engineering to create something “monstrous” and “old” that had not been seen by modern man, ever, and their creation mutating even further than expected (and generating knew features/adaptations they did not expect). (Granted, in this case, what was being created was a genetically-engineered bioweapon as opposed to an amusement park full of animals.) The third was when Connor Jackson had his “Ian Malcolm” moment while talking with Doctor Franks (the lead programmer and scientist who created GEO, the one-of-a-kind computer system that could create Leviathan and maintain the security features and whatever else the complex needed). Connor was talking about the Titanic, how the engineers of the day had the ability, skills, and technology to use what they had at hand to build the ocean liner. However, they lacked the additional information they needed relating to the metal being used to know how it reacted to cold water. Connor was all “they were smart, they had the science and the technology. But they had gone ahead of where they should have been. They didn’t understand everything they needed to understand in order to make it safe. . . . Or right” (221-222). It strongly reminded me of Malcolm saying, “you guys were so excited to see if you could do it that you didn’t stop to think if you should do it!” (my paraphrase, obviously). It really felt like a rip-off of Malcom’s moment; plus, Connor’s pride was funny, too (how he condemned people for what they may or may not have had the ability to know; it’s always funny when “people from the future” judge and condemn decisions from 50 – 100 years ago, or even longer, considering the amount of knowledge available ‘now’ versus ‘back then.’

I never realized how often certain words were used throughout the book. “Boy” is used quite a bit, as are various forms of “mushroom.” “Liquid fire” is used quite a bit (some of which makes sense, as the dragon’s “fire breath” is described as “liquid fire.” “Galactic” (and its iterations) is also used quite a bit. “Volcanic” is used several times.

I found it funny how the shell from the 105-mm main gun of an M1A1 Abrams MBT did so little damage to Leviathan but two anti-personnel grenades hurt it and stop it (252) (for a moment) (the shell fired from the RC tank earlier did knock it across the cavern, but that was about it; the grenades fired from the M203 seemed to do more damage and have a greater impact).

He also uses some odd (funny) phrases. Like, on page 140, he describes how “the mushrooming flame impacted the tank’s reactive armor like cosmic lava.” Cosmic lava? What the heck is “cosmic lava”? Towards the bottom of the same page, the dragon is said to “vomit a blazing plasmic arc.” What a word picture! On page 268, the dragon leaps into view, but its movement is described as “vomiting from the darkness.” What does it mean to “vomit from the darkness” when jumping from darkness into light? Then, later when Dr. Frank is trying to penetrate GEO’s defenses, his decision to begin the penetration is described as “a volcanic gathering of final will” (343). What does that mean? Is it a reference to the ancient god Vulcan? Is it referencing something else?

“It’s an unsafe situation” (227). That is the understatement of the year. I about fell over laughing!

In one last ‘final fight’ before the beast is killed, the author describes how the dragon strikes Connor “across the chest, blasting a red-liquid path through flesh and rib bone” that spun Connor around while knocking him away from the creature (372). How in the world did he survive that injury?!? He already has had multiple serious injuries (including his left arm being impaled upon a metal rod of some kind [from which he wrenched his arm free], a possible broken or fractured bone in his leg [upon which he is still able to walk and run], and some kind of damage to one of his knees), and how it sounds like the creature managed to slice out a chunk of his chest. Yet he’s still alive? It’s like a late 80s/early 90s action movie!

It is hilariously funny how they go from “we have 4 hours to ‘defuse’ the fail-safe! Plenty of time!” (276) to “we have 20 minutes left!” (302). I guess they shouldn’t have blown those first two hours like they did by taking a nap!

One thing that “bugged me” was had to do with the end of the book. Beth is able to crack the code and get an SOS off to the North Atlantic Sea Patrol’s base and they send a C-130 to their “rescue.” However, when the aircraft arrives, it has a representative of Stygian Enterprises onboard. I thought that was pretty freaking convenient, that a representative of the corporation that funded the creation of this monster “just happened” to be chilling at the base awaiting a flight to the island. I mean, seriously! Just what was he (or she) doing there? Camping out at the base or something in case trouble arose and he (or she) needed a ride to the island? Oh, well.

