Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld is a well-known YA author, most notably for his “Uglies” series. Leviathan is the first book in the YA “Leviathan” trilogy. Set in a steampunk world during the equivalent of our First World War, it focuses on the story of two teenagers – one in Britain and one in the Austria-Hungary empire.

Rich in details, it is a fast-paced, interesting story that takes us through the very early days of a potential war between the Darwinists (Britain), who have bred amazing animal hybrids (“fabrications”), and The Clankers (Germans), who rely exclusively on fantastical mechanical machines. At the beginning of the novel, the other Euro-Asian countries have begun either to take sides or negotiate their loyalties.

As the first book in the trilogy, it does an excellent job of setting up the world, the politics, and the origin story of the two heroes: Deryn, a girl disguised as a boy so she can be in the British Air Service, and Prince Aleksander, the heir to the Austria-Hungary empire, in hiding ever since his parents were murdered for political purposes.

The story of the two heroes, initially related separately, converges early on and does not bog down with sentiment. Deryn (under the name Dylan) is well-drawn and engaging. She plunges head-long into adventures and her exploits keep you turning the pages. Alek, the secret heir, is true to type: a bit spoiled and naïve about how the world works, having been raised in the sheltered world of royalty. To its credit, the narrative does not linger on this aspect unduly, only as an opportunity to introduce another element of the “real” world on the brink of war.

Despite some detailed discussions of the animal hybrids and the machines, the reader is drawn into this fantastical world, the intrepid heroes, and the political machinations of the various factions. The main story of the teens will keep young adults interested, and the plausible alternate political history will interest adults.

It was a good page-turner that had me keen to pick up the second book in series: Behemoth.… (lisätietoja)

This YA novel is the second in the “Leviathan” trilogy and takes up within days after the first book, Leviathan, leaves off. As in the first book, it is written from the perspective of the two protagonists: Deryn Sharp, a midshipman who disguised herself as a boy in order to join the British Air Service, and Prince Aleksander, the heir to the Austria-Hungary Empire, in hiding from those who murdered his parents for political gain.

Set mostly in Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire’s seat of government, it deals with the political gamesmanship between Germany (“the Clankers”) and Britain (“the Darwinists”) as they attempt to secure the support – or at least declared neutrality – of the Ottoman Empire in their recently declared war.

The plot centers around the exploits of Deryn (called Dylan, as part of her disguise) as she completes spectacular feats of heroism to save her shipmates, plant bioweapons, and help bring down the enemy’s weaponry. Alek fares less well in this episode. He is still too much in himself regarding his breeding and royal upbringing, giving himself away at almost every turn. Fortunately, he falls in with the sympathetic and wily revolutionaries in Istanbul (“we do not refer to it as Constantinople”) who are trying to remove the German influence in their country and depose the corrupt sultan.

This book describes in more detail the “fabrications” of the Darwinists and the machines of the Clankers, and does a fine job of interweaving actual historical events and the “alternate” history of a Darwinist vs Clanker political divide. It also reveals the deepening feelings Deryn has for Alek.

Behemoth continues to maintain the fast pace and light tone began in Leviathan that made it an enjoyable read both for teens and adults. I was keen to pick up the third book – Goliath – more to see how the relationship between Deryn and Alek resolves than how the war itself will end.… (lisätietoja)

This is the third book in the “Leviathan” trilogy, written by well-known YA author Scott Westerfeld. I have positively reviewed the first book (Leviathan) and the second book (Behemoth) in previous blog posts. Well-written and fast-paced, I was engaged in his steampunk world, and anxious to know how his main protagonist (Deryn) has fared.

Set shortly after Behemoth, the British Air Service’s airship Leviathan is given orders to pick up “special cargo” in Russia as the war between the Darwinists (Britain, France, Russia) and the Clankers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Serbia) rages on. It is rumoured to be a formidable weapon that could irrevocably change the balance of power throughout the world.

Once the package is acquired, the orders are now to sail across the Pacific ocean and the United States (who are not yet involved in this war) to deliver it to New York. The Hearst media empire and Mexico’s Pancho Villa figure into the story in both a believable and cynical way.

Up to her usual heroics, Deryn finally gets seriously hurt after performing a daring feat of flying. Knowing it is the last book in the series, we feel real peril on her behalf. After all she has gone through in order to be in the British Air Service, is this now the end of her career? Will she cause the disgrace of her family and the entire British Admiralty when her secret is discovered?

Alek is pursuing his own single-minded agenda to end the war. He feels the personal responsibility deeply and does not consider either the counsel of his advisor Count Volger or the concerns of his men. He is also quite oblivious to Deryn’s affection for him.

In addition to the usual cast of characters, we are reintroduced to several of the characters from earlier in the series, each playing a pivotal role at points throughout the book.

In the first book, Dr. Barlow – granddaughter of Charles Darwin – is carefully nursing a set of eggs. In the second book, the eggs hatch and one of the animals “imprints” onto Alek. In this book, the animal, a perspicacious loris, is a prominent character never far from Alek’s side. It regularly repeats a word it has recently heard, chatters with the other loris, but has no effective contribution to the plot. These utterances, while occasionally interesting, rarely provide usable clues to what is going on or about to happen. As they are used it is more of a distraction to the reader.

This is the weakest of the three books, throwing improbable obstacles in the way of our two heroes. The resolution of the potential romance between Deryn and Alek is handled unevenly and given a hurried-feeling and a contrived resolution. Whereas the first two books were strongly character-driven, this has them act not in ways they normally would, but in ways they had to for the story.

I heartily recommend the series for any YA readers, steampunk fans, and lovers of intelligent, adventurous female heroes.… (lisätietoja)