Leviathan

Full review at sff book review

I think I'm just not meant to understand hyped books. I've heard left, right, and center how great this trilogy is and how everybody loves it. It was cute, sure. But it was terribly lacking in character growth and even plot - so I don't see why people rave about it so much.
Maybe I am simply too old for YA literature?

That said, I did enjoy the second half of this book, when the story finally takes off, when we get to see more of the Leviathan, a great and original idea, by the way, that made the read well worth my while. Three stars only but I will read the rest of the series.

Quel plaisir de lire un tel roman ! Du Steampunk comme je l'aime : divertissant, intéressant et inspiré de l'Histoire réelle.

Scott Westerfeld imagine ici une Première Guerre Mondiale dans laquelle les deux camps s'affrontent avec des technologies très différentes : mécaniques pour l'Allemagne et l'Autriche-Hongrie avec les machines géantes, biologiques pour l'Angleterre où les découvertes de Darwin sont allées beaucoup plus loin que dans la réalité et ont permis de concevoir des animaux géants capables de voler, tels des zeppelins vivants.

Dans ce cadre original et sympathique, l'auteur nous propose de deux le destin de deux adolescents : d'une part Aleksander, le fils de l'archiduc d'Autriche dont la mort à Sarajevo au début de l'été 1914 déclenche la guerre ; d'autre part Deryn Sharpe, une jeune fille qui se fait passer pour un garçon pour être recrutée au sein de l'armée britannique.

C'est rythmé, fun, plaisant à lire : un très bon moment de détente. La suite m'attend, avec le deuxième volume de la trilogie. J'y cours !

This was such a fun, adventurous read. My first venture into the steampunk genre and it did not disappoint, of course, Leviathan is written by Scott Westerfeld so I had little doubt that I would not enjoy this book and enjoy it I did. Like a well written high fantasy I was completely mesmerized by the sci-fi world of the book as I read through the pages of Leviathan and eyed the wonderfully detailed illustrations by Keith Thompson. And what was more fantastic in my opinion was that this wasn't a high fantasy world completely made up by the author but a world that was melded into an already existing history. An altered history filled with fantastic creations made of either machinery or fabricated animal.



It's the Summer of 1914 in a world where countries are divided into Darwinists, who have war machines created from genetically engineered animals and Clankers whose machines run on oil and steam. Each side opposes the choices of the other but none of this posed a problem until the murder of Alek's parents, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie plunges the world into World War I and Alek is on the run for his own life. And while he tries to escapes from Austria to neutral territory with the chosen men Alek's father trusted with his safety, across the sea ready to take her Midshipman test is the nervous Deryn Sharp, the test isn't what has Deryn nervous however. While Alek has to keep himself hidden like a secret, Deryn has to keep her own gender a secret from the Royal Air Service just so she can fly through the skies like her brother.

Both of these characters were such great reads, both were unique in their voices and situations but both were also so wonderfully alike in their ability to adapt and react in tough situations, their ingenuity, and their young wild hearts. Deryn who was advised by her brother to “not stand out” does everything but this because she really is a brilliant airman and it's just unfair that she has to hide who she really is to do what she loves but that doesn't get her down. In fact she hardly even thinks about it and I was happy this book wasn't filled with “almost being caught” moments but showed us all what Deryn was capable of. From her abilities to her colourful dialogue and voice Deryn quickly made her way onto my favourite female MCs list.



Alek, I didn't love him as instantly and I was afraid in the beginning that I wouldn't love him as much as Deryn because he really does come off as spoiled prince but a quarter of the way through the book I quickly grew to love him too. As I said, he knows how to adapt in a tough situation even if he can't stop himself from acting like a young prince, throughout Leviathan Alek really grows and develops into his own person and changes from the boy playing with his toys on the first page. And it's not just these two who were great there were so many wonderful secondary characters that talking about them all would take too long but let me just say that they are all fleshed out and add such vibrancy and depth to this book. Mr. Westerfeld really did a great job of voicing the people to tell his version of World War I.