I enjoyed the discussions about the parallels in religions separated by time and space. I thought the author had some interesting explanations as to why this is the case. The discussion about dragons appearing throughout history was also fun to read (no explanations are given, like in Matthew Reilly’s book; the readers are expected to “just accept them” as presented in the story; it works).

There were some “one-liners” I enjoyed as well.
“God created us as spiritual beings, so we are spiritual beings in all we do” (231)

“what we do is a reflection of our character. A man’s character should be a reflection of God’s character” (231).

“a man’s spirituality can be measured by how his life reflects God’s character” (232).

“I will live my life by love and courage and strength because these things please God as much as prayer and meditation and the study of Scriptures” (232).

“A beginning is half the ending” (232).

Conversation between Thor and Lt. Barley (266)
Lt. Barley: “This is as ugly as it gets”
Thor: “No, there are worse things. There are things worse than fighting or dying.”
Lt. Barley: “What?”
Thor: “Not loving anything enough to die for.”

“Is it logical for a created being to be greater than its creator?” (332)

And some more “corny” lines:
“Eat this!” he shouted and pulled the trigger. (316)

“You’re extinct,” he rasped.
And pulled the trigger. (380)

I reread this because of my “dino-fic kick” I am on (expanded to include dragons and “giant monsters” and “oversized creatures”), otherwise I probably would not have read it again so soon. In any case, it was still fun to read because of how crazy and over-the-top it gets, especially Thor’s personal fight with it and then toward the end. It is a fun read and I am glad I reread it.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a hidden facility deep underground, something terrible seeks escape. It could be a world ending event if it escapes confinement. Above ground, the many men and their families who keep the facility in operation are clueless to what is coming. Leviathan is awake. Hungry. And very, very angry.

I bought this book back when there used to be Book Of The Month Clubs. Remember those. You had a selection offered each month and you chose which ones you wanted sent? This was one of my choices and it became a favorite I returned to more times than I can remember.

Jackson Connor is the kind of man I’d want in my corner. He’s honest, hard working and loves his family and friends fiercely. He put them before everything else. And he put himself in front of the monster down below. It would have to get past him and that wasn’t going to happen.

It was a toss up on who was my favorite character. Jackson was a star. But, so was his best friend, Thor, a viking giant who, along with his magnificent stallion, resides in the ruins of a castle on the other end of the island. He’s jolly, intelligent and lonely, and finds the company of Jackson and the others a blessing. I was very curious how he came to be all alone on the island. And there was something almost mythical at play with his situation. Almost like he was meant to be there, at that moment, to fight the monster about to emerge. I mentioned he was jolly. I’ll explain. He has this big booming laugh and there’s this scene where he’s on top of a hill and the men are trying to topple him. He laughs as he shrugs them off, tossing them to the muddy bottom. I could so easily picture this and laughed out loud.

Now for the creature. It’s ancient. Shouldn’t exist. And with modern DNA tampering, the scientists don’t know what they’ve created, or what it’s about to unleash on everyone on the island. It’s not just one or two scenes that leave you trembling. It’s so many you become almost as exhausted in mind as the character’s must be in body and spirit. I have to say, the action in this book is the most I’ve ever read and not for one moment was I bored or thinking enough is enough. It’s an epic battle, and nerve wracking as it seems so hopeless.

Will they conquer the beast? Who will survive Grimwald Island? Will Jackson and his family ever have that dream ranch back home? It’s not looking too good. From the first paragraph to the last word, I was completely trapped in this story.

My recommendation is a shout from the roof tops, read this book!

I own a copy of this book. My review is voluntarily given.

[Lindsey Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full Review Here

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.

[Indy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book started out with lots of promise, but I felt it got a little long winded and should have ended about 40 pages earlier because it gets overly predictable, cliched and unbelievable.

Scientists create a "Leviathan" - basically a dragon, which is also biologically enhanced with computer AI - because, well, why not!? Thus making it the perfect and *ahem* indestructible killing machine. Of course the smarty scientist who invented the science didn't want anything bad to happen and the military only wants to use it to dominate their enemies. But uh-oh, something goes wrong and the super-intelligent unkillable monster has outsmarted its creators!! Who can stop it? IronMan? Batman? How about an electrician! oh and a guy named Thor!

