More of wot I have read…

The Leviathan Series by Scott Westerfeld

This is an entertaining series of books aimed at the young adult reader. It is in a steampunk style and takes place in an alternative universe at the time of the outbreak of the First World War. In this world two factions have developed, those that have embraced genetic manipulation to create wondrous and formidable ‘beasties’ who take their name from the great naturalist of the time, Darwin, and the second faction are the ‘Clankers’ who have shunned what they refer to as the ungodly manipulation of animals for a technical solution that allows them to create great metal vehicles and weapons of war.

The story pitches two young people of opposites together (one a young girl from a poor Dawinist culture, and the other a young royal Clanker, both of whom are hiding something).

They engage in a series of adventures that through the series takes them across the globe and brings them to the brink of disaster and to the beginnings of love.

Leviathan

Previously reviewed here

‘It is the cusp of World War I. The Austro-Hungarians and Germans have their Clankers, steam-driven iron machines loaded with guns and ammunition. The British Darwinists employ genetically fabricated animals as their weaponry. Their Leviathan is a whale airship and the most masterful beast in the British fleet.


Aleksandar Ferdinand, a Clanker, and Deryn Sharp, a Darwinist, are on opposite sides of the war. But their paths cross in the most unexpected way, taking them both aboard the Leviathan on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure….One that will change both their lives forever.’


Behemoth

‘The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker Powers.


Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan's peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.


Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what’s ahead.’


Goliath

‘Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek’s throne as prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war (and crown). And the love thing would be a lot easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl. (She has to pose as a boy in order to serve in the British Air Service.) And if they weren’t technically enemies.


The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic on board: secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is at it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant trilogy.’