Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

This is the final volume of Scott Westerfeld's steampunk trilogy. I've been eagerly awaiting this book, and went to the Mall of America to get it signed. Sadly, the line was very small to meet Mr. Westerfeld. My daughter and I were first in line, which was good. I say it was sad because the giant book-signing line was for a book from a Playboy bunny airing her dirty laundry. It upsets me that an idiot that is famous for taking off her clothes and having a rocky marriage to a basketball player draws more people than a story like Goliath and a talent like Scott Westerfeld.

In case you missed the other books in the series, or my reviews of them, let me sum it all up for you. The story is set in an alternate version of World War I. In this universe, the Archduke Ferdinand has a son that is orphaned by his assassination. His son, Alek, goes into hiding after the death of his parents and hopes to gain his father's place in the royal family one day. Austria-Hungary is part of the Clanker powers (they've developed advanced machinery that mostly runs on steam power). While he is in hiding an English air ship crashes nearby, and he assists in their rescue. England and Austria-Hungary are on opposite sides of the war and a deep philosophical difference. England is a Darwinist nation, this means that they have developed their technology through altering animals genetic code to make them useful in a variety of ways. The airship is actually an altered whale and strongly resembles a zeppelin.

Our main protagonist is Dylan, a.k.a. Deryn, Sharp. She is a midshipman on the Leviathan and is pretending to be a boy in order to service in the military. She is quick, strong, and smart. Dylan and Alek form an unlikely friendship, and Dylan falls for Alek. In the latest volume, Dylan's secret is revealed to some, and almost given away completely. We also see a few true to life historical figures such as Nicolas Tesla, Pancho Villa, and William Hearst.

One of the things that I really enjoy about this series besides the characters and story is the wonderful art drawn by Keith Thompson. Unfortunately, my favorite creature design, the weaponized manta ray ship, was not available online. There was no way, I was going to break the spine of my signed edition by putting in on the scanner. But each picture in the book is as detailed and as beautiful on the one on the right. I really wish more adult books would get back to illustrated novels, it really adds a little something. It's sad that it has mostly become a dead art in the West.

I can't say that the story offers any surprises for experienced readers, but it is enjoyable and well told. The creatures and locations are brought to vivid life by Westerfeld's deft and eloquent descriptions, and complimented beautifully by Thompson's finely detailed illustrations.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

I have been eagerly awaiting this book since I finished the first book in the series, Leviathan. His cliffhanger ending was quite effective in getting me to want to know what would happen next. The adventure resumes almost immediately after the end of the first book.

The Leviathan makes it to Constantinople to complete it's secret mission. The ships that damaged it have already arrived, and have offered themselves in service to the Sultan. The Sultan has stayed neutral in the war so far, and they are hoping to sway him to enter on behalf of the Clanker forces. Dr. Barlow follows through on the arranged meeting with the Sultan to offer the apology gift to replace the ships that were ordered but not delivered due to the start of the war. Understandably, this breach of contract had angered the Sultan, as he had paid quite a bit of money for them. However, the meeting is sabotaged by some of the court when the egg that was to be the Sultan's gift was crushed. In order to ease the Sultan's anger and buy time to stay in the city, Dr. Barlow offers him the Leviathan itself. It also gives the Darwinists a chance to come up with another plan to reach the enemy ships.

In the mean time, Alek and his men know that they must leave the Leviathan before it departs from Constantinople or face being prisoners of war. Deryn assists them in this effort, though it is technically treason. Since Deryn is aware of Alek's secret, she is also aware that he could bring an end to the war. She has also fallen in love with him, so that is also a factor in her decision. After the escape Deryn is called before the Captain, she is terrified that her treachery has been discovered. Instead, she is surprise to be awarded a medal of honor and given a top secret mission.

While Deryn is fulfilling her mission, Alek is making contact with a group of rebels that wish to overthrow the Sultan. Deryn's fellow soldiers are captured during the mission, so she heads into town to find Alek. Together with the rebels, Alek and Deryn hatch a plan to defeat the Sultan.

Once again, Westerfeld's descriptions of the unique machines and creatures that populate this world are stunning. The combatants are much closer to each other during battle in this book. The Orient Express even makes an appearance. The climax of the novel is built well, and stops at a very satisfying moment. It lets you know that there is more to come, while not dropping the audience as roughly as the end of Leviathan did. This series is entertaining for adults and kids alike. I look forward to reading the final chapter of the tale, Goliath when it comes out.

