LeviathanPublisher: Simon Pulse, 2009Genre: YA Steampunk
Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.
Prince Aleksander’s world has been turned upside down in a single night. His parents were killed and now he’s on the run from his own people and his enemies. As the sole heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Alek is to stay deep in the cold hell that is the Swiss Alps until the threat of war is over. But fifteen years of planning his safety retreat could never account for a Darwinist ship to fall from the sky right in front of them. Alek is too good for his own good, and decides to help the crew of the Leviathan.
Deryn Sharp enlisted in the British Air Service disguised as a boy. Deryn is not afraid to fly; she’s witty, smart, and very creative in her ways of getting around the ship. It’s her quick thinking that saves two of her crew mates, and herself when the Leviathan goes down after being severely damaged. She’s woken up by a strange boy who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, bringing medicine and supplies for the stranded crew. As he refuses to say where he came from, she has no choice but to take him hostage!
Much talking and promise keeping will be made before these two see eye to eye. Deryn suddenly feels like this strange, well mannered boy, should know she’s really a girl. But there’s no time for that! The German airships will be closing in on them soon, and they have to fix the Leviathan. Full of beasties, action, and machines, Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan is steampunk at its most creative!
The world building blew me away, with the Clankers on one side and the Darwinists on the other I never new what to expect! What new beastie or machine would make it’s appearance at the turn of a page. It was especially delightful to have Keith Thompson’s illustrations along the way. I swear, I read faster and faster just to get to all the drawings! Charming characters abound, starting with our heroes Deryn and Alek. They’re both young, brave, and a little bit reckless. The story is told in alternating chapters between these two, and I liked that I could always distinguish whose chapter it was by the language used. Deryn curses a lot, Alek—being a prince and all—is more formal. I love how by the end of this book they’ve both achieved considerable growth and learned from their ordeals. Dr. Barlow and Tazza were also favorite characters, and I hope to see more of them in the other books, because I’m sure she is hiding some very classified info. Other characters that stayed with me were the messenger lizards, the fléchette bats, Huxleys, and the Leviathan itself!
Fast paced and full of action, Leviathan is book one of the series and I’m already buzzing with energy for the other two books…which better arrive home soon! I can’t wait to be immersed once more in this steampunk world Mr. Westerfeld has created. Because it truly is a thing of wonder!
Favorite Quotes:
~Darwinists~
She remembered how Da had said London looked in the days before old Darwin had worked his magic. A pall of coal smoke had covered the entire city, along with a fog so thick that streetlamps were lit during the day. During the worst of the steam age so much soot and ash had decorated the nearby countryside that butterflies had evolved black splotches on their wings for camouflage.
Before Deryn had been born, the great coal-fired engines had been overtaken by fabricated beasties, muscles and sinews replacing boilers and gears. These days the only chimney smoke came from ovens, not huge factories, and the storm had cleared even that murk from the air.
~Clankers~
He tore his eyes away, scanning the sky. The Kondor that had bombed them was barely a hundred meters away. It was flying just above the snow, its gasbag fluttering, full of holes from the fléchette attack.
Shouts came from up on its topside. Two airmen had seen him, and were swinging the machine around.
Then Alek realized where he was standing—right in front of the walker’s breastplate, the Hapsburg coat of arms proclaiming exactly who and what he was…
An utter fool.
Before he could move, the Kondor’s machine gun erupted. Bullets rang from the walker’s steel hull and kicked up snow around his feet. Alek froze, waiting for hot metal to rip through his flesh.
