New Book Alert: The Leviathan Trial by Oliver Madison; Suspenseful Clever Mind Twisting Thriller About Breakable Family Ties

 

New Book Alert: The Leviathan Trial by Oliver Madison; Suspenseful Clever Mind Twisting Thriller About Breakable Family Ties

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Oliver Madison's The Leviathan Trial is an odd combination of The Hunger Games, Battle Royale, The Purge, and "The Most Dangerous Game," meets the Hatfields and The McCoys. It involves a sadistic game of life or death, but the participants are children in one very large, rich, multi-talented and incredibly screwed up family.

Father Benedict Lancaster is a very eccentric billionaire/recluse. At 90 years of age he lives the high life. He has homes, cars, thriving businesses, fame, infamy, and a tragic backstory to go with it. At 12 years old, he was the sole survivor of an accident that claimed the lives of his entire family leaving Benedict a very sad but wealthy young boy. (He was the sole heir to the family fortune.)

Upon adulthood, Benedict was a childless confirmed bachelor until abruptly in his 70's, he decided to adopt a child. Ultimately, he adopted 12 children from different countries.

The Lancaster children are raised in very unusual circumstances. They were left largely isolated, educated by a bevy of tutors, teachers, and coaches, until they attended the nearby Preparatory Academy where they are the subject of scrutiny, speculation, and gossip. They are ordered to socialize only with each other and to excel in one specific field.

 Benedict is hardly ever home leaving their care to an array of house servants and each other. He only returns to evaluate their performances and to reward or penalize them if they fall short of his expectations. Okay a wealthy, but distant father who expects his children to become overachievers. Nothing weird about that until they start talking about the Leviathan.

The Leviathan is a mythical creature who is their family spirit. The Lancasters pray to the Leviathan before meals and bedtime and swear total allegiance to this strange creature. Benedict often inspires and even thrives on competition between his children and allows rivalries and cliques to form because that is the way the Leviathan wants it.There are plenty of rumors that the Lancasters children are actually brainwashed members of a cult with Benedict as their leader and those rumors might be right.

The Lancaster children are a bizarre but fascinating bunch. Madison excellently personalized each character and how they interact as a family and as individuals. They are:

Pearl-The oldest at 19 and first to be adopted. She was adopted from New Zealand and is a champion skeet shooter. She is the de facto parent and mother of the group. Some believe that she is the closest thing Benedict has ever had to a wife.

Hiroshi-At 18, he was the first adopted boy. From Japan, he is a wrestling champion and the most physically athletic and strongest of the kids.

Blake-Also 18, he is from Iran and is an academic all-star. A chess champion, Blake has a sardonic attitude and often schemes against his siblings.

Cynthia-17, she is from Brazil and is an accomplished software engineer and computer programmer. She is very quiet and is known to hide her true feelings and keep to herself away from the others.

Allister-Also 17, he was adopted from Uganda. Like Pearl and Hiroshi, he is also an athlete though this time a champion fencer. He has a bad temper and somewhat inflated ego.

Zara-Also 17, she was adopted from India. She is the most star struck and is an accomplished actress, dancer, and model. She can be vain about her appearance and accomplishments describing herself as the Lancaster "family triple threat."

Troy-16, the only one adopted from the United States, he was from a Native American family. He is a culinary expert and gourmet chef. He is usually friendly and even tempered.

Levi-15, adopted from Kenya. He is very verbal as a debate champion and bookworm. He is also the book's Every Kid as he serves as the main third person narrator. Even though he is protective of some of his siblings, he isn't shy about becoming rivals with others particularly Blake and Allister.

Eden-Also 15, she is from Russia. She is a philanthropist and has organized a family foundation and charity that provides aid and assistance to underprivileged children from around the world. She has a reputation as the family do-gooder.

Mauve-13, she was adopted from Cambodia. She is a bright philosophy student but is going through a Goth stage. She is very rebellious and antagonistic towards Benedict and the other sibs.

Sion-Also 13, he was adopted from Puerto Rico. He is a founder of the chemistry club at his school and is very scientific and analytical. He is also a mischievous prankster and a bully, whose bullying sometimes extends to family members.

Helena-7, the youngest of the Lancasters and baby of the family. She was adopted from Norway and is mute. She may be autistic (though she has not been officially diagnosed, Benedict and the others just suspect that she is.) She is a complete mystery to her siblings except for Levi with whom she has developed a deep loving bond.

Yes the Lancasters are super talented, super strong, super brilliant, and super competitive. All of that plus their strange upbringing is a simmering cauldron that explodes into something super terrible.

The explosion occurs after the death of the family patriarch. Upon viewing his video will, the children learn that only one will inherit the family fortune and the title of The Great Leviathan. Who will it be? Well, it will be resolved by the children fighting each other in their locked mansion to the death. The one who is left alive will inherit the lot. Oh yeah and should they refuse, a poisonous gas will spread throughout the mansion killing everyone inside. So it's either 11 die and one lives or they all die. It's not too long before greed and survival instincts kick in and the Lancaster children become a bloodthirsty vicious bunch ready to kill the rest of their family.

The Trial itself is a truly suspenseful section as the children separate first into groups of three to outdo the others then turn on each other. There are some pretty heart stopping moments where some characters try to use physical strength to subdue each other physically while others hide in the shadows, mentally playing the different ends before they make their moves. They are also practiced at using their specific skills as means for attack and self defense.

 This is the type of book where people's real motives and ambitions come out under stress, ambition, and terror. Suddenly, that nice sweet sister of yours with whom you shared secrets will use those secrets as collateral damage before she willingly slashes your throat. Suddenly, that protective big brother who always defended you from bullies will now use that awesome strength and physical prowess to choke the life out of you. It's also the type of book where no one truly comes out clean. Even the seemingly nice characters aren't above scheming and fighting against siblings that they had long term rivalries with but are now seen as obstacles to their survival and fortune. There are even hints that the one who makes it will become as ruthless and power hungry as Dear Old Dad. 

The Leviathan Trial has some pretty clever and gut wrenching twists none of which will be revealed here but they subvert expectations and cause the Reader to rethink what had gone on before. There are some flaws notably the presence of Kitty Choi, a potential love interest for Levi that gets accidentally thrown into the Trial and does very little to advance the plot. She really only serves as the eyes and ears of the Reader to give some much needed exposition and an outsider perspective to this very odd family. If Kitty's presence was part of one of the many plot twists, it may have made sense for her to be there but she is simply a missed opportunity.

Mostly, The Leviathan Trial is a great novel that reveals that some family ties can be broken and shattered.