Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Published: October 6th 2009
Publisher: Vintage
Pages hardcover: 440  

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.

Leviathan is the first steampunk book I've read in my life and I really, really enjoyed it. The concept of the book is very cool. The whole idea of steampunk is that the society is far ahead of its time. The book is set in World War I, but instead of having the Allies and the Central Powers like we're used to, you have the Darwinists and the Clankers. The Allies experimented with the DNA of animals and now they have these incredible beasts that they use as weapons. The Clankers, on the other hand, have very experienced technology. They have gigantic robots as weapons. In most books the steampunk aspect has to do with technology, but this time it also had to do with nature, DNA and genetics. 


I love reading about the World Wars and especially with this new take on it. It made it all really exciting for me. The world building was phenomenal and I could picture everything in my head (but there are these amazing pictures in the book if you need help). The book is action packed and hard to put down.


Then there are these amazing characters. In the beginning of the book the Archduke Frans Ferdinand and his wife Sofia are killed in Sarajevo. With four of his father best trusted servants Alexander escapes from Austria. At that moment he is just a little boy, 16 but mentally just 12. In the few weeks that follow you see him change, growe up and making decicions on his own. I really loved him. In the beginning I just wanted to hold him, but in the end I admired him. He is loyal, good-hearted and clever. Then you have Deryn, a 15 year old English girl that passes as a 16 year old boy called Dylan to join the airforce. On her first day with the airforce she boards the big airship the Leviathan. There she is the bravest one of them all. She is so though that I almost felt like I was reading about a boy, but at some moments you can still see she's a girl which I really liked. She has a big love for flying and for the beast and you could sense that through the book. 


Scott Westerfeld is an amazing author. I've read Uglies too, but I liked this book so much more. The creativity in this book with the Darwinists was amazing and he created some great protagonist. However the ending seemed a little abruptly and I would like to see the relationship of Alek and Deryn grow more. Thankfully, there is a second book called Behemoth and a third book called Goliath. I will be picking up Behemoth soon. 


Leviathan was an excellent read that I would definitely recommend. 


4 out of 5 stars.