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yevolem's review
4.0
As part of looking at translated European novels, I came across this German one again and decided to read it. The initial reason was because it reminded me of another work that's about hunting dragons as if they were whales, Drifting Dragons, a manga that I greatly enjoy. It turned out there wasn't as much similarity as I thought there might be. It was put forth that this was a retelling of Moby Dick, which I think goes too far, though the driving narrative force is an obsessed captain who has devoted his life and that of his crew to hunting the Black Leviathan.
There's a lot about this that appealed to me, almost pandered on a personal level really, so I was able to overlook a lot of its flaws, which are numerous. Tropes abound, and there are several questionable narrative choices, but it became more and more fun over time to where I just put that all aside. If you're looking for a serious, mature, and adult fantasy that has literary aspirations, this isn't that at all. I especially liked the setting for this, which is a world covered in clouds, with floating islands all over the place, and airships powered by magical crystals. All of the magic is of the "It's magic, I don't have to explain" variety, which the text explicitly states within the story early on. There are several humanoid races, who coexist to varying degrees.
Aside from the first two chapters, which serve as the prologue, this is about a young man who joins a dragon hunting crew that has a reputation for making its crew fabulously wealthy, those who survive anyway. The entire novel is about the journey to find the Black Leviathan and what happens along the way. It's melodramatic in a way I found pleasing. A lot takes place on the airship, which I didn't mind because I liked the crew and their interactions. The coolness of the characters was the priority over anything else in terms of characterization and it worked for me in this case.
Although Perplies has written around thirty novels, this is the first of his that's been translated. He has translated novels from English to German, though translating your own work is a different matter. This is the first novel that van Cleef translated, and in an interview she said that she learned a lot, which seemed evident to me. I don't know if it was much rougher at the beginning, or if I simply became more used to it, but I feel like the book's translation quality improved as it went along. There's a second book in the same setting, though the author has stated that it's also standalone. If it's ever translated I'd read it, but that seems unlikely. Even less likely is that I'd read a machine translation. I've only read a few SFF novels translated from an European language, mostly Russian, though I plan to read more from various countries.
There's a lot about this that appealed to me, almost pandered on a personal level really, so I was able to overlook a lot of its flaws, which are numerous. Tropes abound, and there are several questionable narrative choices, but it became more and more fun over time to where I just put that all aside. If you're looking for a serious, mature, and adult fantasy that has literary aspirations, this isn't that at all. I especially liked the setting for this, which is a world covered in clouds, with floating islands all over the place, and airships powered by magical crystals. All of the magic is of the "It's magic, I don't have to explain" variety, which the text explicitly states within the story early on. There are several humanoid races, who coexist to varying degrees.
Aside from the first two chapters, which serve as the prologue, this is about a young man who joins a dragon hunting crew that has a reputation for making its crew fabulously wealthy, those who survive anyway. The entire novel is about the journey to find the Black Leviathan and what happens along the way. It's melodramatic in a way I found pleasing. A lot takes place on the airship, which I didn't mind because I liked the crew and their interactions. The coolness of the characters was the priority over anything else in terms of characterization and it worked for me in this case.
Although Perplies has written around thirty novels, this is the first of his that's been translated. He has translated novels from English to German, though translating your own work is a different matter. This is the first novel that van Cleef translated, and in an interview she said that she learned a lot, which seemed evident to me. I don't know if it was much rougher at the beginning, or if I simply became more used to it, but I feel like the book's translation quality improved as it went along. There's a second book in the same setting, though the author has stated that it's also standalone. If it's ever translated I'd read it, but that seems unlikely. Even less likely is that I'd read a machine translation. I've only read a few SFF novels translated from an European language, mostly Russian, though I plan to read more from various countries.
jejlan's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
I didn’t care for how Kris was used as a tool for Lian’s character growth. She was his anchor in hopes of him not turning out like the Captain; both are foils to each other. Also he wasn’t that interesting, he’s a very genetic character with one-dimensional hero traits that scream: yes basic man becomes a hero without hate and bloodlust destroying him. The message was good but the execution was average.
Also the huge twist of discovering Kris was a woman was so out of left field and traumatic on how Lian discovered her. This book was demoted to 2 stars because of it.
The translation was off in areas like using ‘smarted’ as a term for physical harm was so weird. Every time that popped up, it took me out of the story.
