Leviathan [Paperback]

James Byron Huggins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

Conner felt an eerie sensation as he studied the image on the ancient Viking ax: a great, fiery dragon with wings as wide as the universe, viciously locked in battle with a heroic, winged figure that grimly held the dragon's hideous head, struggling breath to breath. "Every man must face the dragon once in his life," Thor told him. "It is then he learns what he truly loves."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cast from the mold of Michael Crichton's cautionary tales about scientific excess but given a Christian glaze, this novel pits one Jackson Connor?whose initials aren't incidental?against a monster created through genetic manipulation. "Electromagnetic chromosomal" means have allowed Dr. Peter Frank to turn a Komodo dragon's DNA into that of a "Leviathan," grown by Stygian Enterprises to sell to the U.S. government as a weapon of war. Things get out of control, allowing Huggins (The Reckoning) to express a virulent disdain for the feds and an only slightly more tempered lack of regard for scientific research. Salvation comes at the hands of Connor, an electrician employed by Stygian on the arctic island where Leviathan is based; he is aided in the good fight by Thor Magnusson, a scholarly giant of a priest hiding from the forces of evil. Huggins is a far from subtle writer, given to preaching and melodrama ("what we have accomplished in this cavern may very well have altered the nature of life as we know it," intones one character), but once the action gets up to steam, he takes readers on a merry, entertaining ride. Whether the book, drenched in apocalyptic Christian theology, will cross over to a secular readership remains to be seen, however.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 387 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785272631
• ISBN-13: 978-0785272632
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More mayhem and monsters from Huggins, August 23, 2000

By 

Michael C. Hedrick (Annandale, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leviathan (Paperback)

After having read "Cain" and "Hunter", I was on familiar ground with my third Huggins book. As with the others, it is a story of good superhero vs. evil monster. As with the others, however, it has most of the same flaws. This time there are two heroes instead of one, in the form of a viking Catholic priest named Thor and a grim handyman named Jackson Connor. Thor is literally a giant with an axe to grind and the mind of a literature scholar. Still, how can a man be both eight feet tall and built like Hercules? Even the tallest NBA stars aren't eight feet, and they look like beanpoles. Jackson Connor, however, is much closer to a normal person than any of Huggins' other heroes. He's simply a smart, tough guy with a background in fixing everything, and he generally outthinks the monster instead of outfighting him, unlike the others. This makes Jackson the most plausible and empathic of the main characters in the three books, but there are some flaws. 1) The relationship with his young son is pure sap. 2) Everyone calls him by his last name, even his wife. 3) Why is Jackson working as a foreman at a research site, even for extra pay, when his wife is obviously a computer genius? On to the monster. This time it's an honest-to-goodness dragon, making it the most invincible, and coolest, of Huggins' other monsters. The science behind the artificially created beast is believable enough for this genre, and the idea of a fire-breathing lizard running around making charbroil out of a bunch of idiots is very appealing. In one of the better parts of the book, Huggins even has Thor recount (apparently) genuine historical writings on actual dragon encounters in recorded history. HOWEVER, there are more than a few mistakes. Thor actually fights the dragon hand to hand in one unconvincing, if epic, battle, and the result is completely implausible. The dragon actually sees the shadow of the Devil, directing the beast to kill the boy. Finally, the wringer Jackson puts it through at the end is unbelievable. Not even the wounded Leviathan could withstand the whole series of traps he lays at the end. Finally, the evil-bad-guy-project-director is the same stereotype found in the other books. Then there are the usual literary mistakes. Huggins uses the same adjectives over and over again. The introduction of the dragon's statistics is a ham-handed presentation. There's a totally unnecessary side trip into virtual reality. And when Jackson finally kills the thing at the end using a particular tool, the method he employs should have killed him too if you pay attention to the details of its use. Yet all of this isn't to say I didn't enjoy it anyway. It's just disappointing to see the same stuff over and over again, even though that's what action books/movies usually boil down to. After the first third of the book it becomes a constant pulse-pounding action sequence as the good guys lay traps and fight the beast with a constant barrage from grenade launchers. Huggins introduces some interesting history and mythology without laying on the Christianity too thick. The science is pretty cool, and Thor is interesting, if implausible. In the end, this book is a lot like a good action movie: turn your brain off, bring plenty of popcorn, and have a good time.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Christian Jurassic Park?, April 5, 2001

By 

Godly Gadfly - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Leviathan (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I am sensing a pattern here., August 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Leviathan (Paperback)

I read "Hunter" and loved it. The plot concerning an armored monster that threatenes the world was great. I read "Cain" and enjoyed it too! The plot concerning an armored monster the threatenes the world was cool. I now have read "Leviathan". Hmmmm.....a armored monster that threatens the world? Huggins' action sequences and suspense are first rate. The skipping record of plots is getting a little old. I can favor a guess at his upcoming novel's next plot. I'm thinking an armored monster that threatens the world.......bravo!