The Leviathan Trilogy: WW1 Reimagined (part 3 and most comprehensive)

Hi! It's Nate here and today, I'm going to be giving an overall review of the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. You don't have to read my other posts to understand this one--I'll be going through all 3 books.

Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath are steampunk/historical fiction books that imagine WW1 with futuristic mechanical and biotechnology. In the books, the Clanker powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary) are armed with fearsome mechanical walkers and planes, while the Darwinists (England, France, and Russia) have "beasties" made from genetically modified creatures. These machines and creatures are always described with great detail, so that you could picture yourself in the seat of a fabricated elephant or the cockpit of a Clanker airplane. 

Summary (spoiler warning):

The main story focuses on the adventures of Prince Aleksandar and Deryn Sharp. Alek is the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his parents were assassinated. Since he's the heir, now everyone wants to kill him, so they can claim the throne. He has to go on the run with a few of his parents' men. Deryn is a British girl who wants to be an airmen. However, only men are allowed to be airmen. With the help of her brother, she pretends to be a boy and finds herself serving on the Leviathan, the largest fabricated ship in Britain. Eventually, the Leviathan crashes near a castle where Alek is staying, and the groups decide to help each other survive. On the Leviathan already is Dr. Barlow, a Darwinist scientist who has developed many "beasties" and developed new ones to give to a ruler in Istanbul. The next two books, Behemoth and Goliath, develop upon this situation. Due to a conflict, Alek and Deryn both end up in Istanbul off of the Leviathan, where they have to help a rebellion that might save the Leviathan and help end the war. They make it back to the Leviathan, and while they are flying, Alek finally discovers that Deryn is a girl. He's initially mad about her keeping the secret, but throughout the rest of the story they form a romance. Together with the crew of the Leviathan, they stop a device that could do major damage and worsen the war.

Review!

I really enjoyed reading this series. The books had many aspects that were entertaining and always made me want to keep reading. First of all, the descriptions of the settings were very detailed. During Deryn's first time inside the Leviathan, the book describes it in a way that makes sense and is easy to understand, even though it is completely fictional. The places in the trilogy, especially Istanbul, were also vividly described and it certainly seemed like the writer had experienced them firsthand (even though he probably hadn't). 

Another great part of the trilogy was simply the originality of the books. Both the environment of the story and the situation of the characters were unique, and there weren't many cliché plot points. It was very creative to imagine WW1 with different technologies and seeing how that would change specific situations. For example (spoiler) a Tesla cannon (designed by Nikola Tesla, who is in the books) was the device that could've destroyed many cities and one the war for either side. The ability to reimagine history is probably my favorite trait of the book. The plot is pretty original, too. With most books, I can infer what the general plot is going to be, but the Leviathan trilogy kept me guessing. Alek kept getting subtle hints that Deryn was really a girl, but he wasn't putting them together and I thought he might not guess. But suddenly, he put the pieces together one night, which was an unanticipated curveball.

Finally, the character design and development of the series were well done. Most of the characters had unique traits that made them feel real, like Deryn's wit and Dr. Barlow's eccentricity. Also, Dr. Barlow's latest fabricated beasties (lorises) could talk and were personified. The author had very entertaining descriptions of their conversations, and the lorises were probably my favorite characters. The characters developed in well-designed ways, too. Alek probably had the biggest transformation--he went from being pretty sheltered in his family's palace to being a well-rounded adventurer and finding a new friend in Dylan (Deryn's boy name) and then a girlfriend in Deryn. Deryn also changed to be a bit more confident in herself. She believed that girls could work as well as boys at the start of the series, but accomplishing so much gave her confidence in her own abilities.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Leviathan trilogy, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. The entire series is a bit long (around 1200 pages) but it's definitely worth it. Go check out Leviathan!