Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

“Maybe this was how you stayed sane in wartime: a handful of noble deeds amid the chaos. ”
 As my first experience with the steam-punk genre, I was left very satisfied. Leviathan is a story of alternate history. Westerfeld decides to reinvent the era of World War I in his latest novel. While he maintains some of the actual events of the war, he creates and alters many.

"Alek, son of the assassinated Archduke Ferdinand, is on the run for his life as war stirs in Europe. Along with his tutor and fencing master, 15-yr-old Alek treks across Europe in a steam-powered Stormwalker in an attempt to reach the safe grounds of neutral Switzerland.

Deryn Sharp is a 15-yr-old commoner from Britain who wants nothing more than to become an airman and fly on the Darwinist fabricated animal-machines. The problem: she’s a girl, and only boys are allowed to become airmen. Under the false identity of Dylan Sharp, she finds her way onto the Leviathan – a giant whale-ship that’s the crown of the British military.

Alternating storylines every couple chapters until the two collide, Westerfeld retells the events which led up to WWI in an alternate reality that pits steam-powered technology against genetic engineering."


My brother got the series (Leviathan, Behemoth, Goliath) and the blurb was seriously beckoning me. I finished the whole series in a week...they're that good. I mean, the writing style is  average and the pacing was great. But the idea of "strong machines VS fabricated animals" was awesome. 


I particularly enjoyed the whole "Dylan not Deryn" scheme because it put a female heroine in dangerous situations. Sorta SPOILER: She actually saved the British air-fleet a couple of times and became a high ranking officer!!!! :O ikrrr girls!!!


“Deryn felt brilliant, rising through the air at the center off everyone's attention, like an acrobat aloft on a swing. She wanted to make a speech:
Hey, all you sods, I can fly and you can't! A natural airman, in case you haven't noticed. And in conclusion, I'd like to add that I'm a girl and you can all get stuffed!”


Preach it sistahh! lol :D


I have to warn you though, if you're looking for some romance, this series focuses more on action. But the romantic side is not disappointing ;D I found the development really cute and hilarious. This series is wayyy better than Uglies. Yep, I'm sure! 10/10 I implore you to read it. :)