Also the huge twist of discovering Kris was a woman was so out of left field and traumatic on how Lian discovered her. This book was demoted to 2 stars because of it.
The translation was off in areas like using ‘smarted’ as a term for physical harm was so weird. Every time that popped up, it took me out of the story.
hydeinseek's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this story. I felt the ending was a little rushed, but overall this is a good story especially if you don't have time to sit though Moby Dick and love dragons!
isauldur's review against another edition
2.0
Okay, full disclosure, I didn't finish this book. I think I read like 75%. I'm still going to give it 3 stars though. At the right time, with the right mood, this can be a pretty awesome read. Moby Dick with dragons and airships. Epic!
The plot is a bit trope-heavy, though, and the characters are serviceable at best. Honestly, it kind of feels like a middle-grade book if not for the occasional violence and blood. It's a pretty straightforward story, and pretty standard.
My biggest real problem with it is the first two chapters. They give the backstory for this book's version of Captain Ahab and these chapters are so....tropey, it's kinda funny. I'd say if you want to try this book, skip them altogether. The backstory has one of the worst version of woman in the fridge I've ever read. There's also some classic "he only had one day to retirement," and the always fun "I blame myself. Curse you, beast!"
Still, the book does give an interesting take on dragons, so there's that. I'm kinda glad I picked it up. I just wish it was a tiny bit more interesting.
The plot is a bit trope-heavy, though, and the characters are serviceable at best. Honestly, it kind of feels like a middle-grade book if not for the occasional violence and blood. It's a pretty straightforward story, and pretty standard.
My biggest real problem with it is the first two chapters. They give the backstory for this book's version of Captain Ahab and these chapters are so....tropey, it's kinda funny. I'd say if you want to try this book, skip them altogether. The backstory has one of the worst version of woman in the fridge I've ever read. There's also some classic "he only had one day to retirement," and the always fun "I blame myself. Curse you, beast!"
Still, the book does give an interesting take on dragons, so there's that. I'm kinda glad I picked it up. I just wish it was a tiny bit more interesting.
pr0pheta's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i think the world building was really cool. dragons and floating islands and boats that's sick. But plot wise this was too busy. Too many ideas that never came around to something important. Death's that didn't feel like they had weight because a lack of development. A bad plot twist after a certain prison scene. Idk. A lot happens and then nothing happens or it doesn't amount to anything particularly important to the point where at the stories climax the protagonist gets called a bitch by 3 major characters, and he has nothing to prove tjem wrong or even right. it's. wonder Lían made it it out to be a dragon hunter after all
phyrre's review
5.0
You can read my full review on my blog, The Writerly Way, here.
Many thanks to Edelweiss and Tor Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Okay, look, y’all had to know I was going to read this, because not only is it about dragons, but it’s got a giant, intimidating looking dragon on the cover.
Black Leviathan is an adventure-packed, edge-of-your-seat retelling of Moby Dick … but with dragons! And a lush, expansive world that I refuse to leave, and you can’t make me. That’s it. This is me now. I belong here.
I had a few misgivings going in, because this is a translated work, and that can really be hit or miss. I had absolutely no problems with this one. Everything flowed beautifully, and mostly, I forgot entirely that it was translated, since it was so well done.
I don’t believe this is a series, and I doubt there will be more books surrounding this, but there should be. For so many reasons, and not just because I live here now and think you all should know the history of my new world. But also that, too.
My Thoughts:
- This is an expansive, intriguing world, with obvious Germanic influences, that includes a little of everything and was so easy to fall into and want to explore. Our first great glimpse of the world is in Skargakar, a coastal city whose lifeblood is the processing of dragons brought back from jägers hunting them in the Cloudmere. BUT WAIT! The world is so much freaking bigger. There are a variety of different races, all of which we get to see in action, and they have different abilities and cultures, from magic to wings, etc. Perplies did a marvelous job of simply bringing this world to life and allowing us to journey through it, all the beautiful and terrifying and curious parts of it. There’s not even any way I could really go into detail about this. You just have to see it for yourself. Talk about a book hangover, man.