[Jarno Bouma · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first book I seriously considered DNF'ing. The writing style was seriously horrendous and borderline unreadable. The story was unoriginal and predictable. The action was too constant and over the top at all times, losing it's shock value rather quickly. They tried every electric trap 4 or 5 times and shot with ineffetive grenades for 200 pages. Every explosion was white hot like a mushroom or a volcano. The characters all almost died or fainted multiple times, but were invigorated somehow everytime. Their emotions and screaming were too forced, unrealistic and repetitive. The story and the secret base trope had potential, but this book was a very poor execution in my opinion. Overall the worst book I read all year.

[Mont'ster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fast paced and action packed. It has a mysterious hero, a more mysterious (evil?) monster/villain, difficult choices and battle scenes. It is one of the first "Christian fiction" books that I read and I read it a couple times in the space of a few months. My gut feeling is that this is the kind of book that I would recommend to an adolescent or young adult looking for a good read in an author they're not familiar with.

[Adrian Essigmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is considered to be Christian literature, but personally it feels like it was written by a good works to get to heaven type. That being said, this book is awesome! It is a moral, exciting, and fresh take on the plot of ancient beast takes on the modern world. I loved it!!

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything this guy writes is great.

[Godly Gadfly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Christian Jurassic Park? (3 stars)

Leviathan is one of Huggins’ earliest novels, and precedes “Cain”, a book which established him in mainstream fiction and was also developed into a movie. “Leviathan” is the name of a powerful beast that is the product of a secret science project in an underground facility deep in the Arctic Circle. But Leviathan proves to be stronger and smarter than its creators, and when it escapes its containment chamber, it threatens to kill everyone in reach. But that isn’t the only problem – Leviathan’s escape sets off a fail-safe sequence that will detonate a nuclear device within 24 hours. There is only one way to escape the nuclear holocaust: by killing Leviathan within 24 hours. This book features heart-stopping suspense as the only ones who can stop Leviathan are the giant Norwegian Thor, and the unassuming electrical wizard Connor. Can they stop Leviathan? Can they do it within 24 hours? Two words sum up the plot that unravels:

1. Action thriller. The novel starts with a bang, and rarely slows down. Huggins has a style that will leave your heart pounding, and you’ll find yourself racing over the words and through the pages. The action never lets up, so prepare yourself for a roller-coaster ride of action. Only one problem: expect to see the same scenery. The “terrible roar” of Leviathan and the “hate-filled rage” of its hunters rapidly wears thin after the umpteenth time. Certainly the action is fast and furious, but the dragon’s repeated roar and the repeated shouts and shooting of his hunters gets tiresome after a while. Also be warned that the extent of blood and gore is not suitable for children.

2. Apocalyptic themes. Unlike most thrillers, Huggins is clearly working with deeper themes. There is a clear and cosmic conflict between good and evil, and Huggins makes several Biblical references to ensure that we understand this is a picture of the conflict between God and Satan. The name “Leviathan” is drawn straight from the Bible (p.44), and is an ancient name for “dragon” (p.68). Although Huggins’ exegesis and historical description of Leviathan is questionable (p.73ff), the apocalyptic imagery is unmistakable, as we get glimpses of the beast rising from the sea described in Revelation. Huggins’ story does not completely fit with Revelation, which describes both a dragon and several beasts. Revelation’s imagery is symbolic – whereas Huggins tries to present this as a real conflict with a real dragon. But probably it would be unfair to criticize him too severely for this: he intends the conflict against Leviathan to be a spiritual picture of the great struggle against evil and its master, Satan. He takes great pains to describe the background of this conflict as the fall into sin, and presents the battle against Leviathan as a microcosm of the great and last battle, the Armageddon (p.63-4). In Huggins’ view, all of life is spiritual, and is part of the great struggle of good and evil (p.231). Thor is the Messiah figure who features prominently in the great battle against evil, and like Christ is even pierced in his side (p.326), as he struggles valiantly against the dragon, even willing to give his own life for those he loves.

