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kathydavie's review
4.0
Third and last in the Leviathan children's steampunk series inspired by the events leading up to World War I and revolving around the friendship between the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and an aviation midshipman, er, -woman.
This was a bit slow to get started especially compared to the first two in the series but I thoroughly enjoyed Westerfeld's extrapolation of history as he combines it with the politics of technology whether it's Clankers or Darwin. The contrast between the two is fascinating with the Clankers using metal, electrikals, anything man-made while the Darwinists tweak organic life forms to perform the same feats.
Interesting to bring Nikola Tesla into this and push Edison into the background while playing up the showmanship of the time. The take Westerfeld had on Hearst and his San Simeon estate with his obsession with creating his own news was pretty funny as well.
I was a bit disappointed with the ending. It was too sweet! And just when I was enjoying the light relief provided by the perspicacious lorises! Still and all, between the main plot of preventing war, the lesser plots made this a fun read. Dylan trying to hide the truth of her sex as she glories in the excitement of working on an airship. The interactions with Alek as she tries to tell him the truth. The adventures resulting from their interactions with the outside: Tesla, the Austro-Hungarian battleship, Hearst and his film crews as well as Pancho Villa's surprises, followed by the attacks in New York keep things hopping.
With just a hint of Young Frankenstein...
Fresh from aiding the Ottoman Empire rebellion, the Leviathan is sent to Japan as a show of support only to get sidelined to Siberia to rescue Nikola Tesla where he and his men have been stranded as Tesla completes a test. it's a dangerous rescue as Tesla is insistent upon carrying all his luggage in the face of marauding bears and an overloaded Leviathan.
Their opportunity to wave the flag and "prove" that only the British can save the day comes up quickly followed by a demonstration by Tesla that encourages the British to order Leviathan to New York so that Tesla can further his experiments on Goliath. A course that proves perilous what with sabotage over Mexico and attacks in New York and the threat of Dylan's exposure to the world.
Deryn/Dylan Sharp is a girl masquerading as a boy in order to work on an airship. Passionate for her work and a clever, innovative middy, Dylan is a real lifesaver in so many ways.
His Serene Highness Prince Aleksandar "Alek" of Hohenburg is the only surviving member of his immediate family since his granduncle, the emperor, conspired to have his parents, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, murdered. Alek is carrying a special dispensation from the Pope recognizing him as the legitimate heir to the emperor. Count Volger is Alek's tutor/minder as well as fencing instructor. He always has his eye on the main chance for Alek. Pretty lucky for the kid, really. Other attendants include Bauer, Hans, and Klopp who help keep the Clunker engines on Leviathin operating.
Fellow crew on the Leviathan includes Newkirk; Dr. Busk, the ship's surgeon; and, Mr. Rigby, the bosun.
Dr. Barlow is the boffin they picked up in London back in Leviathan with her pet thylacine, Tazza, whom Dylan walks every morning. Bovril is one of the two surviving secrets with a constantly evolving mindset.
Mr. Hearst, Miss Adela Rogers, one of his San Francisco paper reporters, and Philip Francis, a newsreel reporter; Eddie Malone, the reporter from their Ottoman adventures (see Behemoth); and, Pancho Villa and his men who take advantage of Hearst's sabotage of the Leviathan. Lilit (also from Behemoth) makes a brief appearance to pass on a warning.
The cover has the feel of an old oil portrait with its slight crazing and the style used to portray the aristocratic Prince Alek in his leather and goggles and Middy Dylan in her aviator jacket, helmet, and goggles. The background has a metallic sheen to it with its green-yellow sifting clouds and a Darwin flying machine in the upper right corner. Chains and gears frame an emperor's crown in a horizontal border just below the middle with a raised-type effect for the title and author's name.
The title is the entire focus of the story, a Goliath of a weapon.
My Take
This was a bit slow to get started especially compared to the first two in the series but I thoroughly enjoyed Westerfeld's extrapolation of history as he combines it with the politics of technology whether it's Clankers or Darwin. The contrast between the two is fascinating with the Clankers using metal, electrikals, anything man-made while the Darwinists tweak organic life forms to perform the same feats.
Interesting to bring Nikola Tesla into this and push Edison into the background while playing up the showmanship of the time. The take Westerfeld had on Hearst and his San Simeon estate with his obsession with creating his own news was pretty funny as well.
I was a bit disappointed with the ending. It was too sweet! And just when I was enjoying the light relief provided by the perspicacious lorises! Still and all, between the main plot of preventing war, the lesser plots made this a fun read. Dylan trying to hide the truth of her sex as she glories in the excitement of working on an airship. The interactions with Alek as she tries to tell him the truth. The adventures resulting from their interactions with the outside: Tesla, the Austro-Hungarian battleship, Hearst and his film crews as well as Pancho Villa's surprises, followed by the attacks in New York keep things hopping.
With just a hint of Young Frankenstein...
