Leviathan book review~priddymomma

Hello readers!  Welcome to our first book review!  So glad you could make it.  This week, we’re discussing the first book in a trilogy, a book by the name of

LEVIATHAN

By Scott Westerfeld

I read The Uglies series by Westerfeld and adored them all.  Well, maybe not Specials as much, but you get the idea.  He captivated my imagination with his ideas for the dystopian series.  I thought I'd really enjoy another series he had written, so I picked up Leviathan.

I’ll start you off with a quote:

“So Leviathan is as much about possible futures as alternate pasts.  It looks ahead to when machines will look like living creatures, and living creatures can be fabricated like machines.  And yet the setting also recalls an earlier time in which the world was divided into aristocrats and commoners, and women in most countries couldn’t join the armed forces-or even vote.  That’s the nature of steampunk, blending future and past.” ~Scott Westerfeld

That pretty much spells it out for you!  Leviathan is a steampunk novel set at the onslaught of WWI.  There are transformer-esque Clanker machines fighting with Darwinist mutant-hybrid animal fabrications TO THE DEATH!!!  Or whatever.  It’s WWI!  The characters are imagined (for the most part, though some are based on real historical figures), but the basic political motivations are the same as is believed in reality. 

illustration from scottwesterfeld.com

Our story begins in two parts, following young Deryn Sharp as she disguises herself as a boy in order to become a member of the British Air Service, and Aleksandar Ferdinand, whom is on the run for political reasons and just happens to be a prince to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  Naturally, the two near-enemies cross paths and life gets interesting.

Oh.  And there's a thylacine.  Gotta love those thylacines!

 

I rate this book three out of five stars.  It was good, but not fantastic.  I love the historical fiction genre.  It is such a great way to get kids (and adults!) interested in history.  This is also the first steampunk I’ve read.  I spent the first one hundred pages or so trying to visualize the creations I was reading about.  There are illustrations, but I still couldn’t really wrap my head around the concepts of these things.  Transformer-like Clanker machines are one thing; a genetically constructed whale air ship is something completely different!  Once the storyline started moving, I really started to get into it.  I balked a bit at the political lines running throughout (boring!), which is ironic since that was the part with the historical, and therefore educational, context. 

I was exactly the opposite from Tori with regards to favorite characters.  I started out liking Deryn much more than snobbish, pampered Alek, but Alek redeemed himself, and Deryn continued along her show-boatish ways.  I think Alek had the greater moral fiber between the two of them.  I do agree that the characters balance each other out, and as is inevitable with this type of novel, Deryn begins to fall for Alek.  She moons over him a bit.  I actually appreciate the fawning-over-a-boy episode, because she screws up because of it.  Wake up, daydreamers!

I will say the storyline was amazingly creative!  I have no idea how Westerfeld dreamed this up, but it is astonishing.  The way everything works together on the Leviathan air ship, for instance, right down to the bumblebees, is a work of art.

The ending was awful though.  It annoyed me to no end.  I’ve waited to type up this review before picking up the sequel.  Go ahead and give this novel a read!  I enjoyed it, and it was fairly funny at times.  I particularly enjoy the usage of “bumrag” as an insult.  It’s just so eloquent, doncha think? 

I hear a lot of people adore the cover art.  Perhaps I have no eye for art, but I didn’t find it particularly engaging.  What about you guys?  Have you read the book?  What are your thoughts?  Any bumrags out there? 

Leviathan ~ Tori's Review

This week we are doing a book review on a common book that we've all read. This time we are reading:

::From the back of the book::
It is the cusp of World War I. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ genetically fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship, and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.
Aleksandar Ferdinand, a Clanker, and Deryn Sharp, a Darwinist, are on opposite sides of the war. But their paths cross in the most unexpected way, taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure….One that will change both their lives forever.

::My thoughts::
I have been waiting to read this book for quite some time. While I did enjoy this book, I was a tad disappointed at the flow. It seemed to take awhile to get off the ground.
The fantasy aspect of this book is truly captivating. It's filled with interesting machines, crazy bizarre animals, etc. Plus it puts a whole new spin on World War I like you could never even imagine in your wildest dreams. Thus we discover Steampunk novels!
The mystery of DNA has been discovered and is being manipulated to create all sorts of crossbred animals that will have your mind reeling.
I enjoyed the two main characters Deryn and Alek, although I admit I liked Deryn better. I found Alek to be annoying, while Deryn was more likable and humble. Deryn hiding that she is a girl also kept me captivated, and you just can't put aside how these two lives intertwine with one another. The fact that they each come from different sides and face so many hardships, yet set aside their differences in the name of true friendship is just amazing. The two characters really balance each other out and I felt that was a wonderful touch for the novel.
By the middle of the book I was just so intrigued to see how it would all end up I could hardly stop reading.
There are illustrations within the book that really help fuel the imagination, and brings the story to life.
I can't wait to read the next book though. The ending left me hanging. Make sure your not in the library where it's quite when finishing this book. I wanted to scream at the ending because of how it left me hanging.

Now I can't give anymore away without spoiling the whole book for you so I will leave you with this last advice:
If you enjoy YA Steampunk fiction where history is twisted into imagination this book is definietely worth checking out.


Stay tuned for Priddymomma & Leslie's thoughts on this book. And as always email us at thecaseofthemissingcheerios (at) gmail (dot) com with any post requests, or comment below. :)