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chapter_adventure 's review for:
Leviathan
by Scott Westerfeld
This is my first steampunk book! Steampunk has been a genre that I knew nothing about before last year and I've been really fascinated with it. I love the historical context of most steampunk novels, so I really thought this was a genre I could get in to. Leviathan did not disappoint. I listened to this on audio which was kind of fun. It was narrated by Alan Cumming, who did a great job. I understand the book has some illustrations, which I would be interested to see. Some of the descriptions of the war beasts and war machines, were a little difficult for me to imagine, just hearing them described. (I'm a visual person) I may pick up a copy of this at the library just to check the drawings out. I looked up a couple of them on the web and that helped my understanding a bit.
So about the plot- loved it! There are some frustrating bits, when the characters act rashly without thinking- but this is a middle grade book, with young protagonists, so that is to be expected. If the characters didn't act the way they did, they wouldn't seem real. I fell for Deryn Sharp right off. She's really bright and holds her own just fine in any situation. I liked Alek from the beginning too. He's a little stiff, being raised a royal, but he relaxes a bit as the book goes on and he gradually begins to realize that he could be doing something really important.
The book deals with Darwinists who have genetically altered animals into war ships and other useful beasts and the Clankers, who rely on machines and metal. I found this aspect to be very interesting- Darwin plays a secondary but important role in the book. One thing I have to note is that at the end of the audio, Scott Westerfeld gets on and explains some of the historical context of the book as well as what parts of the book are real and where he veered off to create his alternate world. I found that really fascinating- but I'm a history junkee. Anyway, if you like middle grade fiction that borders young adult- you should pick this up. I'll be picking up book 2 in the series (Behemoth) soon.
So about the plot- loved it! There are some frustrating bits, when the characters act rashly without thinking- but this is a middle grade book, with young protagonists, so that is to be expected. If the characters didn't act the way they did, they wouldn't seem real. I fell for Deryn Sharp right off. She's really bright and holds her own just fine in any situation. I liked Alek from the beginning too. He's a little stiff, being raised a royal, but he relaxes a bit as the book goes on and he gradually begins to realize that he could be doing something really important.
The book deals with Darwinists who have genetically altered animals into war ships and other useful beasts and the Clankers, who rely on machines and metal. I found this aspect to be very interesting- Darwin plays a secondary but important role in the book. One thing I have to note is that at the end of the audio, Scott Westerfeld gets on and explains some of the historical context of the book as well as what parts of the book are real and where he veered off to create his alternate world. I found that really fascinating- but I'm a history junkee. Anyway, if you like middle grade fiction that borders young adult- you should pick this up. I'll be picking up book 2 in the series (Behemoth) soon.