The Story
Fresh from aiding the Ottoman Empire rebellion, the Leviathan is sent to Japan as a show of support only to get sidelined to Siberia to rescue Nikola Tesla where he and his men have been stranded as Tesla completes a test. it's a dangerous rescue as Tesla is insistent upon carrying all his luggage in the face of marauding bears and an overloaded Leviathan.
Their opportunity to wave the flag and "prove" that only the British can save the day comes up quickly followed by a demonstration by Tesla that encourages the British to order Leviathan to New York so that Tesla can further his experiments on Goliath. A course that proves perilous what with sabotage over Mexico and attacks in New York and the threat of Dylan's exposure to the world.
The Characters
Deryn/Dylan Sharp is a girl masquerading as a boy in order to work on an airship. Passionate for her work and a clever, innovative middy, Dylan is a real lifesaver in so many ways.
His Serene Highness Prince Aleksandar "Alek" of Hohenburg is the only surviving member of his immediate family since his granduncle, the emperor, conspired to have his parents, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, murdered. Alek is carrying a special dispensation from the Pope recognizing him as the legitimate heir to the emperor. Count Volger is Alek's tutor/minder as well as fencing instructor. He always has his eye on the main chance for Alek. Pretty lucky for the kid, really. Other attendants include Bauer, Hans, and Klopp who help keep the Clunker engines on Leviathin operating.
Fellow crew on the Leviathan includes Newkirk; Dr. Busk, the ship's surgeon; and, Mr. Rigby, the bosun.
Dr. Barlow is the boffin they picked up in London back in Leviathan with her pet thylacine, Tazza, whom Dylan walks every morning. Bovril is one of the two surviving secrets with a constantly evolving mindset.
Mr. Hearst, Miss Adela Rogers, one of his San Francisco paper reporters, and Philip Francis, a newsreel reporter; Eddie Malone, the reporter from their Ottoman adventures (see Behemoth); and, Pancho Villa and his men who take advantage of Hearst's sabotage of the Leviathan. Lilit (also from Behemoth) makes a brief appearance to pass on a warning.
The Cover
The cover has the feel of an old oil portrait with its slight crazing and the style used to portray the aristocratic Prince Alek in his leather and goggles and Middy Dylan in her aviator jacket, helmet, and goggles. The background has a metallic sheen to it with its green-yellow sifting clouds and a Darwin flying machine in the upper right corner. Chains and gears frame an emperor's crown in a horizontal border just below the middle with a raised-type effect for the title and author's name.
The title is the entire focus of the story, a Goliath of a weapon.
_ottavia_'s review against another edition
4.0
I'm way too tired to write a coherent review of this but I can say, with a smile on my face, that this was cuuuuuteeee. The whole trilogy made me laugh and entertained me during a very stressful period. It's classified as YA but I think it's more of a middle-grade, with an amazing world-building and powerful characters. It has wit, it has humor, it has action, it's well-written. Everything I needed in the last few weeks.
clemencats's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
I read this series as a young teen, or thought I did. Halfway through, I realized I have no memories of ever reading this book, so I’m glad to have finished the final installment, albeit a decade later. Anyway, a fitting end to a good trilogy. Honestly, I enjoyed the swashbuckling adventures of the two more than the romance. It felt like more of an afterthought to the main plot, a bit unnecessary.
alex_watkins's review
3.0
I really do like this series, I just don't find it great. It checks just about every box there is for me liking it. I think though it is coasting a bit on its set-up. It's an alternate version of World War I, faught between those they use fanciful machines and those who use fanciful bioengineering, which is still awesome. The expansion of the world to include Japan and the United States was gratifying. I feel like Nicola Tesla is all the rage now, and he is the center of the plot in this 3rd in the series. I have to say, usually when reading books in a series, I hate the author will constantly remind you remember this thing that happened last book. But now that I'm reading these as they come out and not one after another, I've changed my tune, constantly thinking great I had totally forgot everything that happened in the last book. I hate the cover of this book, but love the illustrations, especially those on the interior of the cover and first page of the book, but wish this one was a bit more map-like (love them maps). I wasn't however fully invested in the love story. However the action scenes are tense and well written and the characterization of the Leviathan was still spectacular, except I was disappointed we didn't get too much new bio-tech. This was a bit of a ramble, sorry.
roycekordem's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kaitbeth's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
redshoeson's review
3.0
This was my favorite of the Leviathan trilogy. The characters are honest, believable, and worth rooting for. I think it's worth noting that I listened to these as audiobooks and, while Alan Cumming's narration is phenomenal, I think my experience was dramatically changed by the absence of the illustrations present in the physical books. Still, the romance is plausible and I'd even love to read more about the various secondary and tertiary characters. Well played, Westerfeld.
theseventhl's review
5.0
Ugh, that was amazing. Simply bloody amazing. But - wait, that's the last one? FFFFFFF- dang it, Westerfield! Barking spiders man, I need more! Excuse me, I must fill the Darwinist beastie-shaped hole in my heart with fan creations, especially those of the Alek/Deryn variety.
grumpykitten16's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0