- Black Leviathan is a retelling of Moby Dick, so there’s a lot one might recognize going in. But boy does this breathe new life into an old classic. Here’s where I put the customary disclaimer that it’s been way too many years since I actually read Moby Dick. Suffice it to say, I remember very little about Moby Dick, so if you’re looking for a comparison of the two, boy have you come to the wrong place. What I will say is that the overarching plot of this book, particularly as far as Captain Adaron is concerned, will be obvious because of this retelling. Did this dim my enjoyment or experience with this book? Not at all. Actually, because I knew what ultimately was in store for the good ship and crew, I was all the more excited, because who doesn’t love a final showdown? Despite turning the book on its head and making it his own, Perplies manages to keep some common themes from Moby Dick that I thought were done particularly well.
- In many ways, this is a coming of age story for Lian, our scrappy protagonist, and it was pretty much impossible not to root for him. Through the book, we get to watch Lian grow from a dutiful son, shackled to the coastal town he was born in, to someone who sets out to make his own future. There’s so much growth in his character, little by little, born by sheer necessity and determination, but it was so much fun to watch. He’s just a kid trying to make the most out of a bad situation, without any of the scars yet that have kept the other characters alive and hardened them.
- There’s a really interesting balance between foreshadowing, death, darkness, and breathtaking beauty. I mean, obviously this was going to be a dark book. You should’ve figured that out going in, but in case you didn’t, there’s widespread death and mayhem right in the first chapter. This ain’t no rose garden. Still, not everything is bleak and hopeless, even when it is. There are so many scenes of breathtaking landscapes, meeting fascinating cultures, and just some wonderful light-hearted moments or exchanges. There’s a very hopeful and uplifting undertone, despite all the cynical darkness, and the balance between the two was so poignant and well done.
- There are so many haunted and scarred people in this, and I really just wanted to know more about all of them. This could almost even be a sticking point, because we don’t actually get to find out more about them, but the fact that I was so curious and attracted to all these characters is a good thing, in my opinion. I do wish that we knew more about why they were haunted, but ultimately, these characters were so interesting that I wanted to sail with them.
- Adaron’s arc is so relatable, yet terrifying, and boy does it work well as a cautionary tale. Lian’s relationship toward the captain was a little confused … and so was mine. There were absolutely things that had me gushing over him and loving his character. The hardest thing about Adaron for me is being able to see exactly what he could have been. For me, that was the most effective thing about his character.
Sticking Points:
- I just wanted MORE … and sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes that’s not. Especially if a book is a standalone, which it appears this is? This book could have easily been another 500 pages, and it wouldn’t have felt too long to me, because there were so many things to explore. Which also meant there were so many things that weren’t explored, just by necessity, and boy did that hurt. All the characters have such a rich backstory that is touched upon and hinted at, but we never actually learn any of that backstory. One might argue that it doesn’t matter because it didn’t pertain to this plot, but I would argue that it does matter, because I want to know, darn it! TL;DR: This needs to be a series with more books. Prequels. Sequels. Spin-offs. I’m not picky. There just needs to be more.
Many thanks to Edelweiss and Tor Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
Okay, look, y’all had to know I was going to read this, because not only is it about dragons, but it’s got a giant, intimidating looking dragon on the cover.
Black Leviathan is an adventure-packed, edge-of-your-seat retelling of Moby Dick … but with dragons! And a lush, expansive world that I refuse to leave, and you can’t make me. That’s it. This is me now. I belong here.
I had a few misgivings going in, because this is a translated work, and that can really be hit or miss. I had absolutely no problems with this one. Everything flowed beautifully, and mostly, I forgot entirely that it was translated, since it was so well done.
I don’t believe this is a series, and I doubt there will be more books surrounding this, but there should be. For so many reasons, and not just because I live here now and think you all should know the history of my new world. But also that, too.
My Thoughts:
- This is an expansive, intriguing world, with obvious Germanic influences, that includes a little of everything and was so easy to fall into and want to explore. Our first great glimpse of the world is in Skargakar, a coastal city whose lifeblood is the processing of dragons brought back from jägers hunting them in the Cloudmere. BUT WAIT! The world is so much freaking bigger. There are a variety of different races, all of which we get to see in action, and they have different abilities and cultures, from magic to wings, etc. Perplies did a marvelous job of simply bringing this world to life and allowing us to journey through it, all the beautiful and terrifying and curious parts of it. There’s not even any way I could really go into detail about this. You just have to see it for yourself. Talk about a book hangover, man.
