Behold Leviathan

Rating:
Summary: SF author gives book two thumbs up
Review: Review by Jeffrey A. Katt, a noted SF author

Behold Leviathan, an ambitious first novel by Will Clark, is both original and intriguing. Certain chapters are loosely autobiographical, bringing a realism to the tale and making the story even more interesting. The novel begins with SP4 Cleary, an army specialist formerly stationed at the White Sands Missile Range, testifying before Congress. Shortly thereafter Cleary develops a love interest with Nikki, who is much more than she initially appears. After that, well, you would have to read the book yourself to appreciate all the twists and turns that the author supplies. Like the proverbial onion, each chapter reveals another layer of the intricate tale, until the reader descends into world steeped in international intrigue, politics, religion, corruption, humor, love, and the darkly supernatural.

Clark uses his own personal knowledge of politics, engineering, and the military to lend credibility to the story, and he takes the reader on a fast-paced ride into a world most of us have not imagined ' except, perhaps, in stress-induced nightmares. Just when the reader thinks he knows where the story is going it turns in an entirely new direction. Only after finishing the book can the reader look back and clearly sort out which portions were pure fiction, and which are chillingly familiar ' and true. Additionally, the chapters are not strictly in chronological order, a technique I usually find to be quite annoying, but here it serves to make the story evolve in a more logical manner.

Behold Leviathan is one of the most unique and original books I have read in quite some time. From the sharply satirical to the forcefully blunt, the novel holds the reader's interest and forces him to reconsider the world around him. I look forward to future offerings from Mr. Clark.