But ultimately the philosophy and deeper religious significance is washed away by a superficial stream of repetitive story-line. Although gripping and suspenseful, the plot is not always completely convincing, its characters not completely credible. Any serious message that this book has to offer is hampered by a plot that seems to have the same fighting, rage and fire over and over again. The great deal of technical jargon about computers and science does lend the novel some authenticity, but also weighs it down unnecessarily. Whatever religious meaning the novel does have to offer is further undermined by the stream of hate and curses unleashed by its hero Thor, and the surprisingly frequent instances of blasphemy (p.137,148,205,313) and unnecessary oaths (p.239,260).

In the end, I felt that I was reading a script for a revised movie of Jurassic Park, rather than a Christian thriller novel. If you like reading about men being crunched in the jaws of a giant predator and fighting back with all kinds of weapons, you’ll love this novel. It’s Jurassic Park all over again, with a Christian slant, but not quite with an equally successful execution. Don’t expect a whole lot more than that.

[Laura Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a hidden facility deep underground, something terrible seeks escape. It could be a world ending event if it escapes confinement. Above ground, the many men and their families who keep the facility in operation are clueless to what is coming. Leviathan is awake. Hungry. And very, very angry.

I bought this book back when there used to be Book Of The Month Clubs. Remember those. You had a selection offered each month and you chose which ones you wanted sent? This was one of my choices and it became a favorite I returned to more times than I can remember.

Jackson Connor is the kind of man I’d want in my corner. He’s honest, hard working and loves his family and friends fiercely. He put them before everything else. And he put himself in front of the monster down below. It would have to get past him and that wasn’t going to happen.

It was a toss up on who was my favorite character. Jackson was a star. But, so was his best friend, Thor, a viking giant who, along with his magnificent stallion, resides in the ruins of a castle on the other end of the island. He’s jolly, intelligent and lonely, and finds the company of Jackson and the others a blessing. I was very curious how he came to be all alone on the island. And there was something almost mythical at play with his situation. Almost like he was meant to be there, at that moment, to fight the monster about to emerge. I mentioned he was jolly. I’ll explain. He has this big booming laugh and there’s this scene where he’s on top of a hill and the men are trying to topple him. He laughs as he shrugs them off, tossing them to the muddy bottom. I could so easily picture this and laughed out loud.

Now for the creature. It’s ancient. Shouldn’t exist. And with modern DNA tampering, the scientists don’t know what they’ve created, or what it’s about to unleash on everyone on the island. It’s not just one or two scenes that leave you trembling. It’s so many you become almost as exhausted in mind as the character’s must be in body and spirit. I have to say, the action in this book is the most I’ve ever read and not for one moment was I bored or thinking enough is enough. It’s an epic battle, and nerve wracking as it seems so hopeless.

Will they conquer the beast? Who will survive Grimwald Island? Will Jackson and his family ever have that dream ranch back home? It’s not looking too good. From the first paragraph to the last word, I was completely trapped in this story.

My recommendation is a shout from the roof tops, read this book!

I own a copy of this book. My review is voluntarily given.

[John Purvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. 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/).

[Amelia Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was clumsily written but still quite entertaining. My main gripes were excessive repetition in both diction, setting and plot, and the long winded paragraphs of overly fluffed inaccurate technical language for describing both the novels main computer system and how leviathan was created. It reads like a choppy amateur version of Jurassic park with a bit more questionable science jargon and less natural dialogue, but with just enough teeth and explosions to keep me reading.

After a pretty slow first half with stilted dialogue and rough characterisation of Beth and Jordan, both the characterisation and plot picked up enough to keep me reading.

On a side note- despite the title being a biblical term, I was not expecting the level of religious ideology that managed to worm its way into the text. Not sure I’ll ever understand what “Old Testament sensation” means or be particularly moved by page long descriptions of God’s intentions for humanity.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book by James Byron Huggins I ever read, and I knew right away it would not be the last. A story of man's hubris and the even worse forces of evil that will always be willing to take advantage of it, LEVIATHAN is not only as fine a creature feature as you will ever read but an outstanding morality tale. The action is non-stop and the suspense at times unbearable, but each page pushes you irresistibly towards the next. Who will live, who will die, and can anything stop the worst monster from our collective nightmares? A masterful thriller built on a strong Christian foundation (like most of Huggins's efforts), LEVIATHAN is one of the standout works from the best action/horror writer in the business.

