Leviathan Rising - Jonathan Green (Abaddon Books)

Lets set the scene... I´ve gone on holiday but have somehow managed to bring the British weather along with me (how do I keep managing to do this?) What I´m after is a book that will keep me entertained while the weather is bad but that I can put down the second the sun comes out. It´s a good job then that I bought Abaddon´s latest Pax Britannia adventure along with me!
Ulysses Quicksilver is back and ready to do his duty for Queen and Country; this time it`s on board the Neptune, a luxury submarine that boasts an eighty day trip round the world... in style! The voyage is only a few days old though when disaster strikes and renders Ulysses´ mission pointless. A brutal murder is followed by an act of sabotage that sends the Neptune crashing to the bottom of the sea. Not only must Ulysses, and the other passengers, make their escape but they must also deal with what`s waiting for them outside...
´Leviathan Rising´is the ideal book for that rainy day in the hotel or if you´re stuck on the runway waiting to take off. There´s so much happening on every page along with a mystery that kept me gussing pretty much until the end. Everything is larger than life and that very much includes the monsters! The heroes are dashing, the villains are evil and everything else is pretty much as you would expect from either a nineteenth century penny dreadful or an Abaddon Book. It´s entertaining and good fun, a marvelous piece of escapism into a world that could almost be our own (if it wasnºt for the dinosaurs and a 160 year old Queen Elizabeth!)
Here´s the thing though, if you´re looking for something a bit more deep and meaningful then you may want to pick another book! This is fun for fun´s sake and nothing else. I lost count of all the ´pop culture´references, including Jaws and Doctor Who amongst others, and this may irritate those who are after something more original. ´Leviathan Rising´is also your stereotypical ´murder mystery whodunnit´ and if you´re a fan of these then you will guess the ending straight away... The whole point of these books though is that they´re not meant to be original, just good ´leave your brains at the door´fun. I loved ´Leviathan Rising´but you may want to bear this in mind before you pick it up yourself...

Eight out of Ten