Brushing my finger tips along the cracked seams of an old book, I stare in wonder at the beauties in front of me. People's whole life stories, thoughts, and creative juices are found in the most ordinary of places: the book store. Books cause a little shiver of excitement to slip down my spine and leave a dry taste in my mouth. Books, to me, are a way out of the mundane-ness of life; a secret passageway into different worlds.
Just last week I stopped in a little second hand book store. At first I was underwhelmed at the minuscule size of the shop; this was obviously no Barnes and Noble. Yet as I searched the shelves, I found that every book had a special place on the shelves among its friends in similar genres. From The Happy Hollisters to horror stories, this little place had many treasures. Though I was looking just for the sake of browsing through books, I was also intent upon finding a book that had been recommended to me weeks prior and which I had not been able to read at our library. My cousin (the person who kindly recommended I read this series) triumphantly held up the book I had been searching for: Leviathan. I, of course, excitedly grabbed the book and did a happy-dance (on the inside) :) FINALLY! (I got two other books while I was there but this was my main victim). Three books, two of which were beautifully bound classics, for $18 sounded great to me! I simply inhaled this five-dollar book over the course of two days. Now on the the review :)
If you like fantasy, historical fiction, or have any imagination or appreciation for creativity, you will love this book. Leviathan takes place during the beginning of World War I yet gives the war a twist. It is about a struggle between two different groups: the Clankers vs the Darwinists. (sounds exciting already, doesn't it!) Westerfeld definitely gets an award for creativity on this one.
The Clankers, the German and Austrian forces, are ,aster mechanics and create huge robots controlled by humans. The Darwinists, on the other hand, use fabricated "beasties" and the "circle of life" to make their air ships (unfortunately, there are some references to Evolution).
This book is about two main characters, Deryn Sharp and Prince Alekzander. Alek is the rightful heir to the throne of Austria since his great uncle has murdered his parents. Yet he cannot claim the throne yet, because his old uncle has not passed away yet. Throughout the first book, he is trying to flee from his own allies, the Germans, because he wishes to remain out of sight till his uncle dies, lest his evil uncle attempt to kill him, too. Meanwhile, Deryn Sharp pretends to be a boy so that she can fulfill her dream to become an airman on a Darwinist ship. Through a series of events she finds herself a "Midshipman" aboard the huge Darwinist ship, Leviathan. But hiding her true identity as a girl becomes harder and harder as she meets Alek an their friendship grows and they overcome their differences.
One thing I really love about this book is the characters. I love Deryn and Alek together as simply friends. Things don't get complicated with their friendship till the third and final book in the series, but I won't spoil anything :) If you love to delve into books that take you into the past while giving a twist in history, you will most definitely enjoy the Leviathan series.
ENJOY!
~Lillian Kate
