Leviathan
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Series: ---
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
How Received: library
The attack had almost begun when Prince Aleksandar thought he heard someone outside his door...
World War I. On one side, we have the Austro-Hungarians and the Germans with Clankers. On the other side, we have Britain with their Darwinist creatures. Caught up in it all is the Leviathan, a living airship - and the most formidable airbeast in the skies of Europe.
Aleksandar Ferdinand used to be the prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Key words: used to be. His own people have turned on him, his title is worthless, and all he has is a Clanker Stormwalker and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp hides a deadly secret from the British Air Service - he is actually a she. She's a bloody brilliant airman, but if they find out, she's out for good.
And they both somehow end up on the Leviathan...
Oh, Scott. Scott, Scott, Scott.
This was not your best work.
I love Scott Westerfeld's works, I do. Up until now, there had not been one that I didn't love or like reading all the way through. Then along came Leviathan, and along with my high hopes of the novel went his streak of books.
It's not that Leviathan is a bad book. It's got a brilliantly designed concept executed with interesting characters. For some strange reason, though, it's just not up to par with Westerfeld's other books. I can't explain it. Perhaps it's the different writing style, or the fact that his characters are a bit younger than normal.
All I can say is that I put it down about fifty pages in.
If you love books that have similar plot lines to Leviathan, definitely pick it up. It may be I just wasn't in the mood for that book at the time, or something about it was throwing me off. Who knows.
But that's that.
Final Comments: That cover kicks ass. Just saying.
~ N