3.5 stars. Originally posted at Fantasy Literature.http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...The Digging Leviathan is the first book in James P. Blaylock’s LANGDON ST. IVES/NARBONDO series. I’ve been reading these out of order, which doesn’t seem to matter. The books have some overlapping characters, settings, and/or concepts, but each stands alone. The Digging Leviathan features two teenage boys, Jim Hastings and Giles Peach, who are living on the coast of Southern California during the mid-20th century. Each is a dreamer and each has his own “issues” involving his father.Jim lives with his uncle Edward St. Ives (who, I’m assuming, is a direct descendant of Langdon St. Ives, the eccentric Victorian scientist who stars in several of the books in this series) because Jim’s mother is dead and his father is insane. (Or is he?) Most of the time Jim’s father lives in a mental hospital, but when he manages to escape (a regular occurrence), he comes home until Dr. Hilario Frosticus (one of Dr. Narbondo’s incarnations, I presume) manages to find him and take him away again. While at home, Jim’s dad oversees animal experiments which he hopes will support his peculiar theories about evolution and civilization. He’s also trying to get a short story published in Analog.Giles’ father, on the other hand, has been missing for years. Giles, who has webbed fingers and a set of gills on his neck, suspects that his dad turned into a fish and swam down a subterranean aquatic tunnel which leads to the center of the earth. Desperately trying to find his father, Giles is building a tunneling machine called The Digging Leviathan. Jim doesn’t believe Giles, of course. He thinks Giles gets his bizarre ideas from all the Edgar Rice Burroughs and Jules Verne novels he reads. But, strangely, other men are interested in Giles’ plans. Some hope to use Giles’ machine to discover the secret to immortality. Some are afraid that Giles will destroy the earth. Do they have some reason to believe that Giles is on to something?What I’ve described is the essential plot of The Digging Leviathan, but readers who are familiar with James P. Blaylock won’t be surprised to be told that it doesn’t seem like this book was written for the main purpose of telling a story about tunneling to the center of the earth. Instead, Blaylock uses the plot as an excuse to entertain us with the antics of his quirky but loveable characters and, perhaps, to touch our hearts as we watch two boys longing for a “normal” relationship with their fathers.Blaylock’s funniest character is Jim’s father who seems like (but maybe isn’t) a paranoid schizophrenic. He believes that his neighbor — a little old lady in curlers and a bathrobe — is conspiring against him with the gardener. He imagines that every night they hoist her dog over the fence so it can defecate in the Hastings’ yard. He also suspects that the man who drives the ice cream truck is a spy. In the backyard shed, Jim’s father attempts to breed mice and axolotls, hoping he can get the mice to devolve into an aquatic species. He dresses them in doll clothes to test his Civilization Theory. Mr. Hastings’ ideas are funny to consider and Blaylock gets to send escaped dressed-up axolotls running through some of his scenes. Hilarious!Creating and entertaining us with his neurotic characters is what Blaylock does best. As if they’re in a Monty Python sketch, they’re constantly (and I’m taking these verbs right out of the story) dashing, springing, jumping, cursing, tripping, lurching, falling, stumbling, spying, sneaking, creeping, lurking, and peering in windows. Readers who love John Cleese’s brand of humor will probably be delighted with The Digging Leviathan (and the other LANGDON ST. IVES books). Readers who don’t, probably won’t. I do love Blaylock’s sense of humor, though I have to say that the silliness goes on a little too long in several scenes of The Digging Leviathan.There’s more to The Digging Leviathan than the quirkiness I’ve described. The story is also about familial love. It was the loss of Jim’s mother that probably sent his father over the edge. The bond that Jim and his father still have, and Giles’ desire to find his own father, is sweet and poignant.I listened to Audible Studio’s version of The Digging Leviathan. It’s 10.5 hours long and performed by Christopher Ragland, who obviously gets Blaylock’s brand of humor. I enjoyed his performance, and I thought it got better and better as it went on.
