Leviathan- Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan: Scott Westerfeld

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 464 pages

Genre: Steampunk, Historical Fiction

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This is World War I as never seen before. The story begins the same: on June 28, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife are assassinated, triggering a sequence of alliances that plunges the world into war. But that is where the similarity ends. This global conflict is between the Clankers, who put their faith in machines, and the Darwinists, whose technology is based on the development of new species. After the assassination of his parents, Prince Aleksandar's people turn on him. Accompanied by a small group of loyal servants, the young Clanker flees Austria in a Cyklop Stormwalker, a war machine that walks on two legs. Meanwhile, as Deryn Sharp trains to be an airman with the British Air Service, she prays that no one will discover that she is a girl. She serves on the Leviathan, a massive biological airship that resembles an enormous flying whale and functions as a self-contained ecosystem. When it crashes in Switzerland, the two teens cross paths, and suddenly the line between enemy and ally is no longer clearly defined.

Let’s just start by saying that there are a few reasons why I really enjoyed this book.

1.       1. It’s steampunk… I love steampunk.

2.       2. I’m a huge history buff and I love studying WWI

3.       3. It mixes both of these things together in an awesome alternate history!!

So for those of you out there that have every studied WWI history you will immediately notice some similarities between Leviathan and the actual history books. However, readers I’m sure will pick up on the fact that there are also some major, major differences. Let’s take for example the giant metal war machines of the Clankers  and the hybrid animal creations of the Darwinists. Personally I don’t remember learning about either of those things in history class, but hey, who knows, maybe I was off sick that day (or slept through it).

                Westerfeld wrote this book using a dual-narrative.  Although both of the stories main characters come from two completely different worlds, surprisingly they also have a lot in common. They are each trying to hide their true identity in order to survive.  Alek is forced to go into hiding because if anyone finds out that he is the true heir to the Empire he is basically done for. And as for Deryn her secret is much different but were the truth to be revealed the consequences would be equally devastating. I found both of these characters engaging and interesting.  I found Deryn to be the more mature of the pair and maybe that’s why her story was more likeable and appealing to me. Alek’s story is more suspenseful and action packed, while Deryn’s is more creative and full of mystery. But I must say that once the two storylines intersect that the plot really takes off.

                The two things that I really think that guys will enjoy about this book is the beast’s (or beasties as Deryn would call them) and the machines. Westerfeld does an excellent job describing both in such detail that it really is easy for the reader’s imagination to bring them to life They are big, strong, fast, and let’s face it the Clanker war machines are built to blow stuff up, and guys LOVE things that blow stuff up. What’s even cooler and I think guys will also love is that the book is illustrated. Keith Thompson really helps out those readers who maybe don’t have the greatest imagination by bringing to life the steampunk world that Westerfeld crafted with the black and white artwork that is scattered throughout the novel.

                Overall I think this is a great book that guys will really get a kick out of.  Westerfeld has already released the second book in this series (Behemoth) and I can’t wait to read it and review it here on the GUYde.