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A review by booksong
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
5.0
Scott Westerfeld definitely did not disappoint with this middle-novel in his incredible new series. It continues every ounce of the great characters, carefully crafted world of steampunk-history, and nonstop action and intrigue. In fact I think it added even more than the first one.
The world is sliding deeper into war, but there is an uneasy truce aboard the huge British whale-airship Leviathan, where Alek and his men work alongside the British airmen. Of course, none of them know that Alek is secretly the hunted prince of Austria-Hungary. No one except for his best friend Deryn, who is hiding an equally big secret from everyone; she's a girl.
But the Leviathan has another job to do; deliver a mysterious egg to the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, in hopes of dissuading the empire from allying with the German Clankers. But they may be too late, with the Ottomans already furious with the British for commandeering their new ship.
But once they land in Istanbul, Alek and Deryn have their own plans. Plans that will drag both of them into a web of escape attempts, secrets protected and revealed, dangerous missions, a host of new creatures both Darwinist and Clanker (including the mysterious occupants of the eggs), and maybe even a revolution. For the first time, worrying about their hidden identities may be the least of their problems.
Once again the action never seems to slow down. Deryn and Alek are both thoroughly likable, heroic, and realistic, and have great interactions together. Scott Westerfeld's imagination has once again created an incredible cast of creatures and mechanical wonders, and both they and the characters are illustrated masterfully by returning artist Keith Thompson. Fun and interesting new minor characters round out the cast. It'll be a long, hard wait for Goliath, where I have no doubt Westerfeld will bring this awesome trilogy to a great close.
The world is sliding deeper into war, but there is an uneasy truce aboard the huge British whale-airship Leviathan, where Alek and his men work alongside the British airmen. Of course, none of them know that Alek is secretly the hunted prince of Austria-Hungary. No one except for his best friend Deryn, who is hiding an equally big secret from everyone; she's a girl.
But the Leviathan has another job to do; deliver a mysterious egg to the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, in hopes of dissuading the empire from allying with the German Clankers. But they may be too late, with the Ottomans already furious with the British for commandeering their new ship.
But once they land in Istanbul, Alek and Deryn have their own plans. Plans that will drag both of them into a web of escape attempts, secrets protected and revealed, dangerous missions, a host of new creatures both Darwinist and Clanker (including the mysterious occupants of the eggs), and maybe even a revolution. For the first time, worrying about their hidden identities may be the least of their problems.
Once again the action never seems to slow down. Deryn and Alek are both thoroughly likable, heroic, and realistic, and have great interactions together. Scott Westerfeld's imagination has once again created an incredible cast of creatures and mechanical wonders, and both they and the characters are illustrated masterfully by returning artist Keith Thompson. Fun and interesting new minor characters round out the cast. It'll be a long, hard wait for Goliath, where I have no doubt Westerfeld will bring this awesome trilogy to a great close.