Представьте себе, что Эдгару По довелось переписать “Нейроманта” Уильяма Гибсона. Или лучше – Чарльзу Диккенсу времен Пиквика поручили переделать с нуля всего Лавкрафта. Эта книга – результат подобного эксперимента, который при этом трудно назвать также постмодернистским или пародийным. Про эту книгу вообще очень трудно говорить что-либо внятное и ультимативное. Она настолько сильно в себе, что явно потребует своей первой перечитки еще до наступления Нового Года.Итак, действие книги разворачивается в Лос-Анжелесе 1964 года. Самом обыкновенном Лос-Анжелесе, но не с самыми обыкновенными людьми. Надо сказать, что членов местного ньютонианского клуба трудно назвать простыми американцами. Им плевать на фильмы с Мэрилин Монро, карибский кризис и убийство президента Кеннеди, так как в их мире уже много лет превалируют совершенно иные ценности. Они – маньяки от науки, настоящие психи и настоящие гении, которые готовы пожертвовать собственной жизнью ради поисков бабочки неизвестного вида или встречи с живым антарктическим ктулху.Сюжет осложняется тем, что все происходящее в клубе и за его пределами передается читателю через призму восприятия 14-летнего Джима Гастингса, чей безумный отец Уильям и дядя Эдвард Сент-Ив являются одними из самых активных членов этого клуба. Персона Джима выбрана совершенно не случайно, так как причиной всех неприятностей, из-за которых едва не погиб наш мир, стал лучший друг Джима – странный подросток по имени Гил Пич. Молчаливый и нелюдимый мальчик с настоящими жабрами, наследник династий Инсмута, наделенный способностью изменять окружающую его реальность по собственному желанию. Оказавшись под влиянием жуткого нелюдя Хиларио Фростикоса, мальчик проникся идеей создание Подземного Левиафана, при помощи которого он смог бы попасть в центр земли и найти там своих дальних родственников. (2006.08.14)
What do You think about The Digging Leviathan (2002)?
So this started off slow but then got better and better as I got to know the characters and understand what was happening. When I read the back blurb I really thought that the characters were going to be immersed in a world like Pellucidar but instead it ended up being a bunch of crazy old men running around trying to solve mysteries and save the world.It's reminiscent of "Cloud Atlas" though I've only seen the movie so I'm not sure how the book handled the "senior citizen revolt" and obviously this came out way before Cloud Atlas.I REALLY loved the cover art on my paperback and now I'm disappointed to find that the hardcovers have other (lesser) art. It just has that kind of Norman Rockwell on acid vibe that EXACTLY fits the tone of the book.
—Shane
Since I just finished "The Anubis Gates", and am on a bit of a William Ashbless kick, I decided it was high time to re-read this little gem. I'm finding that Powers, while I enjoy his work, is a bit more "rough and ready" and "gritty", whilst Blaylock, equally fantastical, is a bit gentler and sweeter. A bit more my speed.Update: Just finished it (for the third or fourth time, I guess). It amazes me how much I've missed. It was almost like reading a completely new, fresh tale. Maybe I'm just learning to slow down a bit and savor the magic.
—Neb
I am a big fan of Blaylock and his St. Ives adventures, in particular. Some of his early stories are hard to get into, including this one. In fact, I had to push myself through the first half of the book. In my opinion, it was likely easier for me to get through than for a first-time Blaylock reader. For that reason, I am disappointed in the overly-disjointed nature of the novel. Although this approach may be consistent with the plot, what little there is, it will likely prevent many first-time readers from finishing the book, or, more likely, from exploring some of Blaylock's better works.One other significant issue I had throughout 80+% of the novel is that the protagonist's sanity is in question throughout the book. However, we are expected to follow some of the bits of logics hiding within his ranting (or are we?)... I spent most of my time thinking 'Huh?', and 'What the...?'...Having said that, there are bright points, especially if you are into dry humor... ;)
—Tom
