Unto Leviathan is, and I have a feeling will be, one of the strangest books ever to
have been written in the science fiction mould. The storyline involves a star ship known as
Arganos whose original mission was to find a suitable planet to offload it
many passengers. However, now thanks to the politics of the ruling classes known
as the upsiders, they are reluctant to allow the oppressed downsiders to leave.
Bartolomeo Aguilera, a man born deformed onboard this ship overcame the odds thanks
to his robotic exoskeleton is the novel's central character. The ships captain is involved
in a power struggle with a man known as Bishop Soldano who preaches that the ship
ultimate aim is to forever roam the stars without finding a home for the downsiders.
However, a planet is found and without giving away the plot things start to get
interesting. This book has a subtle and understated plot which simmers, subplots
which give the ship's entire crew a menacing edge, texts and subtext's involving
Bishop Soldano's grasp and need for power combined with his apparent atheism.
Nikos Costa, the captain, belief in his abilities has been shattered. Bartolomeo
Aguilera personal suffering combined with that of the downsiders conveys a ineluctable
and desperate wanting of a need to truly belong on this directionless stellar voyage.
It's a thought provoking novel, but it is also very, very strange.