Also, if you don't know the history of what happened in the war it's laid out for you with ease and without horrid info dumps so you will be neither bored nor lost. In fact there wasn't a dull moment to be found in this read and I am sorry to be joining the fandom so late in the game.



**Images by Keith Thompson. A couple of the illustrations found inside Leviathan.

Hmm; I'm in two minds about this one. This reads like the first act of a good book. I realize this is a trilogy, however I prefer each book of a trilogy to at least have a definite beginning, middle and end, whereas this one felt just like a beginning. If it hadn't been for this frustration, I might have given this 4 stars, since the world is well realised and reasonably pacey, however I am not sure I could recommend this to a friend (my criteria for 4 stars) without reading the entire series. Let's call this 3.5 stars.

For readers 12 and up who want some fantastic elements to make their history more palatable, there's Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, coming out in October of this year. It's an alternative history steampunk, a sub-genre that is becoming very popular.

The book begins with two characters in very different circumstances. One is a girl, dressing up a boy, in order to join the British airforce. The other, Alek, is an Austro-Hungarian prince who's just been orphaned. The death of his parents sparks a war (World War I) and that's when things get interesting.

The book shows many different things. There's the ideological differences of nations (Germany & Austro-Hungary on one side, France, England and Russia on the other) and religious/technical differences (Darwinists vs ‘Clankers' - those who use machines). The Darwinists have created creatures from the lifethreads of various animals to perform jobs that machines do in nations that consider such tinkering abominable.

Scott Westerfeld does a great job of realizing the steampunk machines on one side of the war as well as the more interesting ‘beasties' on the other. My only complaint here is that the description of the airship Leviathan isn't as detailed as I would have liked. It was hard for me to picture some of the aspects of the beast. Maybe a cross-section diagram of the ship would have helped in this respect.

Speaking of diagrams, the gorgeous artwork throughout the book by Keith Thompson really brings the story to life. Seeing the beasties, the mechanical walker and the characters helps one better enter this world.

Beyond that, the story was tight and fast paced, though I found Alek a little tiresome as the book wore on. He never seemed to learn from his mistakes - always acting first and thinking later. Which isn't out of character as he's only 15. As an adult I simply wanted him to smarten up a bit.

Be prepared to wait for the sequal. This is a great beginning, explaining the background to the war, the people and all of the technologies involved. There's definitely more to come.

And the coup de grace? Westerfeld has an afterward explaining the actual history vs his imagined one - so kids can have a fun story and learn what was true and what wasn't. And it's an interesting mix.

When I spotted this book on the shelf of a local bookstore a few years ago, I thought it was one of the most beautiful covers I had ever seen. I know that the old adage goes that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but when it is meant in the literal sense of judging an actual book by its cover, I think a lot of readers will freely admit to judging some of their books based on cover alone only to discover that the contents do not quite match the loveliness of the outside, or - if they are lucky - that the contents exceed the packaging.

Leviathan was definitely a case of the latter. I had read the blurb on the back and on the inside flap of the dust jacket (I bought it in hardcover - I really couldn't resist), and thought it was interesting enough, I will admit to picking it up just because I liked the cover. Fortunately, the content was more than enough to justify spending extra for the hardcover copy.

Leviathan is a steampunk YA novel, set at the very beginning of World War I. In this particular iteration of history, the European powers are divided into two: the Clankers and the Darwinists. There is a map on the inside cover of the book that shows this division clearly, but in essence: the Clankers are represented by Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, while the Darwinists are represented by England, France, and Russia. The terms “Clanker” and “Darwinist” represent the sort of technology each nation uses. The Clankers specialize in iron and steel machinery - basically the kind we would automatically recognize when one uses the term “machinery” - with their skill culminating in the creation of “walkers:” giant robotic machines that can range in size from “big enough for one person” to “big enough for an entire platoon,” and with purposes ranging from pleasure and entertainment to machines of war.

