Helpful Score: 1
I won't be surprised if LEVIATHAN marks the beginning of a new YA fiction trend: steampunk. LEVIATHAN has nonstop action in a world that will take your breath away.
Steampunk is a genre that occurs in an alternate historical world where most technology runs on steam, and electricity usage is sparse. The combination of Keith Thompson's beautiful illustrations and Scott's exciting prose makes the world come alive for me.
While neither Deryn nor Alek are among the most unforgettable characters I have ever read, readers will stay engaged with them because of their perilous positions. Alek may come off as whiney sometimes, while Deryn kicks major butt as a girl disguised as a boy who does the job better than most boys can. Over half of the novel occurs before they meet each other, so I am intrigued as to how their relationship and separate characters will continue to develop in the next books in the series. Likewise, supporting characters are often an uncomfortable mix of intriguing and underdeveloped. We shall see what happens to them in the later books.
My reservations about the characters aside, LEVITHAN is a worthy forefather of YA steampunk fiction. With Scott's trademark action scenes and two fairly strong protagonists, readers will not be disappointed, and will instead want much more from this new and interesting world.
Steampunk is a genre that occurs in an alternate historical world where most technology runs on steam, and electricity usage is sparse. The combination of Keith Thompson's beautiful illustrations and Scott's exciting prose makes the world come alive for me.
While neither Deryn nor Alek are among the most unforgettable characters I have ever read, readers will stay engaged with them because of their perilous positions. Alek may come off as whiney sometimes, while Deryn kicks major butt as a girl disguised as a boy who does the job better than most boys can. Over half of the novel occurs before they meet each other, so I am intrigued as to how their relationship and separate characters will continue to develop in the next books in the series. Likewise, supporting characters are often an uncomfortable mix of intriguing and underdeveloped. We shall see what happens to them in the later books.
My reservations about the characters aside, LEVITHAN is a worthy forefather of YA steampunk fiction. With Scott's trademark action scenes and two fairly strong protagonists, readers will not be disappointed, and will instead want much more from this new and interesting world.
Helpful Score: 1
Engaging and unique YA adventure!, November 8, 2009
Apparently I've been remiss in my exploration of all reading genres and missed out on this one: steampunk. Westerfeld explains in his afterward of Leviathan that it is a blending of future and past. Indeed, this novel is set in 1914 at the beginning of what comes to be known as World War I -- but in this unique tale, it is the battle of the Clankers vs the Darwinists. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans (Clankers) use weapons that are iron machines equipped with canons and guns. The British (Darwinists) have engineered weapons that are living fabricated creatures made out of multiple different species of animals, reptiles, worms, and mammals.
The story begins as young Aleksander Ferdinand, son of the Archduke and heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, is secreted out of his castle home by faithful family retainers in the middle of the night after the poisoning of his parents in Sarajevo. This band of nobles and Alek escape ahead of the warmongering Germans in their engine of war known as a Cyklop Stormwalker. In a parallel story, a girl named Deryn Sharp disguises herself as a boy in order to be accepted into the British Air Service as an airman. On her first day of training, she is stranded aloft in a Huxley airbeast but is rescued by the great whale airship, the largest in the British fleet, the Leviathan.
Prince Alek and his crew encounter some difficulty and engage in a battle or two before arriving at the designated safe house in the frozen Swiss Alps where they plan to wait out the war until Alek can safely be restored to his rightful place as heir to the Empire. Meanwhile, the Leviathan stops in London to pick up a very important passenger, Dr. Nora Barlow and her mysterious cargo, and are supposed to head to a rendezvous in the Ottoman Empire. The plot converges in the Swiss Alps when the Leviathan is injured and downed on the glacier by German pursuers. Alek and Deryn meet and urge their respective alliances to join forces to escape certain death and to elude those intent on killing them. What follows is high adventure on a newly redesigned Leviathan! Secrets still exist, however, and the final chapter ends in a way that makes the reader want to know more of the story.
There will be a second novel that will follow the Leviathan and its motley crew to the Ottoman Empire and the city of Constantinople.
