Behemoth, by Jonathan C. Leicht

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Two different groups of scientists end up on the search of a lifetime, looking for elusive creatures that would totally change the creation vs. evolution debate. Without knowing the other team exists, each group experiences the splendor and danger of Africa's wild side in the hunt for these animals.

I happen to agree with the author's creationist worldview, and I learned a lot about the arguments in each camp from this story. However, the book would probably have been half as many pages if the main characters'--scientists--speeches defending creationism weren't quite so lengthy. As much as I enjoyed the exciting plot, I often felt as if I was reading a textbook on how to combat the arguments of the theory of evolution. I didn't mind that too much, but I recognize that some might.  It's also a good reason that Behemoth would make for great supplemental reading to a middle or high school science curriculum, as the students would probably prefer to learn those facts through a fictional novel rather than in a textbook. For someone looking to read strictly for entertainment, the agenda behind the story could become tiresome, but as I said, I enjoyed what I learned and stayed interested in the story line.

Without spoiling the details, let me add that some of the twists in the plot were a little unbelievable, feeling a bit rushed, but this is something a teen reader might overlook. I would definitely recommend this book to that age group.

I received this book free from the publisher through BookSneeze®.com in exchange for an honest review.

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