Cross posted over at aboutthebooks.blogspot.com:
Picture an alternate Europe just before World War I. The German and Austro-Hungarian armies have at their disposal a range of Clankers – steam powered walking machines of various shapes and sizes. Heavily armoured against attacks and mounted with machine guns and canons. On the other side are the British Darwinists. They have learned to engineer and fabricate animals to create their weaponry. Featured heavily in this book is the Leviathan, a airship that is actually a living ecosystem.
If you are anything like me, that alone will be enough to make you want to read this book. But along with the clankers and living airships are Aleksander, prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Deryn Sharp a young English girl. Aleksander is on the run, under threat from his own allies. Deryn is disguised as a boy so she can fulfill her lifelong ambition and join the Air Service. From vastly different backgrounds and opposite ends of the continent, their stories converge as the possibility of war grows.
This book represents a bit of a shift for Westerfeld. I have liked all his YA books and like this too, but it won’t surprise me if some of his fans are not as keen on it. On the other hand, I suspect he will gain a range of new fans. I am not completely sure of this, but it seems a large proportion of Westerfeld’s fans are girls.
Leviathan will gain him a whole slew of boy readers. A lot of them will be younger that his current fan base, and quite a few may well be older. Among others, I will be putting this book in the hands of all those kids who love reading about teenage secret agents, whether they are 11, 15, or 35.
It is an exciting read. The world, contraptions and creatures are fantastic and the story develops to a climax that will leave you wondering how long it will be until he finishes the sequel.
{ 0 comments }