I'm looking forward to the sequel. Enjoy the adventure, the fantastic science, and this tinkering with history. The illustrations, the map of the European Powers, and the cover invite closer inspection and add greatly to the story. Recommend!
Apparently I've been remiss in my exploration of all reading genres and missed out on this one: steampunk. Westerfeld explains in his afterward of Leviathan that it is a blending of future and past. Indeed, this novel is set in 1914 at the beginning of what comes to be known as World War I -- but in this unique tale, it is the battle of the Clankers vs the Darwinists. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans (Clankers) use weapons that are iron machines equipped with canons and guns. The British (Darwinists) have engineered weapons that are living fabricated creatures made out of multiple different species of animals, reptiles, worms, and mammals.
The story begins as young Aleksander Ferdinand, son of the Archduke and heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, is secreted out of his castle home by faithful family retainers in the middle of the night after the poisoning of his parents in Sarajevo. This band of nobles and Alek escape ahead of the warmongering Germans in their engine of war known as a Cyklop Stormwalker. In a parallel story, a girl named Deryn Sharp disguises herself as a boy in order to be accepted into the British Air Service as an airman. On her first day of training, she is stranded aloft in a Huxley airbeast but is rescued by the great whale airship, the largest in the British fleet, the Leviathan.
Prince Alek and his crew encounter some difficulty and engage in a battle or two before arriving at the designated safe house in the frozen Swiss Alps where they plan to wait out the war until Alek can safely be restored to his rightful place as heir to the Empire. Meanwhile, the Leviathan stops in London to pick up a very important passenger, Dr. Nora Barlow and her mysterious cargo, and are supposed to head to a rendezvous in the Ottoman Empire. The plot converges in the Swiss Alps when the Leviathan is injured and downed on the glacier by German pursuers. Alek and Deryn meet and urge their respective alliances to join forces to escape certain death and to elude those intent on killing them. What follows is high adventure on a newly redesigned Leviathan! Secrets still exist, however, and the final chapter ends in a way that makes the reader want to know more of the story.
There will be a second novel that will follow the Leviathan and its motley crew to the Ottoman Empire and the city of Constantinople.
I'm looking forward to the sequel. Enjoy the adventure, the fantastic science, and this tinkering with history. The illustrations, the map of the European Powers, and the cover invite closer inspection and add greatly to the story. Recommend!
Helpful Score: 1
This is the first book in Westerfeld's Leviathan series; I got this book through the Amazon Vine program to review. Book 2 is going to be called "Behemeth" and is planned for an October 2010 release. Not sure how many books will be in the series total. Overall, I actually liked this book quite a bit better than the "Uglies" series. I liked the character development more and thought the world-building was very well done and believable despite some unbelievable aspects (Darwin discovering how to manipulate DNA right before World War I).
The story alternates between two different characters. The first is Alek; he is a fifteen year old Austrian prince whose parents have been assassinated by Germany to destroy the peace. He is forced to flee his home country as the German's seek to finish the job, by finishing off him. The second character is Deryn, a young British girl who has disguised herself as a boy named Dylan so that she can join the British Air Service instead of staying home acting the part of a young British lady. Through a series of adventures both characters end up embroiled in World War I; and eventually meet up later in the book.
At first Alek bothered me because he was so whiny, but his character actually matured quite a bit as the story progressed. I liked Deryn a lot, she has a lot of spunk and was an all-around fun character to read about. The plot itself plods along at a consistent pace, not too exciting but it never really gets boring either. There are some good action scenes too. The strength of this book was the fascinating world that Westerfeld creates. The Austrian/German Clunkers are giant machines the somewhat resemble John Christopher's Tripods. The British giant engineering beasts are actually somewhat futuristic in their abilities. There is definitely a Steampunk theme to this book.
The illustrations by Keith Thompson are very good. They really help the reader to visualize some of the more bizarre creatures that Westerfeld introduces.