The Darwinists, on the other hand, use a different kind of technology altogether. To understand why they are called “Darwinists,” one must go several years back to Charles Darwin, and begin with his theory of evolution and how he reached it. However, instead of just stopping at evolution, Darwin also discovered the concept of - and more importantly, the manipulation and combination of - so-called “life threads:” what anyone with a working knowledge of science will immediately recognize as DNA. Thanks to Darwin, the Darwinists are capable of manipulating animals and plants to their own purposes, creating the biological machinery that is the basis for their culture. And just as the walker is the culmination of Clanker technology, the high point of Darwinist technology is the living airship - a large creature based on a whale, but whose interior is actually a combination of many different animals, all taking care of itself with minimal human interference, in the same way a natural ecosystem is able to balance and take care of itself. The Darwinists believe in an “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” philosophy, so if Mother Nature has already come up with a solution to a particular problem, they only need to appropriate it for their own purposes, not change it.

Such different viewpoints mean that conflict is inevitable. The Clankers view the Darwinists as godless folk, twisting creation to suit their purposes, whereas the Darwinists view the Clankers as soulless machines working against Nature. So when the storm of World War I approaches, and explodes with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo, the two sides clash in a titanic conflict of forged metal versus fabricated flesh.

In the middle of all this are the novel's two protagonists: Prince Aleksandar, only child and thus heir of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (his factual children do not exist); and Deryn Sharp, a girl who pretends to be a boy named Dylan Sharp so she can serve in Britain's Royal Air Navy. Aleksandar (or Alek) is a Clanker, and heir to the throne of one of the most powerful Clanker nations. Deryn (or Dylan) is a Scottish girl pretending to be a boy in order to serve in the Darwinist nations' most powerful airforce. The first half of the book concerns their actions apart, but the moment they meet, everything changes, and the friendship they develop becomes the lynchpin upon which the rest of the story stands.

When so much rests almost entirely on two characters, said characters ought to be interesting, engaging ones, and they are. Aleksandar is difficult to like at first, though this slowly fades away as he develops as a character, becoming less a whiny princeling and more a proper leader of men. His progress from the former into the latter is fascinating and enjoyable to watch, and will please those who enjoy a good coming-of-age story.

Deryn, on the other hand, is almost immediately likable. She has spunk, courage, intelligence, and a great deal of common sense - all of which are characteristics I absolutely love in female characters. When she is in trouble, she is capable of taking care of herself, and moreover, taking care of whoever else gets into trouble with her (though to be fair, she doesn't go looking for trouble; it just happens).

But, interesting as Alek and Deryn are on their own, it's when they meet and become friends that they become even more interesting. Alek's development progresses along at a faster clip when he becomes friends with Deryn, and Deryn finally runs into something that is more trouble than she thinks it's worth. Although there is some mistrust initially, that evaporates quickly enough as they learn to trust each other, especially in the climax when Alek (and the aforementioned loyal retainers) help Deryn (and the titular Leviathan) get out of a whole mountain of trouble. Thus bonded by fire and conflict, they become almost inseparable - something which will prove crucial as they head towards Istanbul/Constantinople, the story of which is told in the second book, Behemoth.

Interesting as all of this is, I don't think Leviathan would have deserved the five stars I gave it if it were not for the beautiful illustrations created by Keith Thompson. The map I mentioned earlier appears in gorgeous full-color in the hardcover editions, which is why I encourage readers to buy the hardcover if only for that. The interior black-and-white illustrations are just as gorgeous, and give the reader an excellent idea of what the Darwinist beasties and Clanker walkers must look like. I find that the steampunk genre in general could greatly benefit from the use of illustrations in novels - they add that extra punch when trying to visualize the world being described in the story.

Leviathan is only the promising first part in a fantastic trilogy. The characters are engaging and fun, and the world (especially as presented by Thompson's beautiful illustrations) is easy to get lost in. This is steampunk at some of its finest and most accessible, and is a series that should not be missed.