- Black Leviathan is a retelling of Moby Dick, so there’s a lot one might recognize going in. But boy does this breathe new life into an old classic. Here’s where I put the customary disclaimer that it’s been way too many years since I actually read Moby Dick. Suffice it to say, I remember very little about Moby Dick, so if you’re looking for a comparison of the two, boy have you come to the wrong place. What I will say is that the overarching plot of this book, particularly as far as Captain Adaron is concerned, will be obvious because of this retelling. Did this dim my enjoyment or experience with this book? Not at all. Actually, because I knew what ultimately was in store for the good ship and crew, I was all the more excited, because who doesn’t love a final showdown? Despite turning the book on its head and making it his own, Perplies manages to keep some common themes from Moby Dick that I thought were done particularly well.
- In many ways, this is a coming of age story for Lian, our scrappy protagonist, and it was pretty much impossible not to root for him. Through the book, we get to watch Lian grow from a dutiful son, shackled to the coastal town he was born in, to someone who sets out to make his own future. There’s so much growth in his character, little by little, born by sheer necessity and determination, but it was so much fun to watch. He’s just a kid trying to make the most out of a bad situation, without any of the scars yet that have kept the other characters alive and hardened them.
- There’s a really interesting balance between foreshadowing, death, darkness, and breathtaking beauty. I mean, obviously this was going to be a dark book. You should’ve figured that out going in, but in case you didn’t, there’s widespread death and mayhem right in the first chapter. This ain’t no rose garden. Still, not everything is bleak and hopeless, even when it is. There are so many scenes of breathtaking landscapes, meeting fascinating cultures, and just some wonderful light-hearted moments or exchanges. There’s a very hopeful and uplifting undertone, despite all the cynical darkness, and the balance between the two was so poignant and well done.
- There are so many haunted and scarred people in this, and I really just wanted to know more about all of them. This could almost even be a sticking point, because we don’t actually get to find out more about them, but the fact that I was so curious and attracted to all these characters is a good thing, in my opinion. I do wish that we knew more about why they were haunted, but ultimately, these characters were so interesting that I wanted to sail with them.
- Adaron’s arc is so relatable, yet terrifying, and boy does it work well as a cautionary tale. Lian’s relationship toward the captain was a little confused … and so was mine. There were absolutely things that had me gushing over him and loving his character. The hardest thing about Adaron for me is being able to see exactly what he could have been. For me, that was the most effective thing about his character.
Sticking Points:
- I just wanted MORE … and sometimes that’s a good thing, and sometimes that’s not. Especially if a book is a standalone, which it appears this is? This book could have easily been another 500 pages, and it wouldn’t have felt too long to me, because there were so many things to explore. Which also meant there were so many things that weren’t explored, just by necessity, and boy did that hurt. All the characters have such a rich backstory that is touched upon and hinted at, but we never actually learn any of that backstory. One might argue that it doesn’t matter because it didn’t pertain to this plot, but I would argue that it does matter, because I want to know, darn it! TL;DR: This needs to be a series with more books. Prequels. Sequels. Spin-offs. I’m not picky. There just needs to be more.
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
A fascinating retelling of Moby Dick, a very interesting fantasy book and a gripping and entertaining read.
I liked it and was hooked since the first pages.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I liked it and was hooked since the first pages.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
alibunis's review against another edition
4.0
A retelling of Moby Dick where instead of whales, it's dragons, and instead of endless chapters on whaling techniques...more dragons. A wonderful and updated look at the different ways revenge can affect your life in a beautifully detailed fantasy world (full of dragons. Did I mention the dragons? Because you guys, it's Moby Dick, but with DRAGONS).
mollybiery's review against another edition
4.0
Black Leviathan by Bernd Perplies is a German fantasy re-telling of “Moby Dick” with dragons instead of whales being translated for the first time into English by Lucy Van Cleef. The story follows the epic adventure of Captain Adaron and his crew mate Lian as they hunt for the dragon Gargantuan, hoping to avenge the lives it has taken.
Fans of Brandon Sanderson and Tolkien will love this novel. It was gritty, and riveting; a perfect blend of fantasy and folklore. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to fantasy lovers.
*I was provided a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.*
Fans of Brandon Sanderson and Tolkien will love this novel. It was gritty, and riveting; a perfect blend of fantasy and folklore. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to fantasy lovers.
*I was provided a free copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.*