[kevin powell sr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

I've reread this book no less than four times over the years. It really is an awesome book that will grab you from the beginning. Huggins is an awesome writer and I've read many of his books. If you read thks book and like it I strongly encourage you to read his book called Cain.....

[Steve M.g · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a few other books by JBH (Hunter, Cain). If you like what I'm calling Christian Thriller Sci-Fi Horror, you will like this. The religious sentiments don't resonate with me, but for interesting, enjoyable, techno-thriller adventure, his books are a good choice.

[Sablemorgans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great creature book, a good read

[Anna Funk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great story! TERRIBLE writing. This would make a great movie, the pieces and scenes are all there. JB Huggins, call me if you want an editor for the 2nd edition.

[Michael Chesler · Rating 5 out of 5]

monsters will always lose

Great read for monster lovers. Not a second of this book wasn’t action packed. Godzilla meets the heroes on its turf

[M. Sprouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sci-fi thriller had plenty of action and was very engaging. The beginning was a little slow, but the wide variety of characters were entertaining if not a little one-dimensional. The secondary battle of good vs evil also added to the epic nature of this story.

You have to remember this novel was written over 25 years ago. Some of the techno aspects were a little dated like, "modem" but it really doesn't draw anything away from the story. Though I enjoyed this book, it wasn't up to the level of some of the author's other works, like "Cain" or "Hunter". Still it kept me turning pages into the night.

[Anadarko52 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just OK

This creature novel was not as good as some of Huggins' other books. While the plot was decent, the writing was amateurish.

[Kenan Curt]

Start time:5:30pm
Stop time: 6:50
It seems like that the is fast pacing through the book. It is a exciting read. It seems weird that scientists are trying to bring an extinct creature as the ultimate killing machine. There is no way that they can control the creature., but its exciting to see what will they figure out a way to kill it.
Start time:11:00am
Stop time:12:15pm
Now, Connor and his mysterious friend Thor is standing between it and the destruction of everyone on the island. Before he was an honest, hardworking electrician. Then came the opportunity of a lifetime-financial security for life in exchange for three year work at a top secret research facility deep beneath desolate Grimwald Island. The reality will be awful.

[Kat (Ginger Bibliophile on YouTube) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy it as much as I used to. It’s in bad need of a real editor. It’s like he didn’t have the vocabulary to express the magnitude of the situation emotions so there’s just a constant pattern of word, same word. Ie dark,dark. still, still. Kill,kill. There’s no bloodlust, pitch black, still as a statue, and word/phrase to express how deep the emotion or anything was.

The last 200 pages got repetitive as well. I never thought I’d say this, but shooting, launching grenades, and electrocuting the same monster can get old. As the cast of characters dies down, it becomes less plot and more of the same in a different room of the massive cave. There are bits of poignant humanity that bring forth emotion, but then it’s back to a different still alive character trying the same thing to kill the monster in a different room. I actually skipped pages at the end to see who all survived.

It starts off amazing, the battles are fun, but it could use some editing and about 50 pages could go.

[David Dalton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Huggins thriller I first read years ago and have in Trade Paperback size on my shelf right. That said, I still plan to get and read the e-book version now that is available (finally!).

A giant monster, tons of action, a count-down to a nuclear explosion, family, love, redemption, and oh year, more action!

I am reading Project Nemesis by Jeremy Robinson right now, and Nemesis harkens to the like of Leviathan. If you love big monster books then you will love this one as well.

I love all the characters, especially Thor (6 ft + ex priest). Is the action over the TOP? Yes, but I like it that way! Looking foward to reading this on my Kindle.

[Kevin Kraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book three times myself and have read it to all four of my children to boot. It remains among my top five favorite books. Huggins is a very effective and knowledgeable novelist and he has crafted a monster tale that will have the reader hopelessly enthralled until the very end. This book, it could be said, is everything Jurassic Park should have been in some ways.

If this is any indication...I only read Jurassic Park once and Michael Crichton is one of my all-time favorite writer.

I add to this review on 2-9-2020! I have read this book twice more. Once for my two youngest children. And once as research...as James Byron Huggins himself allowed me to write the screen adaptation (the screenplay) and spearhead an effort to bring LEVIATHAN to the big screen!