A Surprising Author Visit

Awesome store, go there!

I was lucky enough to find out about one of my favorite YA authors coming to town through what many would consider a surprising place. It wasn't publicized on any of the author tour lists, not on the publisher's website, or any other well known site. This author, like many, maintain their own website, but trying to keep up with all the authors' sites can be overwhelming, if not impossible (depending on your range of tastes and number of favorites). I only found out about this tour because Scott Westerfeld (@ScottWesterfeld)  is on Twitter and was discussing his upcoming tour for Behemoth. Twitter's purpose isn't the same as other social networks like Facebook. Facebook is excellent for staying in contact with friends and family, while Twitter is more aimed toward accessing large amounts of information in small doses and growing your professional network.

Signing away

During the course of his tour, Mr. Westerfeld isn't visiting large book store or chains, but small local bookstores. I had never heard of the Blue Willow Bookshop before, but fell in love with it while I was there. The staff is very friendly, very knowledgeable about books, and obvious bibliophiles. They had two school groups there for this author signing, and have all the visiting authors sign their wall. The students were the first to get their books signed. Mr. Westerfeld's book signing was only one of several author visits scheduled last week. Rick Riordan was scheduled for the following day. I wish I lived closer, or had a similar store on my side of town. They do special orders, and even offered to ship me a copy of Behemoth since they had run out before I arrived.

Sadly, we missed Mr. Westerfeld talking about his book and what inspired him to become a writer. Between a doctor's appointment that was delayed a couple of times and Houston traffic, we arrived late. He was very gracious while signing his books. He was also very friendly, and patient with the kids (even the ones that hadn't read any of his books yet, like mine). I am starting Behemoth later today, the girl started reading the Uglies that evening. She is loving the book, can't stop reading it even in class (wags finger at daughter in motherly disapproval). My daughter and I have now met two authors, not counting my husband that is, I plan to meet more. It is very interesting to meet the person that penned the words of a book you have read. They often do not look like you imagined them, or even like their publicity photos. You also see a different side to their personality than you see in their writing.

Enjoy whatever book has your attention currently, if you aren't, grab a new one. There are a shocking number of them available.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

I really enjoyed the first three books of the Uglies series by Mr. Westerfeld, so I was very excited to read another of his works. Though I really enjoyed the other books, I was a bit unsure about this one. Steampunk has a very different pace than other forms of science fiction and I wasn't sure if his writing style would translate well into the new genre. I have to admit, I picked this book up partly because he wrote it and partly because the book is so beautifully designed. I've converted to mostly reading e-books (I love the convenience and the savings.), but if publishers would create more bound books of this quality, I'd buy both versions instead of just one. The dust jacket, the map on the end covers, and the illustrations are brilliantly executed.

The story starts off with the assassination of Arch-Duke Ferdinand of Austria in 1914, who is survived by his 15 year old son Alek.This diverges from the history that we all know. Austria and it's allies are the Central Powers, Clankers, people that rely on mechanical technology. In fact, Alek is awoke in the middle of the night by his father's loyal retainers. He thinks they are going on a night training exercise since his mother is out of town and does not approve, when in reality his parents are already dead. Alek is on the run from his own countrymen as well as his country's enemies.

Deryn Sharp is a young girl pretending to be a boy, Dylan, in order to enter the British Air Service. Britain is a part of the Entente Powers, aka the Darwinists. The Darwinists genetically engineer creatures to serve as messengers, weapons, and transportation.

The Clankers and Darwinists are strongly at odds politically, and scientifically. The Clankers consider the genetically mutation animals to be abominations against nature and God. While the Darwinists consider the Clanker's machines clumsy and wasteful.

Both Deryn and Alek are dealing with the loss of a parent, or both parents. They are adjusting to their new place in the world, and learning new skills. The action is fast paced from the very beginning, I don't think I ran into a single slow spot in the whole story. Westerfeld's descriptions of the creatures and machines are vivid. There is good character development, especially considering that it is the first volume of a trilogy. My only frustration was the sudden ending. I was not expecting the story to end so abruptly, the cliffhanger ending was deliberate. I really wanted the tale to continue, luckily the second volume is due out next month.

If you enjoy steampunk, or if you enjoyed the Uglies series, I'm sure you would enjoy this book.