Those people who like a complete story should beware. This book merely shows the beginning of Alek's and Deryn's journeys and has them meet up towards the end of the book. Basically nothing is resolved. The book doesn't leave you at a total cliff-hanger, but it definitely doesn't end in a satisfying way either. I really wished the book had a bit more closure, now I will have to wait until next October to figure out what happens next!
Overall a good book. Should be a great read for all ages. An interesting take on World War I and great world-building. I found the characters to be more interesting and engaging than those from the Uglies series. I can't wait to learn more about the science behind the British creations. Those who are interested in another good Steampunk young adult read should check out Boneshaker by Cherie Priest; this was a great read too.
The story alternates between two different characters. The first is Alek; he is a fifteen year old Austrian prince whose parents have been assassinated by Germany to destroy the peace. He is forced to flee his home country as the German's seek to finish the job, by finishing off him. The second character is Deryn, a young British girl who has disguised herself as a boy named Dylan so that she can join the British Air Service instead of staying home acting the part of a young British lady. Through a series of adventures both characters end up embroiled in World War I; and eventually meet up later in the book.
At first Alek bothered me because he was so whiny, but his character actually matured quite a bit as the story progressed. I liked Deryn a lot, she has a lot of spunk and was an all-around fun character to read about. The plot itself plods along at a consistent pace, not too exciting but it never really gets boring either. There are some good action scenes too. The strength of this book was the fascinating world that Westerfeld creates. The Austrian/German Clunkers are giant machines the somewhat resemble John Christopher's Tripods. The British giant engineering beasts are actually somewhat futuristic in their abilities. There is definitely a Steampunk theme to this book.
The illustrations by Keith Thompson are very good. They really help the reader to visualize some of the more bizarre creatures that Westerfeld introduces.
Those people who like a complete story should beware. This book merely shows the beginning of Alek's and Deryn's journeys and has them meet up towards the end of the book. Basically nothing is resolved. The book doesn't leave you at a total cliff-hanger, but it definitely doesn't end in a satisfying way either. I really wished the book had a bit more closure, now I will have to wait until next October to figure out what happens next!
Overall a good book. Should be a great read for all ages. An interesting take on World War I and great world-building. I found the characters to be more interesting and engaging than those from the Uglies series. I can't wait to learn more about the science behind the British creations. Those who are interested in another good Steampunk young adult read should check out Boneshaker by Cherie Priest; this was a great read too.
Helpful Score: 1
My first impression of this book is that it is beautifully done. The map on the inside covers are amazing with the details and colors. Plus the illustrations throughout the book are fantastic. Full page sketches of a scene that are highly detailed and stunning. The text itself though is not written for teens but for young pre-teens, and the characters are said to be 15-16 but appear 12 or so in the illustrations. It just all sounds and feels so juvenile. They also think, sound, and act juvenile. Every decision is not quite thought through, reckless, and without understanding of consequences.
Also I don't really buy the fact that a girl dressed as a boy could really fool EVERYBODY. I mean yes, she may fool some people's eyes but there are other senses. Not mention if she was really 15 she should be way more boy crazy than she is here. Yeah it's WWI and not modern day but come on she still should have been more noticing of boys. The same goes for Alex despite the grief.
What seals the nail in the coffin that is this rubbish is the fact that there is no ending whats so ever. Yes it is a a part of a series, but even a series novel should have some sort of ending, something, anything, that answers just a single question brought up in the book. But no, not in this book. Sadly this was a horrible waste of my time.
Also I don't really buy the fact that a girl dressed as a boy could really fool EVERYBODY. I mean yes, she may fool some people's eyes but there are other senses. Not mention if she was really 15 she should be way more boy crazy than she is here. Yeah it's WWI and not modern day but come on she still should have been more noticing of boys. The same goes for Alex despite the grief.
What seals the nail in the coffin that is this rubbish is the fact that there is no ending whats so ever. Yes it is a a part of a series, but even a series novel should have some sort of ending, something, anything, that answers just a single question brought up in the book. But no, not in this book. Sadly this was a horrible waste of my time.
