Leviathans in the Clouds
Space: 1889 & Beyond, Season 2, Book #3
By David Parish-Whittaker & Steven Savile
ISBN# 9781611875676
Authors’ Websites: http://www.stevensavile.com/wordpress/
http://parishwhittaker.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Sammy
Synopsis:
It all seemed so straightforward at first…
Quantity surveying in the rain drenched swamps of Venus. How hard could it be? Endure a bit of rain, dig about where directed and Bob’s your uncle. To be sure, there were the local carnivorous lizards the size of houses, occasionally hostile natives and the local German colony, which had never proved particularly reasonable when it came to servants of the Crown digging about in what they clearly felt was their back garden. But by now, that sort of thing was barely more troublesome than setting out an afternoon tea for the good crew of the Esmeralda II.
True, some might call a plan a touch problematic if it requires bailing out of an airship in a single-seat experimental glider while a Venusian storm rages. If said plan also involves landing in German-controlled territory in order to meet a marginally sane geologist named Jungle Ned, one might even call the whole affair tricky.
But things go from tricky to worse when they arrive at Ned’s hideout and find it ransacked and covered with indecipherable symbols. Of Ned there is no sign other than a single hidden note: The gods brought themselves down. Before they discover its meaning, our heroes will find there is more to Venus than just peat bogs and hungry fauna. Forgotten secrets linger in the mists. And sometimes what is forgotten is still very much alive… (Goodreads)
Review:
I really enjoyed this story. It is the third book in this series and by now there is a strong connection to the great characters. The authors continues to give us insights into each ongoing character only making them more likable and complex at the same time.
The sci-fi aspect of this story is incredible. The shrimp? Yikes! I think it will be awhile before I have any of those for lunch. The wildlife on this planet was interesting and how they came to be fascinatingly inventive.
The only reason this didn’t get a 5 star rating is because, there are so many references that haven’t been explored in this particular series. Annabelle having flash backs to something that happened from when her parents died. Was it just a thought or was that part of the story written in earlier books? Also, K’chuk and Haitian rebellion??? again wasn’t sure what that was about. I think the authors were referencing back to the beginning of this series but am unsure, since I have not read last season’s books. Even with that bit of confusion, I loved the vocabulary the author uses! The writing style is wonderful and the flow of this story hit all the right marks. The way the characters figure out things was not only well written but also, done in an interesting way, that made it feel a bit like CSI, on another planet, with people that had common sense.
This story can be read as a stand alone, for just the exciting adventure and wonderful ideas, but for me I think it would help to understand the characters and story line better to read the other stories in this series along with this great, fun, thought provoking read. I really enjoyed this story.
I highly recommend this book to young adults and adults that enjoy, well thought out Sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk and character driven stories.
