Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.
That is, if you like this kind of thing. It's set in the past, World War I to be exact, except it's an alternative, steam punk version. The Central powers (Clankers) are full of machines and mechanical things, while the Entente powers (Darwinists) create beasties with different threads of life. Evolution and things.
The whole story is based around a teenage girl, Deryn, dressed as a boy to be a part of the Darwinist air navy and the teenaged son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Deryn is one of the awesomely-capable middies (midshipman) on the airship, the Leviathan, while Aleksander (the teenaged boy) is pampered even when he's running away.
Okay, now onto the part where I totally speak my mind about this book without trying to give anything away. Since this is my first review, I'll let you know that when I type SPOILER ALERT that obviously means that a spoiler is coming up. Aye, here we go...
First, I have to say that I love every part of the setting. If you don't know anything about World War I... well you should learn some anyways, but you don't really need to know what happened then to read this. If I was tested on World War I tomorrow, I might just say they really had Clankers and Darwinists (see above if you don't get the reference). Secondly, the characters! Oh my goodness, the characters! I love them! Deryn has the most adorable Scottish accent --is it still an accent if you can't hear it? and Alek is so proper, it's such a contrast! Every two chapters (if I've remembered right) it switches views. From Deryn to Deryn again, then to Alek and then to Alek again, then back to Deryn... etc, etc.
What else can I mention? Oh yeah, the plot?! I won't ruin anything, but it's so jam-packed with so many things. There's action --Oh gosh, yes, there's so much action! There's humor --Only the funniest for you! So much description --Usually I'd be okay with 'blue pyjamas', but they give you 'bright blue pyjamas that went from your toes to your nose, a zipper running up the front'. Descriptive, right? I can't say how much I love this book!
Kirkus Reviews says this novel could "stand--or fly--on its own." It also gained a starred review from School Library Jounal, who said it was "Full of nonstop action" and that "This steampunk adventure is sure to become a classic." The book has won plenty of awards for things... because... why? It's super fantastic, that's why!
Some things about Leviathan I found on my good pal Wikipedia...
SOME SPOILER ALERTS, I GUESS.
The novel is an alternate history story of events around World War I. The author closes the book with an explanation of what events were real and which were fictional.
- In reality, the Archduke and the princess were shot while riding in a coach during the day. In the novel, they survive this attempt, only to be poisoned that night.
- It was once speculated that the Austrian and/or German government arranged for the death of the Archduke either as an excuse for war, or for their distaste for his politics. This theory was discredited much later in the 20th century.
- Archduke Franz Ferdinand actually had three children, not one, and none of them were named Aleksandar. However, like Alek, these children did not inherit their father’s land or title due to the nature of their mother’s heritage.
- The Archduke really did petition the Pope to have the conditions of his morganatic marriage adjusted, but in reality he was unsuccessful.
- In the novel, Charles Darwin not only made discoveries into evolution and biology, but also DNA and genetics and how to manipulate them, which is what allowed the creation of the fabricated creatures used by the British. Exactly how fabricated creatures are made is never explained. In reality, DNA was not discovered until the 1950s, and even in modern times, only very simple, small organisms have been created.
- Dr. Nora Barlow was a real person, the granddaughter of Charles Darwin. However she was not a zoologist, nor a diplomat.
- Dr. Barlow’s pet, Tazza, a thylacine, is a real animal and would have been alive at the time of the story. They were hunted to extinction by humans, and the last known thylacine died in 1936.
- The first armored fighting vehicle did not enter battle until 1916, and used treads like farm tractors instead of legs, a fact that Alek openly mocks in the novel as "ridiculous".
- The fabricated animals called "Huxleys" are named after Thomas Henry Huxley, a renowned biologist known as Darwin's Bulldog for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
Alright, you bum rags*, I'll be writing another review when I can! It'll probably be on Behemoth, by Scott Westerfeld (second book to Leviathan), but I won't make any promises!
*You'd understand that this is from the book, if you've already read it.
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